Capuchin friars' appeal for Kenya raises Lm30,000

The public has responded generously to a heartfelt appeal by a Maltese bishop to help thousands of Kenyans struggling in a famine-stricken region.

Over Lm30,000 has been donated to the local Capuchin friars since Boxing Day, mission secretary Fr Crispin Tabone told The Sunday Times.

The generosity followed a passionate appeal for help by Mgr Paul Darmanin, Bishop of Garissa.

Two years of drought have started to take their toll on the northeastern region of Kenya, and the situation is likely to get worse in the coming weeks and months since rain is not expected before March or April.

Fr Tabone explained that, even if the rain comes, it would still take another two to three months for crops to grow.

"We need to continue helping them," he said.

If no help is forthcoming, thousands of people will continue suffering, and some of them will even die. International media have reported that around 2.5 million people - 10 per cent of the population - are threatened by severe drought and the Kenyan government appealed for around $150 million in aid to feed the many families.

The situation is so dire that Mgr Darmanin cannot even wait for the money collected in Malta to be sent to Kenya. Fr Tabone explained that Mgr Darmanin had been given a grant to build a clinic.

"So as not to waste time in helping the people of Kenya, Mgr Darmanin is borrowing from the grant money, and what he takes will be replaced with what is being collected in Malta," he said.

Last week Mgr Darmanin, who has served as bishop of Garissa for 21 years, distributed 300 boxes of milk in the southern part of the diocese.

Fr Tabone said that the Capuchins' nine parishes in the stricken area, which fall under Mgr Darmanin's diocese, have been ordered to use all their resources to buy maize, beans, sugar, cooking oil and milk to distribute among the people.

He lauded thousands of Kenyan inmates, who decided to skip a meal on New Year's day to raise money for their fellow countrymen affected by the food shortages.

Donations can be sent to Fr Tabone, Missions Secretariat at the Capuchin Friary, Floriana VLT 14.