Christians, are threatened with starvation as famine spreads in the African nation.
The Kenya Evangelism Team (KET), an evangelical mission group, said its headquarters near the area of Pokot is overwhelmed by hungry refugees.
"The nearest place to us is Pokot, where over 30,000 people are affected. Pokot is not far from our headquarters, and many are migrating here to get food," said KET-leader Sylvester Okango, who now oversees over 350 churches with more than 700 pastors, evangelists and missionaries.
"They have no shelter here and many are stealing just to eat," he added in remarks published by Christian Aid Mission (CAM), which supports native missionaries like him. Already at least 17 people are dying every day of hunger, CAM quoted government sources as saying. Children and the elderly are especially at risk.
RAMPANT INFLATION
Missionaries said the famine comes as inflation is rampant in Kenya, where food prices doubled recently, with a sack of corn now hovering around $30 and beans around $45. KET said that although the churches it planted are poor themselves, they are involved in relief and counseling.
They are "contributing even the small fraction" of what they have, to "be able to contribute towards our fellow country people, who are dying because of famine," the group explained.
The organization stressed it also hopes to reach people with the Christian message of hope. "The people in Pokot are very resistant to the Gospel. KET has targeted this people group, and is praying that this disaster will be an open door for the Gospel," CAM confirmed.
SEVERE SHORTAGES
The famine forced Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki to declare a state of national disaster in reas of the country hit by severe shortages of food and water.
"In the next six months, up to 2.5 million of our people will be in need of famine relief," he said. The United Nations says that six million people in the Horn of Africa, including Somalia and Ethiopia, are on the brink of starvation.
Missionary groups and the government have appealed for donations to alleviate the situation. Kenyan authorities claim they urgently need $150 million to feed the hungry. On Thursday, January 12, Kenya said it would waive import duty on relief food to help feed millions of people facing famine, linked to the country’s worst drought in years.
Many of those suffering starvation are also members of Christian churches. Close to 80 percent of Kenya’s almost 34-million people are believed to be Christians, although estimates for the percentage of the population that adheres to Islam or indigenous beliefs vary widely, according to the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). (With BosNewsLife Research and reports from Kenya).
