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SLIDE SHOW - Garbatulla: A Region in Crisis
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Garbatulla was once a luscious land of green pastures bursting with grazing cattle. Now, as the worst drought in 60 years grips the Horn of Africa, the stunning scenery of the Kenyan region, one of the worst affected areas, has been replaced with dry, arid land.
Kenya is experiencing its worst drought in more than 60 years, with 3.5 million people in urgent need of assistance. Garbatulla is one of the most affected areas of the drought. The once luscious land is now barren and strewn with the carcasses of dead cattle, which are the only means of food and income for thousands of families. Many communities have lost up to 90% of their herd and the next harvest is not expected until February or March 2012. One in five children in the region is at risk of malnutrition.
(Please click on image below to view full slide show)
Treating Malnourished Children & Saving Lives in Garbatulla
Garbatulla was once a luscious land of green pastures bursting with grazing cattle. Now, as the worst drought in 60 years grips the Horn of Africa, the stunning scenery of the Kenyan region has been replaced with dry, arid land. Heartbreakingly, pastoralist families are forced to watch their animals die one by one.
The bones of dead livestock spread across the ground as far as the eye can see. Without their cattle, families are left with no means of income or food. Many are forced to flee their homes, in the search of food and water, walking for days and weeks looking for help.
Children across the region are at life-threatening risk of malnutrition. With no cattle, they can no longer drink the milk they once relied on. And with staggering rises in food prices, their families can no longer afford to buy food at the market. Parents watch as their children grow weaker and thinner, unable to provide them with anything to ease their suffering.
Action Against Hunger is working with communities across Garbatulla, to help rebuild their lives and protect themselves against future drought and crises. Families such as Grandfather Ibrahim’s are being provided with compensation for the death of their livestock so they can afford to buy food again.
Action Against Hunger’s water and sanitation teams have built irrigation systems to create a plantation in Garbatulla. In the middle of the arid and desolate land, there now lies a lush garden, with corn and vegetable plants of species that are resistant to water shortage, which is supporting more than one hundred families.
Action Against Hunger teams are working across the region, identifying and treating children for malnutrition. Children are provided with nutritional therapeutic foods, medicine and vaccinations and those who are most severely malnourished are taken in to 24 hour care for specialist treatment.
Children such as Elizabeth are cared for around the clock to ensure a full road to recovery. She is one of the lucky ones who was identified and is being treated in time. Sadly, not every child is found in time.
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