Maryknoll’s mission efforts in Kenya are addressing conditions of extreme hunger from drought and chronic poverty.

East Africa where I live is known for its natural beauty, magnificent people, and rich traditions But right now another reality is causing a great deal of pain. Due to an ongoing drought, our region is experiencing famine unlike anything we have seen in recent years. For the poor already suffering from extreme want, conditions are nearly intolerable.

As Catholic chaplain of Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya, I see how toxic a mix we get when poverty joins forces with famine. Here’s a good example: The typical public university student is the child of poor rural parents who cannot afford the daily expense of city living, so students go without food. Fainting in class is not uncommon. One student I knew had no food for three days and drank copious amounts of water, hoping to ease the pain.

For those who cannot afford to buy food, we supply what we can. Our food assistance program provides hundreds of students with one good meal a day in the university’s dining halls.

Through our university parish of Christ the Teacher where I serve as pastor, we also run social service programs off campus. In the Ukambani region, our mission teams assist in the construction of housing for the poor and handicapped. We also run water-harvesting projects to collect and utilize what little water is available. In Musalala, for example, about 500 students in a secondary school and another 800 people in the parish receive clean drinking water.

In the Kibwezi district we operate a food-for-work program. To date, workers have built latrines, schools, and completed renovations. Their labor helps feed about 1,500 people. Kibwezi is also where we are seeking funding for a chicken-raising project for women so they can become wage earners while producing food at the same time.

Practical solutions can also feed the poor. In cooperation with a local parish in Turkana, we plan to purchase fishing boats for 10 extended families.

Food insecurity is endemic to Kenya, and one obvious reason is climate. With the exception of a small area around Mount Kenya and the region near Lake Victoria, Kenya is a mostly arid country. The insufficient “long rains” of last spring followed the failed “short rains” of this autumn. This has resulted in East Africa’s worst drought in 60 years, affecting 3.5 million people.

As with most disasters, nature isn’t entirely to blame. The collapse of the Kenyan shilling has contributed to the disaster along with skyrocketing fuel prices, which makes food very expensive. When you have economic disruptions like this, the struggle for survival only intensifies.

Kenya also suffers from poor roads, failed irrigation projects, extensive deforestation, and the pollution of existing water resources. Agricultural policy has been ineffective, especially in helping family farmers. Meanwhile, education is inadequate, wages are low, and micro-financing is hard to come by.

Can conditions ever change? Yes, if we want them to. In his encyclical, “Evangelization in the Modern World,” Pope Paul VI said the Church’s duty is to end the dehumanizing conditions of poverty, chronic disease, and all the injustices that condemn people to life at the margins.

Maryknoll’s efforts in Kenya are simple, transparent examples of evangelization in the modern world. Since our founding 100 years ago, Maryknoll’s tradition has always been to witness God’s love is by working for justice. I begin each day grateful beyond words because I know that is your belief, too.