The first Humanity First convoy left Nairobi very early on Friday 29th July. 70 HF Kenya volunteers including 20 women and 50 men had sourced food items in bulk in Nairobi as sourcing in Garissa was proving difficult. These were then packaged into parcels consisting of a range of items including5kg of maizeflour, 5kg of wheatflour, 5kg of beans and combinations of cooking fat, salt, sugar and tea. A total of 6,500 food parcels were then despatched to Dadaab.

The team of 16 HF staff arrived at the Dadaab camb near the Kenya-Somalia border on saturday 30th July.

First vouchers were handed out to the most needy families in the new Ifo II camp, and then those people were directed to our distribution station located in the Care International compound in the Ifo I camp, some 2km away. 20 additional staff were recruited at the camp to assist with security and distribution.

Our Chaiman of Humanity First Kenya, Mr. Shah, described the situation on the ground as "tense and volatile. The need is tremendous. The distribution of aid was done to the most needy new arrivals, but even then, there was the potential for chaos. At least the water situation is not dire. Several boreholes have been dug so water is available, though hygiene items are in demand. We will now plan the next convoy. "

So far, Humanity First has committed $50,000 towards the aid distribution, with fundraising in 11 countries, and so far 10% has been raised locally in Kenya itself. A further $200,000 worth of aid is ready to ship to Nairobi. We will provide images and a more detailed report soon.