The scourge of hunger and thirst

By Shizuyo Sato

I am Shizuyo Sato from ICA Japan and have been working in Kenya since 1991.  Robyn Hutchinson, a great friend, asked me to write about Kenya projects.  The following is a summary of my activities over the years.

In 1991-1992, I got involved in a project in Kilifi district, near Mombasa.  It was a drinking water and health-care project for ICA Kenya.  

From 2001 to 2004, I was involved in Kajiado County in the Rift Valley – providing drinking water through digging deep wells and promoting food security by training farmers in agriculture and fruit tree planting. 

During 2006 to 2009, I worked in the south of the Kajiado district, constructing water tanks and helping with food security.   Thanks to this, during the 2007 drought, Masai people learnt how to grow vegetables, grains and trees.

Why did I get involved with African water and food security projects? New poverty estimates published by the World Bank reveal that 1.4 billion people in the developing world (one in four) were living on less than US$1.25 a day in 2005, down from 1.9 billion (one in two) in 1981.  But in sub-Saharan Africa, poverty is said to have increased from 180 million in 1981 to 300 million in 2008.  

Since 2007, the tremendous drought has continued. The problems have become more serious; there is a shortage of food and drinking water, and many animals have died. Men saw their dreams come to nothing. Without food and water, women desperately tried to raise their children.  ICA Japan began giving emergency assistance, providing water and provisions such as rice, oil, beans, sugar, salt and canned food.

Another problem in Kenya is the growth of population, which is currently at about 38 million. The population is growing at the rate of one million people every year. This has an impact on the environment - wildlife and forest cover.

According to the Incorporated Administrative Agency Japan Water Agency, the earth has 14 billion km3 of water. Of this 97% is seawater. About 70% of the fresh water remaining is ice in the Arctic and Antarctic. So the fresh water available for us to use accounts for just 0.8% of the earth’s water. This includes groundwater, freshwater rivers and lakes, and swamps (1968 to 1973 estimates).

Since 2007, the drought in Kenya has led to shortage of water. The grass is withering, cattle, donkeys and camels, and even people, have starved to death.

Across the world, 1.2 billion people do not have access to safe drinking water, and about 10 million die per year due to water-related causes. By 2025, 48 countries will face water shortages.

The most important way to deal with droughts is the development of forests. This will eventually help to recharge the water sources, and can also be a source of products such as wood and wild vegetables.

Besides the Kenya project, ICA is also working on lake water purification in Vietnam, using vegetable floats and organic bacteria balls; and tree plantations in the Philippines and India.

For the continuation of these projects, we are grateful for support from the following organizations:

• Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications,
• Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)
• Nippon Keidanren Nature Conservation Fund
• Japan Platform
• Afforestation Promotion Organizatio
  
  Shizuyo Sato is a member of ICA Japan