Hardship: Drought-hit Zimbabwe has seen crop failures and limited water supplies. Letwin Mande (right) enlists the help of his neighbour (left) to carry a bucket of water from a community-run well in Epworth, an informal settlement east of the capital, Harare, where each family is allocated four buckets of water per day. Photo: Jekesai Nzikizana/AFP
MaAnother of the four, Laiwa Musenza, is already relying on aid from local NGOs to feed her family as Zimbabwe's drought only gets worse.
At a farm outside the capital, Harare, a line of children as young as three and a small group of older people are gathered around two large cooking pots. A volunteer calls out their name at the register, and hungry people step forward, plate in hand, to receive a small plate of macaroni and soy stew, which for most is their main, and perhaps only, meal of the day.
The makeshift feeding centre is the brainchild of Samantha Muzoloki and the latest of five such centres run by immigration lawyers Kuchengetana Trust. It was opened four months ago after parents on Kaliboné farm said crop failures in much of Zimbabwe meant their children were going to bed hungry. Kaliboné residents make ends meet by working part-time on neighbouring farms, but this year the drought has left no work on the farms.
“We could only afford one meal a day. It was especially difficult for us as we have small children,” Musenza said.
Kuchengetana, which means “looking after one another,” provides two meals a day to about 1,500 children from five kitchens, but Mzoloki worries the organisation will be overwhelmed if the drought continues.
“We depend on donors to operate and we have seen a significant drop in donations. We have gone from receiving $600 to $400 every three months, well under half of our budget. We work hard every day to ensure that everyone we serve has at least one meal a day. The drought affects us in different ways but we hope and pray that it does not mean we have to close the centre,” she said.
Zimbabwe is one of several southern African countries suffering food shortages due to drought exacerbated by the El Niño weather phenomenon. Last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster, saying at least $2 billion was needed to combat the drought. At least 7.6 million people, nearly half the population, need aid.
The UN is appealing for $429.3 million in aid, and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) also launched an emergency appeal for $84.9 million last month “to provide life-saving interventions in a complex humanitarian crisis exacerbated by water and food shortages.”
“Zimbabwe has been hit by drought in recent months, causing crop losses in key areas of agricultural production,” Nicholas Aripuyi of UNICEF said. — AFP