Carrefour, Red Cross in a drive to feed 6000 famine-stricken families
Retail giant Carrefour has launched a month-long campaign to feed roughly 6,000 families affected by the ongoing drought under the ‘Save a Life’ initiative.
The supermarket chain has partnered with the Kenya Red Cross Society to raise over Kes7 million worth of food donations, which will be distributed by the society to needy households.
In collaboration with Capwell industries, the retailer has prepared food hampers containing essentials such as maize meal flour, rice and green grams which will be sold at a subsidised price of Kes. 599.
Carrefour and Capwell said they will be covering the difference to make the donations affordable for Kenyans who wish to donate. Further, Carrefour will be donating one bag for every 10 bags sold.
“We are committed to providing urgent and substantial help to families affected by drought, with a view to supporting the government find a long-term solution,” Franck Moreau, regional director — East Africa, Majid Al Futtaim, said.
“We appeal to our customers to come out in numbers and donate. Our target is to raise more than Kes7 million worth of donations through this campaign to support our surrounding communities during this unprecedented crisis.”
Data from the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), shows that an estimated 5.1 million Kenyans require humanitarian assistance a scenario that has been occassioned by the worst drought in 40 years.
A total of 924,000 children under five require treatment for acute malnutrition, the authority said.
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“This partnership has come at a time when new data shows that more people continue to fall in the bracket of those who require relief food. We continue to appeal for more support so that as many people who need food can be reached to save them from hunger. I want to call upon every Kenyan, whether individuals or entities, to come together in our usual humanitarian spirit and save lives,” said Dr Asha Mohammed, Secretary General, Kenya Red Cross Society.
Currently, there are 31 counties affected by drought with 11 counties categorised in alarm stage including Garissa, Isiolo, Kajiado, Kitui, Mandera, Marsabit, Laikipia, Samburu, Tana River, Turkana, and Wajir, where many residents are facing starvation.
Embu, Kilifi, Kwale, Makueni, Meru (Meru North), Narok, Nyeri (Kieni), Tharaka Nithi and Taita Taveta populations are at risk of starvation, while Baringo, West Pokot, and Lamu are in the alert phase.
Early this month, the private-sector-led National Steering Committee on drought response announced that they have received over Kes592 million since the creation of the drought mitigation appeal fund by the President.
Among the institutions that have donated include Co-operative Bank which has contributed Kes150 million, Kenya Defense Forces (Kes130 million), Equity Bank (Kes120 million) and KCB (Kes100 million).
Other corporates that have boosted the kitty are Safaricom with a Kes50 million donation and Diamond Trust Bank (Kes20 million). Kenya China Economic and Trade Association and Dawoodi Bohri Community donated Kes10 million each while Middle East Bank gave Kes2 million shillings.
“Our immediate next step is to use the money received so far to purchase and distribute relief food as well as facilitate cash transfers. We appeal to Kenyans to donate any amount they can towards the appeal fund,” noted Peter Ndegwa, Chairman, National Steering Committee on Drought Response.
