On Sunday we remembered our link with the Kenya Fund and Timboni Primary school.

Several countries in East Africa are facing drought following multiple poor rainy seasons. Drought, along with economic insecurity, crop failures, livestock deaths, ongoing conflict and climatic shock has led to food insecurity and the need for food assistance for more than 17 million people across East Africa.

Kenya has been experiencing erratic rainfall and prolonged dry spells. About 70 percent of Kenyans are smallhold farmers who grow crops and/or keep livestock. The erratic weather has resulted in reduced crop yield, crop failure and reduced animal pastures, as well as dwindling or drying of many water sources such as rivers, streams and ponds.

The ongoing prolonged drought has resulted in thedeath of livestock and acute food and water shortages. In towns and cities, food prices have gone up by 50 to 60 percent. In February, the Kenyan government declared the ongoing drought a national emergency. The government also projects the number of food insecure people in Kenya will significantly increase from 2.7 million to 4 million by the start of April 2017.

Please continue praying for the drought situation Kenya is experiencing in some regions. In 2016 the rains were poor, leaving 1.3 million Kenyans in need of food aid, according to government figures. The government has started distributing maize, beans and rice to those in the worst affected northern and coastal regions.

Praise God, there has been rain in the last few weeks in some regions. Please keep on praying that the efforts of the Kenyan government and NG organisations would bring much needed relief to those affected, especially as they begin to till their lands in preparation for the next season.