Somalia Relief / North Kenya

It wasn’t real until we were in the car and driving bound for Garissa. Our trip to North Kenya had been postponed 3 times. Having to coordinate everything and everyone, I felt for Somar (founder of LocalAid – NGO), but she did it and we were on our way.

We watched the car thermometer creep from a brisk 11˚C to a balmy 38 ˚C in a slow, long 8 hour period. Within a few hours of leaving Nairobi,
we were already seeing a Somalian influence in the people. In the way they dressed. The land was barren and camels were as common as the deep dreaded potholes.

There were 6 of us in the car – Somar from LocalAid, Eric and Bilha from Service for Peace, Max who is an independent film guy doing a documentary of the trip, the driver and me. It was a pretty rough ride up there, but we had been warned it would be nothing compared to actually driving into the camps.

We had arranged to meet with Dr Mohamed Sheikh (Australian Humanitarian worker) and Ken (LocalAid project manager) once we arrived in Garissa, the town closest to the camps and where we would spend the next 2 nights.

We reached Garissa around 3.30pm. Other than the large presence of NGO’s and camels fighting the traffic for spacevin the main street, it was like most other towns in Kenya. There were a number of large vehicles representing various charity organisations around the globe, from the world’s largest to teeny independent ones. I was proud to be amongst them but I was bitterly disappointed when we were actually on the ground at the sites as there was absolutely no other presence of any other organisation. Given it was a weekend and most NGO’s there do this as a main job, they may have returned to their homes. But it was also a disappointing reality that most support is being given right at the Somalian border. Many people fail to notice just how desperate the situation is in both areas. We concentrated not only on the walking refugees who made it from Somalia, but also the local Kenyan’s suffering from the drought. It is tragic how seriously critical their conditions are. Our day to visit the camps started early. We met with Dr Mohamed Sheikh late the night before and along with WARDA (local NGO) they advised that the food was portioned and packed ready to go in their truck. We had initially planned to buy, portion and pack the food ourselves but there were too many tonnes for our sizeable 4wd (donated by Jasauto Kenya) to carry safely. Our Journey to Dadaab began at the Red Hole, a small remote community of 5 Kenyan Somali families. We met with the elders who shared with us their stories and how they had been affected by the drought – how they have no access to health care or any way to get into town and all their livestock (also their livelihood) are slowly and painfully dying. This small collection of filthy water was all they had, a little more than some. We then made our way to a location just north of Dadaab. Here we met with WARDA, the on-ground organisation and distributed the contribution of food that was donated through LocalAid and Service for Peace by individual and corporate sponsors. WARDA had facilitated the food distribution with Somar prior to our arrival. Having lived there through this famine, they were able to fairly identify the neediest people and hand to them food ration cards.
It was extremely difficult to watch those who missed out looking through the windows in hope that something may be left for them. Many had to walk away in despair with faith that next time it would be their turn. Those who were entitled patiently waited in the heat for their turn. Those who were strong enough remained until the distribution was over and scurried for the empty boxes and sacks. They use them for shelter or to sleep on. They are a valuable asset.

