THE NORTHWEST OF KENYA - Human Endurance, Harsh Climate

 

“Doing what you like is freedom, liking what you do is happiness.” – Frank Tyger.

Today I'm off to Northwest Kenya. To the largest county in Kenya - Turkana.

I have to go and view a plot in Kakuma for a Children's Centre.

We fly off from Wilson Airport via Eldoret. After the routine security checks we sit in the departure lounge - yes the famous-squeezed-one with the fame of children crying.

The flight is on time and we arrive safely in Eldoret. Then a 15 minutes stopover to drop and pickup other passengers. We take off for Lodwar in due time having sat in the squeezed seats of the Dash 800 aeroplane.

This is a very different and scenic flight over Elgeyo Marakwet and West Pokot counties before entering Turkana.

Several mountain ranges dot the country here. The skies are clear - not a good sign. There should be rain clouds all over - it is nearing the end of March and the rainy season should have hit by now. Global warming!! We in Kenya and generally all Africans - we are not to blame for this -- and yet we bear the worst brunt of it! In God we trust.

Aeriel View: Turkwel Dam

 

 

 

 

 

 

We soon pass over Turkwel Dam. It has water but its nowhere near full. The drought is being felt all over - but signs of rain are on the horizon.

The river pouring out of the dam is Turkwel River - which crosses the desert and pours into Lake Turkana - one of only two rivers that pour into this desert lake (the other one if River Omo in Ethiopia). Lake Turkana is a salty water lake - because no river pours out of it.

The flight from Eldoret to Lodwar is about 50 minutes long - which time flies away in no time.

We land in the desert town of Lodwar just past 9am. The temperatures on the ground are still relatively cool at 29 degrees Celsius. But worse is yet to come - 40 degrees Celsius is a regular normal temperature here. I am equipped with a Topi Hat - yes one of those worn by tourists from the affluent world! But do I say!

Just to the North of the runway a small mountain straddles the view. And atop this mountain is a statue of Jesus - a miniature of 'Christ the Redeemer' statue of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.  Its the Catholic Church's way of announcing its presence here. Similar signs and landmarks also abound in Marsabit, Tana River and Samburu counties. On the whole, the church certainly does a sterling job in terms of hospitals, schools, dispensaries and generally caring for and vital concern for the down-trodden (remember Mother Teresa - just a thought?). We must be grateful and appreciate where appreciation is due.

We board a Toyota Harrier sent us by Ahmed. Again thankfully so - who would send his personal car to pick up strangers from 120km away and return them back to Lodwar later -- all at no cost whatsoever! Goodness still thrives in this world - its just we don't see it! Let us open our eyes.

The driver is Amos....a reverted Muslim. During our chats he says he has lived here for over 10 years and is married to a Karamojong lady. We chat small talk - he is convinced Baba will win this year's elections. Haji and I keep our opinions to ourselves.

He drives us out of Lodwar, Northwest along the new tarmac highway. Distance to Kakuma is clearly indicated on the mileage marks along the Highway at 120km. Amos is a good driver, calm and steady paced - no jerky movement. And so I can snatch some winks of sleep.

But then I remember that I've never been on this road so I savour in the new landscapes.

The Landscape just out of Lodwar

Its semi arid land with acacia trees. Dotted here and there are Turkana manyattas.

I am already thirsty but I hold my horses. I must enjoy these first-time views as much as possible. Who knows when I shall next be here. The further we drive away from Lodwar the landscape changes from flat arid to mountainous but still semi arid lands.

 As we reach approximately half way to Kakuma, we drive into a small mountain range.

Here the trees are denser. We are entering into a range of small mountains with lots of greenery. The trees and shrubs are definitely healthier. This is a sign of plentiful water.

Clay soil anthills rise to more than 10ft above the ground. Camels reaches out to the higher, younger and more succulent leaves of the acacia trees. They look healthy and happy too.... from the way they wag their tails so rapidly. In this small oasis far away from the madhouse which Nairobi is - there is tranquility and abundance for man and animals.

The hills surround the road as it meanders around through the range.

