Chinese in Kenya donate food to drought-affected people

Chinese communities in Kenya have donated food worth more than $64,000 to villagers in Makueni county, one of the areas worst affected by the ongoing drought in the East African country.

The donation, including 24 metric tons of maize flour, 12 metric tons of green grams and 12 metric tons of beans, benefited more than 2,500 households in the county, according to the Kenya Overseas Chinese Association.

"Today these families will have a better meal to share with their loved ones…and this support from our Chinese community does not end here. We shall continue to rally our members to contribute something towards those Kenyans facing starvation," Gao Wei, chairman of the Kenya Overseas Chinese Association, said at a ceremony for the donation on Saturday.

The National Drought Management Authority in Kenya estimates that over 5 million Kenyans are facing starvation and over 2 million livestock have died due to lack of pasture. Weather forecasts predict that Kenya may face a worse drought in the coming year.

George Macgoye, the chief of staff at the office of the deputy president in Kenya, termed the move by the Chinese community in Kenya as a sign that should be emulated by other foreign nationals living in Kenya.

"I want to thank the Chinese community in Kenya for answering the humble call from the government of Kenya to assist the vulnerable Kenyans. This is something that should be emulated by others and I want to assure you that this administration will continue to work with the Chinese government on different areas to better the lives of Kenyans".

"We are expecting less rainfall between March and April next year, this will indeed impact the planting season for our farmers especially in the food basket regions. The government has embarked on resource mobilization to counter the situation which will get worse not only in Kenya but in the entire Horn of Africa," Macgoye said.

The government of Kenya has so far allocated over $400 million for the drought assistance program.

"We have not seen rain for the last three years and the last time we had rainfall it was not enough for the plants, hence the harvesting season was poor," said Seraphine Mutindi, age 35 from Kithina village in Makueni county, one of the beneficiaries of the relief food donation.

"It's been tough for us here and I want to thank the Chinese community in Kenya for remembering us with these food items because today my family will have a decent meal," said Mutindi.

This is not the first time the Chinese community in Kenya donated relief food to Kenyans. In 2017 they donated 144 tons of relief food worth $160,000.