With the ongoing prolonged drought along with rising food and fuel prices, thousands of households have been critically hit especially when it comes to the daily/constant supply of food. In regards to this, Safaricom PLC, M-PESA Foundation along with various private stakeholders have today launched the Pamoja Tuungane Initiative.
The campaign is aimed at rallying Kenyans to support those suffering from the effects of the prolonged drought in some of the some of the hardest-hit counties starting in Marsabit.
The Pamoja Tuungane campaign comes as the latest recommendation by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) called for the provision of food assistance and scaling up of cash transfers to households in 23 counties who are currently food insecure as a result of the prevailing drought stress.
Naivas will be supplying the food hampers and are also supporting the donation by providing free logistics. Meanwhile the country’s top media houses including Mediamax, Nation Media Group, Radio Africa, Royal Media and the Standard Group have pledged to use their reach to raise awareness about the campaign.
Kenyans have also been encouraged to donate their Bonga Points or cash to enable purchase of food items to be distributed to some of the worst affected counties.
“While we are still in discussions will all stakeholders about the long-term initiatives, we know all too well the importance of having some short-term actions to deal with the current situation. We are calling upon other private sector players to join us in supporting those suffering from the effects of drought because we are all aware that we cannot thrive if the community around us is in anguish. We are also giving the opportunity for Safaricom customers who want to donate by allowing them to contribute their Bonga points by dialing *126# and selecting Pamoja Tuungane”, said Peter Ndegwa, CEO, Safaricom.
KCB Foundation has also pledged an immediate Kshs 2.5million cash relief support as well as long term support through training and equipping farmers through aggregators with climate smart agricultural practices to mitigate against the dire impacts of climate change to the tune of Kshs 100 million.
“The long-term support to mitigate against climate change is crucial for us, as we will train the farmers from Arid and Semi-Arid counties on climate-resilient practices. This will contribute towards a food-secure future and ensure our communities adapt to survive against the increasing drought patterns” said KCB Group Director, Marketing, Corporate Affairs and Citizenship Rosalind Gichuru.
The Pamoja Tuungane campaign comes as the latest recommendation by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) called for the provision of food assistance and scaling up of cash transfers to households in 23 counties who are currently food insecure as a result of the prevailing drought stress.
