National

MP CM Chouhan celebrates Diwali with COVID orphans

Shivraj Singh Chouhan

According to CMO, 315 children participated in the programme and the children also presented cultural programmes on Diwali

Bhopal: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan spent Diwali eve with children who lost their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic, at the CM House on Sunday.

CM Chouhan was spotted dancing along with the children on the occasion. According to CMO, 315 children participated in the programme and the children also presented cultural programmes on the occasion.
During the programme, CM Chouhan said that he would sit among the children and enjoy the programme. He extended Diwali greetings to the children and asked them about how they feel about attending the programme.

The children recounted their experiences and expressed their gratitude to Chief Minister Chouhan. CM Chouhan’s wife Sadhna Singh Chouhan was also present.

Also read: “Mama is with them..,” Shivraj Singh Chouhan’s Diwali with Covid orphans

CM Chouhan also participated in the presentation of songs and dance on stage by the children. Besides, Chouhan planted saplings with children before the beginning of the Diwali celebrations.

Earlier, Chouhan said that he instructed all the district collectors to organise programmes to share the joys of the festival with such children of their districts and give them gifts.

Chouhan said that sharing happiness with such children and celebrating festivals with them gave him joy.
Notably, it was not the first time that CM Chouhan was celebrating the festival with such children. He had celebrated Diwali last year with them and this year also he celebrated Raksha Bandhan with them. The programme was called ‘Meri Rakhi Shivraj Mama Ke Ghar.’

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by HW News staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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United Nations

Kenya: UN steps up protection for drought-hit women and girls

UN News

Women and girls are bearing the brunt of the worst drought experienced in Kenya for 40 years, which is exacerbating the risk of sexual exploitation, violence, and abuse.

“We have to walk for more than seven kilometres to find water, and sometimes what we find isn’t safe to drink,” says 39 Elimlim Ingolan, mother of a seven-month-old baby. She describes digging for water from dry riverbeds, sometimes for hours, often without success.

Ms. Ingolan is speaking at an outreach session in village of Lokapararai, in Turkana county. The session, supported by the UN reproductive rights agency (UNFPA) is one of many aimed at bringing sexual and reproductive health, and gender-based violence protection services, to women and girls affected by the prolonged drought currently ravaging the region.

Dried up

In some areas, over 90 per cent of water sources have dried up and, as crops fail, and families lose their livestock – which, for many, is their only source of income – more than four million people are grappling with acute hunger. An estimated 134,000 women are currently pregnant or breastfeeding in drought-affected regions of Kenya; many are now malnourished and anaemic, conditions which can be life-threatening.

It is usually women and girls who are sent to fetch water; because of the drought, they have to walk even further, and wait for hours at boreholes.

This puts them at greater risk of violence, at a time when hostilities among communities desperate to secure scarce resources, are mounting.

With hundreds of thousands of Kenyans forced to move in search of survival, vulnerable women and girls have little to no access to critical health facilities or protection and support services – at the very time they need them the most.

There is evidence that gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, and child marriage have risen since the drought, as families marry off their girls to pay for food or cattle.

Elimlim Ingolan, 39, with her 7-month-old baby. Women have been disproportionately affected by the drought in Kenya, which has increased their vulnerability to violence and drastically reduced their access to health centres.
UNFPA Kenya

Safeguarding health, rights, and lives

To help protect women and girls from the drought’s fallout on their health, safety and well-being, UNFPA is distributing maternal health and dignity kits across Kenya.

These kits contain essential hygiene supplies for women and girls, and items to support new mothers, as well as a solar-powered torch and a whistle to call for help if needed. UNFPA also provides free referrals to hospital and ambulance transfers for women with obstetric and new-born emergencies.

From October 2021 to June 2022, UNFPA reached more than 186,000 women and girls with sexual and reproductive health support.

The agency also supported over 60,000 with gender-based violence response and protection services, including mental health support for more than 45,000 survivors

Joint appeal

But much more support is needed: the UN is calling for $320 million to support more than four million people in dire need of assistance through a joint drought appeal.

It is feared that, if forecasts of failed rains during the October to December season prove accurate, millions more vulnerable women and girls risk being affected by the crisis.

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