Livestock |
Livestock is so
central to the economy, food and status of pastoralists in Kenya's
northern drylands that formal education has traditionally taken second
place to children's role in tending to cows, goats and sheep.
As climate change
imperils livelihoods, long-term priorities are shifting, and many
pastroralists regard education as a sort of insurance policy. Yet the
severity of the current drought affecting much of east Africa, coupled
with a long interruption in the provision of free meals, have led to a
drop in school attendance.
"The drought has
become too harsh. Animals are dying in huge numbers. We restock, but
before we stabilize, drought comes and takes away our investment," said
Atiir Lokwawi, a 42-year-old mother who lives in the village of
Kalokutanyang, in Kenya's Turkana County.
Lokwawi's husband
travelled to Uganda to graze most of the family's herd. Of the 40 goats
he left behind, 35 have died because of the drought.
"It is good if at
least one child goes to school. Educating our children is also another
way to earn money - animals alone cannot help us survive," she said,
explaining that of her seven children, only one, a 15-year-old girl, is
currently attending school.
"It will take time
for our children to go to school and get jobs, but at least there is
hope that someday, someone will be there for us," she said.
To help make ends meet, Lokwawi makes charcoal, and attends evening classes at a local mobile school.
"I burn charcoal to
invest in my daughter's education. The government pays for her fees,
but I have to buy her books, pen, and uniforms. She is my hope, my only
family hope" said Lokwawi, adding that she would like her 15-year-old
daughter to become a doctor.
Another of her
daughters was married off, bringing the family a substantial dowry of
livestock. But most of these animals also perished.
Teaching adaptation
Christine Tukei, a
teacher at Kalokutanyang's mobile primary school, said education for
pastoralists "needs to go beyond the [national] curriculum. It needs to
add value and incorporate their lifestyle. It is vital to help
communities prepare for and respond to impacts of climate change while
promoting a sustainable way of life."
The mobile school has 105 students: 68 youths aged between nine and 17, and 27 adults, 15 of them women, aged between 35 and 42.
Classes take place
between 8 and 10 pm as during daytime the children tend to be tending to
livestock herds while the adults make and sell charcoal.
The ravages of the drought have led Tukei to add adaptation strategies to what she teaches.
"We discuss the
importance of early destocking, minimizing herds to manageable levels;
the importance of investing in education; and alternative businesses. I
also teach about preserving meat with salt as they slaughter some
animals and store for food; and about good health and sanitation," she
explained.
Disastrous drought
The current
drought, which started in 2016 and which the Kenyan government deems a
national emergency, has dried up water resources in half of the
country's 47 counties, leaving an estimated three million people lacking
access to clean water, according to OCHA, the UN's humanitarian
coordination branch.
"Recurrent droughts
have destroyed livelihoods, triggered local conflicts over scare
resources and eroded the ability of communities to cope," OCHA said,
noting that prices of staple food had risen considerably.
The drought has
sent rates of global acute malnutrition soaring: in Turkana North
sub-county, the rate is 30.7 percent, more than double the emergency
threshold.
Across Kenya, up to
3.5 million people are expected to need food assistance in August, up
from 2.6 million in February, according to the UN's World Food
Programme.
Large numbers of
livestock deaths have been reported in Turkana County, as well as in the
counties of Marsabit, Samburu and Mandera.
As well as Kenya,
drought is ravaging Ethiopia and Kenya. In these three countries, the
education of some six million children has been disrupted, according to
OCHA.
Low enrolment
Although the
national introduction of free primary education in 2003 led to an
increase in school attendance across Kenya, enrolment rates in dryland
counties such as Turkana remain much lower than the rest of the country.
And of those who
enroll in the first year of school, barely one in five stick it out
through the eighth year, with drop-outs attributed to early marriage and
need to look after livestock.
Even though going
to school tends to lead to improved agriculture, better health, improved
community relations and better management of natural resources, "the
culture [here] does not allow the community to attach much premium on
education," Muthengi Muvea, the Director of Education in Turkana Central
sub-county, told IRIN.
"A high number of
pastoralists are not willing to wait for over 20 years to see returns on
their investment while a child has immediate returns such as dowry for
girls and herding for boys," he explained.
According to Muvea, at any given time, at least 40 percent of children who supposed to be in school in Turkana County are not.
This is attributed
to parents migrating during drought in search of pasture and water,
inadequate infrastructure, understaffing in schools and parents' general
unwillingness to enroll their children in school.
"January 2017 saw
enrollment [in Turkana] drop by over 9,200 from the 2016 third term.
152,901 students enrolled in primary education in August 2016 compared
to 143,698 primary school children registered in January 2017," said
Jesse Nyongesa, of the Ministry of Education.
Matters were made
worse in the first few months of 2017 by an interruption in the
provision of free school meals across much of the country - although
these meals - provided since 1980 by WFP and the Kenyan government and
now benefitting 1.5 million children at an annual cost of 4 billion
shillings - resumed in May.
"During drought,
the meal the children get in school is the only meal they are likely to
get for the day," said Matthew Epetet, the head teacher of a primary
school in the Turkana Central village of Lochwa.
"It's critical to
attaining food security in this part of the country. Unless it's
assured, the rate of retention is low especially for the junior
classes," he added.
Since it launched a
Home-Grown School Meals (HGSM) programme in 2009, the government of
Kenya has gradually increased its role in feeding school children. HGSM
now benefits twice as many children as WFP's contribution and is set to
feed all by 2019.
Under the
programme, good is bought from nearby farmers, thereby stimulating the
local economy while encouraging children to attend school.
The interruption of
free school meals, coupled with the migration of parents in search of
water and pasture, led attendance at the school to fall by more than
half, said Epetet.
"From a total of
585 students, only 257 students are attending class now. Among the 103
girls enrolled in school, about 37 are no longer in school. The
pre-primary pupils have already stopped coming to school," he said.
The head teacher
explained that the recent start of oil exploration in Turkana's Lokichar
Basin had been another factor in falling attendance.
"Fifteen boys have
dropped out of school to work as motorcycle riders within Lokichar. Some
are seeking manuals job from those employed in oil exploration
companies such as fetching water," he said.
Muvea believes it
will take time before education fully improves the welfare of the
community and contribute to a meaningful sustainable manner of
resilience.
"It's about
perception," asserts Muvea. "School becomes necessary during drought
emergencies because of food access. The way pastoralist's perceive
education has to change if it is to play a fundamental role in
strengthening their resilience."
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