Outrage Over Dog Food Offer

[DoozyDog]

Dog food is for dogs, not Kenyan children, furious human rights organisations declared yesterday.

Mr Abbas Gullet , the Kenya Red Cross Society secretary-general, receives a cheque for Sh12 million from Mr Ken Kariuki, East African Breweries' external affairs director, towards the Save A Life Fund at Red Cross headquarters in Nairobi yesterday. Photo by William Oeri

Expressing outrage at the offer of dog food to starving children, the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights and children's rights organisations - Childlife Trust, Hand of Hope, Cradle, Partners for Progress and Rotary Clubs - urged Kenyans to give up one meal and donate it to the starving people in Rusinga Island, and Kajiado, Wajir, Mandera and other districts.

Commission secretary Mburu Githu said the food did not meet the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights standards.

"Despite this (being) a philanthropic gesture by Good Samaritans touched by the plight of Kenyan orphans, we sincerely believe dog food is not the correct approach," Mr Githu said.

The declaration provides for the right to health and well-being, including food, clothing, housing and medical care.

Mr Githu added: "This consignment (dog food) is a shame to the nation. It's an extremely poor reflection on the Government, which continues to be badly prepared for the tragedy, despite its recurring and predictable nature."

Speaking on behalf of the children rights organisations, Ms Leah Ambwaya said: "We ... are outraged. Kenyans deserve to be treated with dignity. We are extremely angry that someone can even go public with such an offer.

"The offer was not in good taste. We (cannot) feed our children on dog meal. However nutritious it may be, it is meant for animals. They should realise that this country is not a dumping ground for any donation of dog food."

And, saying famine relief food should be offered in consultation with Kenyan communities, Save the Children New Zealand executive director John Bowis added: "The association with dog food is clearly unfortunate.

Dried food products, he added, required water, which was currently scarce in Kenya.

"Villagers may mix this (type of) food with contaminated water, which is a definite health risk," he said.

In Kitui District hungry people have taken to robbing their neighbours with relief food. Leaders said they waylaid neighbours on their way home whenever they collected food rations from the World Food Programme.

Cllr Muthama Kieti said women shared out the rations by force.

And yesterday, peace was restored between two clans after they fought over water in Mandera District recently. District Officer Walter Onsembo said the Government was doing its best to provide food.

At the same time, the Garissa District Drought Response Management Committee has appointed Care International to co-ordinate the distribution of relief supplies to the needy.

Rongai residents yesterday responded to the hunger being experienced by the people of Kaiti by giving out 100 bags of maize. The donation was presented to them by Eldama Ravine Member of Parliament Musa Sirma.

A plan to buy animals for slaughter and meat distribution to the hungry people in Tana River District might not take-off, district livestock and marketing council chairman Daudi Galdesa has warned.

He claimed the Agricultural Development Corporation wanted only healthy livestock.

The Government has spent nearly Sh28 million on emergency livestock off-take programmes in Kajiado District in a bid to reduce losses being incurred by the pastoralists, said district commissioner Ernest Munyi.

Taita-Taveta has received 20,000 bags of maize, 5,400 of beans and 7,300 cartons of fat from the Government since January, area DC Chege Mwangi said.

The Canadian Baptist Churches and the African Brotherhood Church yesterday started a Sh40 million campaign to feed famine-hit families in the country, the church's secretary-general Daniel Yumbya said in Kitui District.

East African Breweries yesterday donated Sh12 million towards people affected by famine.

Last December, breweries teamed up with Standard Chartered Bank and Nation Media Group to relaunch the Save A Life Fund.

Yesterday, secretary-general of Kenya Red Cross Society Abbas Gullet said the fund had attracted about Sh100 million.

Relief food collected by the Catholic Church will be distributed from today.

Archbishop Ndingi Mwana a'Nzeki will flag off two trucks with food destined for Garissa, Makueni and Kitui.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200602020057.html

[Carrie]

It's unfortunate....the whole thing...a horrible horrible thing. But what is better? Dog food or no food? If those are the only two choices, I'd go for dog food if I had starving children. The food I feed my dogs is better nutrition than a lot of the stuff even some Americans eat anyhow. And it would be suitable for humans too...human grade ingredients. (no leafy green veggies though)

[linnie]

What a sad world we live in.
But I do agree carrie i would rather have dog food than no food.