Mon, 12:50 16 Nov 2009 GMT17

 
AUDIO SLIDESHOW: East Africa battles worst drought in decades
16 Oct 2009 12:15:00 GMT
Written by: Frank Nyakairu

Drought, for a fifth year running, is driving more than 20 million East Africans in seven countries towards severe hunger and destitution. Rural communities have been hit hardest with acute shortages of water and pasture, wiping out livestock and killing a significant percentage of food crops.

I have been to many of these communities, and with this audio slideshow tried to let those affected tell their story.

There are experiences of three people from some of the worst drought-affected parts of north central Kenya and north-eastern Uganda. A Ugandan elder and rainmaker, Laurien Lokwareng, from Karamoja speaks of climate change and how drought has pitted communities against each other as they fight over water sources and pasture.

In Kenya's Laikipia district, a farmer, Grace Muthoni and pastoralist, Gerewan Losakut, speak of how drought has driven them to hunger and left them dependant on food aid.

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2 responses to “AUDIO SLIDESHOW: East Africa battles worst drought in decades”

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  1. sarahm says:

    Really enjoyed your clip. A lot of the issues raised ring very true in the difficulties older people are facing in these areas.

    They are frustrated that they do not have the scientific knowledge to explain what is happening and why, and what climate change means for them and future generations, e.g. failed crops, losing their livestock etc...

    Their usual means to predict the weather no longer work and yet with all the knowledge and experience they have to offer, they are excluded from the general climate change debate.

    If anyone is interested in reading more - http://www.helpage.org/blogs/blog/category/climate-change/

  2. Japheth Kwiringira says:

    Frank has always been head-on with issues and analysis; since his secondary school days. He no doubt has shown the World some of the untold stories that leave untold -'untelleble' suffering.

    We cannot let this get worse; a difference can be made.

    Japheth

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Frank Nyakairu is an AlertNet journalist based in Nairobi. He previously worked for Reuters in Rwanda and was war correspondent for the Daily Monitor in Uganda. He has reported extensively on the crises in northern Uganda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Southern Sudan and Somalia.

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