Struggling to rebuild
Hillary Mrando, a farmer and resident of Mathare stands next to a heap of clothes and a soaked mattress—the only belongings he managed to salvage from his home—piled on a rubble of rock debris on the banks of the Mathare River.
‘The floods surprised us in the dark of the night and we just made it out of the house in time,’ Hillary says. ‘My home and everything I own has been swept away by the river. Our house was over there.’ He points to a broken slab—the only remnant left of his home.
The rains have subsided, but there is the reality of rebuilding in the aftermath of the catastrophic floods. Hillary, a father of six, closely monitors the state of an unassuming structure built on wooden stilts—kennels for his animals. A pair of German Shepherd dogs bark to announce the arrival of our partner, the Kenya Society for the Protection and Care of Animals (KSPCA), who have come to provide immediate veterinary care needs, build community resilience, and curb the spread of diseases that could potentially be transmitted to humans.
‘All my pigs were washed away in the floods,’ Hillary says. ‘I also lost one special female South African boerbell. The government is demolishing any structure near riverbanks this week, so I must move my animals, kennels, and family to my rural home in Kisumu [Western Kenya]. It’s an expensive move, so I’m seeking support from well-wishers.’
For Hillary, his four-legged colleagues are not just companion animals. Farming pigs and other animals is essential to his income. KSPCA provided him with five bags of animal feed, immediate veterinary care, and much needed respite amidst his heavy losses. During the month of May alone, KSPCA also rescued 46 dogs, 72 puppies, and 57 cats and kittens from flood-hit suburbs of Nairobi.
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