By NGUMBAO KITHI
Struggling with little or no access to basic health care and other resources the marginalised Boni tribe of Lamu district is at the verge of extinction
Their population has dwindled from 25,000 at independence to less than 4,000 today.
Worse still, teachers have abandoned their duties in the only five existing primary schools threatening closure and jeopardising the community’s educational needs.
The schools, Basuba, Milimani, Mangai, Kiangwe and Mararani face closure as teachers who travel from as far as Lamu Island at times get stuck leaving students waiting.
Traditions
Even in health matters the challenges are rife. The only standing dispensary at Mangai has no medicine and the Boni don’t like modern medicine. This is the reason they have resorted to traditional herbalists who treat them for free.
The Mangai community nurse, Mohammed Abdalla says due to the community’s opposition to modern medicine, he has been forced to offer door-to-door medical services instead of waiting for them to visit the dispensary.
Abdalla is the only nurse at Mangai dispensary since most nurses posted here demand for immediate transfer given the harsh working conditions.
"We depend entirely on nature for food and medicine," said Ali Hussein Abala, a Boni.
The central ingredient in the Boni’s diet is honey, which they track down with the help of birds — known by locals as Mirsi, which feed on wax and bee larvae.
Another hunting and gathering tribe living amongst the Boni feed on wild fruits, roots and a variety of game, which has put them at odds with wildlife officials.
"Nowadays, I hunt secretly and I eat secretly. Otherwise, the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) will arrest us," says Bashir Abdi.
The nearest hospital to his Basuba village is several kilometres away. While this community is keen to preserve their ancestral way of life, the Boni feel marginalised by the Government. So is the case with other tribes of honey-hunters across the country.
Abdi’s village, Basuba, has less than 300 inhabitants living in mud huts with a dispensary, which has no medicine or running water. They have neither roads nor shops, not even electricity.
Wireless communication
Despite the lack of electricity, a handful of villagers own mobile phones, which they charge with a homemade contraption of wires and batteries attached to a dismantled phone charger with pieces of cardboard.
Phone connection is a problem here. "To get sufficient network connection, sometimes you have to climb a tree. Here modern and traditional technologies work hand in hand," Mohamed Juma says.
