Feeding the Forgotten

An article I wrote for the PCEA and ACT.

“I have nothing so I leave everything to God,” laments Beatrice “Mbite” Mutisha, holding a bucket of her harvest this year: five ears of maize. Once a proud farmer of seven cows, 30 chickens and 40 goats, only two goats remain due to drought and disease. “If others could see our problems themselves, they would see that we are need and we don’t know what to do.”


While few have seen their predicament, many have heard. Presbyterians in the USA have contributed funds for emergency relief to Ukambani, about four hours from Nairobi, Kenya. The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) channels money through Action by Churches Together (ACT) for this food relief. The Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) coordinates the distribution with the help of Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) and the local community administration.

Although nearby regions flourish with pineapples and rice, rains haven’t fallen here since 1999, creating a pocket of desert winter strangling any hope of respite. Laments Musito, the local agricultural officer, “The soils are very good. The only problem is water.” Women walk up to 20 km a day in search of water for the home.

“If the rains came, we wouldn’t need help,” says Damaris Nduku, in charge of over 25 dependents. Without water, the people are not able to sustain themselves and are losing hope. Gesturing to withered cornstalks, Damaris poignantly asks, “Why should I repair this grain store if my crops look like this?”



Since the vast majority of people are unemployed, many cut down firewood to sell, often burning it to make makaa (charcoal). This region produces 250,000 bags of charcoal each month, the most of any community in Kenya. Hauling 20 liters on her back, Elizabeth makes 5 km trip to town five times a day. By day’s end, she earns enough to barely feed her family of 25 a meal of maize.

The women are left to do most of the work, with many men having died from AIDS or going to the city for work. When Katunge’s grandmother passed on, she says she “lost all hope,” as her brothers left to find work and she bore a daughter out of wedlock. She is fortunate however, finding a job at a local hotel earning less than US $30 per month.


Lydia Komu bashes stones to sell as ballast when she’s not throwing at the stones protecting her crops of sorghum from the birds. Even so, she thanks the people who provided her the seed for this drought-resistant crop, praying for them daily.

Looking for more sustainable solutions, PCEA will purchase its own machine to drill community boreholes in the area later this year. There area few shallow wells now, but the salinity is too high for regular human consumption. The European Union is also digging a subsurface-dam to supply water for a local school, which then may sell to the community.


The local chief wrote a letter last month, praising the PCEA’s work in distributing food through the village committees and not discriminating based on religious affiliation. Says David of the PCEA projects department, simply put, “We must go the way the people want.” Working with all community stakeholders, the PCEA won’t leave anyone behind.