May 1- 31, 2015
ISSUE 108
A monthly newspaper by the Media Diversity Centre, a project of African Woman and Child Feature Service
Slum women take maternal health, abortion and reproductive health issues a notch higher By Clifford Akumu It is Saturday morning in Viwandani slum, Nairobi County and a group of women are gathered next to a swampy sugar plantation. A few meters away, noise from children playing different kind of games and jua kali artisans, occasionally compete with the carbon monoxide-filled billow of smoke from the nearby factories for audience. The cacophony creates such a circle of competition, evocative of David and Goliath battle. The slum is a buzz with activity.
A cocktail of fetid smell seeping through the leaves of a mango tree next to the sugar cane plantation has not dampened their spirit. Although the green plantation, which serves as the source of molasses for local brewers in the slum shows signs of plenty, behind it is a grotesque picture underlying constant pressure from the brewers.
Motherhood
However, back to the women’s meeting. This is neither the usual gossip-sessions that is commonplace in the slums, nor an orchestrated plan to steal
sugarcane. The women are attentively listening to their leader, with occasional nods in between the talks. They are having a discussion on ‘safe motherhood in the slums’, a topic they hold dear to their heart. The seven women are part of Viwandani Community Motherhood Strategy Group that has been training women and girls about reproductive health care services and access in the slum. Under the banner ‘Tupange’ the group receives monthly supply of contraceptives from a non-governmental
Rachel Muthoni leads a group of women in discussions about reproductive health in Viwandani slum, Nairobi county. Pictures: Clifford Akumu organization —JHPIEGO and local health facilities — for their clients. The group consists of about 50 voluntary members from different parts
of the slum; Kingston, Soko Mjinga, Lunga Lunga, Riverside, Milimani, Jamaica, Sinai A and B, Paradise and Continued on page 4
Read more Reject stories online at w w w. m d c a f r i c a . o rg
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ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
15 years agony for man following a dog bite By Erick Kiplangat Kelvin Kiprono’s only link to the outside world has been his mother who has literally left everything in order to care for her 25-year-old son. The past 15 years have been agony for Kiprono since he was bitten by a stray dog in Kericho town in Kericho County. Since then, Kiprono’s parents have helped him as he went in and out of consciousness following the attack which left him infected with rabies. On the fateful day, October 11, 2001, Kiprono was playing with his friends outside their house in Jericho Trading Centre when the dog struck and bit him on his cheek and neck. His mother, Jennifer Kemei, with no medical training, has taken the responsibility of caring for him since the bite left him with a condition that often sees him relapsing in and out of consciousness for the last 15 years.
Agony
Kiprono’s parents say they have sought treatment for their son in a number of hospitals within the region and Nairobi, but with little if any signs of improvement. Kiprono’s woes started when he was first taken to Central Hospital in Kericho town by a relative for treatment where he was examined and injected with anti-rabies drugs and antibiotics before his injured cheek was stitched. When Kiprono was attacked by the stray dog, his mother was attending a church service at Chepkutung Africa Gospel Church (AGC) before the sad news was broken to her. According to Dr Kenneth Sigilai, Kapkatet District Hospital Medical Superintendent the boy suffered a
Dr. Joseph Owarah from Siloam Hospital in Kericho attends to 25 years old Kelvin Kiprono at their home in Jericho trading center, Kericho. Kiprono was bitten by a dog and now suffers from rabies. Picture: Erick Kiplangat brain damage as a result of the rabies virus. Sigilai says: “The boy is suffering from encephalitis, which is an inflammation of the brain due to infection has retarded Kiprono’s growth and affected his speech leaving him speaking incoherently.” He adds: “It has also affected the way he feeds because he cannot eat through the mouth.” Kiprono’s mother says her son, who was in Class Three at Chepku-
tung Primary School was discharged from hospital and resumed classes. However, he occasionally complained of severe headache forcing the family to take him to Green View, a private hospital in Kericho town for treatment. She says this time around, doctors at the hospital diagnosed the boy with fever but medical tests showed that he had scanty malarial parasites in the blood forcing him to be admitted.
Despite the treatment accorded to Kiprono his condition worsened due to recurrent headache and fever forcing the family to request the hospital authorities to have him transferred to Tenwek Mission Hospital in Bomet County for specialised treatment. At Tenwek Hospital, doctors diagnosed Kiprono and concluded that he was a victim of meningitis three weeks after he was admitted to the referral hospital. He later became para-
lyzed before going into a coma. The doctors performed a surgical operation on the boy’s stomach and inserted a tube fitted with a syringe for feeding since he could not talk or swallow food and liquid through the mouth. The boy’s parents are now appealing to well-wishers locally and abroad to come to the rescue of their son by according him specialised treatment so as to save his life.
Family in dilemma over suffering of five children with visual disorder By Charles Muasya A family in Kitui County is appealing to charitable organizations to help it treat five children who have been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, an eye ailment that causes visual disability. Jacinta Unyenze a mother of 10 children says she is in a dilemma since the children are fast losing sight and have now developed learning difficulties. The children Muvee (22), Rose (16), Faith (14) and twins Muthama and Mwendwa (9) started experiencing eye problems all from the tender age of two years and the complications increased as they progressed in age. Muvee completed Form Four last year while the other children are pupils at Kasyala Primary School where their parents have been advised to take them to schools with special units. “All the children have had similar symptoms of being light shy when young but as they grow up, they developed a rare anomaly of being glued
to light,” explains Unyenze, a resident in Ivaini Village in Kitui Central subCounty. According to Unyenze, the complications increased as the children grew up and by the time they reached six years, they became partially blind. “Although we have been taking the children for routine eye clinic at Kitui County referral hospital, the disorder has not been corrected,” Unyenze explains hoping that three children who have been admitted at Kitui Central Primary School special unit will be able to learn without difficulties.
Diagnosis
According to Dr David Manuri, Ophthalmologist at the Kitui Referral Hospital, the children have been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa which he says is progressive and hereditary. “To marginally improve the lesion, retraction has been carried out,” explains Manuri. Meanwhile scores of visually impaired and albinism pupils in Kitui
Jacinta Unyeze with three of her children Faith and twins Muthama and Mwendwa who have been diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa that causes visual disorder. Picture: Charles Muasya Central sub-County have benefited from learning materials worth KSh2 million from Safaricom Foundation and other partners. In the partnership with State House Girls’ High School, Blind Child Initiative and Kenya Society
for the Blind, the pupils received foodstuff, braille writing and learning facilities, white scans, sun screen lotions and brim hats. Presenting the donation at Kitui Central Primary School, James Kitonga, a representative Safaricom
Foundation said the initiative will ease learning difficulties experienced by pupils living with visual disorder. He said the Foundation has set aside KSh900,000 to help purchase learning aids as part of its social corporate responsibility.
ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
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Danger looms from the hanging graves of Olepolos By JANE WANGECHI When Olepolos in Oloolua, Kajiado North subCounty is mentioned what comes into one’s mind is a classy hotel and that is until one gets there to find a village where houses have been built in collapsing quarries that have been left open by private developers. Olepolos is in Oloolua Ward of Kajiado County and has over 40 quarries that are not only staring at the residents but have become a danger zone for children playing on the shaky ground. The hanging quarries look like they can collapse at the slightest tremor. The danger is so real that the area chief and officials of the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) have asked the residents to move out. However, this move has not been well received by the area’s landlords. Oloolua administrator Moses Mpesha has given an order for immediate relocation of the people living in the over 42 quarries that are in Oloolua Village and other surrounding villages. Speaking during a media tour of the hanging quarries after a report was made of a man who had slipped in one and died, Chief Moses Mpesha says that all houses built in the quarries must be demolished and the occupants
relocated as this is a disaster in waiting. Mpesha has written to NEMA for quick action noting that he has used his office to stop mining in this area but the private owners are adamant to let things remain the same. Mpesha also added that many accidents have been witnessed as a result of weak roads that have been as a result of quarrying on roads. “We have had several accidents with lorries trying to get a more stable side when they are transporting building stones and quarry chips,” says Mpesha. He notes that more danger will be wit- Some of the houses that are at risk of destruction due to the quarry activities in Olepolos, nessed when the quarries will cave buryKajiado county. Picture: Jane Wangechi
“We have had several accidents with lorries trying to get a more stable side when they are transporting building stones and quarry chips.” —Moses Mpesha.
ing the homes. “The quarries need to be filled up with cotton soil so as to ensure a uniform landscape,” says the administrator. According to Mpesha, with the unstable grounds, danger looms high especially when the rains are heavy and the possibility of the quarries collapsing is high. “My office has been having talks with NEMA for a very long time where private owners of quarries were given notice to relocate the tenants occupying their houses,” says Mpesha. “He notes:
“This has not been done and I am taking stern measures to see to it that all which was agreed upon has been fulfilled so as to save lives.” Mpesha has now opted to engage all stakeholders in finding a “cure” to the issue so that those who have occupied houses in the quarry’s can move to safe grounds during this rainy seas as many houses are beneath hanging stones that can detach themselves anytime. Efforts to get comments from the private owners of the quarries were not successful as their phones went unanswered.
Lucky to be alive, James Ndono narrates survival in Garissa massacre By Nzinga Muasya At 20 years old, James Ndono, does not believe he is still alive, having escaped miraculously from clutches of death when his colleagues were massacred by Al Shabaab terrorists at the Garissa University College. Ndono, a second year Education student says when the devils struck in the wee hours of morning he was deep asleep, only to be woken up by the sound of gunfire renting the air. Four of his roommates had already made a quick dash outside and scaled the university wall to safety. However, Ndono and another roommate were trapped inside, staring death in the face. From their second floor room, they could see one Al Shabaab militant firing indiscriminately as fleeing students fell down. “We attempted to storm out of the room but we saw him, forcing us to retreat,” recalls Ndono. Back into the room, he took cover inside a wardrobe while his colleague hid under the bed. “Soon we could hear them giving orders for all students who were hiding to come out saying they will count up to five,” explains Ndono. “The terrorists were asking students to come out claiming they were only after soldiers of the Kenya Defence Forces and police.” Speaking at his uncle’s house in Mwingi town soon after reuniting with his relatives Ndono says many students, especially females heeded to this call where they literally walked into their death. “They were rounded up on the ground floor, separated according to gender and religion and then sprayed with bullets,” Ndono recalls the blood chilling event. His roommate advised they come
out and seek forgiveness from the terrorists but something held him back. No sooner had his roommate stepped out than two gunshots rent the air. He was no more. Ndono cringed in the wardrobe where he was hiding. He covered himself with clothes as he lay still. All the while he could hear colleagues wailing as bullets tore them apart. “I can’t remember how many times I prayed and repented,” he says.
Surrender
Then the moment to rub his skin against death knocked. One militant, armed to the teeth stormed inside his room. He bent over a bed looking for any hiding students. Seeing none, he stormed out. “I could clearly see him. I was as good as dead,” says Ndono. From 6am, Ndono stayed in the wardrobe until around 6pm, almost 12 hours after the siege began, with the humid temperatures of Garissa town roasting him dry. Around 6pm, he heard someone enter the room. He panicked. Due to exhaustion, he fell off the wardrobe. Luckily for him, it was a policeman. “It was a policeman. He took me up and we descended the stairs. I saw one Al Shabaab militant lying down, dead. One policeman stopped momentarily and pumped bullets into the lifeless body,” says Ndono, the first born in a family of four boys. Once outside, his roommates were happy and shocked to see him alive. According to Ndono, those students proclaiming to the Islamic faith were being escorted out of the slaughter hall by the militants as Christians were forced to kneel down, and soon after, receive bullets to the head. “They said in Kiswahili ‘tumekuja kuua na pia kuuawa (we’ve come to
Kenyans gathered at Freedom Corner, Nairobi county to pay their respect to Garissa University students who were killed by Alshabaab. Picture: Courtesy kill and to be killed)’,” Ndono remembers the terrorists who he describes as youthful and in their 20s.
Phone call
Ndono also recalls hearing a male student being killed after he was found making a phone call to his parent. “One took the phone and said...Mzee sikiza sasa tukiua kijana yako. Ambia Uhuru atoe majeshi yake Somalia (old man, listen ask we kill your son. Ask Uhuru to remove his soldiers from Somalia)’. They then shot him dead,” says Ndono. “I thank God for sparing my life. It’s only Him who knows why I survived
yet I’m not better than my colleagues who were killed,” says Ndono in deep reflection. Ndono’s next door colleague Duncan Mwendwa, also a neighbour at their Nzawa Village home in Kitui County was not as lucky.
“They were rounded up on the ground floor, separated according to gender and religion and then sprayed with bullets.”
Mwendwa shared a room with Somali students whom the devils let off. To save himself, Mwendwa, 21, claimed to be a Muslim but when he failed a test based on Quran, one monster shot him twice in the head. Mwendwa’s mother, Kalekye Mwandikwa has been inconsolable, considering the boy, her last born, was the only hope for the family, having been the only one to go past high school and join university. “He was my only hope. I feel like I’m also dead,” says Mwandikwa who is a single mother. According to Kitui County government data, nine students from the county perished in the massacre.
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ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
Mysterious breast disease afflicts young Siaya girl By OMONDI GWENGI For many years pain has been the order of the day for Christine Achieng. The pain and swelling of her left breast has given her sleepless nights and she does not remember any day that has passed without her experiencing the hurting. 17-year- old girl is a total orphan with no one to help her. She is appealing to well-wishers to assist her in getting medical treatment for the disease that saw her drop out of school due to stigma. Achieng, who hails from Ngoya village in Gem constituency, says she has been unable to raise funds to go for further treatment. Her sickness has confined her to live as an outcast. “My parents died in 2012 when I was in form one. I have two younger siblings who are now staying with my aunt in Kisumu,” she tells Reject.
Treatment
Christine Achieng who has been living with swollen breasts for three years. She is appealing to well wishers to help her cure the mysterious disease. Picture: Omondi Gwengi
Achieng’s misery started three years ago when she started experiencing an itch on her breast, something that she thought was abnormal. After a year, the breast started growing abnormally bigger everyday.
However, she decided to go for treatment at Jaramogi Oginga Teaching and Referral hospital in Kisumu, but the doctors could not establish the cause of the rare breast condition. “I could not afford to buy the prescribed drugs and therefore decided to try a traditional herbalist instead hoping that they would be cheaper, but that was not to be,” she recalls. She adds, “What worries me most is the rate at which it is growing. I have been staying with my relatives and good Samaritans who cannot raise the money that would be required for my treatment.” Tired of suffering for years, the girl travelled to Bondo town where she sought refuge in a Legion Maria Church. She was hosted at the church by a Good Samaritan. According to Mrs. Elizabeth Abungu who is currently hosting her, she (Achieng) is not able to wash her clothes or do anything because of her condition. “Her breast has swollen and this makes it difficult for her to even bend,” says Abungu adding that it is even difficult for her to sleep at night because of the pain.
