If it doesn’t rain, they won’t attend school

By VINCENT MABATUK and LEONARD KULEI

“Please take us there,” the little girls in the expansive East Pokot region of Baringo County shouted almost in unison as we approached them.

It was evident that they were asking us to help them get water, as they were carrying water cans.

They looked thirsty and hungry, but their vivacity showed their determination to find the precious commodity in the drought-stricken region.

Our guide, Kenneth Cheptulel, explained that they were going to fetch water from Tuwo Dam, more than 30km away.

Their faces brightened as we invited them into our vehicle. As we drove along, the four waved happily to their colleagues, who also were on their way to the dam.

Relief food

Thirty minutes later, we arrived at Tuwo Dam, 37km from the spot where we picked the children. This is the distance they cover every morning in search of water. 

“We come here every morning to fetch water and sometimes get food  – when we find weak goats and cows that have got stuck in the mud around the dam, we slaughter them for food. We have nothing to eat at home and worse still, there is no water to drink,” said Chemisto Lokol, as she gulped water from a bottle.

Akoret Lorupe, a mother of seven, said she wakes up at 4am daily to start the journey to the dam. She narrated that women and girls fetch water as men and boys leave home in search of pasture for animals.

The water shortage and hunger portends tough times as the Government and NGOs, which supply relief food to residents, are yet to be reach the area.

“The Government should come and give us food. We are suffering. We have nothing to eat,” said Lorupe.

At the dam, Lemeri Kobotek, 12, who should have been in school learning, was busy chasing away five camels so that she could fill her three-litre water can.

Since August last year, she has made numerous trips to the watering point. She walks more than 15km each day from her parents’ home in Kelekonak village in Tiaty Constituency.

Thousands of residents flock to the dam as early as 6am to access the precious commodity. And they have to compete with thousands of animals also looking water as they wait for the rains to fall between April and May.

If the rains do not fall, Kobotek and hundreds of pupils like her will not step inside school this term.

Able families in the region have dug water wells along the banks of a seasonal river that is now dry.

“Water is a matter of life and death. Families protect water wells by fencing them with tree branches,” said Asan Lumunyotepa, while pointing at a well he dug last year.

He hired youths to dig the well at a cost of Sh2,000 and has to protect it jealously.

Dirty water

But it is not only fellow villagers that he has to keep away from his well. Wild animals including snakes, monkeys and dogs sneak into the well and dirty the water.

If Lumunyotepa had not dug the well, he too, would be walking to Tuwo Dam. The dam was constructed by the Constituency Development Fund. However, the water lasts only two months after the end of rainy season before drying up.

Most men left the area last year in search of pasture hundreds of kilometres away once the scorching sun dried all the grass.

“They certainly found pasture, but they are not safe. There are constant threats from cattle rustlers. We share a border with Turkana, Samburu and Pokot communities,” said Lumunyotepa.

At Malemngal Dam, constructed by the Government two years ago, hundreds of goats, camels and several dogs arrived to quench their thirst.

Carrying a 20-litre water can, Dipo Losilikol, 35, called on the Government to intervene to prevent the situation from turning catastrophic.

The mother of six treks more than 30km from Paka Hills in search of water.

“The distance to the dam is a great challenge. It is the reason our goats drink water once in two days,” she narrated.

Dry up

She explained that while walking to Kapedo Hills, where pasture is available, some of the animals die due to hunger and others from injuries.

The residents’ plight is compounded by the drying up of major dams like Chemeril, Merikal, Kadiding Chestet, Chesmkat and Lokoropok.

In efforts to help residents, the Rift Valley Water Service Board has started sending water trucks to the residents.

Thirsty residents queue along the main road for several days waiting for the tankers.

In the last three weeks, an 18,000-litre tanker has made seven trips to the region.

Mothers usually take the opportunity to bathe their children, as they don’t know when the next such opportunity will come.

Some of the areas receiving water are Natan, Naudo, Nginyang Sorok and Ringo.