Helping Hand Appeal 2017
Like many children in rural Kenya, Longoria fights hunger and harsh conditions every day – and Mary’s Meals is there to help
Living in harsh, barren conditions in the Kangole community of Turkana, Kenya, many children have to grow up long before their formative years have ended.
Seven-year-old Longoria looks older than his years, both physically as a tall boy, but also in his bearing and attitude.
He has a lot to contend with and must work hard to support his family, while also attending school to build the prospect of a future free from the shackles of poverty that blight the locality.
Longoria lives with his family who are pastoralists, which is a common profession in the area. The men of the family have herds of goats and sheep, which they move to areas where there is greenery for them to feed on.
However, recent droughts have meant there are fewer of these areas and the lack of “long rains” has meant that their animals have been dying off because they can’t source water or plants for them to eat.
Longoria helps out with the animals, moving them around in pursuit of food and water, but he is keen to progress to bigger and better things. Having spent recent months out helping his family, he is now focused on his schoolwork.
It’s not just the harsh conditions he has to deal with. Hunger is a constant problem – made worse by the unseasonal weather – and often there is very little food to give him the energy he needs to complete his busy days. School-feeding charity Mary’s Meals’ work in the area has become increasingly vital as a result.
“My father had sheep and goats. My elder brother was taking care of the sheep and I used to look after the goats. But there is only a small number of animals left after the drought. He told my older brother take the sheep and the goats together and he sent me to school. I am happy to be at school. I come to school because I want to learn. I like writing,” he said.
“I don’t want to go out herding the goats again. I want to be in school. If my father tells me to go back out with the goats, I will not accept. I will tell him I want to go to school.
“I want to learn and become a local politician. I will bring money and make sure all the people in this
area are getting food.
“I love Mary’s Meals because the food which is brought to this school is helping me to learn.
“When I eat the food, I get full and I feel full. The uji (porridge) is best. It is sweet.”
Sometimes Longoria gets to eat maize flour mixed with water and boiled, but it is not a particularly nutritious option.
“At home, there’s no food which is eaten every day,” he added.”
“When I was out with the goats, sometimes I used to eat sap from a tree.”
The school itself is made up of two buildings which stand about 20 metres apart, in the direct blazing sunlight that has scorched the earth surrounding the buildings.
There is very little cover so it is always blisteringly hot, but inside the pupils are motivated to learn and go through their lessons with an enthusiasm that is reflected in the dedicated staff.
Longoria’s teacher, Dorcas Akitela, sees first hand the struggle facing the children and their families, and is hugely appreciative of what Mary’s Meals does to support the community.
“Mary’s Meals is bringing us food. In this place, if there is no food, there is no learning.
“Some children come from far away – three or four kilometres – and only because they know the food will be here. They walk in threes and fours to come.
“Mary’s Meals has been here since 2014, when there was an emergency programme to get food to children after a previous drought.
“Mary’s Meals is really helping them. Last term – before August – some had diagnosis of malnutrition, but Mary’s Meals helped them improve. It takes time for them to recover slowly.
“I hope, for Longoria and the other children, that they can learn and life can become better for them in the future.
“They will continue learning, until they are employed, and that’s when their lives will be better.
“I hope they learn. Everybody can choose what they want to be.”
“I WOULD SOMETIMES EAT SAP FROM A TREE”