Achieng says that most of the people seeing her have been suspecting that she could be developing breast cancer, which is still at an early stage. “Some people have even attributed my condition to a curse while others have been advising me to seek traditional medication or go to church for prayers,” says Achieng. Achieng is now left with no option but to appeal for assistance from the leaders and well-wishers to come to her aid so that she can get proper treatment. “Given that I developed this condition while in school, I would wish to get any necessary assistance so that I can go back to school and continue with my studies,” said Achieng adding that she would like to help her siblings. Bondo sub-county Deputy County Commissioner Mr. Samson Akatch who spoke to Reject after the girl visited her office for help said that she needed urgent medical examination to establish the cause of her condition. “This is a young girl who should be in school and we are appealing to any well wisher to come to the aid of this citizen whose future is likely to be ruined by this condition,” said Akatch.
Slum women take maternal health, abortion and reproductive health issues a notch higher Continued from page 1 Donholm. According to Rachel Muthoni, 43, and leader of the group since they started the programme in 2008, the slum has recorded a decrease in number of maternal deaths and unsafe abortions. “I am happy we have become like sunshine in the slum. There is joy in helping needy mothers and girls to give birth in appropriate way and secure safe abortion if need be,” says Muthoni “Family planning methods and distribution of anti-retrovirals (ARVs) has also been incorporated in the program to cater for the poor women in the slum,” explains Muthoni.
Motivation
“When you invest in mothers, the whole society benefits, and when you care for children, you raise a new generation of leaders and this is what motivates us,” she observes. As if to confirm her new tag as ‘maternal health ambassador of Viwandani’, our conversation is rudely interrupted by a phone call. She excuses herself from the group and receives the call. She further tells me that, it is one of the women benefiting from the community based distribution of pills and anti-retroviral programme which the group conducts in the slums. For purposes of confidentiality, she has saved their contacts using nick names. Muthoni has been receiving more women visitors in the evening; who come to pick contraceptive pills and ARVs from her house. “I attend to about 30 women and teenage girls through this work. I have devised a formula of remembering who needs what. I have nick named them in my phone book depending on the services that they need,” says Muthoni who is a mother of two boys and one girl.
Report
Kenya is among countries recognized for innovations that have helped reduce maternal and child mortality, according to the 2010-2015 Every Woman Every Child (EWEC) progress report. Lucy Maina, 25, a community health volunteer and peer educator says that she seen a complete transformation since she started attending
the training sessions. Before, she did not know anything nor did she have the courage to address health issues at any gathering. Today she handles with ease topics like life skills, correct use of contraceptives and proper hygiene among teenage girls. “We are normally grouped into ‘couples’ — that is two ladies per group — where we go to various churches within the slum to talk to teenagers from 11 to 18 years. Personally I have recorded four results, three were successful while one did not make it,” explains Maina. While huge strides have been made to curtail unsafe abortion in Viwandani, thanks to continued training on family planning, there is still a long way to go. Maina says the gap can only be met if radical measures are adopted. “This campaign has reached a crucial point. The stigma has since reduced and now people understand what is safe. We have to involve men in this fight so that we can have a healthy generation,” notes Maina. Although trained with other members, she developed a liking to peer education and stuck to it. She has been getting referrals thanks to her good work in the slum “We take advantage when there is an event in the slum to offer our services,” Maina explains.
Access
Many Kenyan women living in poverty do not have access to contraceptives often leading to unwanted pregnancies that usually end in unsafe abortion. They, therefore, end up in the hands of unskilled quacks or traditional herbalists who often charge low fees for their services resulting into numerous complications and even death. In Viwandani, for example, the use of Jik (bleach), Omo (detergent) and tea leaves to secure an abortion are rife. “Every month in this slum people used to find dead foetus wrapped in paper bags. Personally, I don’t advocate for abortion and that is why we train the women and teenage girls on methods of family planning,” observes Muthoni. Lack of information on access and how to use the available contraceptives has been cited as a catalyst to these challenges.
“As long as there are sexual activities among young girls and married women, there will still be unwanted pregnancies with us” says Muthoni “If everybody can access healthcare, we will not be talking about maternal deaths,” says Jeremiah Maina, Chairman National Nursing Association. With Millennium Development Goal number five of reducing the maternal mortality ratio and the universal access to reproductive health coming to an end this year, Kenya’s maternal mortality rate remains unacceptably high at 488 deaths per 100,000 live births. The statistics are a pointer to ‘an elephant in the room’ that has to be dealt with. Progress of drastically reducing these deaths has been abysmally slow. “We don’t have to lose hope, we can save more lives through proper information,” notes Muthoni
Misfortune
Muthoni says her husband was diagnosed with Tuberculosis (TB) in 1994 after several tests that saw them wait for months before they could get the results. “My husband was admitted at Rhodes Ngaira Health Centre where he was diagnosed with TB. It was at Kenyatta National Hospital where our fear was confirmed, he was found to be HIV positive,” Muthoni explains. After several weeks of soul-searching and advice from her mates, she decided to abandon her husband and went back to her rural home in Kirinyaga for six weeks. However, this did not last for long. Her husband would soon gain strength after which he brought her back to Nairobi. In early 1996, she started feeling weak and sickly. She would join a women’s group ‘Education through Listening’ that was run by Population Services International. “We were teaching different women groups about HIV and Aids as well as life skills in the slum. One day I got so sick and they advised me to get tested after seeing my condition,” recalls Muthoni. “I knew what awaited me was death even after the counselling I received,” she recalls. In August 2000, her husband finally suc-
cumbed to the fatal disease. Muthoni has been living positively with the virus since then. Anne Wangare, 36, who has been involved in community based distribution of contraceptives, is happy too.
Impact
“Since I joined the group in 2008, I have positively affected the lives of pregnant mothers in the slum,” says Wangare, a mother of two girls. Although she did not have the privilege of peer education as a teenager, she vows to instil discipline among slum girls. “I got married at a young age and that marriage never worked. When I lost my mother I already had a child and life was hell,” recalls Wangare. The group conducts dialogue sessions every month with the authorities in the slums to tackle health issues. “Every member prepares a monthly report. The report is then given to community health committees to prioritise health issues to be discussed in the meeting,” Muthoni confirms adding that they communicate directly to the health facilities in case there is an outbreak of disease. Constant contraceptive stock-outs are leaving the likes of Wangare and Muthoni without clients. We are overworked considering the number in the slum. “Most of the group members are volunteers. Many people have left and the remaining group has a story to tell and know this is a calling,” confirms Muthoni. Teaching materials for the teenagers too has been a problem for the group. “We don’t have freebies to give teenagers that we educate,” says Muthoni adding that “there are some women who think they are teaching ‘bad manners”. According to Muthoni, an increase in the number of rescue centres in the slums for the vulnerable children will cushion defilement cases that are high in the slums. “Currently Viwandani location has only one centre — Cana Family Rescue Centre. We need to know the kind of generation we are raising by taking them to a rescue centre,” Muthoni concludes.
ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
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Without both limbs but with a lot of hope By Philip Yegon She has put behind her disability and perhaps thinks big to make ends meet. She is not about to look back. Begging on streets, shopping centers and bus parks is a thing of the past for Hellen Chelelgo who was born without both legs. She remembers vividly the few cents she used to get while begging on a verandah of a shop in Kericho town from people who sympathized with her condition that she used as savings to start a small business outside the ever busy Tuskys Supermarket in Kericho town. Little did she know that venturing into fruits and farm produce business six years down the line will take her places. Chelelgo, age, 45 now basks in glory after the hitherto small business grows in leaps and bounds.
Begging
“I used to get between Sh100 and Sh500 per day from sympathizers after begging from morning to evening. Since I didn’t like to be a burden to my family and I wanted to prove to others that disability is not inability, I sacrifice a lot to save the few coins that l invested in this small business and I am now enjoying its fruits,” says Chelelgo. She says she would juggle between her family needs and the savings and says it worked out for her. After years of hard work, sacrifice and patience, she discloses that she now enjoys the fruits of her sweat. Chelelgo is a common figure outside the super market after its management allocated her a space to start her small business. She sells all types of fruits, beans, peas, potatoes, green maize, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, cereals and carrots among others. Chelelgo who is a single mother of five source her agricultural produce and the fruits from farmers who have embraced agri-business at the villages. She at times gets on credit the goods where she sells before repaying her suppliers. “I owe my success to these suppliers for being patient until I have sold the goods and repay them,” she adds. She reveals that local hotels as well customers from within and without provide her with reliable market and adds that the demand for the goods is high, a thing that has made her smile all the way to the bank. The upcoming entrepreneur discloses that she pockets between Sh.4,000 and Sh.6,000 per day from the business. “I can now cater for my children’s school fees and daily needs from the business proceeds without having to beg on the streets,” she says. Chelelgo can now affords to pay school fees
Hellen Chelelgo who was born without her two legs displays assorted fruits and other farm produce outside Kericho’s Tuskys Supermarket. Picture: Philip Yegon for her daughter-Mercy Chepng’eno pursuing Parallel Programme at Chepkoilel University and three others learning in various secondary schools in Kericho County. She reveals she is coughing out over Sh. 120,000 per semester for her daughter pursuing higher education.
“I owe my success to these suppliers for being patient until I have sold the goods and repay them.” — Hellen Chelelgo
She discloses that transport from her rural home in Kiptere village in Kericho West subcounty, a distance of about 40 Km to Kericho town- her place of work has been the biggest challenge in her life. She says she operates the route to and from on daily basis.
Discrimination
“These Public Service Vehicles crew at times discriminate against me because of the way I am You see, I have to be lifted up to the vehicle using sacks (makeshifts stretchers) to enable me travel to town and back. I also don’t have a wheelchair to aid me in mobility,” she says. Chelelgo says she is even in dire need for a motor vehicle so as to enable her travel to other
places to expand her business. The upcoming business woman is however; grateful to the Kericho County administration for allowing her to operate in the town’s central business district where it is a no-go-zone for hawkers. She advises the people with disabilities not to lose hope in life but to venture into such like gainful activities instead of relying only on alms that at times, are hard to come by. Chelelgo says disability is not inability. She also appeals to the leaders, county administrations and other wellwishers to assist the people living with disabilities so as for them to lead a normal life like the rest of the people. She was born at Kiptere village in Kericho West sub-County in 1968 without the both legs.
Disabled in Kilifi seek more support from County government By Antony Zoka Concerns have been raised over the need to have data capturing people living with disabilities on their access to maternal care in health facilities. According to non-governmental organizations fighting for the rights of people living with disabilities, there is need to have records captured in all public health facilities. Eunice Javan, Coast Regional Coordinator for Persons Living with Disability of Marie Stopes Kenya, says they have identified the issue and embarked on engagement with persons with disability.
Neglect
“Persons with disabilities have always been neglected. They are treated like any other normal person despite the special conditions and this is why there is no data that captures aspects of disability,” notes Javan. Globally about 280,000 women die from pregnancy related complications. In Kenya, 488 women die per every 100,000 live births largely because women don’t give birth under skilled care. About 8,000 women die in
Kenya every year from pregnancy related complications. Although the government has institutionalised free maternity services, many women are still not able to access the services because, special populations like persons living with disability are still not able to get there. The reasons why they still deliver at home or using traditional birth attendants are numerous and include negative attitudes from health workers some of whom do not expect them to get pregnant; long distance to health facilities which poses a special challenge to those with disabilities and lack of transport. Although Kilifi County spends about 28 percent of its budget on health, persons living with disability feel their needs are not catered for within this. However, the county loses about 289 women from pregnancy related complications and these are those who manage to reach health facilities or ante-natal clinics. According to Javan, Marie Stopes’ clinics had started an integration process for those with disability. She notes that the number of those turning up for the service was still wanting compared to the population of people liv-
ing with disabilities. Javan admits that poor communication remains a challenge hindering mobilization of people living with disabilities within the communities. “Special emphasis needs to be in place to have them turn up in health facilities in large numbers,” Javan stresses.
Challenge
According to Easterlina Moseti, officer Maternal Newborn Child Health Project (MNCH) at the World Vision, the Disability Assessment report from the organization linked majority of the disabled to poor maternal health. The assessment was conducted in Bamba Division, Kilifi County and was attended by over 300 persons with disability. “It was revealed that most of the disabled either did not attend clinic or deliver in the health facility,” notes Moseti. According to Moseti, the disabled community has been marginalised and there was need to increase access of the mother to health care by having equal care for persons with disability.
She said a lot of the disabled do not understand dialogue and their rights and needed empowerment. However, Moseti notes challenges they are facing including allegations from a section of politicians that most non-government organizations were empowering the community to fight them back. “We are not trying to sabotage anyone by empowering persons with disability. What we are doing is to have them understand their rights and speak for themselves as well as improve on their group dynamics,” explains Moseti. However, Moseti appeals to the county government and other leaders in Kilifi to listen to the pleas and cries of persons living with disability and support them financially. Speaking on behalf of the disabled, Jacob Sirya asked Gibson Matano, County Assembly representative for persons with disabilities to come and meet them. “He should make sure he brings the interest of persons with disabilities on board. We are marginalized from grassroots to the county level, this should come to an end,” notes Sirya.
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ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
Mandera sets out elaborate plans for maternal health
By Ole Joto The rate at which terrorists attacks are taking place in the North Eastern region remains a big drawback to devolution. According to Mandera County Governor Ibrahim Ali Roba, terrorist attacks in among others Garissa University poses a huge threat to plans laid out by the county especially in relation to improving reproductive health delivery systems. The latest raid of the university by Al Shabaab militants happened nearly four months since the county suffered its own dose of terror at a time when Mandera had been trying to find a lasting solution to redeem the health care delivery system after 20 medical facilities collapsed following the twin terror attacks that occurred in the county.
Attacks
Several lives were lost when terrorists attacked a Nairobi bound bus in which passengers were returning up country> a group of quarry diggers lost lives in surprise raid, scaring away teachers and medical personnel working in the county from elsewhere. The northern frontier has historically been marginalized by successive governments, leaving access to basic social services such as education and healthcare limited. While demand for teachers stands at 20,000, there are only about 12,000 in the region. This is according to the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT). In the past three years, insecurity in the northern frontier, especially in regions adjacent to Somalia has taken on a new dimension. The area has suffered frequent attacks with the Al Shabaab being the main perpetrators
of the deadly attacks, including raids on police stations, restaurants and churches as well as abductions of government personnel and aid workers.
