This archive report was first published on 18 May 2020.
On a typical Friday, hundreds of residents in Kisumu County gather at the Uhuru Community Development Program (UCDP) headquarters in Manyatta, hoping to receive their monthly food rations. However, on this particular day, the crowd was left disappointed as the distribution was abruptly stopped.
The residents, who have been relying on the UCDP for food assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic, were left cursing those behind the stoppage, terming them as inhuman and keen on impoverishing the suffering lot.
Speaking to the Kenya News Agency, an elderly woman, Dorsila Ager (65), who was among the group drawn from Manyatta A and B, expressed her disappointment and frustration at the sudden stoppage of the food distribution.
“It is unfortunate that we have been made to sit for more than three hours only to be shocked that an Assistant Chief rushed to the Kisumu Central Assistant County Commissioner’s offices just to ensure the food distribution does not take place,” she claimed.
According to Bishop Davies Okombo, the Director of UCDP, the program had so far issued 370 beneficiaries with 4Kgs wheat flour, 4Kgs rice, 4 Kgs green grams, and two bars of soap each. Each household has an average of 5 persons, translating to 1850 direct beneficiaries.
The project, which has a budget of Sh.5 million, aims to alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has seen more than 1.2 million people lose their jobs countrywide.
