Dreams deferred: Going to school not an option for starving children

Nitsanga Kahindi a resident of Goshi village in Bamba, Kilifi feeds her seven children with wild fruits due to severe drought that has hit parts of Kenya. [Robert Menza, Standard] Thirteen-year-old Ibrahim Ngumbao and his four siblings dropped out of school in July this year to help their parents look for water. Daily Ngumbao rides a bike along the dusty roads from his tiny village of Dangarani to Bamba, about 30 Kilometres away, to fetch water. This is a Herculean task even for an adult. But Ngumbao has no option but to ferry a 20-litre jerrican of water up the hills to his home. He makes five trips every day, and sells some of the water to neighbours to get money to buy food. "I cycle for 30km to fetch water from Bamba and supply it to my neighbours at Sh50 per 20-litre jerrican," said Ngumbao. The teenager has not been to school since pupils reopened for third term. "I do other jobs like charcoal burning to help my mother raise money for food," said Ngumbao, the second born in a family of seven. The firstborn is physically handicapped. His father, Ngumbao Katesi, went blind after falling ill early this year. This left their mother as the sole breadwinner. The young Ngumbao says his dream is to become a doctor. But if he does not get any help to enable him to go back to school, these dreams are likely to be shattered. Ngumbao's story mirrors that of many young people on the Coast who have dropped out of school because of hunger. Parents and education stakeholders say the number of school dropouts is increasing in Ganze and Magarini constituencies due to hunger. In Ganze Constituency, Giriama, Kalunguni and Charo Monje are the only dams with water, and they are likely to dry up before next month, according to the villagers, if the rains don't come. Kenya Red Cross Society reported that more than 3,500 head of cattle have died in the past month due to drought. According to Kenya Red Cross Coast regional boss, Hassan Musa urgent intervention is needed to cushion 658,681 people facing starvation at the Coast. He said Tana River, Kilifi and Kwale are the worst hit. "Kwale has 198,350 people staring at starvation, Kilifi 168,174, Tana River 136,646, Lamu 80,000 and Taita Taveta 75,511 people," said Musa, adding that 80 per cent of water pans in Coast have dried up. "Twenty per cent of the remaining pans do not have clean water, meaning the water is unsafe for drinking," he said. The drought is so severe that some of the residents have been feeding on wild fruits and roots such as mariga and mtunguru to survive. The Kenya Red Cross has collaborated with Unicef and the World Food Programme to distribute food to over 3,000 households in Tana River, especially in areas near Boni forest, Tana North and Wayu. The agencies have also started distributing food to Ganze and Magarini constituencies in Kilifi County and some areas in Kwale County. But these agencies say more needs to be done to avert deaths. In the past five years, Kilifi has suffered erratic rainfall and long dry spells. This erratic weather pattern has caused major losses for small-scale farmers, who mostly grow maize. Families' food supply has been severely depleted. School children are bearing the brunt of the food and water shortage said Mitangani chief Stephen Thethe, who revealed that over 1,000 children have quit school due to hunger. "More than 30 per cent of the children in this area stopped attending classes because they cannot walk for long distances to school on empty stomachs," he said. In Kilifi County, the worst drought-hit areas are Ganze, Magarini, Kaloleni and some parts of Malindi. Spot checks and interviews with education officials, parents and teachers indicate that learning has suffered, especially in remote villages. More than 15 primary schools we visited in Ganze and Magarini constituencies are in dire need of food and water. Among the worst-hit schools in Ganze are Bengoni, Mnagoni, Rima Pera, Midoina, Jira, Kavunzoni, Goshi, Migujini, and Dola primary schools. Those in Magarini constituency are Mekatilili wa Menza, Baricho, Balaga, Sosoni, Sosobora and Kambi ya Waya primary schools. According to Goshi Primary School head teacher Roseline Mwaniki, the situation has been worsened by lack of feeding programs. She said more than 50 children in her school have stopped attending classes. She further stated that enrollment at the school has dropped from 351 to 301 learners. "Most children in Ganze go to school to get food. Now that we have no food in schools, most pupils, especially those who come from far, have dropped out because they cannot walk long distances on empty stomachs," Mwaniki said. Leonard Karisa, a village elder at Dangarani village, explained that Ndarakwo villagers, like many others in Ganze, are unable to produce food, and their only remaining economic activity is charcoal burning. "For the past five years, villagers have harvested very little due to drought," he said. Ndarakwo is one of the villages worst hit by drought with many people going for days without food and livestock dying due to lack of pasture and water. When we visited six homesteads in Ndarakwo on Tuesday, we found most school-going children at home. "How can they continue to attend class when they are hungry all the time?" posed Karisa, adding that averagely 10 to 15 per cent of students aged between 10 to 14 drop out annually. The long distances to school have exacerbated the problem. "How can we motivate parents to send their poorly fed children to school?" asked Mekatilili wa Menza schoolteacher Chenda Kea. Kea added: "Teachers often get blamed for failing to keep children in school, but the real reason has always been poverty and food insecurity," The head teacher said the problem was worse for girls who, after dropping out of school, are married off or work to support their families. He said most boys migrate to cities and towns in Kilifi and Mombasa and never return to school. In Kavunzoni village, Ganze, learning in three schools has been disrupted by elephants from Tsavo East National Park that have invaded the area in search of water. A parent in Kavunzoni village, Agnes Jefwa, said Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) officials now escort children to and from school. And malnutrition rate is high. Kilifi County Malnutrition Survey conducted early this year revealed that one in two children aged two and below suffer from malnutrition. "More than 15,000 children under the age of two suffer from acute malnutrition," said Dr Nyawa Benzadze, a nutritionist at Kilifi County Referral Hospital. Kilifi Governor Gideon Mung'aro said plans are underway to provide relief food and help save lives.

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