COVID-19 is just one of the challenges, disasters faced by needy children in Kenya

COVID-19 has revealed our vulnerabilities. No nation was prepared for the unknown and it has become clear that the future is unknown. And while we are focused on staying safe, it is easy to be oblivious to challenges compared to what we are going through. Yet, one of the most effective ways of self-preservation and motivation is to do something positive for those in worse conditions than ours, whether serving a meal at soup kitchen for the homeless or writing a check to support victims of natural disasters.

If you have noticed, reports on how people in African countries are affected by COVID-19 are rare. In Kenya, there are 4,952 confirmed cases out of 146,537 tested at the time of this writing, with the overwhelming majority (82%) of those cases in Nairobi and Mombasa, the two most populated cities in the country.

There have been 128 deaths reported.

The low number of deaths, for a population of about 48 million people, is attributed to the government’s draconian lockdown measures. There has been a 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for the entire country. Movement to and from COVID-19 “hot spots” is forbidden save for delivery of essential goods.

Even with those measures and low numbers of deaths and confirmed cases, Kenya may not have reached the peak of the pandemic, and for this reason, the government is reluctant to open schools. The current report is that schools will remain closed until September, including ones that serve poor orphans and other children from poverty-stricken families, who are sponsored largely by people in the Treasure Valley at Caring Hearts High School.

You may or may not have heard it, but there have been two seasons of floods. In March and April this year, more than 250 people lost their lives because of floods, and thousands, including some of our students’ families, lost their homes and whatever few belongings they had.

Then there are the worst migratory pests, the desert locusts that have been reported in some parts of Kenya. They have and continue to consume crops before they are harvested. The pests have struck in areas some of our students come from.

Domestic violence has increased significantly, worldwide, since the COVID-19 lockdown started. As a perspective, I will refer to a recent update from the Women’s and Children’s Alliance (WCA) in Boise about how domestic violence has increased. They reported that there was a 93% increase in the cases that they handled in the first quarter of 2020 compared to 2019. The increase in April 2020 alone was 194% over April 2019.

Unfortunately, some of our students have been victims of increased domestic violence. The principal has identified the students who need to be rescued and brought them to school. They are now safe with meals and a secure place to stay. In addition, all students are contacted every other week to check on their well-being. Medical attention, masks or other basic necessities are provided when a need has been identified.

We have also initiated online learning, with some of the children using the phones of their neighbors or elementary school teachers.

I am inviting you to consider sponsoring a family (with five members) of a sponsored student with $100 that would be sufficient for their basic necessities (food, medicine and toiletries among other needs) for a month. Donations can be sent to Caring Hearts and Hands of Hope (CHHH), P.O. Box 7152, Boise. Or go to caringheartsandhandsofhope.org.