Rainfall across the Horn of Africa has fallen short of expectations once again. The October/November rains in the region were projected to be heavier than usual due to ElNiño effects, and millions of farmers and pastoralists had pinned their hopes on the weather experts being right.
Hope of improved food security was high with the rains beginning as promised in October, but there was a lengthy dry spell in November that continued into the first part of December. In their latest report, Oxfam GB said “Large parts of Turkana (northern Kenya), Somalia, and Ethiopia have received less than five percent of normal rainfall in November.” According to the report, Turkana has received just 12 mm of rainfall in the last three months.
This is the sixth successive season of poor rains in the region, which is experiencing its worst drought in 20 years. The next rains are now projected for April at the earliest. As a result, the USAID Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS-Net) predicts “food insecurity is likely to deteriorate substantially in the coming months, compounded by human and livestock disease upsurges, conflict, and higher food prices.”
After visiting affected areas, Mr. Jeremy Loveless, Oxfam GB Deputy Humanitarian Director, said “Millions of people in these areas are of particular concern as they face at least another six months of hunger and destitution.”
African children contend with problems unknown to kids growing up in the developed world. Hunger, lack of clean drinking water, limited access to quality education, and poor healthcare are the norm. For African children with special needs, however these problems are greatly intensified. Eight-year-old John Mugisha Prudence is one such child. To support himself and contribute to his family and his community, John needs special schooling. To help, African Children’s Haven and the Wembly Fund have awarded John a scholarship that will allow him to receive a quality education. Learn how you can help.
"Where the Water Meets the Sky" is the remarkable story of a young African woman orphaned by AIDS. Her self-made documentary, narrated by actor Morgan Freeman, depicts her struggle to provide for herself and her siblings. What began as a filmmaking workshop is transformed into a story of how African women are demonstrating with courage and humor that the future rests in their hands. http://www.watermeetssky.com/
According to the United Nations, AIDS infections in Africa were 25% lower last year than in the peak year of 1995. However, Africa still accounts for two-thirds of all HIV infections worldwide, 68% of new infections among adults and a staggering 91% of new infections among children. See the report.
A video shot earlier this year at the Happy Home Orphanage in Western Kenya provides an insider’s look at the lives of some 30 orphans supported by African Childrens Haven. Produced by McGill University students Will Miller andAlex Pritz, the new film is available on-line at http://www.vimeo.com/5327856
A new UNICEF reports says that hunger is stunting the development of 200 million children under age of five in Africa and Asia. But the UN agency also says that eliminating or at least reducing malnutrition is feasible. Read more http://www.unicef.org/nutrition/index_51688.html
Last Sunday’s New York Times Book Review weighed in on the new self-help book “Natureshock, New Thinking About Children” in which the authors – former chroniclers of the financial bond trade – review recent research on childhood development.
The authors – Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman – cite laboratory studies that show that over-praising children comes at a price. Kids who were tested in laboratory studies and then praised for their intelligence, they say, were outperformed in a second round of testing by children who were simply commended for their efforts. The authors conclude that the “commended” students challenged themselves to do better while the “praised” kids were content with the status quo.
Bronson and Merryman also report – and this is what initially caught our attention– that the more children are threatened with punishment, the more they lie and the better they get at it.For example, the book relates how kids in a traditional colonial school in West Africa, where teachers frequently hit the children, were more and more likely to lie simply to avoid punishment.
At African Childrens Haven, we’re still struggling with how to deal with schools that receive our support and continue hitting their students. We’ll be coming out with a policy soon, but meanwhile we encourage you to share your views and let us know how you think we should proceed.Read the review
A new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute – a Washington think tank – predicts that by 2050 global climate change will put an additional 25 million children at risk for malnutrition. The authors believe that developing countries will be hit hardest by climate change and that the problem will be most pronounced in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This outcome could be averted, they add, with an additional annual research investment of US $ 7 billion per year, about $280 per child. Read more: Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation
According to our old friend and colleague Tiff Harris, Kenyans are eagerly -- and anxiously -- awaiting the arrival of next month's rains following one of the worst droughts in recent memory. The problem, he writes, is likely to affect all Kenyans, both rural and urban. Harris is based in Nairobi and writes widely on the subjects of agriculture, environment and development. He can be reached at t.harris@cgiar.org.
