Morris Makabe

"Until you dig a hole, plant a tree, water it and make it survive, you haven't done a thing.” These words by Prof Wangari Maathai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and founder of the Green Belt Movement, resonate more as we celebrate the International Day of Forests this March 2026. Celebrated every March 21 since 2012, this special day draws attention to the importance of all types of forests and of trees to life on earth.

Hunger should never be normal, yet it is the current reality in Kenya’s arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs). Thousands of people go hungry every day. Malnutrition, especially among children, has risen sharply. In some regions, education has stalled. Livestock is dying, depriving pastoral communities of their primary source of income. The recent media coverage of the drought situation prompted donations of food and other necessities.

You have probably seen photographs online of carcasses, dry and cracked grounds, mothers carrying children on their backs while rolling jerricans in search of water or half-naked hungry and emaciated children. Most of these photos were taken in the arid and semi-arid lands (Asals) of Kenya. Asal regions cover close to 80 percent of the country’s land mass, meaning a large part of Kenya remains underutilised and inaccessible.