There is an African proverb that states, “Where elephants fight, the grass is trampled.” Nowhere is this a truer metaphor than the effect of global politics on international development and, ultimately, the marginalized at the bottom.
Imagine our surprise and joy as we began to focus our work more toward the arid and semi-arid land regions of Kenya, to discover USAID-funded projects benefiting the most vulnerable. These initiatives came in the form of water infrastructure, livelihoods, food security, public health, climate change mitigation and conservation projects.
Sam Harrell
As a small organization, we never had applied for or directly utilized USAID grants since those were mostly reserved for larger players or consortiums. Organizations like UNICEF, UNHCR, World Vision, Catholic Relief Services, Mercy Corps, Samaritan’s Purse, World Renew, World Relief, World Concern, Christian Aid and Church World Service were frequent beneficiaries. And the Kenya government’s Ministry of Health benefitted widely from USAID’s provision of essential medicines and supplies, including HIV/AIDS prevention programs and treatments.
Most Americans are not attuned to the breadth of impact of USAID or the fact that USAID was primarily a funder of numerous nonprofits/NGOs, including many faith-based organizations, and not itself a direct implementor. Nor are American citizens generally privy to the devastating effects of stalled development programs in a region characterized by vulnerability, insecurity and multidimensional poverty. Or the global insecurity mitigation that can occur in organized and well-resourced refugee camp support.
We encourage the uninformed or doubters to take a few minutes to view “Rovina’s Choice,” a heart-wrenching account by global physician Atul Gawande regarding the effects of USAID’s departure from Northern Kenya’s Kakuma refugee camp, very near our own Lochor Esekon Integrated Child Development Center in Turkana County.
Many shrug and say, “Well, that ship has sailed, time to move on.” The ship is indeed sailing — and in its wake lay broken promises, untold suffering and squandered opportunities for Americans to continue contributing to good in the world.
So what has all this meant for Africa Exchange?
- In mid-2024, communities surrounding our project in Turkana County were the recipients of timely food assistance courtesy of USAID.
- In January 2025, our inaugural Integrated Child Development Center project on the edge of the Chalbi desert was the beneficiary of a water connection through Nawiri, a joint USAID-funded project administered through CRS and Mercy Corps.
- By 2025, those projects were shut down prematurely and we were on our own to source funds for the second and third water connections at significant cost. Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we managed and both projects opened as scheduled, complete with a self-funded 2.5-km pipeline from the previously developed source.
- All three Chalbi projects have functioning water systems as a result. We can assure you that for the communities we serve, the matter is far from theoretical, certainly not characterized by “waste, fraud and abuse.” Water and food security here make the difference between life and death.
Early January this year found us in the Daaba and Atulelo communities in Isiolo County, Northern Kenya. Once again, we encountered water infrastructure previously funded by USAID having a positive impact on the lives of these predominantly pastoralist communities.
Once again the local partner, in this case Action Against Hunger, had been struck a severe blow by the withdrawal of USAID support and been forced to curtail project implementation. So we teamed with them on the technical design for pipeline completion to our latest project, enlisted the assistance of the Isiolo County water engineer and then we put the matter before supporters of Africa Exchange who once again came through to fund the $15,000 extension that will bring water to the new Atulelo Integrated Child Development Center.
Thanks be to God, the pipeline is in, including a special spur and trough for the elephants that migrate through the corridor during drought. Our team led by Mark Okello and our local partner, the Anglican Church of Kenya, Diocese of Isiolo, Daaba Parish, worked tirelessly with the community and new local partners and we break ground on classrooms this week!
This is kutana at its finest! In this we come together. The grass may be trampled but the seeds of resiliency are persistent. For more life. So all may thrive.
Sam Harrell is founder and executive director Africa Exchange. He previously served as associate coordinator of Global Missions with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.