Chris and I returned late last night from Northern Kenya and may I just begin by saying THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL OF YOUR SUPPORT AND DONATIONS!!! We had an experience of a lifetime on our whirlwind adventure up North to feed those starving from the drought. We decided to buy maize meal and cooking fat from a wholesale store in Nairobi allowing us to purchase more food per dollar. We loaded what we could into an off-road, canvas topped Land Cruiser that Joseph Lekuton had arranged for us. We ended up filling the truck so full that we had to save half of the donation money to purchase more food up North after distributing what we had. Your contributions of $2,455 allowed us to purchase:

• 1.8 tons of maize meal
• 590 pounds of cooking fat

We then delivered:

• 2.1 tons of food to individuals
• 15,816 meals to villages

Every single cent went to feeding empty bellies of young children, windowed and elderly women, pregnant mothers, and the men attempting to provide for them. The first village we stopped at was surreal. We pulled up to a few small huts made from tree branches and empty rice sacks. They were small and egg-shaped, not even large enough for one to fully stand up in. The land was red and barren from the endless days of no rain and the burning African sun had absorbed any moisture that was left. There were a few cow carcasses lying around and a well that was completely dry. We drove slowly into the village trying not to disturb people with our cloud of dust. There were small children who ran to the car waving and chasing us. Most of them had no shoes, tattered clothing and appeared to have not bathed in weeks. They were people who had never been exposed to the simple luxuries we all take for granted. When we jumped out of the truck a group of young girls ran up to the silver door handle staring at their foggy reflections. They were amazed that they could see themselves! The rest of the children followed us around as we met the village elder and began arranging how we should best distribute the food to ensure every family received something. I was so shocked that despite that everyone was almost dying of starvation, they still had the decency to gather around and chat with us before taking their food. There was a true sense of appreciation, hope, and happiness that came from them. They orderly took a place in line and waited their turn to take their food, thank us, and shake our hands. There was no pushing, no yelling, and no greediness. Shocking me even further, instead of taking their food back to their huts and eating it, they proceeded to make us tea with the little camel milk they had left. They showed complete selflessness and gratitude even in their time of despair. You all fed the bellies of some unbelievable individuals!!!

We proceeded to several other villages, some large and some small. Several of the villages were infested with dead cattle, the putrid stench of bad meat and blown intestines, and flies that found homes on the children’s faces, hair and teeth. Most of the children owned only one outfit which was holey and covered in dirt, but there were a few boys who ran up to the truck completely naked. They had no clothes to put on. These boys were skeletal looking, with childlike legs of nothing more than skin over their bones. Their knees protruded from their tiny upper legs. Their ribs showed through as they ran and their collar bones popped out casting deep shadows on their chest as they waved. Yet, the fact that they were starving hadn’t taken away their childlike curiosity and spirit. They were filled with smiles and giggles. And the young children who’s mothers were out fetching water several kilometers away, would patiently wait in line to collect the goods for their family. When they would take the cooking fat and the maize meal into their own hands they acted as though they had just won $1,000,000. The satisfaction it gave me to see them so happy was the best gift I could have ever received. The weak mothers and elders thanked us repeatedly and the children waived and chased our vehicle as we drove to the next village.

Chris and I left the last village having learned extremely valuable lessons about life, love, gratitude, and appreciation. We felt so small surrounded by an issue that was larger than all of us. We recognized that we could not feed everyone, but even if we were able to make the slightest impact on someone, it was a good start. From the bottom of my heart, we cannot thank you all enough for your donations. You gave these people hope and probably saved a few lives as well.

A message from the Hon. Joseph Lekuuton:

Picture Found From the BBC: This cow could not stand without the Maasai's help

It was just yesterday that we were heading back to Nairobi from the Maasai Mara on what we expected to be a mindless four hour drive. We jumped into the small SUV and began our drive back to Narok where we would transfer to a matatu to take us the rest of the way to Nairobi. Relaxing into my seat, I, for once, did not have a care in the world. I was perfectly content with where I was at that moment, or so I thought I was.

No more than five minutes after we left the gate did we begin to see the realities of the drought in Kenya. I noticed that the Mara was dry but I didn’t realize what kind of impact it was making on the local people, their cattle, and the wildlife. The vegetation was brown and the creeks were completely dry. There were several cow carcasses strewn about the land; some of which had recently died while others we just skeletal remains. The drought’s destruction was endless. Local Maasai were making their daily treks through the scattered carcasses and not even giving them a second look. It hit me that this had become everyday living for them. It was no longer about finding the greenest pasture for their only source of income (their cattle), but it was now about finding any pasture that their cows could feed on. The situation has become survival of the fittest for both the people and the animals. At one point along our drive, three Maasai were walking their cattle across the barren land to find a place to graze. They had around 100 head of cattle moving forward, yet just 500 feet behind them, they had already lost 6 cows. The weak cows were lying down too weak to hold themselves up. They would certainly die over the next 24 hours. There was one cow that two Maasai walked back to save. It took them all the strength they had as they fought gravity to lift this deathly skinny cow from the red chalky land back to its feet. It staggered around for several seconds having no food or water in its system to help it move forward. Our driver, a Maasai himself, explained that this particular cow would only last three more days at the most. He mentioned that in one month, the drought will take a head of 100 cattle, down to a group of three or four.

