This is the last of my food

Friday, July 08, 2011

Nothing left: “This is the last of my food. Green grams (pulses) and a few beans. I used to grow these myself but there has been no rainfall in eight years, so now I have to buy all food from the market. The prices keep going up. We only have enough food for one meal a day now, and that goes for all people in this area,” says Lucia Muvili Ngotho from Kalimbui village in Mwingi, north east Kenya. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor
Women from Kalimbui village, north east Kenya, have a chat beside the sandy pond that has rescued them from the worst of the drought. The dam raises the water enough that some water can be extracted every day, saving them a lot of time which they use instead to weave and collect firewood for sale. Agriculture is no longer a food source. Without it, women must now earn a living in other ways. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor
Wilting crops: corn planted with the hope of rain. Now dry and dying in fields across east Kenya. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor
Goat slaughter in Rhamu, north east Kenya: A goat owner drags away the corpse of a goat having given his thumb print to an official (second from right) acknowledging he has been paid 2000 Kenyan shillings (US$20) for the corpse. The overseer of the slaughter process (centre) calls up the next animal for slaughter. Fifteen goats were killed in four minutes. With two failed rain seasons behind them, and at least three months ahead before the next chance of rain, all hope is lost that these goats would otherwise be able to survive. ACT Alliance paid for a local butcher to slaughter the goats of families that wished to have the animals killed. Each family was paid for the corpse and the meat given free to malnourished families. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor
Goat slaughter in Rhamu, north east Kenya: pastoralist families so stretched by drought and poverty are slaughtering weaker goats while the animals are healthy enough to be eaten. With two failed rain seasons behind them, and at least three months ahead before the next chance of rain, all hope is lost that these goats would otherwise be able to survive. ACT Alliance offers to slaughter goats, for which the owners receive 2000 Kenyan shillings (US$ 20) per goat to compensate for the loss. The meat is given for free to malnourished families. One goat feeds two families for a fortnight. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor
From the air, the border area of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia makes a barren and desolate landscape. All plant life, except the most drought-resistant trees and bushes, have dried out and died. Animal carcasses lie beneath them. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor
As many as 1000 people every day cross from Somalia into Ethiopia at Dolo, which sits on the Ethiopia-Somalia border near Kenya, fleeing drought and conflict. This family walked 110km to reach the border, a five day journey. On the day this photo was taken, the family planned to spend the night camped under an acacia tree and enter Ethiopia the next day. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor
Adey Yusuf Aden, 64, manages a stoic smile after walking through Somalia for five days to reach the border with Ethiopia. Her family subsists on farming. When they ran out of food a short while ago, the prolonged drought meant there was no opportunity to grow more crops. Their only hope was to flee to Ethiopia, where Aden hopes they will receive food aid until the situation improves enough to return home. ACT/NCA/Laurie MacGregor