Its an oasis in a generally dry and semi desert land. A welcome break from the otherwise harsh environment.

There is no sight of water in the plains but here the greenery portrays a slightly different picture.

But this oasis venture is a short-lived drive - we are soon back upon the arid landscape!

An occasional herdsman with his stick across his shoulders strides along the edge of the new tarmac road. He is wearing the trademark green and red shuka over his waist and another over his shoulders - nearly all of them have the similar coloured shawls and kikois - I wonder whether this is a cultural thing or just coincidence that they were all imported to Kenya in one lot. A closer look and I notice that all herdsmen stride with long-purposeful-sure-footed strides ..... this is a quality of strides and walking gait by nomads across the globe probably due to the distances they have to traverse.

Goats stroll along the road and look at cars with disdain as if to ask and say - 'what alien is this interrupting our domain'.

Every few kilometres we reach a town centre with tin huts, some shops, an open air market and children dragging along the yellow cooking oil 20litre plastic tins - these are the vessels of choice to ferry the scarce water from shallow wells to homesteads across Africa.

I notice the infamous and invasive mathenge shrub has made inroads here too. Sadly, its just a matter of time before it takes over other floras and the environment.

 

The Invasive Mathenge Shrub - see the bare landscape

Presently we now come out of the hilly landscape into a vast plain with trees sparsely spaced. This is almost desert.

The outside temperature is almost 35 degrees Celsius.

In the distance I can see several small mountain ranges.

There is no sign of any houses nor manyattas, but the goats crossing the road every so often testify to human presence.

 

After a short drive the landscape now becomes a little more green with rather short acacia trees and shrubs .... but certainly greener than the semi arid dust-pan we had just crossed.

Distant and far apart human and animal paths remind us that this land, as harsh and unforgiving as it is, still has life and actually thriving.....one can't stop but think how Glorious is God! Ameen.

We reach a diversion to the road. A section has been peeled off and being redone. Amos the driver reports that the Chinese contractor took a short cut in the road construction and thus the need to redo the works. Haven't we heard this for umpteen times! I have said it in the past and I repeat - 'Do the right thing from the first instance - and thereafter strive to do what is right always'.

A lone flag-bearer lady sits on a murram pile - sullen and looking down. She cannot dare look up; as the sun is bearing down upon all and sundry. She is not just obviously bored but there is no work to be done. There are no cars to wave on or stop. But she has a job to do and part of her job description is to show up for work whether there is or isn't any work. Any bets as to what she will earn for being roasted the whole day in the 45 degrees Celcius sun?!? I am almost certain that she is underpaid, she has no choice, she is bound to this bondage - the alternative is to starve or engage in unsolicitous behavior. So in the circumstances - she is doing the right thing - earning legitimate money - however little.

Another young girl walks on, watching us with side glances. She is carrying a loaf of bread. That's abit surprising....I didn't see any shops around. She must have walked for miles upon miles to obtain this very urban commodity.

After every 10 or so minutes a truck passes us from the opposite direction....there seem no saloon cars, ours is the only one.

We are not too far from our destination - Kakuma. I gather this from the contractor's sign on a culvert which reads +95.150.

We are doing fine

I am hungry and thirsty. I haven't had any food or drink since my first and only glass of water at home at 4.45am.

I'll survive.

In any case I have to practice for Ramadhan which starts around 2nd April - not more than 10 days away.

My blogging has to stop momentarily. I've just received a WhatsApp message from my office that the structural engineer for the Kakuma project has used a wrong architectural drawing to produce his structural drawings.

After a flurry of WhatsApp messages between my office and I and the engineer I return to enjoying the journey. It was my staff's mistake - they sent the wrong drawing file...what a waste of time and effort due to such an innocuous mistake.

We pass a series of manyattas of the Turkana. Nearly all seem to have a pattern of buildings styles. There is almost always a stone adobe house with tin roof, surrounded by a variety of mud huts with straw roofs and the most comfortable of the twig huts which vary in size. Comfortable because of how well ventilated these are -- and this is how they have lived for millennia, These are the progeny of the famous 'Lucy' who traversed this land millions of years ago. The fossils of 'Lucy' were stumbled upon by a team of Kenyan anthropologists led by the late Dr Leakey on the shores of Lake Turkana - this thought makes me want to salute the Turkana, the Molo, the Toposa, the Karamojong and other hardy tribes that eke out a living here without water or grazing lands or arable land - they survive on their animals only. And they have done so for millennia! 

