By Herron Holloway, IFRC in Kenya
Kerro Huka, 49, used to have 300 goats and sheep. He now has just twenty. His story is repeated by the one thousand villagers of Badana in north-eastern Kenya, who haven't seen rain in over a year.
The nearest water hole dried up six months ago. Two attempts to dig bore holes found the water too salty and unfit for human consumption. All the inhabitants of Badana are totally reliant on food aid and water being trucked in.
The hot sun beats down on Kerro. "We are desperate and waiting for rain", he says. "The drought used to come every three years and now it is every year."
Each household is given a 20 litre jerry can of water and this has to last three days. Surrounding the village are the rotting carcasses of sheep, goats and cows. There is very little vegetation and hot dust blows across the barren land.
No way out
Some of the male villagers have already left Badana to try and get jobs as night watchmen in the capital city of Nairobi, over 400 kilometres away. Due to a surge in people applying for these jobs, security companies are now only accepting applications from those with academic qualifications. Kerro, like many in Badana, has never been to school.
Kerro adds: "We cannot leave. To move would cost money that we don't have. There is no other alternative for us. A business is not viable here. I am in the hands of God and hope that rains will come."
Forced to drink contaminated water
Villagers use the limited amount of water they get to drink and cook, or to keep their animals alive. It is not enough and in their desperation, many have had to use unclean water. As a result, there have been frequent outbreaks of communicable diseases like cholera. Kenya Red Cross Society volunteers and community health workers are working with villagers in Badana as part of a health outreach programme so they know how to recognise symptoms and increase hygiene awareness to prevent human suffering and death.
Surviving in arid lands
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) has launched an appeal for approximately 8.2 million Swiss francs (8.1 million US dollars; 5.4 million euro) to help Kenya Red Cross Society with assisting nearly 2 million people that have been affected by the drought. As well as providing immediate relief by distributing food and water, the Red Cross is working with communities on longer-term strategies to halt the downward spiral from progressive droughts.
Pastoralism is the most successful way of surviving in the arid lands that make up the majority of East Africa, but the recent devastating drought has meant pastoralists have been forced to herd their livestock great distances in search of water and pasture. Herds of cattle can now be seen in the city streets of Nairobi.
For many, pastoralism has become too hard. Galogalo Jarso, 28, abandoned his pastoral livelihood and now works at a waiter in a restaurant in Garba Tulla, about 100 kilometres from Badana, renting a mud house with two rooms. As he collects breakfast plates, Galogalo explains, "The drought takes away everything that you have worked for. Now I can send my children to school and if they fall sick, there is help nearby."
"Ideally I would divide my life in two, so that I could be a pastoralist part of the time. It is a better lifestyle because you do not depend on anyone else."
El Niño rains
Thirty kilometres from Garba Tulla, is the village of Boji. The first rains this year fell recently and the difference is immediately obvious. Many here lost their livestock and carcasses are still visible amongst the new green grass. Although the first rains were initially a welcome relief, flash floods swept away some villagers' homes and the only road became impassable.
Heavy rains brought about by El Niño, the recurrent phenomenon of major global weather and climate fluctuations, are expected to intensify in December, possibly extending into January. In some parts of Kenya, El Niño rains have already arrived with devastating consequences – flooding has left communities isolated and contaminated clean water sources. The IFRC has allocated 400,000 Swiss francs (377,000 US dollars; 265,000 euro) from its Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) to Kenya Red Cross to assist 5,000 households which are expected to be hit by floods in the next month.
By harnessing the El Niño rains, there is the potential to lift the burden of drought and the Red Cross have been distributing seeds in areas expecting rainfall.
However, for millions of people like Kerro, there is still no sign that rain will fall anytime soon and they continue to hope and wait.
