World Bank steps in to help an overwhelmed in Kenya where close to four million people are faced with starvation. Many people and animals have died, including several students dropping out of school. The effect of a drought is severest in more than 50 years. Other donors have included foreign governments, UN bodies, local and international NGOs and many more.
Many good suggestions have been discussed, including the rehabilitation and management of water resources for irrigation, sinking of boreholes, the farming of high nutrition drought resistant crop and potential dietary changes among local communities.
But to be able to turn this around in meaningful and lasting ways, we need mentally turn around in meaningful and lasting ways, we must also mentally turn upward from the material picture of lack, to understand and focus on God’s abundance. The spiritual standing is what will ultimately bring about the required shift.
When Jesus Christ was told by his disciples that the crowd should be sent home so that they can look for food by themselves to eat, he said you should give them food by yourselves to eat. The only food available was five loaves and two small fishes. H took it, looked up to heaven and gave thanks to the Father, broke it and asked disciples to pass it around. What was initially a small dinner turned out to be a meal for at least 5,000; they ate until they left twelve baskets full (Matt.14.13 21).
Jesus demonstrated that a spiritual idea can have no shortage, cannot die, and cannot dry up. By extrapolation, we would be quite right to conclude that the twelve baskets full of leftovers were enough to feed more multitudes based on the principle that Jesus applied. Few years ago, Father Ken Thesing MM conducted a workshop to Burundi pastors numbering forty-four from several denominations of evangelicals and he was the only priest selected from Nairobi.
He told the participants that he was brought in a farm in Lewiston Minnesota and whose ministry has included in Tanzania Mozambique, Sudan focus in agriculture and pastoral also with refugees. Thesisng currently is based in Rome as observer at the UNs food systems summit at which the world body sought to bring together different groups in order to transform the way the world produces and think about food. The Biden administration has committed to spend US $10 million to promote food system transformation through innovation and climate smart agriculture.
The humanitarian catastrophe across the Horn of Africa is affecting rural communities in southern Somali, southeastern, Ethiopia, and eastern Kenya. The worst drought in decades has not only led to water shortage but to a devastating lack of food. Millions are leaving their homes for the Dadaab refugees camp on the border of Kenya, walking up to 44 days often with little food or water. Dabaab, which is a complex of three camps, is the largest in the camp in the world. Currently it has a population of 400,000 people and is stretched beyond its limits.
The conflict in Somali, which has lasted for two decades, is also an important factor. Humanitarian supply lines are valuable to looting and attacks from armed bandits. Aid workers have been killed while trying to administer aid and this has hampered the UNs ability to deliver food and water to the areas that are in need in addition, food prices have risen by up to 200 percent in the last nine months. In the face of such an overwhelming crisis which on the surface seems beyond the scope of human resources prayer for divine guidance and intelligence is needed. The selfless activity of prayer for divine guidance and intelligence is needed. The selfless activity of prayer for those who are suffering, reaches to the very heart of Jesus’ teaching. His mission was to bring comfort to those who were broken hearted and in need.
Prof Joseph Adero Ngala