Insecurity
The insecurity in the northern frontier has seen people who are not indigenous to the region, opting out by asking for transfers or simply absconding from duty. This has taken a toll on service delivery especially in relation to health. Out of the 47counties, 15 counties have the highest burden of maternal mortality, accounting for 98.7 percent of the total maternal deaths in the country. Mandera County has the highest maternal mortality ratio standing at 3,795 per 100,000 live births. The disparities in maternal mortality between counties are considerable, where the county with highest maternal mortality has 20 times the deaths of that with the lowest. The 15 counties include Mandera, Turkana, Wajir, Nairobi, Migori, Nakuru, Siaya, Kisumu, Homa Bay, Kakamega, Marsabit, Lamu, Garissa, Taita-Taveta and Isiolo. Mandera County Governor Ali Ibrahim Roba admits that health services remain shaky while reproductive health services were the worst affected by the incidents that saw 53 medical personnel flee the region.
Somalia
Mandera County government, which has been worst affected by terrorism following its close proximity to Somalia, currently depends on the goodwill of stakeholders like United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), Red Cross and Lions Club International to sustain services. UNFPA country representative,
Siddharth Chatterjee stepped in and offered partial solution to the health crisis caused by the terror attacks and handed over an ambulance to the governor as part of the UN agency’s support to initiatives by the county government to tame maternal mortality and morbidity as well as neonatal and child deaths. The Kenya Red Cross also offered to deploy 156 medial personnel and an extra six ambulances. Roba has elaborate plans for the county and has set aside a KSh1.2 billion budget for health care. There are also plans to put up 23 new dispensaries and a similar number of maternity wards. It is noted that Madera was only able to have the first caesarean section performed in the county after the onset of devolution. According to Chatterjee the main cause of maternal mortality in Kenya, like in most parts of the world includes haemorrhage, complications from hypertensive disease in pregnancy, sepsis and abortion complications.
Data
Globally, the maternal mortality ratio has declined by 47 percent over the past two decades, from 400 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births in 1990 to 210 in 2010. However, in Kenya, maternal mortality ratio remains at an unacceptably high level of 488 deaths per 100,000 live births. This ratio has al-
Women queuing to get services at Mandera District Hospital. Inset: Mandera County governor Ali Roba. Maternal health services have been slowed down by the rampant terrorists’ attack in Mandera County. Pictures: Courtesy most remained constant since 1990, according to Kenya National Bureau of Statistics. Chatterjee says there are wide regional disparities in maternal mortality within the country, with maternal deaths representing about 15 percent of all deaths of women aged 15-49 years, which translates to an estimated 6,000 to 8,000 pregnant women dying every year. “Out of the total number of women of reproductive age who had died, 21 percent was as a result of pregnan-
“Out of the total number of women of reproductive age who had died, 21 percent was as a result of pregnancy related causes.” — Siddharth Chatterjee
cy related causes,” says Chatterjee. He notes: “Close to 250,000 women are estimated to suffer from disabilities caused by complications during pregnancy and child birth every year.” Roba has huge plans for maternal health in Mandera County. The County government’s health ministry has put in place an elaborate plan known as the M-Care programme to accelerate reduction of Maternal, newborn and Child Mortality and morbidity from 3795 to 488 per 100,000 live births, which is the current national ratio. Through this, Mandera County Government hopes to expand maternity infrastructure, increase recruitment of health care workers and have a steady supply of medical services as well as initiate social mobilization around health.
ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
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Band’s anti-abortion song reawakens pro-life debate By Wanjiku Mwaura Last year, Sauti Sol, one of the leading afro-pop bands in Kenya, had everyone on the dance floor, including President Uhuru Kenyatta with their song ‘Sura Yako’. It is a love song about a man madly in love that he thinks he has been ‘bewitched’. This year, the band is at it again. Their new release Nerea in their fifth album Live and Die in Africa has raised a storm because of the subject matter. The song is about a man asking a woman not to abort their baby because the child my turn out to be as great as US President Baraka Obama among other renowned leaders. While some Kenyans are praising the band for ‘dropping another hit’. Some activists are bemused at the content of the song.
Critics
One of the critics of the song, Zawadi Nyong’o, responds in a cryptic manner. On her Twitter account, she writes: “4 steps 2 end abortion: 1. Sing about sexual freedom 2. Oops, more unplanned pregnancies 3. Sing anti-choice Nerea 4. Sing about castration.” Nyong’o wonders why the artistes feel the need to make a choice for the woman carrying the baby. Another critic of the song poses: “How about access, choice, information, and empowerment to sexual and reproductive health?” Yet another critic, Steve Nguru says that musically Nerea is a great song, but as a pro-life supporter, he is not impressed by the message. “The song is great musically in terms
of sound, beat, vocals, and arrangement. But as a ‘pro lifer’, its message does not augur well for me,” he says. Some of the lyrics in the song say: “Mungu akikupatia mtoto anakupa na sahani yake (when God gives you a child, He also provides a means to feed that child.” Critics say such casual perception of motherhood is alarming. They say it overlooks issues that can lead to abortion like rape, unplanned for pregnancies and a woman’s ability to choose when to be a mother. The writers of the song also assume that abortion is a class issue and a ‘rich woman’ cannot abort a child.
Members of Sauti Sol music group that sang ‘Nerea’ a controversial song that has elicited debates about abortion. Inset: Zawadi Nyong’o, a human rights activist. Pictures: Courtesy
Debate
Wanjeri Nderu sees the song in a different light. She says it opens the debate on abortion that the country has refused to have. “It has taken Sauti Sol to do Nerea for Kenyans to discuss the taboo topic; abortion. We are truly peculiar!” she says. Others like renowned radio personality Caroline Mutoko say they gushed when they heard the song. “I have a lump in my throat. I think I’m gonna cry.... Ooooo — Nerea.” She was quoted as saying. William Amimo says the song is great since few men are willing to take the responsibility and things will only work when men step up to be provider not tormentors women. “There would be less abortion cases if men offered the kind of assurance and support as intimated in Nerea,” he says.
Carol Odero says the song gives her hope for her unborn children. Betty Kyalo, a news anchor with KTN says: “It is one of the most beautiful songs I have heard in recent times. A message that speaks to my heart.” Ferdinand Omondi, also a journalist says the music is great without much reference to the underlying message. Mutheu Mutua says the song is gut wrenching. “If we had more men like these,” she says. Rayhab Gachango, a blogger weighing on the issue says writes: “Even though I am pro-choice I don’t think that a woman should procure abortions every time she gets careless or contraception falls. That is being irresponsible. I do think that there are situations where a woman has to make tough decisions about
having a baby. It is very easy to judge when you are on the outside but you are not the one who will raise that child. There is always a moral choice but I don’t believe we should force a woman to carry a baby just so that we as a society can say that we are humane yet we will not have to raise that child.” Gachango notes women have rights to their bodies. They have a right to decide if they are going to have a baby.
Fame
“The biggest issue I have with that song is them saying that she should not abort because the child could end up being famous. That actually seems to be more of what the song is, saying how the child could end up being a famous personality like some of the people mentioned.
A child should be brought into the world because they will be loved and cared for, not because of who they will become. That makes the love for the child conditional on the potential of the child. What if the child is born with a disability? Will that child be loved when that child does not go through the normal child milestones? Or if the child will have to be taken care off all their life because they unable to do things for themselves because of a mental disability. The song would have been better if they had focused on the things that the father will do with his child then singing about how the child’s potential as the central theme,” she says. The band has defended itself saying they deal with issues affecting society.
