The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, working with the National Muslim Leaders Forum, provided emergency relief to thousands of vulnerable families in a drought-stricken area of Kenya.
Church representatives and teams from NAMLEF brought food and water to nomadic pastoralist communities in isolated sub-locations of Northeast Kenya at the end of May — distributing 250 tons of food rations to 3,011 households spread across 24 villages as well as providing clean water to 16 locations, directly serving 2,142 households, as reported by the Church’s Africa Newsroom.
The report said the emergency intervention “effectively staved off imminent acute malnutrition and dehydration crises” and served to build bonds of friendship and commitment between the organizations who work to care for those in need.
Denis Mukasa, the humanitarian manager for the Church’s Africa Central Area, explained, “We do this work so that we can help the world save lives that are affected by the adverse climatic effects that affected this area and also to bring religion to this community so that they can be able to raise their families in unity and love.”
Getting to the communities was logistically challenging, as flash flooding washed out a main road just days before the delivery. The teams had to take a detour over poor and rough terrain, including jagged, volcanic rock. The vehicles — heavier because of the food and water — sustained repeated, severe tire damage and needed emergency roadside repairs.
When the trucks reached the villages, teams unloaded the relief supplies and placed them into separate piles for each household. The woman of each household sat by her designated pile when her name was called to make sure no family was overlooked.
Sister Denise Chadwick, who serves as a humanitarian missionary in the Africa Central Area, spoke about the experience.
“It was wonderful to see these women and the great joy that they had when they would have their names called and they walked over and they saw this pile of food,” she said in the Africa Newsroom release. “And it wasn’t anything fancy; it was just the essentials that they knew would be lifesaving essentials that would help their family for months.”
Her husband, Elder Alan Chadwick, said, “It is our belief that Jesus Christ went around doing good, and we feel like we should do the same and follow His example.”
In a letter to Elder Thierry K. Mutombo, General Authority Seventy and president of the Africa Central Area, Salim Vayani, the secretary general of NAMLEF, wrote about how honored his organization was by the presence and oversight of the Church delegation. He said they “traveled tirelessly alongside our field crews through demanding conditions. ... Their solidarity and hands-on monitoring underscore the depth of our collaborative values.”
NAMLEF also invited the Africa Central Area presidency to a gratitude dinner on June 27 in Nairobi, Kenya. And the organization’s final project report again expressed gratitude for the Church’s humanitarian missionaries and manager: “Their active participation and solidarity on the dusty transit trails brought immense encouragement to both the field crews and the beneficiary communities.”
