Kenya Drought: East Africa In Crisis

Heard about it? Probably not. East Africa is climate change ground zero. If it was a richer developed country it would be all over the news. This is the real human impact of climate change the western media doesn’t show you.

Pic: http://animalnewyork.com/

Kenya has a delicate climate. Already so hot, that further increase in temperature can throw whole ecosystems out of balance. An epic drought has been cast upon countries like Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Uganda. This in turn has caused a further life threatening humanitarian crisis. The severe drought, that now occurs year on year, has lead to severe shortages of not only water, but food and livestock too. It is estimated that 23 Million people are threatened by the crisis.

Kenya drought has been especially damaging.  In some regions lack of rain has destroyed whole harvests. Many people depending on livestock have also struggled to keep them alive with no water to feed them. Kenya drought and the food shortage has forced the price of food beyond that of what most families can afford.

If the drought continues we will not be able to raise any animals as there will be no pasture or water. So we will have no money to send our children to school. If we can’t get money from raising animals we don’t know what else we can do.

UK based Charity Oxfam have launched and emergency appeal for £9.5 million in donations to help those suffering from Kenya drought and the food crisis in East Africa. The charity have made themselves synonymous with helping those impacted by climate change throughout this year with there “Here and Now” campaign, aimed to highlight the fact that poorer countries are already suffering at the hands of climate change and the need to act here and now.