The people of Kenya are in the grip of famine. Drought is spreading and we need your help. 

The last two rains have failed in many parts of the Sub Sahara. Water holes have dried up, the animals are dying and millions of Kenyans are hungry.

Senai is 3 years old, her mother is unable to find enough water for her or her two sisters. They eat a small meal once a day and go to bed hungry.  
We are working to improve access to water as soon as we can and with your help, will be able to provide immediate aid. This drought is the worst for more than a decade and over 80% of livestock has already died.  In the areas we are working, more than 60% of children are now clinically malnourished.

Project co-ordinator, Ole Makeser, who has served his communities for over 20 years and through four famines, said, “This is going to cause so much suffering, many small children are already very ill and without immediate help, we are going to see so many children dying by May and June, all my cattle have died and the water holes are dry, even the river beds have nothing”.

We are launching this appeal to begin emergency relief, provision of water and direct help in Maasai communities as soon as possible. Please join us, as we ask all our friends to share our work in this time of great need.  

You can donate online through our Barclays secure donation engine. We will need over $200,000 in the next 3 months to set up the necessary support programme, together with our partners in the community’s villages and worst hit areas.  All our project teams are trained local Maasai, all projects are designed and driven by the communities.

The drought is spreading and we need to start caring for children in our areas now. 

You can donate through www.nwikenya.com

All donations go through New World International UK, our UK registered charity, regulated by the British Government through the British Charity Commission Registration number 1126542

decaying livestock

…”While there is likely to be significant cutbacks in spending, there is a realization that the world economy is truly Global and interrelated. This recognition alone means that no trading block can thrive if another is in decline. The World stock exchanges are so closely linked that share prices followed mirror patterns throughout the past weeks. African Governments followed European central banks to protect their vulnerable economies Nigeria changed the interest rate from 10.25% to 9.75%, the liquidity rate from 40% to 30%, and cash reserve requirement from 4% to 2%. The policy adjustments are designed to pump N150 billion into the system and improve liquidity. Nigeria is seen as the country best prepared to manage the present crisis.”
……”Africa has made great strides over the last decade with improved Governance, widespread efforts for improved Governmental transparency and political reform. While there are many challenges throughout the continent, the UNICEF indicators have improved over the past decade. Apart from setbacks in life expectancy in many countries largely due to to HIV related deaths there are signs of improved health services, long term changes in infant mortality in the Sub Sahara as well as improved quality of life.”
…..”The African labour force has never been as prepared with a record number of University graduates. Investment while small has been growing. If African countries could follow examples like India and proactively nurture IT , computer and communication industries new opportunities may open up as they have in Asia.Communication and transport have seen dramatic progress in the last five years with street hawkers, shepherd and farmers part of the mobile phone revolution. A traditional pastoralism mother can now phone her daughter miles away even though the family may have no electricity at home. The mobile phone age has leap frogged communication into rural communities who could never have dreamt of phones five years ago. Mobile phones and computers are increasingly affordable and with them new possibilities for commerce.”

…..” Countries like Kenya are beginning to take initiatives to tackle rising slum populations and improve opportunities and living conditions. Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya has launched an ambitious programme to replace the ghettos and confront the poverty trap that millions find themselves in, if it works it will be an important model of coping with urban slums in Africa, starting with Nairobis one million slum dwellers.”
“Nelson Mandela often said that the future of Africa lay in investing in the children, in education. This human resource is perhaps the key to Africas future. The Western World needs to have a donor shift. A change of model regarding Africa. Ultimately the last few weeks have been a wake up call for the World. A reminder that we are all fragile, and our World can easily fall apart. It will fall apart unless we are all working together, together as equal partners. Western Governments might learn a little humility from the lessons of the Global melt down. They might listen more and trust more, and adopt greater real partnership. The days of donor driven policies and agendas are at an end , the great wisdom of the capitalist consumer model has been shown to be a dangerous illusion, and more honest transparent strategies will be needed as the World begins reforming and regrouping.”
A Third Article on redefining development will be published shortly.