Millions of farmers and pastoralists in Kenya are counting heavily on El Niño rains that, according to meteorologists, should arrive in October. The projected rains are desperately needed to stave off further widespread hunger in rural areas across the country, but especially in the exceedingly dry north and northeast zones where crops have failed completely and livestock have dropped to about 30% of their usual numbers. The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that 10% of the country’s population – about 3.5 million Kenyans – is already at risk of starvation because of drought over the past few years.
At the beginning of 2009, the lingering effects of the persistent drought were made much worse by major social unrest caused by a disputed presidential election. Many farmers in the Rift Valley, Kenya’s traditional breadbasket, missed an entire planting season, and the government now projects that its stores of maize are sufficient to last only one more month. WFP is struggling to meet the rapidly growing needs for emergency food in the region and, if the rains fail again in Kenya, starvation could threaten as many as 6 million people in the coming months, an estimated 70% of them women and children.
Ironically, in the midst of the worst drought in decades, recent headlines in local papers are trumpeting the government’s swift actions to prepare for severe floods expected in October. Those actions are no doubt necessary, but steps to “harvest” as much rainfall as possible should complement them. Three days ago, a small article appeared in local papers alerting Nairobi residents that, if the October rains fail, they can look forward to continued water and power rationing until April of next year – at which point the reservoirs that supply the largest city in East Africa with water and hydropower will run dry.
The award-winning documentary Time for School returns to Public Television in the United States on Wednesday, September 2 at 9 PM Eastern time with visits to classrooms in seven countries, including the largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. Statistics provided by the filmmaker are chilling: more than a hundred million children are currently out of school, two-thirds are girls, and one in four children does not complete five years of basic education. As a result there are nearly one billion illiterate adults - one-sixth of the world's population.
The New York Times Sunday Magazine seems to think so. Yesterday’s entire issue was devoted to women in development. In an excerpt from their new book, Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn say that the liberation of women could solve many of the world’s problems, from poverty to child mortality to terrorism. The African Childrens Haven board agrees with that sentiment and places a high priority on programs that benefit women and girls.Read more:
An African Childrens Haven Associate recently returned from Africa concerned that teachers in one of the schools we support routinely hit the children. The school’s policy prohibits corporal punishment, but the policy is openly ignored. As we understand it, so-called sticking is mainly confined to a wrap on the hand and is a standard practice across larges parts of the Continent. African Childrens Haven does not have a policy on corporal punishment, but our board will discuss the matter at its September meeting. The question is how far do we go? Should we deny funding to schools where corporal punishment is practiced or should we find a middle ground? Cutting off funding to a school that is otherwise doing a good job seems extreme and would hurt the children. Is there a middle ground? Ideas?
Andrea Mitchell’s recent report on the plight of kids living in Kibera, Africa’s largest slum, is a must-see for anyone interested in the well-being of African children. The story focuses on a primary school for local orphans, nearly 40 percent of whom are HIV positive. African Childrens Haven support a similar school in Mathare, Nairobi’s second largest slum. The plight of children in Mathare is all-too-similar to what Mitchell describes and the need is equally urgent. See a video about the work being done at St. Phillips.
A local women’s journaling group, the Flamingos, is supporting orphan girls in Tanzania who have shown a talent for science and math. Thanks to the Flamingos, five girls will receive a Twirligirli gown in recognition of being selected for a secondary school science scholarship.
“The idea is to make sure that the girls know that someone cares about them,” says Twirligirli founder Cathy Stovall. The gowns were donated in memory of Stovall’s mother, Dody Stovall (pictured here on her 57th wedding anniversary).
“She loved my Twirligirli business and encouraged and inspired me to continue my mission of bringing cheerful twirls to girls through colorful, playful gowns.” Stovall adds. “Many times, she sewed finishing touches to the gowns with her loving hands. They carry her goodness and sweetness and are dedicated to her.” Learn more about Twirligirli.
African Childrens Haven supports small, grassroots organizations that help local kids lead healthier, more productive lives. We invest in a variety of projects, but place special emphasis on education, especially for orphans and children living in extreme poverty. Our belief is that Africa’s future rests with its children and that projects developed and run by local communities produces long-term results.
