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Grace like rain: an update from the Horn of Africa
Water can mean life or death in the Horn of Africa. (Photo courtesy Red Cross).
23 May 2012
If anyone knows the truth of the phrase ‘water is life’ it’s the people of the Horn of Africa. One of the main causes of food insecurity in the region is unreliable rainfall and frequent periods of prolonged drought.
Yet even heavy seasonal rains don’t wash away all the problems that have created famine in the region. For rain to bring life there must be seeds in the ground, livestock in the stalls and water storage facilities to see households through the next dry patch.
Both Anglican Aid’s partners in the region– The Sheepfold Ministries (TSM) in Northern Kenya and the Directorate of Social Services (DOSS) in the South – have been working to ensure that water brings life to the Horn of Africa.
Until April, DOSS (the Anglican Church of Kenya’s development arm) was focused on helping households plant crops, in anticipation of the April-May rains. Seeds appropriate for the climatic and regional conditions were distributed especially maize, kale and cowpeas. Agricultural training, in ‘seed bulking’ for example, is ongoing. DOSS are excited to report that following good seasonal rains throughout most of the district seeds have begun to germinate and good harvests are anticipated. In all, DOSS estimates that this first round of seed distribution will give 17, 500 people improved access food.
At the same time TSM have been seeking to ensure that communities in Northern Kenya have improved access to water all year round. They have now dug 15 wells in the Wajir District and have resurrected one borehole and constructed another from scratch. They estimate that each well will provide water for 3,000 households and each borehole between 7,000 and 8,000 households.
Both partners are moving beyond the provision of short-term emergency drought relief to help communities recover and rehabilitate themselves from drought in the long-term.
Please continue to pray for our partners in the Horn of Africa. In particular, join us in praying that God will protection our partners as they work in difficult and often dangerous areas, that He will bless and multiply all their efforts and that through them many will know God’s invitation to:
Come, all who are thirsty
Come to the waters
Come, you who have no money
Come buy and eat!
Come, buy milk and wine
Without money and without cost! (Isa 55:1)
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