Students Desert School As Draught Persist
Despite the devastating drought that has ravaged Marsabit County, some schools are still open, while the majority have been closed.
Elbeso only has one school that serves children up to the third grade. Those who graduate after this grade must attend a senior high school that is more than 50 kilometres away.
The majority of children choose to repeat Grade Three or simply drop out.
Prior to the current crisis, this school received maize and bean rations as part of the government’s school feeding program.
However, since last year, food supplies have decreased, causing many children to stay away. There are no students in the schools in Illeret.
“Children are opting to drop out of school because there is no food,” says Peter Ochieng the county assistant commissioner.
Residents believe that the federal and state governments, as well as their political leaders, have abandoned them.
The long-awaited rains arrived in the region a week ago, but they brought with them their own set of problems. Many animals died of hypothermia as a result of the cold temperatures and strong winds that accompanied the rains.
After that, the skies cleared and the sun remained as scorching as before.
County Director of Education Apollo Apuko stated that schools are the backbone for the good future of communities affected by adverse weather conditions, and he urged NGOs, corporations, and well-wishers in society to join the effort to alleviate the ongoing food insecurity affecting communities.
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The Lake Turkana Wind Power Company (LTWP) is contributing Sh 12.8 million to a two-month emergency school feeding program for students in public primary schools in Marsabit County’s Laisamis constituency.
The program will provide a meal per day to 13,000 primary school students in 60 primary schools across the constituency that has been hard hit by prolonged drought, allowing them to complete the remainder of the 2021/2022 academic year.
Students Desert School As Draught Persist