In Kajiado women have taken to the cheap and effective method of water treatment using solar energy. [PHOTO: ERICK WAMANJI]
Here, water is prized although most of it is contaminated. But residents may soon bid farewell to battles with waterborne diseases, courtesy of new water treatment concept — Solar Water Disinfection (Sodis).
This simple technology makes use of the sun to disinfect water. A maximum of two litres of water is poured into transparent plastic bottles and exposed to the sun for six hours, or two days when cloudy. Thereafter, it is safe to drink.
And Sodis is as popular in Kibera as it is in the remotest parts of Kajiado and Samburu, The Standard on Sunday has learned. This technology is simple yet very effective. In Kajiado and Samburu, the concept was introduced by International Community for the Relief of Starvation and Suffering (Icross).
In Embolei village, off Magadi Road — about 70km from Nairobi —Sodis is a lifesaver.
“We cannot drink water without burning (exposed) it in the sun. Our water is not clean and this makes children vulnerable to diarrhoea. We’re now controlling the situation,” says Ms Hellen Mepukori.
Gift for the poor
Residents thank Icross’ officials, Dr Mike Meegan and Prof David Morley, who collaborated with the Royal College of Surgeons to carry out Sodis research. Their findings have been published in Lancet, one of the world’s prestigious scientific journals.
The researchers concluded that Sodis could be the answer to the chronic water-borne diseases in Africa. Currently, plastic water bottles grace manyatta rooftops in Kajiado, just as they dot the rusty roofs of Kibera and Mukuru slums in Nairobi.
In Nairobi, Kenya Water for Health Organisation (Kwaho) runs the initiative. Kwaho educates residents about water safety and how to use the Sodis technology. School children are also targeted in this campaign because they are considered important agents of change. “We have reached five villages in Kibera. We hope to complete the rest in due course,” says Kaltuma Tahir, a Kwaho official. The programme has been in Kibera for the last four years.
“Sodis is cheap and effective way of water treatment, especially for people in slums,” she says.
Ms Lorna Kakai, a Kibera resident, says cases of typhoid and diarrhoea are no longer common.
It is women like Kakai, who are considered key in the campaign to provide safe drinking water, that Kwaho targets.
Tahir believes women are influential in this campaign, as they are at the heart of domestic chores and wellbeing.
Some hotels have offered to collect and donate empty bottles to Kwaho. The bottles are distributed, at a token fee, to residents. Sodis technology has received support from World Health Organisation (WHO).
WHO research indicates that diarrhoea alone is responsible for the death of some 1.8 million people every year, mostly in poor countries.
The UN agency notes Sodis can be an effective way of providing safe drinking water during emergencies like the Tsunami, earthquakes or hurricanes.

In their research, Meegan and Morley discovered Sodis technology works even for murky water.
“Laboratory studies of solar disinfection using plastic bottles have demonstrated significant reductions in bacterial contamination even in highly turbid water,” they note.
Says Meegan: “We cannot reduce suffering and poverty if our children continue to die from preventable diseases like diarrhoea. We want a world where children will be safe and allowed an opportunity to grow into productive adults,” he says.
In Kibera, locals have formed groups of Sodis users. These groups are instrumental in encouraging others to embrace the technology.
“We collect data from clinics and chemists. It seems cases of waterborne diseases are reducing here,” says Tahir.
So far, filtration, chlorination, desalination and heating are the popular ways of water treatment. However, these technologies are expensive.
For instance, in Kibera, due to high population, poor waste disposal and ignorance, it is difficult to sustain provision of safe water.
“Initially, I was buying water treatment chemicals. I used to spend about Sh150 every month. That was expensive. Besides, the chemicals left bad taste and smell. Drinking water was never enjoyable,” says Ms Cynthia Museve, a hairdresser.
- As published in the STANDARD NEWSPAPER 15th FEB 09 KENYA
By Erick Wamanji

Together the research programme did the first control trials studying disinfection of contaminated drinking water in the mid 1990s. This led to a multi country international collaboration currently studying the application of SODIS in other settings, a study led by Dr Kevin McGuigan of RCSI. Professor Ronan Conroy is currently in Kenya working with the field research teams helping to build the next stage of this collaboration together with Kenyan partners.
The Global health lecture explored the importance of Ethical development built on equality and shared values. It stressed local ownership and long term collaboration. The symposium heard a number of presentations earlier highlighting examples of collaboration, training and transferring skills and expertise in areas of need. Leo Halpenny of B BRAUN made a donation to ICROSS RCSI work in Kenya on behalf of the company.

ICROSS works with the resources, capabilities and capacities of poor marginalised communities seeking to strengthen their capacity to improve their own health and livelihoods through the rights based approaches of participation, inclusion and community empowerment processes. ICROSS has fully documented its vast experience in disease prevention and control amongst these disadvantaged communities. This experience is informing national and international best practice on critical areas such as HIV/AIDS prevention, home-based care for those infected with HIV/AIDS and succession planning for orphans and vulnerable children.

Our values include living as equals among those we work with and for, learning their languages and culture, inculcating a respect for diversity of beliefs and dedicating ourselves to long-term commitment to the poor, those who are socially excluded and those who are victims of social injustice.

People in the communities are empowered to take full responsibility for the changes and developments that drive the development of ICROSS. Community participation starts right from needs identification through implementation, monitoring and evaluation. Communities, families and individuals are involved in all decisions that impact, however remotely, upon their lives.

ICROSS believes that the most effective vehicle for development work is the communities’ own belief systems and traditions. People have the right to choose and the right to plan their own future, consequently, anthropological research is a key part of our work.