Help Save the Poor from Starvation to Bring Relief to Those Suffering from Famine
Nearly 200,000 people are in urgent need of food.
“I just want to tell you the truth—you have also witnessed with your own eyes—you have seen the graves of the people who died due to hunger.”
People are starving in Turkana, a region in northern Kenya suffering from a devastating drought. Nearly 200,000 people in the region desperately need food, while an estimated 1.1 million people don't have adequate access to food in half of Kenya's counties. One local resident made the statement above. It's both chilling and tragic.
Hope...mobilized
Distributing urgently needed food staples.
At Bright Hope, we believe God asks us to respond with all our might when our partner churches in remote villages have a crisis on their hands and lives are at stake.
We are distributing flour, oil, beans, and salt through our partner churches, which are common food staples for the people of Turkana.
Your donation of $5.50 for food could save a life today.
Want to share about this crisis with others who may have never heard of Turkana or the people suffering from the terrible drought? We’ve created a free factsheet you can print or forward to your friends, family members or church leaders who may want to help.
A traditional people on the brink of disaster.
The Turkanas are an iconic people, wearing layers and layers of brightly colored beads around their necks, traditional clothing, and, for some, retaining a nomadic way of life. The majority of them are pastoralists, meaning their way of life revolves around raising animals that serve as their primary source of food and income.
But recently we’ve seen rows of animal corpses lined up on the ground: they died because of hunger. If the Turkanas can’t feed their animals, the animals die, and then the people lose their own source of income and food. And the ramifications are even more far-reaching than immediate survival: some children aren’t able to go to school because there are no animals to sell to pay for school fees.
“We are not sure if they will live to see the next three, four days. Others will die."
Turkana government official, watching the people around him suffer and grow weak. Even though the rain has started to come, it will take months and years to recoup what has been lost, so food aid is still desperately needed.
No one should die from starvation.
You can help prevent this tragedy.
can supply one person with three days of food.
will feed a family of five for three days.
will feed ten people for three days.
will feed 44 people for three days.
Three Other Ways to Help...
Learn
Never heard of Turkana before? Want to learn more about this crisis? We’ve created a free factsheet you can view online or print.
Pray
Would you like to stay up to date with urgent prayer requests like this? Join our prayer texting team, or visit our prayer wall to learn about prayer requests as they come up.
Join
Volunteer a few hours of your time as an individual or a family. Join Bright Hope Tribe and serve as a volunteer advocate in your sphere of influence.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Turkana?
Turkana is an extremely rural, arid county in northwest Kenya, about 430 miles from Nairobi. Almost 90% of the Turkana people rely solely on animal rearing as their chief source of income and food. The people are called “pastoralists,” many of them are nomadic, and they primarily raise cattle, goats, donkeys and camels. Turkana County has a population of about 1.2 million people, and they make up the second-largest pastoral community in Kenya (with the Maasai being the first).
What's the problem?
Turkana County, where Bright Hope works, is one of many counties experiencing a severe drought, which has led to a dire food shortage. Animals are dying due to lack of food and water. Without the animals, which are a primary source of food and income, the people are at risk of malnourishment or starvation, and have no money with which to provide for their other needs. This drought has been brought on because of less than average rainfall in 2018.
How many people are starving?
It’s estimated that 1.1 million Kenyans do not have adequate access to food, in almost half of the nation’s counties. Nearly 200,000 people in Turkana County, where Bright Hope works, are in urgent need of food. Local residents are saying that people have already died from starvation. Over 30,000 of the pastoral population and their livestock have been forced to move across to neighboring Uganda in search of pasture and food.
What is Bright Hope doing to help Turkana?
In the short term, we are working with our partner churches to distribute relief food to communities and families that have the greatest needs. In the long term, Bright Hope is looking at a sustainable solution that will help lessen food insecurity. We are currently working with our partner churches to set up a farm. Families will be taught how to farm so they can provide food for their families. If they produce more than they need for survival, then they can sell the surplus and use the money to provide for their other needs, like paying their children’s school fees.
A Partner You Can Trust
One of Bright Hope’s highest values is integrity. We understand the value of every dollar we receive and the difference every dollar can make in the life of someone in extreme poverty. We value the trust you have given us to effectively and efficiently deliver help to those in need.