House of hope targets the vulnerable in Nyeri By Joseph Mukubwa Just a few kilometres outside Nyeri town is Belwop Hope House where 14–year-old Lydia Njeri* (not her real name) is nursing a one month old baby boy. Njeri has been at this home since she was seven months pregnant and it will be home for her and her son for the next one year. Njeri came to this home through the Nyeri Children’s Office after she was gang raped. The case is ongoing at a Nyeri court. While Njeri’s pregnancy was not out of love, she is happy because the home has given her a second chance in life. She has been able to attend postnatal clinic and her son has a good and clean home. The home has provided a safe haven for her considering that she comes from a poor background. Njeri is not the only one here. She is among many other children who have benefitted from the Belwop Hope House programme.
Upsurge
The home was established 12 years ago and according to the founder Veronica Mumbi, the move was driven by the need to assist children and
women who are affected by SGBV in the society. According to Mumbi, cases of Sexual Gender-Based Violence in the society especially rape have gone up adding that most are poverty related. Mumbi started the home when she realized that most young girls drop out of school after being defiled mainly due to stigma as some get pregnant. Once at the home, the young girls are taken to hospital while those who are pregnant are taken for ante-natal check-ups. Counselling is also offered to equip them with courage to face the days ahead after undergoing traumatising ordeals. “They are given a place to sleep and all the basics needs are catered for while in the home,” says Mumbi. She notes: “After one year of nursing the child, the girl is taken back to school while the child is taken in at the Belwop Children’s Home if no family member can take care of them until the girl is able to support herself and the kid.” The home is not only open for young girls suffering from gender based violence but also strangers with no place to spend the night. “Many times we host women who
come to the nearby Nyeri Provincial General Hospital and are not able to get back home when darkness sets in. In the past, most of these women would spend the night on hospital benches but now the Hope house is open for them,” explains Mumbi adding “they are given a meal and a place to sleep”. The Hope House is driven by the words of Mathew 25:35, ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, thirsty and you gave me something to drink, a stranger and you took me in’.
Program
Belwop Hope House also has a programme where women and young girls who have finished school are engaged in making school uniforms which are later given to the less fortunate children in the nearby schools. “Last year we able to give full school uniforms to over 300 children at the nearby schools like Githwariga Primary Schoool,” says Mumbi noting “this gives the children some selfesteem”. Mumbi is also working on welding programme for the boys. To able to reach the children, Mumbi works closely with the Chil-
dren Department’s in Nyeri County. However, Mumbi urges the county government to support her programme in reaching out to the vulnerable in the society. She is currently relying on her own finances and help from well wishers to support the home. As we leave the Hope House for the Belwop Children’s Home, Mumbi narrates what drove her to starting the programme. Growing up in Blue Valley Estate in Nyeri town, Mumbi’s father who worked at the post office would often come home with strangers he picked stranded on the streets. He would ask their mother to give the stranger food and some place to sleep until morning. “Sometimes he would come home with a child who he would later take to a children’s home in the area,” explains Mumbi. Years later, her father’s good deeds would become manifested in her life and she left a well-paying job as a sales person to start the children’s home.
Location
Belwop Children’s Home is located at Gatitu area in the outskirts of Nyeri town. Mumbi moved the children to her own farm so that she could be
closer to them. As the gate opens, the children stop playing and come running to Mumbi, all of them calling her mum. They are not used to seeing her back at the house during the day. Mumbi asks them to greet us before they can continue playing. Once inside, Monica Nyambura emerges from a room and comes to greet us. She has just finished her Form Four education and has been at the home since she was in class four. So far, there are 26 children at the home. Mumbi has built a room adjacent to her main house which is used as the dormitory. The main house is, however, free for them to enter. “They are my children and they even use my sir name at school,” she says. Mumbi has also started a school — Belwop Shine Academy — where together with other less fortunate children in the society, they will attend school. The school opened its doors this year and operates from kindergarten to class seven. Mumbi has also created jobs for eight people who take care of the children at the Home. She has also employed teachers at the school.
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ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
Counties urged to come up with strategies to improve sanitation and waste disposal By Larry Kimori First Lady Margaret Kenyatta has handed over the 25th fully kitted ‘Beyond Zero’ mobile clinic to Nakuru County at the backdrop of biting cholera outbreak. Speaking at Afraha Annex, Mrs Kenyatta lamented the recent deaths of 14 people and hospitalization of another 70 victims in the County due to cholera saying the loss is an indication of the need to boost the fight against preventable diseases. ‘We must come up with strategies to improve sanitation and waste disposal in our various localities,’ she noted. Mrs Kenyatta called on individuals to re-think their hygiene standards, not only in public eating places but right from their homes if they have to keep cholera at bay in the future. ‘I am glad that this clinic will serve mothers and children in a county that truly reflects the face of Kenya and hosts almost all the 42 communities of our country who co-exist peacefully,’ said the First Lady.
Scenery
She said that Nakuru County, being in the heart of the scenic Great Rift Valley, is blessed with lakes and rivers that host a magnificent blend of flora and fauna. ‘This has made the county to be among Kenya’s top tourist destinations, with Naivasha, in the recent years, being the go-to-place for domestic tourists. The beautiful flamingoes of Lake Nakuru are globally known,’ she observed. The First Lady was particularly encouraged by the recent initiatives by local farmers who have made agribusiness more lucrative and profitable through value addition of their potatoes. ‘The success of Mwangaza Self-Help Group should prompt the county leadership to explore alternative crops that need value-addition, to
First Lady Margaret Kenyatta listens to health experts during the handing over of the 25th fully kitted ‘Beyond Zero’ mobile clinic to Nakuru County. Photo: Larry Kimori attract better prices for the local farmers,’ she added. She took time to urge the youth, in Nakuru town, to make good use of the free Wi-Fi resource to bring down the overheads in their business startups. ‘Besides, free Wi-Fi provides an opportunity for the young people to venture into online businesses which are currently driving the global financial markets,’ said the First Lady. Commenting on the Northern Great road that traverses through Na-
kuru County, the First Lady disclosed that although this important transport corridor is critical to the economy of Nakuru, she called on residents to be aware of the dangerous locations along the highway which have become serious transmission points for HIV /AIDS. Besides the burden of HIV/AIDS, Kenya, like the rest of the world, is witnessing an increasing number of cancer cases affecting people from all ages, gender and social status.
As Kenya prepares to host the 9th Breast, Cervical and Prostrate Cancer in Africa Conference (SCCA) this coming July, she encouraged Kenyans to adopt lifestyles and eating habits that protect their bodies from this wasteful disease. ‘To keep cancer away, we must eat healthy traditional foodstuff that are rich in vitamins and minerals and which are locally available rather than processed and unhealthy food. We should also exercise regularly,’ she advised.
Commenting on environmental conservation, Mrs Kenyatta said charcoal burning and clearing of forests without planting new trees has greatly depleted the forest-cover in the county and thus the practice has led to reduced rain fall and subsequently a drop in the water levels in our lakes. ‘These negative activities affect the future of Nakuru as a leading tourism destination and thus we cannot sustain our food security unless we protect the ecosystem,’ she noted.
