Some residents of Marsabit are still in dire need of food aid despite a return of rains and improved livestock quality because of pasture abundance.
The famine has continued whipping the residents mainly pastoralists with a section of them forced to travel to neighbouring counties of Garissa and Isiolo in search of food.
An official from a local women’s lobby group, Lepati Alice Lepati said the situation was worse calling on government and international organisations to distribute relief food especially to schools.She said more school going children had abandoned studies because of the food shortage.
Lepati said some children remain taking care of homes when parents go to look for food.
“There are homes where people have migrated to neighbouring counties to look for food. Our concern is the children. If government and organisations could distribute food to schools to retain children, it would be good. Many children have been forced to leave school and remain at home,” she said adding that the biggest challenge they face was shortage of water.
“The water that we get from the available bore holes is shared by the animals and people.”
“The national and county governments should drill boreholes and construct storage tanks. With this, we can be sure of the availability of clean water.”
The hunger in the county continues despite the onset of rains in other parts of the country where farmers are already harvesting maize and other crops planted early April.
[Some residents have migrated to neighbouring counties to look for food.] (marsabitimes.com)