Kenya

Natural Disasters

Severe droughts have plagued Kenya for years and in January 2006 a food crisis emerged in the northern regions.

Seventeen districts experienced severe food and water shortages and around 3.5 million Kenyans urgently needed food aid to survive.

Malnutrition was particularly prevalent among young children, pregnant and nursing mothers and the elderly.  Weakened by hunger, these people were more vulnerable to illnesses such as diarrhea and malaria.

Islamic Relief responded with emergency food distributions for over 2,000 households and initiated water and sanitation projects to counteract the spread of waterborne disease.

Please donate generously to support Islamic Relief’s mission to respond to such disasters promptly and effectively.

Poverty & Unemployment

More than half of Kenya’s population is living below the national poverty line, with nearly 60 percent of Kenyans living on less than $2 a day, according to the United Nations’ Human Development Report (HDR).

About 40 percent of the country’s labor force is unemployed, according to the most recent estimates of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency World Factbook.

Staggering inflation rates and lack of economic development have also contributed to the struggle of Kenya’s impoverished masses.

Islamic Relief’s livelihood support and development projects help alleviate the suffering of impoverished people in Kenya.

Please donate and you may help a Kenyan family put food on the table.

Islamic Relief in Kenya

Islamic Relief has been working in Kenya since 1993, when it initiated its One-to-One Orphan Sponsorship program in the country.

Responding to a prolonged drought and acute food shortages, Islamic Relief registered a field office in Kenya in February 2006 and launched an emergency relief program.

Projects included water and sanitation in rural areas and providing over 5,000 malnourished people with supplementary food.  After the initial emergency phase, Islamic Relief shifted its focus to the needs of the most vulnerable: children under five, pregnant women and nursing mothers.

Today, development projects in Kenya include water and sanitation, livelihood support and nutrition.