{"id":95157,"date":"2024-06-06T22:36:52","date_gmt":"2024-06-06T20:36:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/crying-from-hunger-zimbabwe-drought-hits-children"},"modified":"2024-06-06T22:36:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-06T20:36:52","slug":"crying-from-hunger-zimbabwe-drought-hits-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/crying-from-hunger-zimbabwe-drought-hits-children","title":{"rendered":"‘Crying from hunger’: Zimbabwe drought hits children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Mother of four Laiwa Musenza is already reliant on aid from a local NGO to feed her family and Zimbabwe’s drought is only getting deeper.<\/p>\n

“Imagine hearing your children crying from hunger when you cannot do anything about it,” the 54-year-old said.<\/p>\n

At a farm on the outskirts of the capital Harare, a queue of children, some as young as three, and a small group of elderly gather near two large cooking pans.<\/p>\n

A volunteer calls out names from a register and, plate in hand, the hungry take turns to step forward and receive small portions of macaroni and a soybean stew.<\/p>\n

For most, it is their main, perhaps only, meal of the day.<\/p>\n

The makeshift feeding station was the idea of Samantha Muzoroki and is the newest of five similar centres run by the immigration lawyer’s Kuchengetana Trust.<\/p>\n

It was started four months ago after parents at the Karibone Farm compound complained children were going to bed hungry as a result of crop failure in most parts of Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n

Residents at Karibone earn a living from working part-time at neighbouring farms, but this year the farms had no jobs to offer because of the drought.<\/p>\n

– Budget halved –<\/p>\n

“We could only manage one meal per day. For those of us with young children it was particularly tough,” Musenza told AFP.<\/p>\n

Kuchengetana, which means “looking after each other”, provides two meals to an average of 1,500 children a day at its five kitchens.<\/p>\n

But Muzoroki fears that her organisation may be overwhelmed as the drought continues.<\/p>\n

“Our movement is donor driven. We have had a huge dip in donations. We are receiving $400 every three months, down from $600 which is way below half of our budget,” Muzoroki said.<\/p>\n

“We try to make sure that every day everyone we cater for is able to get at least a meal a day if we fail to give them two meals.<\/p>\n

“The drought is definitely going to affect us in many ways and I hope and pray that it doesn’t lead us to closing any of our centres.”<\/p>\n

Zimbabwe is only one of a band of countries in Southern Africa experiencing food shortages due to the drought, which has been exacerbated by the El Nino climate phenomenon.<\/p>\n

Last month, President Emmerson Mnangagwa declared a state of disaster, saying the country needed at least two billion dollars to respond to the drought.<\/p>\n

At least 7.6 million people, almost half of the population, is in need of aid.<\/p>\n

– Skipping meals –<\/b><\/p>\n

The United Nations has appealed for $429.3 million to help people affected by the drought.<\/p>\n

UNICEF also launched an urgent $84.9-million appeal last month “to provide lifesaving interventions… amidst a complex humanitarian crisis exacerbated by water and food shortages”.<\/p>\n

“Zimbabwe has been experiencing drought conditions now for a few months with failing harvests in key areas of agricultural production,” UNICEF’s Nicholas Alipui said.<\/p>\n

Additionally, it is “experiencing overlapping emergencies through a cholera outbreak and we also have a situation of polio in the country”, Alipui added.<\/p>\n

In Epworth, a semi formal settlement east of the capital, families are skipping meals, while children are missing school as families struggle to find food.<\/p>\n

“We are having two meals a day instead of three,” said Letwin Mhande, a 36-year-old mother of four, whose fruit and vegetable store is struggling to find stock and customers.<\/p>\n

“We eat once at midday and once before going to bed, sometimes we don’t have food to give the children and they miss school.”<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Mother of four Laiwa Musenza is already reliant on aid from a local NGO to feed her family and Zimbabwe’s drought is only getting deeper. “Imagine hearing your children crying from hunger when you cannot do anything about it,” the 54-year-old said. 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Mother of four Laiwa Musenza is already reliant on aid from a local NGO to feed her family and Zimbabwe’s drought is only getting deeper. “Imagine hearing your children crying from hunger when you cannot do anything about it,” the 54-year-old said. 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