Droughts across East Africa have put huge swathes of Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopian and Somaliland at the point of collapse, leaving an estimated 10 million people in urgent need of humanitarian aid.

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As rainfall is now less and less predictable and families in the region are seeing their precious livestock perish, their sole meal may be a meagre helping of boiled beans or a soup made from cooking oil. Most days, they will go without.

Sabria (pictured) is 15 and has to stay home from school to help care for her hungry siblings. Her mother told us:

"We go to bed hungry every night. I sing for the small ones, when they are crying, but they always end up crying themselves to sleep. Water has become a problem because it is expensive to fill our jerry cans. We don't wash anymore. We drink all the water we get, and it is still not enough."

What is ActionAid doing?

• We have reached nearly 200,000 people in Kenya over the past few months with water supplies, food supplies, school feeding programmes and livelihoods support (in the form of de-stocking – buying animals in poor condition for above-market prices to provide income and meat for communities).
  
• Our program to help feed children in schools has reached a further 28,000 children, giving them a healthy meal a day, and reducing the imp-act of the crisis on their education.

With your help, we can do so much more.

• Donate to our East Africa appeal now