No food, no water: Shocking images of malnourished children as hunger devastates villages in Turkana

Shocking images of malnourished children are now becoming commonplace in Turkana County villages as famine continues to devastate the Turkana people and indeed large swathes of the Kenyan territory.

Many children have stopped going to school and normalcy has generally been disrupted in the remote Turkana villages where hunger-stricken families are now fighting for their lives one day at a time.

Our team encountered villagers surviving on extremely hard wild nuts that have to be cracked using rocks.

The journey to Kang'alita in Loima constituency in Turkana county is not for the fainthearted. You have to cross hills and valleys to get there, and when you do, the situation may break what is left of your spirit.

At the home of Mzee Etelej, his children are severely malnourished due to lack of food.  The drought has made life severely difficult for his family.

“Hii boma iko shida hawa watoto wawili wameshindwa sababu ya njaa hakuna kitu ya kula," says Mr. Epodo Epem, a village elder.

Apus and Apua Etelej  are 10 and 13 years old respectively.  They haven't eaten for 3 weeks now and are weak.  School is not even an option in their state. .. Their parents can only offer wild fruits as food.

“Hapa tunakula tu mkoma hakuna kitu,hakuna maji hakuna,” says Ekurchanait John, a resident.

This is their reality.  Every evening, families gather here and make do with what they could gather at daytime.  Their little strength is spent on pounding the fruit to get to what is edible. 

In his Mashujaa Day speech, Turkana governor Jeremiah Lomurukai warned that danger is looming for the children in areas severely affected by drought.  Many of them are malnourished and have stopped going to school due to hunger.

"If something will not be done in the next few weeks watu watakuwa wameanza kufaa hapa,tunaomba partners please mjitokeze,”said the Governor.

The elderly too are having it rough.  Some can barely walk, they spend their days awaiting fate in their homes...  Agnes Ekai, a 65-year-old woman is so weak, she can barely speak.

And as the residents of Kang'alita wait for aid to reach them, Apua and Apus have been put on treatment to restore their health before they can go back to school. The rest can only wait and hope that help will reach them sooner rather than later.