Support ActionAid’s Work to Combat Deforestation in Kenya
Nooloireta Nakola walks three miles under the hot Kenyan sun to Olenkuluo primary school to water her son’s tree.
Nooloireta, 48 years old, looks off towards the horizon as she struggles to carry 10 liters of water on her back. She smiles as she draws closer to the shade and lets out a sigh of relief as she places the water down.
“It is not that I have no work to do [or that I do not] have a use for this water at my home. In fact, this water I am carrying here is precious commodity,” says Nooloireta. “I am here because of hope – hope that one day this tree will reduce our suffering and that is why I will continue to pour water on it until it matures.”
Nooloireta’s ritual is an important routine for Kenya’s Maasai community members whose thousands of cattle have died from dehydration and loss of grazing pasture caused by disastrous deforestation.
Two years ago ActionAid initiated a tree planting project in 21 area schools. ActionAid is the lead agency in the area that is alleviating human suffering by providing support and mobilizing the community to conserve their environment.
“I am optimistic that this tree project is the start of an initiative that will change our lives and that of the future generations,” explains 13-year-old Naisetei Tanyayak, a member of the environmental club. “We have had no rain because we have no trees. The elephants are drawing closer to our homes and destroying our property.”
ActionAid is working with local communities on projects across the world to help them adapt to changing weather patterns while also calling for developed countries to dedicate at least $86 billion a year by 2015 to support the efforts of poor countries to adapt to changing climates.
Kodili Chandia Benadette, an ActionAid supporter from Uganda, urges: “Farmers in my own family are suffering from prolonged drought. We have not created this problem, but we have to live with it. That’s why rich countries must pay their climate debt.”
