Jordanian princess Haya bint al-Hussein embarked on a trip to Kenya where she toured the country's slums and Al Arabiya was with her as she witnessed firsthand the impact the financial crisis has had on the poor people.
Princess Haya was in the African nation in her capacity as the World Food Program Goodwill Ambassador and spent an entire day in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, where 60 percent of the population live in abject poverty and struggle for the basic necessities.
I thanked God for the blessings Arabs have in comparison to the deplorable conditions in which women and children live in Kenya
“I thanked God for the blessings Arabs have in comparison to the deplorable conditions in which women and children live in Kenya,” she told Al Arabiya. “These children deserve to get all sorts of support and care.”
Princess Haya, who is also married to the prime minister of the UAE, visited slum areas across the capital as well as a woman’s hospital, a school and a sports facility.
Poverty has led to the spread of crime and disease, especially AIDS, which 25 percent of the slum residents suffer from. Other diseases like malaria and typhoid take their toll on the poor populations and are the main reason for rising mortality rates.
Malnutrition and anemia are amongst the other diseases from which Kenyans suffer, especially women.
Not enough
Bibi has five children, the younger of whom is a two-month old girl and although she receives benefits from the WFP she is still unable to secure her and her family’s basic needs.
“I still suffer greatly,” she told Al Arabiya. “The quantity and quality of the aid we get is still not enough, especially with the prevalence of diseases that result from hunger.”
Al Arabiya's camera crew filmed the situation in a women’s hospital in Nairobi, where hundreds of women gathered with their children to get the food and medicine offered by the WFP, the world’s largest humanitarian organization.
However, the program suffers from lack of funding and scarcity of resources, said program manager Beba Pradvit.
“We need $100 million immediately in order to cover the expenses of the program in the coming six months,” she told Al Arabiya. “This is the only way we can keep fighting.”
Straw ball
Children at the Valley View School are the luckiest as they get the WFP meals, the only one they have access to throughout the entire day. Children sing, cheer and danced to African rhythms when it was time for the meal and to welcome Princess Haya to their tin school.
The school prides itself on the fact that Kenya’s champion runner Paul Tergat was one of its students and a beneficiary of the WFP meals. Tergat was named WFP Ambassador Against Hunger.
Two of the students told Al Arabiya that they wish to become football players when they grow up, as they were playing with a ball they made. They also made two balls of ropes and plastic bags and offered them to Princess Haya and Paul Tergat.
(Translated from Arabic by Sonia Farid)
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