Watermelon farming brings a brighter future to the family
Mother Regina couldn't even feed her children one meal a day. That's how hard the drought hit northern Kenya. The turnaround came when she received support from Erikshjälpen to start growing watermelons - something that provided both food and income for the family.
Regina Awesit looks out over the flourishing field full of watermelons. Just a year ago, she never imagined it would be possible to grow anything in the arid landscape back home in the small village of Nakinae Aiyar, where she lives with her husband and eight children.
We could only keep a few goats and it was not enough to feed my children.
One in three children in Turkana at risk of acute malnutrition
- In recent years, the drought has made it incredibly difficult for me to find a stable income. We used to have so many animals - goats, sheep, camels and cows - but lost over 100 during the worst of the drought. We could only keep a few goats and that wasn't enough to feed my children," she says.
She is used to the dry landscape and grew up with few resources. But due to climate change, the droughts of recent years have become longer and the consequences worse. Livestock are dying, crops are failing and children are forced to go days without any food in their stomachs.
In the district of Turkana, where Nakinae Aiyar is located, food shortages are so severe that one in three children is at risk of acute malnutrition.
- We didn't have enough animals to survive and it was difficult to get even one meal a day.
The turning point came with Erikshjälpen
When almost all hope was lost, Regina got in touch with Erikshjälpen. She describes it as a turning point in her life and thanks to various trainings she learned how to best cultivate in the dry landscape. She was also helped to connect to a larger system of drip irrigation that Erikshjälpen is helping to support.
Thanks to the support of Erikshjälpen, Regina was able to realize her dream of starting a small farm and in April 2025 she harvested 35 watermelons. She sold 30 of them at the local market and the money she received from the sales was used to pay school fees and school uniforms - the rest went to buy food.
Give a Christmas gift that feeds the hungry
Here is Maximilia in her school uniform. Her mother Regina paid for it with money she received from the sale of her first watermelon harvest.
Join us in cultivating hope for the future by supporting Erikshjälpen's work. For the children. And the world they dream of.
I'm so happy that my mom has started growing watermelons, because it provides both food and money for the family. Now the future looks bright for us!
- This was the first time that I had enough food for the whole family. Now I know that the children can have two meals a day and it is no longer like before, when they went to bed with empty stomachs. Thanks to the farm, the family no longer goes hungry and my children can go to school," she says.
Regina never had the opportunity to finish school herself, so she is particularly proud that her 12-year-old daughter Maximilla can now follow her dreams and continue her education.
Author: Johan Larsson
Give a Christmas gift that feeds the hungry
Published: 10 November 2025
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