I have a fixed income and no affiliations with churches. I care about this distant problem. What practical things can I do to help?

David McGuffin: There are any number of aid groups that are doing good work in Africa. Some of them have religious affiliations, some of them don’t. The UN’s World Food Programme, to which Canada is the fifth largest donor, feeds more people in the world than any organisation and accepts donations on their website. Because of the global economic crisis, they, like many aid organisations are in desperate need of money now more than ever.

Oxfam, the Red Cross, World Vision, Doctors without Borders, Care Canada and AMREF are all aid organisations who, in my experience, seem to be effective in their work in Africa and have offices in Canada. But I would encourage you to get on the internet and the phone and research these and other agencies that interest you.

Ask them how they spend their money, how much is spent on administrative overhead costs and how much actually makes it to recipients. Is the money simply a bandaid solution, or does it produce real long term solutions, like providing long term, sustainable employment for the people it is helping? The more involved you are in where you send your money, the less likely it is to be misspent.

One of the many paradoxes of the Kenya food, water and electricity shortages, is that the "have nots" continue to suffer while MP's continue to indulge in enormous salaries without paying taxes. I met an MP from a rural region of Kenya, now living in Nairobi, who had never set foot in Kibera.

Is there any way that media can put pressure to bear on rampant political corruption in Kenya and other African nations?

David McGuffin: There is very little question that corruption is a huge problem for Kenya and for many African countries. It's a catch-22 situation. As long as Africans who seek power believe that their futures are uncertain, they will loot the public purse to make sure that they themselves are at least secure. But as long as widespread corruption continues, long term prosperity and certainty is almost impossible.

In Kenya, the current government seems to spend more of its time on infighting and personality conflicts than in dealing with the many and real problems of the country. A good case in point is the ongoing debate between the Prime Minister and Vice President on who should earn more money, or arguments over how many Mercedes-Benz’s the Presdidential motorcade should have. The disconnect with average Kenyans is staggering.

That said, there are real signs that Kenyans are not blind to the failures of leadership. Lost in the post-election violence that almost sunk Kenya in 2008 was the fact that Kenyans voted out a huge number of corrupt and ineffective leaders in that election, including most of the venal inner-circle of the old Daniel Moi regime, including his son Gideon Moi and leading henchman, Nicolas Biwott.

The media here, both international and, especially, the local, have done a a brave and exhaustive job of highlighting cases of corruption, but frequently to no avail. There are at least a dozen cabinet members who have been openly implicated in corruption, but continue on as if nothing happened.

Unfortunately the other pillars of democratic society, the legistlative and the judicial, are proving to be less interested in weeding out the cancer of corruption. Too often western governments are only too willing to turn a blind eye. This was especially true during the media exposure of the Anglo Leasing scandal in Kenya, starting in 2005, which proved, beyond doubt, that the government of President Mwai Kibaki had looted some 800 million dollars from its people in phony government tenders. (An excellent book about this scandal was recently written by British journalist Michela Wrong, “Our Turn To Eat.”)

But instead of condemning Kibaki and his regime and taking action to isolate it, the reaction of western countries, Canada included, was to continue on, business as usual, with aid dollars flowing in. It was deemed that Kenya was too valuable an ally in an insecure region to rock the boat over something like corruption. That doesn’t exactly encourage change in a country.

I have been saving for a "trip of a lifetime" safari to Kenya this Xmas. Will I be directing resources away from where they are needed (watering lawns at hotels) if I go. I am assuming tourist dollars help.

David McGuffin: Tourists should absolutely come to Kenya.

Money spent here by tourists employs some 1 million Kenyans, who in turn support millions more. When tourists stay away and unemployment spikes, Kenyans who’ve lost their jobs in the industry are often forced to earn money in ways that damage the environment and cause drought, such as clear cutting forests and charcoal burning.

Thanks to tourism huge national parks have been allowed to stay natural and vital parts of the ecosystem. Without tourists, these parks would close and an already overworked and arid land would become even more devastated.

How can donors make sure that imported or donated food reaches those it is supposed to help?

David McGuffin: Donors have strict rules of accounting on food aid, where it is going and who it reaches. To avoid corruption in regions where it is a problem, many aid agencies will work outside government structures to distribute food.

This clearly can’t be and isn’t flawless, but you also don’t often now see situations where aid is simply taken by a government and resold for personal gain, this was a more frequent problem twenty or thirty years ago.