No food; Learners keep off school as drought persists in Turkana

A pen in one hand, a feeding tin in the other.

The tin contains water.

As the teacher begins the day’s lesson, some pupils sip the water to quench thirst. But the water appears brownish, suggesting it may be contaminated.

Dressed in their home attire, the pupils look exhausted, fragile and distracted.

Concentration fades quickly, and within no time, one by one, they quietly leave the classroom and sit pensively under a shade along the classroom verandah, clutching their tins.

It is barely 9.30am. The sun is scorching.

Attempt by the teacher to bring them back to class is in vain as they are restless, hungry, thirsty and unable to focus.

Eventually, in despair, the teacher leads them to the school kitchen where they line up for a cup of porridge.

Instantly after taking a cup of porridge, their faces brighten up, a seeming return of their energy.

They run back to class and resume the day’s lesson.

This is the scene that welcomes one at Ng’ilukia Early Childhood Development (ECD) in Suguta, Turkana East.

“Most of these learners have barely had a meal. It is difficult to teach children on empty stomachs,” says Festus Ekidor, the ECD teacher.

According to him, many learners come to school not primarily to study, but to access food.

“The drought situation is dire. Families are starving, and so are the children. Learning is no longer the priority. Some only come to school for a meal, while others stay home altogether,” says Mr Ekidor.

The ECD centre has about 350 enrolled learners, but only 113 were present during The Standard’s visit, a drop Ekidor attributes to the prolonged drought that has resulted in food insecurity.

Although the school occasionally receives food supplies from both national and county governments, deliveries have become irregular and insufficient.

Ekidor says the school received rice, beans and porridge flour through the National Council for Nomadic Education in Kenya (Naconek) last term. But the supplies have since run out.

Even with depleted food store at the school, most parents cannot afford to provide food for their children.

At lunch time, starving locals also draw to the school with hopes of accessing food.

Drought, coupled with insecurity, has further disrupted relief food distribution, directly affecting learning.

For instance, though drought has swept a number of livestock, locals fear loosing the remaining ones to bandits.

Some families within Suguta, a region that has witnessed deadly attacks on police officers, have had their stock swept by armed raiders from neighbouring county.

Suguta, predominantly a pastoral area, borders Laikipia, Baringo, Samburu and parts of Turkana that have long been affected by conflict.

Here, 42 police officers were massacred, 23 in Kapedo and seven others in Napetom.

Frequent attacks keep learners away from school and leave them, teachers and entire community in fear.

“Attacks can happen anytime, even now,” Ekidor tells The Standard during.

“Some children have lost parents to attacks, others have had their livestock swept, leaving them in abject poverty. This makes it difficult for them to attend school regularly. At times children stay away because walking to school exposes them to attacks. Bandits have no mercies, they even target young children,” he adds.

Ekidor says the school continues to grapple with severe challenges linked to drought, insecurity and remoteness, leaving teachers and learners struggling to sustain education.

The school is located about 450 kilometres from Lodwar town, where most educational support services are accessed, making assistance slow and inconsistent.

“Our school is very remote. We are usually the last to receive any support, whether food or learning materials.This is compounded by insecurity, poor roads and locality,” observes the teacher.

Established in 2020, the ECD centre also lacks basic infrastructure such as desks, classrooms and adequate learning materials.

During the visit, The Standard observed acute shortages of exercise books. The teacher is forced to tear pieces of paper and distribute them to learners to write on.

A number do not also have pens and pencils.

“When I run out of paper, I resort to oral teaching because parents cannot afford exercise books,” says Ekidor.

Ekidor, the only teacher at the ECD centre, is also forced to handle both PP1 and PP2 learners under one roof.

Extreme heat in the locality often makes learning outdoors impossible.

Adjacent to the ECD is Ng’ilukia Primary school that has also been affected by drought and insecurity.

Learning at the school is not on. There are no learners despite availability of teachers.

“Children are not in school because they are helping their parents graze livestock or search for water. Learning during this season is very difficult. It is dry, and we are struggling for survival, making education a secondary need,” says David Ekison, a local.

At Lakakwal, learning has largely stalled as many learners remain away from school.

Elsewhere, at Lopoi Primary School in Turkana East, prolonged drought has triggered severe water shortages, making it the biggest challenge facing both teachers and learners.

Since January, pupils have had to prioritise searching for water over attending classes.

Some walk up to 11 kilometres daily, often missing morning lessons or skipping school entirely.

Teachers say the situation is dire.

At times, the school hires motorcycles to fetch water for cooking and basic sanitation. However, shortages continue to disrupt the feeding programme, further affecting attendance.

“The situation is very tough. Sometimes learners come late or fail to come altogether because they are looking for water. We are surviving by God’s grace,” Daniel Lochi, the head teacher at the school, says.

