Loading...
Loading...
Click here if you don’t see subscription options
Children play in a street in Nairobi's Kariobangi slum. (CNS photo/Patricia Zapor)

A bishop in northwestern Kenya said people are so hungry they are eating wild fruit, roots of trees and dog meat. “Food must reach here soonest to save the people from death,” said Bishop Dominic Kimengich of Lodwar, where most residents are animal farmers and ethnic Turkana. The area has been hit by drought. The bishop said an estimated 63,000 households—about 460,000 people—are facing starvation. Kenyan government officials estimate 1.7 million people, mostly in the country’s northern region, need food relief. Bishop Kimengich said his people also face constant insecurity. In November, Turkana farmers were invaded by neighboring Pokot people over land ownership claims. In 2011, the Kenyan government announced the discovery of oil on the land, and last year it announced the discovery of water reserves. Although the government has promised food relief, the bishop said, “It’s hard to say food has reached all the affected people in the country. Government food is usually slow in arriving.” Bishop Kimengich said that in Lodwar, church officials were feeding an estimated 500 people every week.

Comments are automatically closed two weeks after an article's initial publication. See our comments policy for more.

The latest from america

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”
Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025
It was one of the first times Leo has spoken unscripted at length in public, responding to questions posed to him by the children.
The Vatican has named the judges that will preside over the trial of disgraced Father Marko Rupnik.
For so many of us, Roger Haight marked off a breathtakingly wide horizon in which we, agreeing with him or not, could fulfill our mission for God’s people.