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Lt. Colonel Kenneth Hodder comments on the drought in Kenya.
In recent months, The Salvation Army has stepped up efforts to alleviate the suffering caused by severe drought in Kenya.
Western officers Lt. Colonels Kenneth and Jolene Hodder are currently serving in Kenya, as chief secretary and secretary of women’s organizations, respectively.
New Frontier asked Lt. Colonel Kenneth Hodder for his firsthand impressions of the drought situation. Here are his comments.
“In short, water is everything in Africa. The agricultural base of the economy makes the annual rains a critical matter for millions of people, and the failure of those rains over the past few years is now causing massive suffering in a number of countries, including Kenya. Crops are failing, cattle are dying, and people are now pleading for help.
“The response to the situation has been international in scope. And the Army is doing its part. You will already know of our initiatives to create boreholes and build storage tanks in affected areas, but we should not forget the ways in which corps and individual Salvationists are taking action. The compound of the Kajiado Corps, for example, is now home to three cows. The farmer who owns them knows that they would certainly die on his own property, and the corps officer has stepped forward to ensure that a man’s livelihood will not be lost.
“The Army is doing everthing it can in Kenya, and God is blessing our efforts.”
