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Second Successful Aid-Delivery
to the Ogiek
02. February 2008
As a first
ECOTERRA Intl. managed on 21. January 2008 to get through to
the Ogiek hiding in the Mau Forest. We could deliver some food-aid
to the widows and children of those families, whose fathers and
husbands had been killed during the invasion of police-protected
Kikuyu gangs. Then we also could establish the needs of the larger
Ogiek community. Some of the video footage from the horrible
situation in the field taken by Steffen Keulig of
FPCN was
even shown on national television channel KTN.
Now, yesterday on 01. February 2008, a second and much more
substantial distribution of aid to mainly Ogiek women and children
as well as the elderly was successfully carried out.
Wellwishers, who had contributed
their relief donations through the
Girl
Child Network (GCN) and the Regional Network on Child
Protection (RENOCP),
can also be happy, because their aid did reach the most vulnerable
groups of the Ogiek community, since they joined the ECOTERRA led
operation into Ogiek-Land. ECOTERRA ensured that for a first time
Ogiek women are now a full part of the specific committee of
elders and leaders, which determines together with the
relief-workers who and where actually the most vulnerable people
among the Ogiek are and who shall receive the aid. This made the
difference whereby the aid could be delivered safely and to the
most deserving people.
This time a substantial amount of supplies (i.a. maize-meal, rice,
beans, sugar, salt, high nutritious instant feed for malnourished
children, cooking fats, tea-leaves, kitchen utensils, woolen blankets, clothes,
disinfecting soap, medical supplies etc.) - nearly filling a 7 ton
lorry - could be delivered directly into the Mariashoni area
within the Mau forest and distributed to the needy. Especially the
vitamin-enriched Insta-food, donated by the
Anne K.-Taylor Foundation, a US 501c3 charity, will assist the
only remaining health-worker (all others fled) in Mariashoni to
prevent death of malnurished and starving Ogiek children.
Additional food supplies were donated by
FPCN-Germany.
While the multi-million dollar demanding
UN laments insecurity and thereby only covers their own
inactivity, the ICRC as well as the Kenya Red Cross respond rather
slow, and had in several ill-designed operations to hurriedly
leave the areas of people they were supposed to assist. Only
organizations like Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans
Frontières (MSF) do like always their highly commendable
top-professional job in the hot-spots of Kenya like Kisumu, Nakuru
and Naivasha, but also they do not have the capacity to reach out
into the most remote corners like Ogiek-Land. It is again (like in
Rwanda and Somalia) the many small groups from individual citizen
groups, many of whom are just good-doing foreigners living in
Kenya, to the small Kenyan and International NGOs, who make the
difference and actually help where they know best.
The 7 ton truck of relief to the
Ogiek is nearly empty.Women, children and the elderly got the
goods.
Please support further direct aid to the Ogiek:
http://www.ogiek.org/news-1/news-post-08-01-3.htm
N.B.: Though we appreciate any donation in kind and will deliver,
please keep in mind that we also need to pay for transport, the
sustainance of helpers as well as for communication and logistics.
Therefore also cash-donations earmarked for such needs are highly
welcome.
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