This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
Published on July 15, 2020, a devastating hailstorm destroyed rice crops worth Sh4 million in Rangwe constituency, leaving over 100 farmers in a dire situation. The farmers from Kohinga Rice Production bloc in East Kochia Location were expecting a bumper harvest, but the unexpected disaster left them with nothing.
However, thanks to the kindness of businessman Jared Otieno and his Jared Otieno Foundation, the farmers have received a new lease on life. Otieno donated 15 bags of rice seeds and 15 bags of fertilizer to the farmers, who were in dire need of assistance.
According to Ely Oyier, the Chairman of the Jared Otieno Foundation, the organization assessed the level of damage and decided to intervene to reduce the farmers' suffering. 'We assessed the level of damage and discovered that the farmers incurred huge financial losses. That is why we intervened to reduce their suffering,' Oyier said.
Hezron Orata, the Coordinator of the Jared Otieno Foundation, also urged residents of the county to develop the spirit of helping people affected by catastrophes. 'You don't have to be an elected leader in order to help people. My appeal goes to both elected and non-elected leaders to rescue victims of disasters,' Orata said.
The farmers expressed optimism that the seeds will help them recover part of the losses they incurred. According to Mika Yogo, the representative of Kohinga Rice Farmers Bloc, the distributed seed variety will take two months to mature, contrary to a popular variety in the area that takes three months.
The beneficiaries of the donation expressed their gratitude to Jared Otieno for what he has done for them. 'We thank Jared Otieno for what he has done to us. We now have something with which we can start rice production,' said Hellen Atieno, a beneficiary.
