Food for Work Project

North East Province, Kenya

(Photo by Gabriel Craven)

Canadian Baptist Ministries Drought Response Project continues this week as we begin a "food for work project" with two vulnerable villages along the Tana River, South East of Garissa. Our colleagues Yattani Gollo and William Wako are coordinating efforts with village elders to clear scrub bush from roads and the flood plain. The communities have selected the sites for the work that will open travel between their villages and the larger town. "Removing the thorn bushes will improve security," shared Yattani. "Many women and children walk these paths in fear of attackers lurking in the mathenga (local thorny brush that covers most of Northeast Province)." The opened roads will also provide improved access to the community farms that will be cleared of mathenga over the coming months by the community members. Over the next three months, approximately 2000 people will receive supplementary food rations through this project as we help the community recover from the drought and rebuild their farms.