Severe Drought and Famine in Northern Kenya

[Kofi]

I just watched a video about the current (2011) drought problem in Northern Kenya and it breaks my heart that Mwai Kibaki the president of Kenya and his government have refused to declare a state of emergency. Crops and animals are dying because of the drought. Children are out of school because of the drought. Most families have abandoned their homes and gone out into the wilderness in search of water. Diseases are fast spreading and the death toll keeps rising yet Mwai Kibaki and his government don't seem to care. Declaring a state of emergency would draw foreign media attention and bring in more aid groups but Mwai Kibaki doesn't want to do so because he doesn't want the world to know there is famine in Kenya his promised land which is very sad. Africa's hidden shame.

Drought and famine are not new terms in Africa. Drought isn't that common in West Africa (although hunger is very common) but drought and famine become very common as you move towards the east and the northern parts of Africa close to the Sahara desert.

The problem with most governments in Africa is that they try to hide their shame from the eyes of external viewers which is very bad. If you don't show the reality of the problem to the external viewers how can they help? There was this IMF-World bank debt-relief program called HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) whose main aim was to help poor countries in huge debts receive debt relief and debt cancellation. Most of the countries who joined this program received debt cancellations and their debts were forgiven. My Country Ghana was in huge debts but after joining HIPC all the foreign countries we owed them forgave our debts and we became debt-free. Before joining this program however, some government officials were against the idea of joining this program because they thought joining this HIPC program would present Ghana as an extremely poor country in the eyes of external viewers but after joining the program our debts were canceled and Ghana is doing great so far. Most poor countries in Africa refused to join this program just because they wanted to hide their shame.

There is severe drought in Northern Kenya and people are left dying yet Mwai Kibaki has refused to declare a state of emergency why because he wants to hide his shame. That is another reason why Africa remains poor.

[world learner]

Sometimes we blame Africans unjustly. Some of us think Africans are lazy but how many Europeans or Americans can survive on this arid land with no food or water? Can you grow crops on this arid land? stories like these are heartbreaking to read considering the fact that we throw away food and have water in excess whereas these people walk miles and miles in search of water and food. My church is planning a charity trip to Africa and I hope to go there and help in any little way I can.

[butterfly]

I dont understand how people think that by not trying to better themselves or seeking out help " hides a persons shame" others see what you are going through world wide, and its affecting the whole country, not just one person. so if everyone is in the same situation, what does shame has to do with anything is it a culural, or story behind hind shame that needs to be undone?