Horn of Africa Crisis Assessment

I have been home for more than three months now. It has been great spending time with family and friends. However, am back to work and doing what I love most—working in Africa.  I am now a Development Specialist with Safe Harbor International (SHI), a relief and development organization. SHI is interested in responding to the Horn of Africa (HoA) Crisis.

The Horn of Africa encompasses Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Kenya. It is one of the most food insecure regions in the world, characterized by frequent droughts and conflict. Drought in the Horn of Africa coupled with conflict in Somalia has placed over 13 million people in need of immediate assistance. Most of those currently affected are Somali refugees who have resettled in Dadaab camps and Garissa (NE Kenya) as well as areas along the border of Ethiopia.

We have been conducting a needs assessment in the Greater Garissa district, one of the hard hit areas in Kenya. The purpose of the Horn of Africa crisis assessment is to evaluate how SHI can best respond to the crisis.

We traveled from Garissa to Nairobi by road. The journey is usually about seven hours but it took us about nine because one of our land cruisers got a flat tire—twice in the middle of nowhere. Of course my American friends were scared. I assured them that we were more that 100 miles from the Kenya-Somali border and chances of any attack was 0.01%.










As the men were changing the tire, I walked to the nearest shelter and started chatting with the owners. According to them, rain has not fallen for a long time. All their animals have died and they have no other source of food. The now rely on handouts.

After we resumed our journey, I kept thinking about that family. I thought sometimes I take things for granted. I take for granted that there is food on the table at least 3 times a day. I take for granted that I have a good roof over my head. I take for granted that I have running water in my apartment.
I am reminded that I need to be thankful--always.