Hardship For Residents Of Marsabit And Turkana Amidst Worst Drought in Years

MARSABIT,Kenya, Mar, 31 – Scientists have predicted tougher times ahead for the continent if the rains don’t fall as expected as they take note of a drought that is ravaging the Horn of Africa that they say is the worst to be experienced in 40 years.

Kenya is reported to be in need of millions of shillings in funds that will enable affected communities get the help they need. Many families have lost lives of loved ones and livelihoods, after the rains failed and the earth dried up, leaving no water and pasture. 

As the drought continues to ravages various counties, Turkana and Marsabit are among those where the situation is said to be critical.

The pile of animal remains grows higher with each passing day here in civicon village, Marsabit county.

For one family in this area, all that is left for them to do is, stand and reminisce of days gone by as they stare at what was once their heard of cattle consumed by the unforgiving environment they find themselves in at the moment.

Even as death and losses keeps on being counted as each head adds onto the pile, this part of the homestead has attracted a different group of guests, scavengers.

A scavengers paradise this has become, one that sees them fly in and out of, leaving with filled bellies and having left drying bones, to be consumed by the harsh elements.

The rising temperatures and the destruction it leaves in its wake, has become a thorn in the flesh of many families in the country’s dry north, whose weather pattern has sharply shifted from regular rainy season, to not a single drop for many seasons.

“The drought has caused so much pain for not just my household alone but also in the neighbourhood. the children lack food,and even our Morans who are looking after the animals are here at home, depressed and I am even afraid they may do something bad to themselves because of that depression,” said Mary Rampe, resident Marsabit county.

For the pastoral communities, watching their symbol of wealth and sustainability of families piled up as just bones, is a hard sight to fathom, one that they say is killing them within much faster than what the harshness of the sun is already doing to them.

“I had 45 cows in the recent past, I tok care of them and when the drought came I was only left with one,. I also had 50 goats and now only a few remain,” said Ltadakwa Leparsanti, resident Marsabit.

With the earth turned brown, a sign of no pasture for their animals,the mothers have become creative in order to ensure especially the young in their flock don’t succumb to the drought.

Maize meal is prepared and sits as a meal between porridge and Ugali, the meal is half served to the human babies, on a platter while the rest is left to cool even further before it is taken outside to the kraals.

Feeding time for both human and animal young ones, feed on the now considered precious white gold, a meal of maize meal that will have to sustain their bellies until another day, when another such meal will be prepared.

Once full, they will move on to a basin half full of water, that the lady of the home tells us, took the family, close to half a day, to the water point which she is scared may dry up soon, if the temperatures keep getting higher.

“We just sleep and no one moves at night. Even my husband just comes home and sleeps. My children the same. I wake up in the morning and touch one by one to see if they are still alive. If they are still alive, I go and find some meat from the cattle that are dead so that I can come and cook that as a meal,” said Rampe.

At the water points, herds still gather to quench their thirsts, but the even as they are glad to have their animals with them, the pastoralists know at the back of their minds, that sooner than later, they too will have their animals laying scattered across the dusty lands as carcasses….

“They drought has really affected our lives, we have now been forced to live in the wilderness and during the day we move wit out animals looking for pasture…we don;t fins anything sometimes and we are forced to return home,” said Leparsanti.

“In many cases I have seen depression and sadness on top of hunger and thirst. What really strikes me is that if you are a pastoralist community and depend upon your animals to survive when the pasture dries up, not just the water, the animals die and you lose your only source of income,” said Andrew Morley, CEO/President World Vision International. 

For many out here, they are left with just memories of what was, with hopes of a better future, but remain wary of the present that continues to hurt them.

“In the past when drought came we were still okay we were even richer han you, nowadays however since our livestock is our bank and wealth we have suffered tremendously,” said Leparsanti.

The national government says that it feels the cry of its people and is doing all that it can to cushion their suffering.

“The government through NDMA has provided some drought pellets to livestock and we are still appealing for partners who are able to supply the pellets so that we save some stock, because they are dying at an alarming rate,” said Stephen Mavina,Deputy County Commissioner Loyangalani.

However, many out here in the hinterlands, say that they are yet to feel the weight of the pain of loss taken away from their shoulders.

“We have given physical food distribution that has been going on for some time, but toward the end of last year, that was replaced by cash transfers. About 3 weeks ago, we went back to physical food distribution. the move to cash transfers was necessitated largely by the cost of transporting food,”  said Rtd. Co. Cyrus Oguna, Government spokesperson.

Marsabit and Turkana are among the counties that humanitarian organisations placed in the red zone of being in dire need of assistance after the kenya met declared that they will receive below par rainfall this season.

“A picture can tell more than a thousand words and you can see here is just dry arid landscapes. which means that there’s been drought here for 3 seasons , meaning that theres no food for animals or food for people. Climate change is so much more than just drought. It is also about floods, such that when the rains do come, they come in such extreme volumes. so you are left with terrible situation where you have drought, then floods and the communities struggle to cope with both,” said Morley.

The situation in that part of the country has become so hot for many that reports coming out of that region in the last seven days state that the hunger and malnutrition suffered by young children has caused a few of them to lose their lives.

The government says that teams have been sent into the area to confirm the cause of deaths and give immediate assistance as long term aid is being planned for…

“As of next week we are starting phase 2 of physical food distribution and this will go on until the situation improves. Our head of state has said several times that there is no other time moving forward that a Kenyan will die on account of lack of food. and he meant that,” said Oguna.

Back on the border of Turkana and marsabit counties, women and their children gather under this tree as they wait for medical care and food aid from emergency responders, here on this day to help….

Health officials are also here to check up on the health of the young ones, who have over the last few months suffered due to malnutrition.

“Don’t ignore what is happening in East Africa, the food crisis is real. I have seen it face to face. these people might not be as front page today as Ukraine is, but they need us to help them and support them,” said Morley.

For the children whose arms will not allow the special tape to go past the red zone, they begin on supplements to boost their immunity and get them out of the malnutrition zone…

Others will get their shots of vaccines needed and also boosters to enable their feeble bodies survive the shocks that the weather and environment that they live in continues to hit them with.