Salute to you!!!! HUMAN ENDURANCE IN HARSH CLIMATES!

Amos tells me the smaller twig huts are usually living quarters of an elderly lady. I have my doubts of this. I think they are to keep young goats to keep them from harms way. The tin roofed hut is obviously for the man of the family..... he obviously lives in this tin hut out of prestige at the expense of the comfort of the humble traditional hut. Well its a free world - I shall not impose my opinion upon the man of the house - he owns the manyatta and thus its his choice to get roasted or sleep in cool breeze.

We arrive in Kakuma Town. Its a typical sleepy small Kenyan town. It has grown along the Highway with small dusty streets branching away. Boda bodas are a constant presence.

The Main Street in Kakuma

We take one of those dusty streets lined with boda boda spare shops, salons and other mpesa general shops. We are headed to the main mosque which is just a few metres away.

Sheikh Ibrahim is the Imam. He is from Wajir and has lived here for over 8years. We exchange pleasantries and are soon joined by the deputy county commissioner who is also from Wajir.... a pleasant young vegetarian named Yusuf....an indeed surprising fact to stumble upon a vegetarian from the nomadic Somali tribe. Like all nomadic peoples of the world they thrive in meat, milk and occasionally honey.

 

Kakuma Jamia Mosque

As we prepare to go view the site of our project we are joined by Mohamed and Ahmed (both contractors). They are our benefactor hosts. Thank you guys.

Kakuma was actually a small centre but its fame and size grew when wars boiled over in South Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda and Burundi.

A refugee camp had to be setup somewhere in the North, and Kakuma was chosen as the ideal receiving ground for the displaced persons.

At one time the population in Kakuma Refugee Camp swelled over 500,000 pax.

 

This has since reduced. But the populations still remain abnormally higher towards the externals....the displaced persons.

Yusuf puts it in its correct perspective -  the local population of Kakuma is around 330000 persons whilst the refugee population is around 310000 pax. A roughly 50-50 ratio.

A shoe-seller-these are the best shoes for this land

We head to the site. Its close to the Refugee Settlement Centre some 5 km from town centre.

Its a large expanse of flat land with shrubs and mathenge trees. I inspect the 5 trial pit that have been dug. Once we've finished walking the entire plot we head back to Kakuma town centre for a welcome meal and water. I am thirsty and starving too.

 

 

 

 

The Site - object of our visit

 

A thorny shrub - uncannily similar to a starfish at Mombasa!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At Cairo Palace Hotel we relax, order meals and sip away cool fresh juices.

The meal takes a little longer than normal because -- as Jared the waiter put it -- 'we don't keep ready meals, we prepare meals on order'. Minimum amount of time 20 minutes'. This 20 minutes ended up being almost an hour!

Cairo Palace Hotel - time to tuck in as we chat!

We chat away. Adjacent to our table are various NGO workers. All whites. They seem to like such hot far away places!! But they certainly do a good job - its mostly voluntary and the environment is harsh, the climate even harsher! Daily provisions hard to come by.

Our meals arrive and we chomp away at the meat and rice. Its tasty enough, cooked in Somali style - yes the owner is a Somali man from Wajir.

And after the meals its time for dhur prayers which we pray at the musallah within the hotel.

Time is not on our side now. We head back towards Lodwar for our flight back.

 

The scenic Pelikage Mountains are to the East of Kakuma and we drive towards them. And back along the same scenic route.

We arrive safely in Lodwar at 335pm. In good time for check in.

The lady then drops the bomb shell - Sir, the flight is delayed by an hour!!!! She announces this without apology or regret (take it or leave!).

Do I have a choice - No!

So Haji and I relax in the departure lounge waiting for the flight back home ... which comes at 5pm and we are home by 730pm. 

Alhamdulillah