"The meat supported me when I had no food at all"
Twenty-five-year-old Nuria Ali lives in Libehia, north east Kenya, with her husband and three children. The family used to live a traditional semi-nomadic life, living off the produce and income from their herd of goats. However, climate change has caused recurring droughts which sparked a food crisis in East AfricaMost of Nuria’s livestock died, forcing the family to settle down in the Mandera district. The family now runs a modest lodgings business in the village of Libehia, but still relies on food distributions.
Eid in Libehia village is a community celebration. “We have a get-together, and after Eid prayer we eat goat meat. People in the village visit each other and our children play together. Temporarily, we forget all our problems,” said Nuria.
“On Eid day, my family eats nyiri nyiri (preserved camel meat) and everyone wears their best clothes. Most of our food usually comes from the government, but I also manage to buy some food with profit made from my small village lodgings.”
Mandera has had a food crisis for a long time, and the drought has made the situation worse,” said Nuria. The East Africa food crisis forced more than 20 million people to the brink of starvation and killed hundreds of thousands of animals. Although recent rains have improved food security in some regions of Kenya, other areas experienced floods, which devastated thousands of acres of farmland and affected 150,000 people.
“Nowadays we rarely eat meat because most of our animals have died,” said Nuria. Prolonged drought combined with disease outbreaks has wiped out much of the livestock in northern Kenya.
Nuria still has a few surviving goats, but they are so thin at the moment that they cannot produce milk. Nuria tries to restore their health by feeding them paper that has been soaked in oil.
“Our situation is no different from anyone else’s,” said Nuria. “The drought has affected everyone in this village and in the entire district. People have fled to as far away as Somalia and Ethiopia. But the situation is the same everywhere now.”
Nuria has received Ramadan and Qurbani food packages for the last two years. “The meat supported me through Eid ul-Fitr, when I didn’t have any food at all in my house. The food has always helped me and my family to fast Ramadan. I thank Islamic Relief and their supporters for their help. May Allah bless you.”
Last Ramadan Islamic Relief reached approximately 650,000 people with gifts of food. Help us to reach even more people this Ramadan.
£40 can feed a whole family for a whole month
£200 will feed five families for a whole month
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