My chest tightened and my throat closed as I fought back my tears. How could this be happening while I along with most people around the world had no idea?!?!? What would these people do for income? For food? For survival? The driver then explained the following bits of information which I have confirmed:

• 90% of cattle will die as a result of the drought
• Maasai rely on their cattle for 100% of their income
• While locals once sold their cattle for anywhere between $125 to $375USD, their famished looking cows are now selling for as little as $13USD. Despite these prices, they are still selling cattle and using all of their income to buy feed for the rest of their starving heard
• Locals are having to kill their own cows to provide food for their starving families
• The government has declared a state of emergency in most Kenyan regions however most of the aid money is vanishing before it hits the villages due to corruption
• Schools in Kenya are proving to be the only place some children can get food
• Since the cattle are so skinny and unhealthy, when the rain finally does come, the cold and wet weather often kills off the weakest cattle in the group

I was no longer content. Instead I sat there completely perplexed, disturbed, saddened and shocked. The drought is currently a huge problem, not only for the cattle and the people, but also for the wildlife alike. Animals such as monkeys, leopards, and lions are becoming for vicious with Maasai and their cattle because they are desperate for food that they would normally find during a normal days hunt. I recognized that Chris and I could not solve the problem on our own but I was not ready to ignore the situation.

Later that day, we met up with Joseph Lekuton, a key member of the Kenyan Parliament (formerly Chris’ 8th grade teacher). We were telling him the story of our drive home and his eyes widened as he said, “You think that’s bad? You should see the people up North. Everyone is starving. The cattle are dying off and many people haven’t eaten in 4 days. They don’t even know where their next meal will come from.” Chris and I sat there silent. Just when I thought it couldn’t be worse, it was. Joseph wanted to take us up North to show us his province. It was then that it dawned on us. We already committed to using a percentage of our donations to a charitable cause, and what is better than saving people from slowly starving to death? We couldn’t walk away from the opportunity to help. Then Joseph said he would give us a driver, an interpreter, and mapped out areas that need the most help if we could buy the food and deliver it ourselves.

We quickly changed our flights and committed to buying at least $1,000USD worth of food (we’ve increased our goal, see below). I know this is very last minute, but we will be purchasing and delivering food through Monday, October 13th and 100% of the donations that come through the link/button below will be put towards feeding those hit hardest by the drought in Kenya. Please feel free to donate whatever you can as every dollar will help. Thank you in advance for your support and contributions.
UPDATE: An anonymous donor has agreed to match our goal (up to $1,000) if we reach it, so we’ve raised our goal to $1,000 USD
UPDATE 2: In less than 24 hours, we’ve already reached our $1,000 goal, and thus have also received our matched $1,000. Thank you all for your support! We will be on the road delivering food until October 13th, so we will gladly accept further donations and use them to buy more food along the way.

Donate to Chris + Amy’s Kenya Food Drive

Fundraising Status: $1,165 / $1,000 + $1,000 = $2,165

It has been our great joy to stay connected with family and friends along our journey. We are grateful to have such wonderful people in our lives, supporting us, keeping us connected with news and current events and enjoying our stories and photos from our site. There are a few people who have specifically ensured our blog’s successes through their generous donations. We would like to recognize the following people for their contributions:

• John and Herwanna Sayre: Chris’ grandparents, our first contributors and frequent world travelers. Enjoy Mexico!
• Don and Barb Hutchins: Chris’ parents and huge supporters of our around-the-world trip. So excited to be spending the holidays with you all in India!
• Tom and Karen Fox: Amy’s parents, also #1 supporters of our travels. Can’t wait to see you all in Thailand in February!
• Aaron and Ali Sayre: Chris’ cousins and great friends. They’re among our most avid readers!
• Susan Athey: A faculty member at Colorado State University and one of Chris’s former advisors who has done a great job of keeping in touch with the College of Business Alumni.
• Roger Karam: Chris’ former boss and good friend. We hope to see you in Lebanon!
• Kari and Tuire: Great friends of ours from Finland who we met traveling in 2007. We miss you two greatly!
• Andy Jimenez: Amy’s boss in San Francisco. He’s CEO of Evolve Discovery and he’ll blow you away with his industry insight!
• Jeremy Behling: Amy’s sister’s boyfriend and pseudo-family member who’s been like a brother to Amy.
• Matt Van Horn: Chris and Amy’s good friend from San Francisco, who with his girlfriend Lauren were among the first to welcome us when we moved to SF. (They also just took a trip to the Middle East and gave us some great tips!)

THANK YOU all for your kindness and generosity. We are extremely fortunate to have amazing friends and family and we look forward to bringing you many more interesting travel tidbits, stories and photos.

All the Best,

Chris and Amy