Nakor holding toothbrushes and toothpaste tubes contained in the Mars Wrigley Comfort kit. Photo Courtesy|Save the Children

By Dorothy Waweru

Nakor is 16 years old and the eldest among her seven siblings. Her family lives in Turkana County, one of the counties hardly hit by the climate crisis. Life as Nakor narrates is very difficult as her community which is majorly nomadic in nature, has to keep on migrating from one place to another in search of water and pasture for their livestock.

This has affected her education and that of her siblings because they keep on moving when droughts, floods or human conflict arise. Nakor’s parents are also purely pastoralists and they get their source of livelihood from their livestock. Therefore during the last drought and floods, they lost almost all their livestock leaving them in a vulnerable state. Previously, Nakor says that maintaining hygiene was difficult because she did not have items like soap, a comb or even a toothbrush to clean her teeth.

Nakor holding her bag containing hygiene items. Photo Courtesy| Save the Children

“It was very hard to remain clean because I did not have the necessary items to maintain my hygiene. Thankfully, through Save the Children, I received a kit containing soap, toothpaste, a toothbrush, a bathing towel and hair shampoo. I now use the soap to bathe and to wash my clothes. I used the shampoo to clean my hair and the towel helps me to dry fast after a bath.” Says Nakor.

Nakor is grateful to have received these items and says that life has become so much better. The hygiene kits have provided a sense of relief to children and families affected by drought and emergency crises enabling them to maintain sanitation and hygiene more effectively.

Save the Children, with support from the Mars Wrigley Foundation, provided 23,970 hygiene kits, out of which 3,000 were distributed in Turkana. These kits included essential hygiene products such as toothbrushes, towels, body lotion, and combs, aimed at improving the children's hygiene and overall well-being. Additionally, Save the Children targeted children who were out of school, encouraging them to return by addressing some of their basic needs. This support was crucial in helping malnourished children and families affected by floods and drought.