Somar was introduced to WARDA through Dr Mohamed Sheikh. He has led the collaboration between the ‘one donation 1 life’ campaign team and on- ground personnel. Somar introduced him as a special friend and one of the most driven humanitarians she has met. I wholeheartedly agree!! We visited many villages inside the established camps and ones that had been newly formed outside them. We learned that once a refugee is accepted into the camps they are given ration cards entitling them to food on a regular basis however the people living in the communities outside the camps were totally neglected by most NGO’s. We were shocked to see the absence of Aid in these areas. We understand the process each refugee must go through, but is so very hard to see so many of them dying needlessly before this happens. We were just about to leave the camp when we saw a mother carrying an infant. His tiny hand and foot were poking beneath a piece of cloth and I asked the chief if we could assist her. By the skeletal looking body parts it was easy to see he wasn’t well. She pulled back the dirty cloth and I just looked at the malnourished child in despair. This was the single most difficult moment for me. I did everything I could not to break down watching this fragile child. The mother explained that she has been unable to feed him for months due to several bad sores in his mouth. He had only been given water with a little sugar as she cannot afford medicine or powdered milk. His skin hugged to his body so tight the bones were protruding through. How many more suffering had we not seen? The lady under this orange cloth had collapsed on the ground from weakness. They threw a cloth on her to hide her emaciated body. She was shaking profusely. They pulled back the cover to show me her face and she looked straight through me. I don’t’ think she even saw that I was there or that dozens of her neighbours were towering over her shouting in their language. I have no idea what they were saying. I don’t want to know. I sat rubbing her back briefly before helping pick her up and put her inside a nearby tent, in the shade. Did they know she was going to die? I will never know. As we visited each camp we noticed that the sickest of the community were not in eyes view. Occasionally (after staring at us for some time) a local would grab our arms and drag us into tents. Somar and I independently saw equally shocking sites. All we could do was share some hope and love with a gentle touch and smile. We knew after speaking with the Dr Sheikh what signs were obvious that they would live just a day or 2 if they had the will. There are no words to describe this feeling of helplessness. We witnessed the plight of many who faced disaster. We saw it in every face, from malnourished children, those who needed urgent medical attention and to all who were struggling to live with no access to water in such extreme weather conditions. But the most shocking was to witness the carcasses scattered around the communities illustrating the magnitude of the drought.

It was this moment after leaving one of the newly formed camps that we reached a field of carcasses less than a kilometre away. There were dozens of livestock that had lost their battle for survival. As pastoralists, Somalis depend on their livestock for survival. Without this they feel they have no hope. For this reason it was all the more devastating to see. It was here that I broke down for the first time.



Yet another thing that made it so very real for me was the dangerously skinny camels, CAMELS - if they can't survive....!

I went as an independent traveller supporting LocalAid and Service for Peace in the hope that we would work well together and perhaps form a partnership with That’s What Friends Are For on its official registration of a business and on my return back to Australia next year. I love and support what these 3 NGO’s stand for and look forward to working with and supporting them in the long term projects we have identified. Like myself, their aim in assisting those in need is not to just give hands outs and leave, but to identify long term self-sustainable projects. Through the contacts of WARDA, we met the community chief of Habaswein (the villages/camps we visited). He heard of our ideas (build an orphanage, establish projects such as a tailoring training centre, a farm, school, a clinic and dig a bore hole) and he informed us that he had been allocated 12 acres of ‘community land’ that he wanted to donate. He too had a vision of building an orphanage for the 200+ children (currently moving from tent to tent) and after some discussions we concluded that we will be interesting in taking up such a project.

Those who know me and why I am so passionate about this will understand the magnitude of what the above paragraph holds and my desire to work in such a devistated, needy environment! This is not only what first brought me to Kenya, but more importantly why I have started my own NGO and will forever return. I am excited to join forces with them; we each share similar goals and values. To know firsthand what a significant difference these projects will make. I believe with the correct education it will not only empower those in the immediate future, but for generations to come and for other communities who will witness the change. What an exciting, needy initiative. It’s taken me a while to write and post this blog as words escaped me. The emails, calls and Facebook messages I received from everyone were overwhelming and so encouraging. I can’t thank each of you enough for taking the time to share your thoughts and support. If you want to keep in touch (I don’t know how to respond to comments on this blog) please write to me at natarshaj@gmail.com – Samantha, so happy to receive your blog message, please email me!!!

Thank again for the thoughts and well wishes, it kept me going on the tougher days. X

The 'One Donation, 1 life' campaign is still running so please get in contact with me if you would like to get involved or contribute towards our efforts. I will be holding more fundraising dinners and events when I return to Australia next year, but will still be involved in the meantime.

A special thanks to one of my best friend Jeff who received a 3am phone call when I needed to talk about what I had seen. Thanks for listening. X

The impact this trip has had on me will remain with me forever. I hope that these communities will one day find the peace and happiness so many of us take for granted.