Maintain Hope expects growing need in Kenya

The locally-based Maintain Hope charity are expecting that they will have to intervene more and more with families in Kenya in the coming weeks and months, writes Brian Byrne.

Charity founder Gerry O'Donoghue is travelling to Kenya soon to make arrangements for the new school year with the 70 children and their families Maintain Hope currently supports. "Thanks to our supporters, they are all healthy and attending full-time education," he told the Diary. "But the slums where we operate are becoming even more crowded because families are fleeing from drought affected areas. Pastoral families have lost everything as their livestock have died from thirst and lack of feed."

Noting that scarce resources and primitive sanitation make the threat of hunger and disease very real, he said that extended families are trying to help each other and even though they have very little, they are willing to share. 

"We would welcome any support which would help us to help them," he added, expressing his thanks to those who had participated in the recent Lugnaquilla Challenge and those who had supported them. "The challenge has 'climbed' to €4,050, and with some funds still to arrive this has hugely exceeded our expectations."

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