Kenya: 'Turkana is burning up'

traditional Turkana house being built

The land of the Turkana is burning up. It rained for an hour and a half on March 17 and for a few minutes on April 27. Before that and after nothing. Father Raffaele Cefalo, a Comboni missionary said: "Many are walking miles to dig in the dry river beds for water."

In the Lake Turkana region, in northwest Kenya between the Ethiopian highlands and the Sudanese savanna, drought is a recurring problem. But on average, there is a week or ten days of heavy rainfall a year. In the past few months, the rains haven't come. "There are no grazing grounds for the animals - said Fr Cefalo - and the scarcity of water promotes conflicts with the Pokot and the Karimojong who live south, the Merille from Ethiopia and the Toposa from South Sudan".

The shortage of water has sparked conflicts between different tribes. A few weeks ago, in the area of Todonyang there was fighting between the Turkana and the Merille leaving dozens dead and some 40,000 homeless.

"Everything appears to have started with the killing of some Lake fishermen", Tony Woods, secretary of Lodwar diocese told the Missionary News Service.

The latest crisis has ended up on the front page of Kenya's newspapers. In Todonyang, Kenya's prime minister, Raila Odinga visited the area while Nairobi send two army battalions to take back 900 shepherds on the other side of the border.

The future remains uncertain. Fr Cefalo said: "Ethiopia plans to build a dam over the Omo river that could cause a reduction of water levels down in the valley".

The Kenyan government is distributing food and water, but Turkana is a long way from from Nairobi. "There are a thousand kilometres of terrible roads," said Tony, "and prices are going through the roof".

The St Paul's Missionary Community is working in Turkana to help alleviate the impact of the shortage of water. They have built a series of rock dams to conserve precious rainwater when it comes. More are under construction. They also run agricultural, fishing, employment, health, and education projects to help communities in the area become more self-sufficient.

For more information on their work, or if you would like to make a donation, please go to: www.newways.org.uk/

Source: MISNA/New Ways