24th May 2024

Recent heavy rains and flooding are having a devastating impact across Kenya.

Since the seasons changed in March, Kenya has experienced some of its heaviest rainfall in years. Rivers have burst, floods have swamped entire communities, and there has been widespread destruction of homes and important infrastructure. 

Schools recently re-opened their doors after being forced to close for two weeks, however many students have not been able to return. 

Sadly, 277 people are reported to have died so far, many remain missing, and approximately 400,000 people have been displaced from their homes. 

We recently caught up with our Kenya Manager, Shadrack, for an update on the ongoing situation and the impact it is having on our partners and communities we are working with across the country:

“The situation here remains very difficult. The flood waters are so high in places that entire buildings have been submerged. Landslides have swept many peoples’ homes away. The rain is beginning to ease but there are fears that it could get worse again.

I have checked in with each of our partners and they have all reported that their teams are safe and well, and that the community members we are currently working with have not been severely affected by the extreme weather like in other areas. 

The main challenge is for our partner Undugu who work in some of the highly-populated informal settlements in and around Nairobi. With Undugu, we support young people who are living on the streets to form support groups and start joint enterprises so that they can earn an income and move into rented accommodation.

Unfortunately, several of those who recently started renting their own rooms have experienced building damage and they have not been able to earn any money as they have had to put their businesses on hold. In some cases, they have been forced to find shelter in temporary accommodation provided by the government.

We will continue to closely monitor the situation with Undugu and all of our partners to assess the support we can give to ensure those who have been affected can safely resume their livelihoods and begin to process what has been a traumatic couple of months.”