Kaloleni residents turn to wild fruits amid famine

Hundreds of Kaloleni Constituency residents have no food and water due to drought.

The most hit area is Kayafungo ward where hungry villagers have resorted to eating wild fruits and walking long distances in search of water.

Kayafungo Ward Rep Alphonce Mwayaa said all the three locations in his ward had been hit by drought.

"People and livestock are starving. Water points are drying up. We need quick action before we start losing lives," he said.

Men and women from Kavuka, Mchanganyiko and Timboni villages in Tsangatsini location converged at the dried up Sombeza  dam in search of water.

"Women leave their houses at four in the morning to look for water and only return home at mid day," said Esther Luvuno from Timboni.

"When you get home there is no food to cook, our families are suffering," she said.

Urgent appeal

The residents appealed to both the county and national governments to intervene.

"We are starving. There is no water and food. Our children cannot stay in school because they are hungry," said Jumwa Baya, 80.

Baya said many families were scouring the bushes for wild fruits and tubers to eat.

The residents said even the most reliable water sources in the area had dried up.

"Our biggest problem is water. We have always tried to harvest water in our dams but they dry up after a few months," said Kazungu Thoya.

Sombeza dam serves Mariakani, Mitangoni and Tsangatsini locations. The rapidly declining Mindoria dam in Ndatani village is now the only remaining source of water for hundreds of residents and their livestock.

"It will dry up soon because the water is not enough for everyone," said Bendera Tsuma.