World Vision Kenya, in collaboration with Baringo County Government, supported drought rapid assessment in December 2016 and the report indicated failed, short rains. Developed for the National Weather Service through the National Drought Mitigation Center, NIDIS and NOAA. They boys live with their grandparents, the Lochipatulia family, seated outside their grass thatched roof house, with walls constructed and covered with goat and cow dung. Across the globe, World Vision teams are working to limit the spread of COVID-19 and reduce its impact on children. According to World Vision Kenya Operations Director Jeremiah Nyagah, impact of the current drought on education is due to the fact of migration of families to other areas, in search of food and pasture for livestock. Teacher Lotiko, a class six (grade six) mathematics teacher at Ptikii primary school says, “Even with the school feeding program, it barely comes on time, with the distribution usually done, in the middle of the term.” The school receives only 27 bags of sacks per term and uses a sack to feed a total number of 360 pupils in the school daily. In some of the areas where the communities have migrated to Baringo South, several conflicts have been reported hence making it harder for follow up. Even with the free primary education in Kenya, such news is foreign to them. Teachers say that pupils do not concentrate during afternoon classes. The brothers milk the goats early in the morning, to try and get some milk. Baringo County, experienced a moderate, vegetation deficit and high surface temperatures, with livestock loss and an outbreak of diarrhoea due to a lack of safe, drinking water in parts of the region. According to NDMA issue for January 2017.

“We only hear other schools have received water supply, but we are yet to receive water in our school,” says Lotiko, the teacher. He says they have not been eating the required school feeding meal program, which is part of the free primary education requirement in Kenya. (WBRE/WYOU) — The drought status has been updated to severe in Central Pennsylvania. The boys may not know what education is and its importance in their life, but the drought further amplifies, their current situation. Both pastoral and marginal agricultural areas across the country are experiencing drier-than-usual conditions, for this time of year. The implication is that in future, there will be a sponsorship Child Monitoring Standard (CMS), which states that RCs must be monitored within 90 days,” says John. But so far, nothing has been forthcoming. However, in general it is a futile search for water. Pkopus is a class three (grade three) pupil at Ptikii Primary School. “Monitoring has become a challenge, since some children who migrated with their families cannot be traced. In one month they send a mere USD 2 (Kenya Shillings 200), per month. The President further directed responsible government agencies, both at the national and county levels, to redirect resources towards drought mitigation in the affected counties and put in place appropriate measures, to protect the livelihood of affected communities. Children, such as Arupe and Achore, are disadvantaged since those who attend school, get to benefit through the school-feeding program. If the milk is dry, they harvest poisonous wild fruits called loma which takes a 12-hour cooking preparation, before they are edible.

Their borehole is dry with no permanent, water supply. Some recommendations from teachers at Ptikii Primary School is for parents in the community to be sensitised to value education as a priority in their children’s live. In Grade one, the number of pupils was 51 before the end of the food supply on Monday, 13th February 2017, but now during the visit by World Vision Kenya, on 15th February 2017, only 24 pupils were in class. Since the onset of the drought season, the river has been dry. The only way to access water, was for Pkopus to move deeper into the ground, where the community improvised a hand-dug well. Resource Library | Video Resource Library Video Droughts 101 Droughts 101 Droughts can cause a variety of problems to local communities, including damage to … Even after the National Treasury in Kenya started releasing funds for drought response for the first phase in November 2016.

Their parents departed from home more than five months ago in search of casual work, to try and support them from the ongoing drought. Reducing the Impact of Disasters through Education. In January, the Government constituted an inter-governmental and inter-agency technical committee to coordinate drought response. They do not know what education is, nor its purpose in life.

Baringo County, located in the North Rift region of Kenya, borders Turkana to the North and North East, Samburu and Laikipia to the East, Nakuru to the South, Kericho and Uasin Gishu to the South West, Elgeyo-Marakwet to the West and West Pokot to the North-West. “We have only one meal at night, that is only when we get flour to cook ugali (a mixture of maize meal mixed with flour and water in order to make a dough). During assessments conducted by National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) in December 2016, some of the schools were closed as a result of ongoing drought that is at alarm stage as per the NDMA January newsletter issue. If this situation continues without interventions, it means lives will be lost and malnutrition levels will increase. Elsewhere, due to lack of water at home, nine-year-old Pkopus, could not attend school. Funds were disbursed to livestock, agriculture, water, health and nutrition sub-sectors; interior and coordination of national Government; special programmes and drought co-ordination. He had to try and fetch water at the dry Ptikii, seasonal River. Many families have migrated in search for pasture and water for their livestock (NDMA, January 2017). Impact of Drought on Education. As the drought bites in Lokis area in Baringo County, access to water and food is a bigger challenge to the community. A 35-minute presentation including explanation of the main definitions of drought, measuring drought severity, indicators and monitoring, impacts and prediction. These are: Turkana, Marsabit, Samburu, Tana River, Isiolo, Mandera, Garissa, Wajir and Baringo counties. When we arrived at their home, the boys were grazing, just a handful of their grand-father’s 20 or so goats. They await the sunset, before going out, in search of something to eat. kilometres.

No one, including their family members has ever told them to enroll in a school, to learn and get an education. They do not know what education is, nor its purpose in life. It is around midday and the family, inclusive of Arupe and Achore, have eaten nothing, since morning. In their hands were small shields and arrows in their hands to protect what is left of their grandparents’ cattle, with five cows dead from the drought. A cause of concern in Ptikii Primary School is the lack of access to water.