Girls running on the school grounds with school bags shared after cyclone hit the district of Mananjary © iAko M. Randrianarivelo/Save the Children iAko M. Randrianarivelo/Save the Children

Kowsar, 3, Awale, 4, Abdi, one-month-old, and three other siblings live with their mother, Amina, 25, in a remote village in Garissa County. Amina depends on her goats to feed her children, including Kowsar and Awale, but in the current season of drought, she is struggling to feed them. Awale became ill with Moderate Acute Malnutrition, followed by Kowsar, who had Severe Acute Malnutrition, and both were treated by Save the Children. The family have also received a cash transfer so they can buy nutritious food.

Umeyma, 4, is from a remote village in the windswept Garissa County. She lives with her two brothers, three sisters, her mother and father in a small traditional family home built of sticks, old blankets, and pieces of cloth. Nomadic pastoralists by nature, Umeyma and her family are always on the move looking for water and pasture. However, the ongoing severe drought, which has dissipated pasture in the vast Garissa County, has made the life and lifestyle of her family almost unbearable. According to her mother, Maryam, 42, they had to walk more than 40 kms to the nearest settlement just to be near a water source and to benefit from medical services and aid from the county government and aid agencies such as Save the Children. On this particular day a team from Save the Children makes their way to their home to check on their progress, her sister Fatuma, 3, is suffering from severe acute malnutrition and Rahma, 2, who is ailing from moderate acute malnutrition. The two girls have been enrolled into a Save the Children-supported Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) program and are currently receiving treatment. Delfhin Mugo / Save the Children

Emily, 29, lives with her husband and four children in Bungoma, Kenya. All of their children were born at Kabula Health Centre, which is supported by Save the Children. Emily gave birth to baby Blessing at the health facility. She wasn’t able to deliver the placenta at first and is thankful that the nurses were there to help her to do so. Emily advises that other pregnant women visit a health facility rather than risk giving birth at home. Emily chose the name Blessing because she feels her new baby is a gift and will be a huge blessing in her life. Emily tells us she has had enough children, and wants to focus on looking after them and working on her business. Sarah Waiswa / Save the Children

Mary is a member of the vegetable garden group. Through the project, they were given seeds and taught how to plant them, care for them and harvest them. They were also taught how to make their own fertiliser and given gardening tools. With the proceeds from the vegetables, Mary is paying for the nursery fees of her twins, as well as school fees for her boy. She also makes and sells patties to passing boats to generate more income. They are able to eat more (twice a day) thanks to her participation in the group. Only her youngest daughter, Jeneba, 17 months old, lives with her in Djelah* (see GVs). Her other children live with relatives. Vegetable garden project information: Save the Children initially identified the most vulnerable households to join the group. Then, together with the village stakeholders, they identified areas of land where the crops could be located. For those women who had no access to land, Save the Children advocated on their behalf to be granted some land to grow their crops. Using a demonstration plot to do on the job training, the women received training in land preparation, preparing the beds, growing and caring for crops and ongoing technical support as well as learning how to make local affordable backyard compost fertilizer and pest control, with the support of staff from the Ministry of Agriculture. Save the Children also provided the seeds, gardening tools and chemical fertilizer to help with the land which has very poor soil fertility. Note: on the 2nd visit to Djelah* - we filmed a demo session on how to make sustainable compost with the women including Mamie the Chairlady, Mommy Pujeh, Momodu (Fatie's grandfather), Hawa (Hindolo's mother), Mary and Mariama. https://www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/asset-management/2O4C2S3RKSFK and also filmed these women sowing seeds in the recently prepared garden beds https://www.contenthubsavethechildren.org/asset-management/2O4C2S3RWWUU Shona Hamilton / Save the Children