The four large water storage tanks at the school remain empty due to lack of reliable supply.

Administrators are appealing to partners to support water delivery since storage infrastructure already exists.

Data shows the school has an enrolment of 675 learners, yet fewer than 20 attend regularly.

“Look, desks are empty. Decline in school attendance is mostly because of hunger, water scarcity and insecurity,” adds the teacher.

The school has run out of the food supplied by the National Council for Nomadic Education Kenya.

In neighbouring Lolwamosing village, learning has been disrupted following a bandit raid.

The Standard team learned of the attack just as it was driving through the locality.

The locality is known for critical livestock water points.

The attack occurred near Lokwamosing ECD and Comprehensive School, forcing closure over safety fears.

Elizabeth Lokosia, a teacher, described the terrifying ordeal.

“I heard gunshots behind the classroom while serving food to learners. I quickly directed them to hide in the dining hall. The shooting was intense,” she recalls.

Purity Nangila, another teacher, says insecurity has left teachers and learners living in constant fear.

“We are never at peace,” she says.

Deputy headteacher Robinson Lokol said teachers and learners fled during the attack, some lying on the ground to avoid stray bullets.

He noted the school does not have National Police Reservists who would provide some semblance for security.

“Bandits are raiding pastoralists within this locality to refill their stock. The drought has resulted into loss of livestock, an issue now affecting learning because bandits keep raiding villages that neighbour the school,” says the teacher.

At least 2,000 livestock were reportedly stolen during the raid, though only about 80 have been recovered.

The school lies between grazing fields and natural springs, making it vulnerable to conflicts over pasture and water.

An investigation by The Standard reveals that this situation cuts across many schools in Turkana County, where learning has been disrupted by prolonged drought compounded by insecurity.

Most schools have run out of food supplies. They are also grappling with acute water shortages, forcing learners to trek long distances in search of the scarce commodity as drought continues to ravage the county.

This has significantly contributed to absenteeism and a high rate of school drop out.

Wilfred Korobe, the director of ECD in Turkana East and Suguta, acknowledges that enrolment has dropped significantly due to drought and insecurity.

“Families have migrated closer to water points. Hunger is widespread, and weak children struggle to walk to school,” he says.

Some children are left to manage households while parents trek long distances searching for wild fruits or pasture.

At least 10 schools across Suguta and Turkana East are heavily affected.

Some, like Katamalat schools, have been displaced by raids, forcing teachers to erect temporary learning structures elsewhere.

Others, including Napitom Primary, have suffered destruction from bandit attacks.

Although both national and county governments have deployed teachers to affected schools, attendance remains inconsistent.

Humanitarian partners, including the Kenya Red Cross Society, have introduced school feeding programmes using fortified soya-corn blend for porridge.

Demand, however, continues to outstrip supply.

“It is heartbreaking to see children walking to school with tins and plates, hoping for a meal. Many cannot concentrate because they are hungry,” says Oscar Okumu, the Kenya Red Cross Society's North Rift regional head.

Okumu adds that widespread household food insecurity has made families reliant on humanitarian support.

Kenya Red Cross Society has distributed food to at least 20 schools in Suguta, among them 10 ECD and 10 primary schools.

The ECD schools include Napeitom, Kakitetei, Kamuge,Ng’ilikia, Silale, Nadome, Kangayama, Lomelo, Kapedo Girls and Kapedo Mixed.

Primary schools that have benefited include Kapedo Girls, Kapedo Mixed, Lomelo, silale, Nadome, Napeitom, Kamuge, Ng’ilukia and Kakiteitei.

Despite field observations indicating school closures and declining attendance, Turkana County Commissioner Julius Kavita maintains that learning is going on smoothly.

“Learning is continuing. Only three schools, Arror, Lopir and Nakuse, were temporarily affected by bandit raids,” says the commissioner, noting that efforts are underway to reopen the institutions.

Government data shows at least 75 per cent of the 1.3 million Turkana’s total population has been affected by drought.

Rivers, streams and dams have dried up with majority of locals migrating to neighboruing countries in search of water and pasture for their sctock.

The Standard established that tens of learners who would ordinarily be in school are instead spending hours in search for water and pasture across the vast county.

Others dig luggas to search for water, a commodity that has become scarse as drought persists.

A number of Turkana residents have also migrated to neighbouring Uganda and Ethiopia in search of water and pasture for their livestock.

Local administrators in Kenya and Uganda have engaged communities, including Uganda’s Karamojong pastoralists, to allow Turkana herders temporary grazing access as a short-term mitigation measure.

Kobebe Dam in Uganda is currently supporting livestock from both Kenya and Uganda, with pastoralists heavily relying on it to sustain their animals amid the prolonged drought.