Turkey delivers food, sanitation aid to Kenyan families

By Andrew Wasike

NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - Over 1,500 vulnerable families across Kenya have received food and sanitation aid from Turkey.

Some of the families have been affected by floods, hunger and poverty, as well as a locust invasion that has threatened food security in East Africa.

Emre Yuksek, the Kenya coordinator of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), told Anadolu Agency that the food aid and sanitation products came at an opportune time when they were greatly needed, especially due to the effects of the novel coronavirus.

"We've been able to reach out to 1,500 families and households in the Githogoro and Huruma slums, Eastleigh, which is under total lockdown due to the coronavirus."

Other areas reached by Turkey's state-run aid agency include the town of Nakuru, where, in 2018, dozens lost their lives after an illegally constructed dam collapsed.

In 2020, floods also hit the same region again, leaving families in need of humanitarian aid, Yuksek said.

"We were able to support 200 families in Nakuru and three children's homes with dry foods," he added.

Yuksek said that in May alone, Turkey had distributed 50 tons of dry food, five tons of cooking oil, two tons of meat and almost 30,000 bars of soap among other hygiene products to alleviate the negative impacts of the ongoing crisis.

The aid packages include cooking oil, flour, sugar, salt, beans and tea, as well as water dispensers, water purification tablets, re-usable sanitary towels, bathing soap and laundry soap.