Technology to monitor pediatric development By ERIC OLOO While child mortality ratio is said to be high across the country, lack of civil registration and vital statistics makes it very difficult to get the right information. However, Ugunja Community Resource Centre (UCRC) having realized this challenge seeks to improvise the use of a modern mobile phone technology in monitoring the growth and development of children less than five years in the region. According to the Centre’s Chief Executive Officer, Aggrey Omondi, the one and half year project is dubbed Comm.care ECD Mobile Technology and Community Health Workers for Early Childhood Development.
Training
The project will cover three key areas that include community healthcare, early child development and parental support. According to Omondi, the technology will leverage community health workers by providing dynamic trends in service delivery, interpersonal communication skills, data collection as well as reporting and supporting supervisions in several settings. “The project will bring on board 30 community health workers who will be involved in gathering and monitoring data in the three pilot project areas in the villages,” Omondi explains. He says the Community health workers will be trained on how to use the gadget with a software capable of reflecting three languages namely English, Kiswahili and Dholuo for easy
use during the period. “The community health workers will be engaged in screening and identifying children with development health conditions at an advance stages before approving for referrals where necessary,” explains Omondi. He adds: “The community health workers will continue with the follow up and monitoring processes of the participants with help of the family.” Once the data of a specific individual under the research is captured, it will be automatically reflected at the data collection centre which will be difficult to alter and for easy verifications. “The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) enabled gadget is capable of showing which location the community health workers are performing their duties and translates it directly to the data gathering centre at the main office,” says Omondi. The gadget which is solar powered is effective especially in rural villages where electricity supply is unpredictable especially during the rainy periods. According to Omondi, the idea was mooted after research findings revealed that children below five years undergo various health complications during their childhood development which affects them throughout late stages in life. “We realized that before reaching early childhood development levels, children undergo various physical and health challenges which inhibit their normal growth in future,” observes Omondi.
The just ended Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have galvanized global efforts to reduce maternal and child mortality as well as improve children’s access to safe drinking water, food, basic health services and primary education. Children growing up in impoverished and marginalized conditions that survive their first five years, malnutrition and a lack of appropriate cognitive and social-behavioural stimulation often produce detrimental, long-term effects that ripple across economic, academic and social outcomes. Omondi said that during the pilot project approved by Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) and in collaboration with the Methodist University, the Ugunja Community Resource Centre and Harvard Business School seeks to engage 600 children below five years in the research.
Stakeholder
Omondi was speaking at the Ugunja Constituency office during the launch of the project which drew participants from health and education among other relevant stakeholders. He said if the project proves to be successful, it will enhance public health promotion and accurate data gathering as well as dissemination away from the traditional paper form of collecting data. Omondi noted that they intend to publish the tools and findings of the research for replication at the end of the project. Omondi observed that the traditional sys-
tem of data collection using paper proved to be in accurate since some of the community health workers easily altered the information which in the end did not portray the true picture. “Earlier on we met challenges of getting accurate data collection for follow up purposes after they have been doctored by community health workers,” said Omondi adding that “bringing on board various stakeholders will ensure that discrepancies are minimized”. However, Omondi noted that they foresee various technical capacity problems during the project period ranging from vigorous training of some of the semi-literate community health workers whom the community has identified and are not ready to be replaced. “Some of the community health workers are semi-literate but the community hangs on them irrespective of the gruelling exercise involved in the programme,” Omondi noted. He noted the challenge of cosmopolitan households residing in Ugunja town who keep on moving which is hard to monitor during the research period. According to Omondi, from the previous census the project area covered a total population of 13,431 There are the 3,933 of households with children under five years. Community health workers play a critical role in addressing some of the basic health care needs by providing home-based immunizations, nutritional screening, basic antenatal care, and counselling on health practices.
ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
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Women drive informal markets in sub-Saharan Africa By Henry Owino
In Africa, majority of perishable foodstuff such as livestock, fish products and fresh vegetables are sold in smallscale at the traditional markets which in other quarters are known as informal or wet markets. In most cultures, both women and men sell and buy in these informal markets freely as there are no restrictions in the business. However, there are often differences depending on the commodities a person trades in, space and place of business. As a result, street food has become an important part of the informal food sector, research conducted by International Livestock and Research Institute (ILRI) has reported. Informal markets are a source of inexpensive, convenient and nutritious food and especially important for the poor who lack resources to prepare meals at home. The informal markets are easily accessible, closer to homes and food sold in portions depending on one’s pocket hence affordable. Other attributes are that they often sell food at lower prices, they are desired for food freshness and taste, selling livestock products from local breeds, vendors who are trusted and the availability of credit among other services. So, poor people in poor countries will continue to buy from them for at least several decades to come.
Fish
In most African countries, animal and fish source foods are among the most commonly sold in these informal markets and often are derived from animals kept in cities. Poultry is another source which has in recent days attracted customers in these informal markets. According to ILRI, informal markets simply mean, markets where many actors are not licensed and do not pay official tax. For example, street foods, backyard poultry and pastoralist systems. Secondly, these are markets where traditional processing, products and retail prices predominate. Research found out that many informal markets escape effective health and safety regulation, majority being domestic food markets in developing countries. For example, wet markets with milk hawking systems and artisanal cheese production. Majority of street food processors and vendors here are women, while majority of customers are men. As well as being one of the few livelihood strategies open to poor women, the street food sector is of great importance to the economy. Though many claim that foods in informal markets are hazards to health, a series of studies by ILRI indicate that risk to human health is not inevitably high. For example, Stochastic models based on data from a number of sites in East Africa showed that milk had many hazards but less risk mainly because of consumer practices such as boiling which are effective at reducing hazards.
Bacteria
Hazards are all things that can cause harm. Bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemicals and fungal toxins in food all have potential to cause harm hence hazard. Risk on the other hand, is the likelihood of that harm to occur including consequences for public health and to the economy. The ILRI report states that in other studies, however, “there is a clear link between consumption of foods con-
taining hazards and increased illness. The bottom line to all these is that risk to human health cannot be assumed for informal markets, evidence is required”. Kristina Roesel, Research Coordinator says studies by ILRI in several countries came to the surprising conclusion that food sold in formal markets, though commonly perceived to be safer, may have lower compliance with standards than informally marketed food. “Food safety policy should be based on evidence and not perception and failure to do this may be prejudicial to the poor who dominate and rely upon informal value chains,” Roesel urges. According to Prof Erastus Kang’ethe from University of Nairobi, Department of Public Health, Pharmacology and Toxicology almost everywhere in Africa, women are responsible for preparing and cooking food for home consumption. This often includes acquiring the fuel needed for cooking, often wood, charcoal or animal dung especially in rural homes. However, Kang’ethe cautions” pollution resulting from cooking over open fires or basic stoves has been linked to the deaths of four million people annually”. He points out that women and children are the most at risk as the study by ILRI found out. “The study found out that any woman has an important role in producing, processing, selling and preparing food. These roles may have negative and positive impacts on their health, and also lead to differences in health outcomes for men and women,” explains Kang’ethe.
Some of the differences are attributed to biology. For example, women are more prone to autoimmune diseases, and pregnancy brings many risks to health. Difference in health and nutrition is also attributed to gender. “In some cases, men or boys may experience worse health outcome compared to women or girls so, gender factor plays certain roles,” Kang’ethe clarifies.
