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The Times Advocate, 2006-09-06, Page 13Wednesday, September 6, 2006 Exeter Times -Advocate 13 Offering emergency food to Kenya By Fred Knip SPECIAL TO THE TIMES - ADVOCATE KENYA — From March until August I had the privilege to work for The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee as an International Relief Manager distribut- ing emergency food aid for the Canadian Food Grains Bank (CFGB) in drought stricken areas of Kenya. The CFGB is a Christian response to world hunger. The drought situa- tion in Kenya is moving on to the fifth year. These drought cycles usu- ally occurred once every 10 years, leav- ing enough time to rebuild herds. Through global warming the droughts appear every three to four years now and have longer periods of no rain. The pastoral tribal people are having a hard time coping. In the pastoral areas 90 per cent of the ani- mals are dead and lie in heaps of bones all over the desert. The pastoral nomadic people rely on the milk and blood from these animals for a livelihood. This disaster will take years for the animal population to regenerate. Aileen, my wife, visited during the month of May. We went to a Masii tribe for a distribution. We were invited by the chief to visit some of these Masii tribes' desert homes to have a look at their situation. We saw people boiling leaves and wild roots as a method of survival. Inside the mud huts there was no other food. The farmers in the sustenance farming areas have planted crops for the last four to five years with no harvest. Nothing. Their capabilities to buy seed for this year's crop are a challenge. The funds for these purchases are gone. One method substance farmers use to survive financially is to sell some animals to facilitate purchases of corn and beans but now the animals are either dead or have been sold. The Government of Kenya appealed to the world for food aid. The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, with their partners in Kenya, The Anglican Church of Kenya, Dorcas Aid, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries and the Canadian Baptist Church successfully applied to the Canadian Food Grains Bank for an emergency food aid project. This food aid project consisted of 15,000 households (97,500 peo- ple) in eight districts throughout Kenya. Each household received 50 kilograms of corn, 10 kilo- grams of beans and three litres of cooking oil for five months to help them through the hungry months. Each household usually consists of six to seven people and this ration provides half the caloric needs to sustain life. There are an estimated 3.8 million people who will desperately need food aid during the upcoming short rainy season hungry months until the harvest of this growing season comes to fruition next February. The hungry months are the time when last year's harvest is eaten and there is no food until the next harvest. In Kenya they have two rainy seasons — a long rainy season that starts in April and lasts until September, and a short rainy sea- son that starts in November and ends in January. This food aid was to get the people fed through the long rainy season until har- vest in September because last year's short rainy season failed. This year's long rainy season rain also failed. Many fields of maize Above, Exeter's Fred Knip distributes food during a recent trip to Kenya as part of his role with The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. (photo/submitted) were salvage harvested and fed to the remaining animals in June because the plants were dead. In a Canadian Food Grains Bank distribution a lot of time is spent deriving a beneficiary list. The target groups we distributed to are the following: AIDS vic- tims, grandparents raising their grandchildren because the parents died from AIDS, handicapped people, disabled people and elderly poor. The com- munity leaders identify these vulnerable people for us and we give each a beneficiary card, which has to be presented at each distribution. There were other food aid efforts where the food arrives in a village and it's a free for all, leaving the vulnerable without food. Also, many children rely on the school feeding pro- gram for their meals but we were in many areas where the United Nations World Food Program started deliveries but had to stop because they did not have any more supplies. Kenya is an interesting country, from the slums of Kibera on the outskirts of Nairobi which house one million people in an area less then half the size of Exeter, to the vast desert areas where there are 42 different tribes and each is unique. The food aid from Canada was very much appre- ciated by the hungry of Kenya and I was proud to be part of this effort. — Fred Knip is an Exeter resident. the RIDGE AKFEST "V" 2006 Sa Cost: ($300.00 per team Day Activities: i . __J I'0 o LIJJ 006 Offer 1 • Breakfast at 10 am at the RIDGE • Mystery Bus Tour • Golf 18 holes with a cart • Supper - Ribs & Wings! All U Can Eat!! • Entertainment • Random Prize Drav►.s ***Last year's Grand Prize Winner*** Trip to Vegas - JEFF GLOVER Deadline: Tues., Sept. 19, 2006 ms payment Please call Shawna today @ 519-235-2395 a.s.a.p. Saintsbury Line sidewalk hits some concerns By Nina Van Lieshout TIMES -ADVOCATE STAFF LUCAN BIDDULPH — Dillon Consulting township engi- neer Andrea Winter spoke to Lucan Biddulph council Aug.31 about the Kent Street/Saintsbury Line sidewalk project. Winter explained there have been concerns raised by Dillon Consulting, Coores Construction and Middlesex County regarding the sidewalk construction. A request to construct a sidewalk along part of Saintsbury Line (Main to Francis Street) was originally included in the tender. No prior surveying or engineering was done before the tender and it was worded that the tenders were to be submitted on a "semi -design build concept." After Middlesex County, Dillon Consulting and Coores Construction surveyed the site it was determined the sidewalk would be too close to Saintsbury Line. Winter said if the sidewalk was constructed there would be issues along the first block, including tree problems. Other issues in the second block (Wellington to Francis) would involve grading and fill problems. The sidewalk running into manholes and catch basins is also an issue. Winter recommended a full engineering design for a continual sidewalk from Main Street to Kent Street be completed which can be constructed in phases and also be tendered to coincide with other long-term projects. Lucan Biddulph council members agree. If Winter's recommendation is carried, completion of the design/engineering project is expected in 2006/2007. Connecting link The Ministry of Transportation (MTO) will fund 100 per cent of the connecting link project, according to Mayor Tom McLaughlin who recently attended a meet- ing with Lucan Biddulph clerk Ron Reymer, Dillon Consulting representatives and the MTO discussing the connecting link for the Main Street of Lucan. The municipality will fund about 11.4 per cent for the core area parking lanes. The project was tendered and Lafarge Paving had the lowest bid of $1.2 million. They would like to start the project mid-September. Lucan Biddulph will also fund about $70,000 for reconstructing its own services, like watermains, light- ing, sidewalks, curbs and so on. McLaughlin explained the MTO's budget for this pro- ject is $466,000 this year, meaning the township might have to finance the difference until 2007. The MTO will reimburse the township. Lucan Biddulph council accepted a motion to accept the tender bid by Lafarge Paving. Want to feel this good? Get 4%* interest for 9 months! Investing at Heartland Credit Union not only helps you grow your investments, but also helps build a better community by keeping your money at work locally. It's a good feeling for you, and a great investment in your community. Right now Heartland Credit Union is offering an opportunity to invest in the community with this limited time offer — 4%* interest on a 9 month term deposit plus, invest $10,000 or more and receive a $20 gift certificate from Tim Hortons. This offer is for a limited time only. Call or visit us today. $ Rate subject to change without notice. Minimum term deposit of only $3,000 required. See branch for deco s HEARTLAND CREDIT UNION a division of UNITED COMMUNITIES CREDIT UNION LIMITED Clinton Branch 519.482.3466 Exeter Branch 519.235.0640 Listowel Branch 519.291.6189 It's a good feeling that just keeps getting better.