VOA标准英语2009年-Masaais in Southern Kenya Suffer From Drou

By Cathy Majtenyi
Nairobi
06 October 2009

 
Cattle struggle to survive in Kenya's drought
The Masaai community in the Kajiado area of southern Kenya is struggling to cope with a drought that is now in its third year. At least half of the area's cows have died, more cases of child malnutrition¹ are surfacing, and attempts to feed the population are meeting with mixed results.

Scenes of devastation² in Kajiado show malnourished cows, the mainstay of the Masaai community's economy and diet, due to no water or pasture for cattle to feed on. The Masaai are in big trouble.

 
Kenny Matampash
Kenny Matampash is executive director of the local aid group Neighbours Initiative Alliance. "In good times, you could sell a cow between 10,000 to 40,000 Kenya shillings. But now, as we talk, you can [sell] a cow at 500 Kenya shillings - 500 Kenyan shillings," he explains.

One hundred eighty six of Matampash's cows have died so far. He describes the effect that has had on his family. "I have four children in school and I have also 21 dependents from my brothers and sisters who are depending on me," he says, "I have even other extended families. Every evening, as we talk, there are always people at my door asking for help, and these are my relatives, people who knew that I herd³, and they still expect that I still have."

 
Herdsman raising goats instead of cattle in Kenya
Families are forced to find alternative means of survival, such as the selling and burning of charcoal⁴, which degrades the environment, or shaking leaves off of trees to feed to animals instead of their usual pasture. Many Masaai now raise goats, which have withstood the drought better than cows.

Kajiado is one of many areas in Kenya experiencing drought and hunger for a third year in a row.

Among the most vulnerable are children five years old and under.

Fatima Health Centre in Lenkisem village serves about 5,000 people, of which some 150 children are estimated to be severely⁵ malnourished.

One such child is 3.5-year-old Siteyia. She is being given the supplement Plumpy Nut to increase the nutrients⁶ in her tiny body.

About one-third of Kajiado's more than 550,000 people should be receiving food aid from the World Food Program and the Kenyan government.

But there are challenges with this aid. Food given to vulnerable families often gets diluted⁷ because of the Masaai's communal⁸ values.

Masaai mother Magdalene Nenayio says, "The officials came and we picked four families that we thought were the most vulnerable. But as the drought continued, the other families became worse. Apart from that, it is unethical for us to eat while the rest are watching. It is a must that I must share with those who do not have food," she said.

And, the grains, cereals and other components⁹ of the food ration¹⁰ are widely considered to be alien to the Masaai diet and in some cases are considered to be unpalatable.

The local Neighbours Initiative Alliance has come up with a way around that. Each month, mostly women from some 400 hungry households present a food voucher¹¹ to selected kiosks to receive about $27 worth of food for the month.

 
Anna Kukuni
Anna Kukuni is with the Alliance. She says giving people a choice of the food they want empowers them and works well with Masaai culture. "The Masaai community does not share their problems openly," she explains, "Unlike others, they have that social fabric¹² where they protect each other. It is very difficult for you to know who is a poor person. With this voucher scheme, and especially for women, they have the power to go to the shop and say, I have this money, this is what I want for my family."

She says they are aiming to increase the number of households receiving the vouchers¹³ to 1,200 with the support of the Irish aid group Concern.

Neighbours Initiative Alliance's Kenny Matampash urges donors¹⁴ and communities to look at the long-term development needs of Kajiado. "Food aid should be very, very careful to avoid building the dependency syndrome¹⁵ among communities, and they [aid workers] can come in during good times and go and give non-food intervention¹⁶ projects that can help people to gain the power, to be able to control, to be able to sustain their livelihoods," he said.

In the meanwhile, Kajiado's people are doing the best they can in a dry and harsh world.

1 malnutrition   

n.营养不良

参考例句：

• In Africa, there are a lot of children suffering from severe malnutrition.在非洲有大批严重营养不良的孩子。
• It is a classic case of malnutrition. 这是营养不良的典型病例。

2 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 herd   

n.兽群，牧群；vt.使集中，把…赶在一起

参考例句：

• She drove the herd of cattle through the wilderness.她赶着牛群穿过荒野。
• He had no opinions of his own but simply follow the herd.他从无主见，只是人云亦云。

4 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

5 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

6 nutrients   

n.（食品或化学品）营养物，营养品( nutrient的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lack of essential nutrients 基本营养的缺乏
• Nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream. 营养素被吸收进血液。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 diluted   

无力的，冲淡的

参考例句：

• The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
• This pesticide is diluted with water and applied directly to the fields. 这种杀虫剂用水稀释后直接施用在田里。

8 communal   

adj.公有的，公共的，公社的，公社制的

参考例句：

• There was a communal toilet on the landing for the four flats.在楼梯平台上有一处公共卫生间供4套公寓使用。
• The toilets and other communal facilities were in a shocking state.厕所及其他公共设施的状况极其糟糕。

9 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

10 ration   

n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应

参考例句：

• The country cut the bread ration last year.那个国家去年削减面包配给量。
• We have to ration the water.我们必须限量用水。

11 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

12 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

13 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

14 donors   

n.捐赠者( donor的名词复数 )；献血者；捐血者；器官捐献者

参考例句：

• Please email us to be removed from our active list of blood donors. 假如你想把自己的名字从献血联系人名单中删去，请给我们发电子邮件。
• About half this amount comes from individual donors and bequests. 这笔钱大约有一半来自个人捐赠及遗赠。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 syndrome   

n.综合病症；并存特性

参考例句：

• The Institute says that an unidentified virus is to blame for the syndrome. 该研究所表示,引起这种综合症的是一种尚未确认的病毒。
• Results indicated that 11 fetuses had Down syndrome. 结果表明有11个胎儿患有唐氏综合征。

16 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。