AMURT (Ananda Marga Univesal Relief Team)

Our first distribution was in Swari, a community in the Nariminimo location in Samburu East District. The village relief committee had selected the neediest from various vulnerable groups such as, but not limited to, pregnant and lactating mothers, orphans, the very sick, the disabled, the elderly and economically impoverished. In all, the beneficiaries were 90 households selected from a total of 694 people living in the village.

Our community mobilizers and local volunteers together with our core program staff handled the distribution fairly, courteous and efficiently. In fact, we received many positive comments about our entire process as compared with other NGOs and the government.

We distributed 950 kg of beans, 875 kg of Unimix, 90 liters of oil and 45 kg of salt for an average of about 21 kgs for each of the beneficiary households. As supplementary food this can have a substantial positive impact on these families over the course of a month.

At the same time a free medical camp was conducted with the local government nurse and one of our clinical officers. They saw in total 76 patients. Common ailments were eye infections, arthritis, skin rashes and respiratory illnesses but they also saw three cases of malnutrition and one case of suspected cancer. In fact, even with the government clinic in the village the medical need was great. We can only imagine what we will encounter once going deeper in to the hinterland.

Amongst the patients was a mother with her four-week old baby. When asked what the name of the baby was the mother replied that they had not given it a name yet. The mother then asked the name of one of our program officers that was assisting in the mobile clinic. Her name is Susan. The mother then declared the baby’s name Susan! This incident illustrates the excitement and gratitude the community felt for the food and medicine they received which was more than they had ever received during the drought at any one time.

We found the village relief committee to be responsible and helpful, the community patient and disciplined. It was a joy to serve them and we look forward to being part of making a difference in their lives in the months to come.

We have another six villages lined up for distribution next week. With the second batch of community mobilizers starting their work this week, even more will be added to the distribution schedule in the following weeks. In total our target is to distribute 25 tons of supplementary food in 20 villages over the next month. We will also conduct medical camps in those villages and plan to screen over 1,000 patients. Additionally, we plan to disinfect and treat more than 30 water tanks and water points throughout the district.

Our principle partners in this intervention are the village relief committees, the Government of Kenya, The Samburu East Women’s Empowerment Forum and Kindernothilfe (Germany).

Two Medical camps were recently conducted at Mountain View Estate and Kangemi High School, both in Nairobi, with the help of the Divinity Foundation and Dada Diiptimayananda. More than 480 patients and students were treated.

Meanwhile, Dada Jayamaungalananda conducts a food distribution and medical camp for 1800 people every Saturday in Mombasa, Kenya, which is highly appreciated by the local people and the local government.