East Africa Crisis: Four young mouths to feed and no food
The worst drought to affect East Africa in 40 years is leaving many older people and their families hungry, including 60-year-old Naminit and her grandchildren. Age International is raising funds with the East Africa Hunger Appeal to make sure marginalised older people like Naminit and their families receive the food and support they need to survive.
Naminit has four mouths to feed and care for since her daughter disappeared, leaving the children behind. They don't have much – Naminit sleeps in a small shelter with her younger grandchildren, but the oldest stays with a friend due to the lack of space. She has a small garden to grow vegetables in, and the children help her gather and sell them at market, but the market is in a town far away and it is difficult for her to scrape together enough for them all to eat properly without relying on donations.
“Sometimes we get a small amount of food if someone gives us a jug of sorghum (a cereal), and we eat it before going to bed and in the following morning we mix it with some vegetables and eat it like that. If we manage to get one jug we cook it and eat it and keep some for tomorrow.”
Naminit is just one of many older people around the world who are responsible for caring for younger family members, without a pension and unable to rely on support from their children. The drought is making the situation even more difficult for older people living in rural communities which rely on a regular pattern of rain to support their crops and livestock.
Naminit hopes that one day things will improve and her grandchildren will be able to get an education.
“If there is nothing my children can give me, I have to bear it because they are in the same situation.
None of my grandchildren go to school; we don’t have enough money.
None of my children are working and I cannot force them to work; it is their choice. I need them in future to work hard for a living and when the young ones go to school one day, I want them to be good people and also help me.”
Right now, Naminit tells us she is in dire need of support ‘for survival’ – including food and building materials to improve her shelter. For now, the worry makes
“Sometimes I cannot sleep at night and it’s almost morning when I feel like sleeping.”
Age International is already working in several countries affected by the drought. In South Sudan, with our partner HDC, we are distributing emergency food parcels and food vouchers to vulnerable and marginalised older people. We are also giving seeds and livestock to those worst affected by the drought.
East Africa Appeal
East Africa is experiencing its worst drought in decades and more than 20 million people are on the verge of starvation. Please help to provide lifesaving support to older people and their families.
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