On Friday 5th August 2011 miracles at the hands of man began to happen. 8 selfless volunteers begin to prepare for their challenging journey to four different villages in the hope of alleviating some of the pain caused by this natural disaster. They were equipped with a 20 tonne lorry filled with up to 1000 food parcels for the needy and desperate.

The team set off to four different villages, each as isolated as the next. The first of their visit was:

Alikune;

Here the village has a bore hole (water hole) to which their camels, goats and other live stock can take drink from. Our team noticed there were a lot of camels and goats but all with bloated stomachs as their owner had filled them up with water,t this is because there is no food to try and keep them alive. Because of the famine, more animals are dying every day. Without live stock life might just be able to get worse for the devastated people of this village. A heart-warming 240 households were supplied with food parcels by our ground team.

Here we see a snap shot of our team handing our parcels in Alikune.

Boransis;

Our team have described this next village as literally being 'In the middle of no-where'. The desolation has been felt here the most. When the team arrived, villagers immediately began begging them, not for food, but for water. Even though they had not eaten in days these villagers are slowly dehydrating until death comes for them. The nearest water source to this village is over a half a day's walk away.One volunteer handed water to a mother who immediately began giving sips to her new born child. When asked why she is not breast feeding she replied 'my milk is not enough, as i am not strong, he has to drink water to replace it, please can you help?'  Another volunteer asked a woman whether they have any animals or not, she almost chuckled when she said 'In this environment?' 'if there is no food or water for human beings, where would animals go to get any?' The barren empty land around them echoed the obvious. 

Here we see the mother from the article giving comfort to her baby.

Kumahato;

Here evidence of animal bloating was once again apparent. The farmers had filled them up in an attempt to keep them alive for a bit longer. The villagers here spoke of intense hunger and the ever periless journey to fetch water from the local watering hole. The team discovered that a lot of the villagers had had gone into the bush to try and locate food and water. Some have not returned, some have returned in conditions worse than when they left. The team did manage to distribute two boxes each to 168 households. This led to prayers of thanks from the parched lips of the villagers, one villager prayed for the health and safety of those who had donated and asked in his prayer that he be given the strength to complete this gift of food; as if unsure he would survive long enough to finish it.

We see the remaining villagers gather round the truck for their share of the aid.

Shanta-abaq;

This is the largest village our ground team visited. It's population had increased recently due to the influx of people from areas with even more serious drought and famine problems. People here said that their live stock had died or gone too far in search of water to return. The chief of the village encouraged any willing individuals or organisation to undertake water projects in the area so that the animals will return. The ground team was informed that 20 litres of water is being sold in the nearest city for 20-30 Kenyan Shillings (Kshs), which ammounts to around 13-15 pence. This price in rural areas is simply un-affordable, if at all available. The food parcels delivered here also delivered hope to those left, but the threat is still very real. Click here to make a donation to the Pass The Parcel food programme and make a difference.