Gender
Animal slaughter is often differentiated by gender, with women being responsible for killing poultry typically inside the homestead, but most slaughter of larger animals outside the home being done by men. Small-scale processing of animal products to make traditional products is frequently a woman’s task. While more modern, industrialized operations such as cooperatives are often dominated by men, at least in managerial and ownership roles. The study found out that everyone is part of an informal market. However, those supplying it are not there because they like operating informally but because they have to make a living. The poor not only dominate informal markets but are also the most vulnerable to diseases. Unfortunately, they only see a doctor if they cannot work anymore, and this leads to a vicious cycle of poverty and disease. They are not paid more than they can afford to receive treatment at a hospital. It is even worse if several members of the family are ill and not able to work.
A woman selling fish in Kibra, Nairobi. Picture: Henry Owino “If they cannot afford medical care, they are at risk of life-long disabilities or long-term indebtedness. Moreover, not being able to work in the fields, can results in food insecurity at home and countries of operation,” the report states. John McDermott, Research Director and CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health says World Health Organization (WHO) quantifies the burden of disease by using metrics such as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). So, one DALY can be thought of as one lost year of ‘healthy’ life. “The sum of these DALYs across the population, or the gap between current health status and an ideal health situation where the entire population lives to an advanced age, is free of disease and disability,” McDermott discloses.
Infection
McDermott explains that by calculating these metrics, the WHO determined that in 2012 the two leading causes of infectious disease burden were lower respiratory tract infections and diarrhoeal diseases. He cautions in countries with good data, it is often the case that livestock and fish products are the foods most commonly implicated in food-borne disease. “Given that people share 60 per cent of their diseases with animals, that is not too surprising. Moist, nutrientrich foods like meat and milk also provide a better environment for bacteria
to grow than dry foods like cereals or legumes,” he argues. McDermott suggests that apart from being implicated in making people sick, livestock and fish also contribute to good health through the nutrients they supply. In poor countries, livestock and fish feed billions and provide them with energy and proteins. He states fish account for more than half of the animal protein intake for the 400 million poorest people in Africa and South Asia. Additionally meat, milk, eggs and fish are important sources of the micro-nutrients and high quality proteins essential for growth and health. “Almost two-thirds of the world’s 925 million poor livestock keepers are rural women. And women often predominate in urban agriculture, which fits well with their traditional care-taking and house-holding roles,” McDermott commends. Paradoxically, women often have greater involvement in keeping poultry and small ruminants and men in larger animals. Again dairying is an interesting exception where the roles of women and men vary drastically between cultures. Generally in Africa, rearing cattle is traditionally the responsibility of the men and the number of cows is equivalent to the farmer’s social status. Therefore, boys are trained from an early age to tend the family’s cattle, while girls stick to household chores besides assisting mothers in running businesses.
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ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
County government set to embark on rehabilitating Nairobi River ronment as well as clean and safe water for the people needs to be embraced. He blames the public for having a bad attitude towards promoting a clean and safe environment. As a business hub and tourist attraction, Ondieki says, Nairobi has been losing business to neighbouring countries like Rwanda which has serious policy and laws to protect and preserve the environment. Plastic bags and littering is banned Rwanda and President Paul Kagame leads monthly clean up exercises whenever he is in the country on a Saturday morning. According to Ondieki, Nairobi County government led by Governor Evans Kidero is collaborating with the National Environment Management Authority and the Senate on various policies and laws to protect the wetlands in Nairobi.
By MARY MWENDWA Plans to make the banks of Nairobi River a recreational area rather than a dumping ground for garbage are at an advanced stage. According to Evans Ondieki, Nairobi County Minister for Environment, Forestry and Natural Resources, a pilot project has been started to get the public to participate in a monthly clean-up exercises. Ondieki notes that the project will then be spread out to other parts of the city. Indeed, to many residents, the river is a neglected wetland, host for all of types of waste disposal, a temporary refuge to street families of Nairobi and a home to the urban poor. However, behind that notion, are bad practices that have left the once precious clean river in a depilated state. Raw sewage, effluent disposal, encroachment by informal settlers, unscrupulous waste transporters, street families and other key sources such as incidences of burst/blocked sewers and solid waste discarded into the river and excessive levels of heavy metals are some of the major threats that pose danger to the river.
Research
Studies on the various tributaries of Nairobi River and its basin conducted in the 1990s by the University of Nairobi showed evidence of high levels of chemical and organic pollution. Ngong, Mathare and Nairobi Rivers pass through high human settlement areas. As a result, these rivers have been heavily polluted resulting to loss of good quality water and biodiversity. These are a threat to people utilising the water for domestic and agricultural purposes. They lead to increased anoxic conditions in water and sediments. The studies also reveal that water pollution has led to the following: health problems; stress on immediate aquatic ecosystems as well as
Wetlands
Members of staff the department of Human Anatomy University of Nairobi cleaning River Nairobi as part of the department’s response to maintaining a clean environment. Nairobi County government has been putting efforts to have a clean river. Picture: Courtesy downstream, and a reduction of the economic value and its natural beauty. According to Ondieki: “The Nairobi River and its basin has no ecological life within its current state. All aquatic life is lost and this comes with a huge loss to the survival of the river basin. Most residents lack good practice and values in issues to do with the environment.” Ondieki laments that the capital city, which used to be known as the city in the sun, has degenerated into something that is far from the meaning of its name. With a population of over four million, Nairobi cannot generate its own water and depends on water supply from the
neighbouring Ndakaini Dam in Muranga County and Sasumua Dam in Nyandarua County. Says Ondieki: “We get water from other supplies and yet if this river was clean and well maintained we would definitely have had our own water supply enough to even export to the enough to neighbouring counties of Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos.” As a way forward, Ondieki says the County Government has launched efforts to restore the river by having weekly public clean-up exercises. “This will be done together with other partners to restore the river which criss-crosses the city,” explains Ondieki. Constitutional obligations of a clean envi-
today,” said Kaikai. He noted that it was a coincidence that the country was marking the second anniversary of the Jubilee Administration on the day they were having the joint meeting with the Ministry of Information, the first since their election into office last year. Said Kaikai: “Some of our coverage today should appropriately be about taking stock of the last two years on behalf of Kenyans. While you are on that, allow me in my capacity as chairman of your Editors Guild, to share my reflections on the state of our industry.”
Two things stood out awkwardly throughout the very heated contest over the digital migration schedule. The first one was the aggressive partisanship of the Communications Authority and the second one was the tacit approval of that partisanship by the Ministry of Information, Communications and Technology. Without mincing his words, Kaikai said the handling of the digital migration process in Kenya was both flawed and irresponsible. The dust is settling, depending on how fast as a viewer you got a set-top box. “However, those in the Communications Authority and the Ministry of Information deep down in their conscience know that it is not necessarily right just because it is over,” noted Kaikai . He added: “I am certain this matter particularly the grey details like the skewed licensing of Broadcast Signal Distributors will remain the subject of unceasing scrutiny in the media and elsewhere.” Kaikai reminded the Information Cabinet Secretary that KEG was concerned that the intellectual property rights of broadcasters and independent producers suffered the most during the chaotic, forceful digital migration. “As we speak this morning, all Pay TV service providers are airing the content of broadcasters under the ‘Must Carry Rule’ erroneously imposed by the Supreme Court in September last year.” He observed: “Because of this rule and the sustained hostility as well as indifference of the regulator, most of the Pay TV service providers have not even found it necessary to go through the courtesy of informing the broadcasters of their intention to include their content in their bouquets.” However, Kaikai expressed confidence that in the fullness of time, the issue of copyright and intellectual property rights will be revisited and justly addressed. On the way forward, Kaikai said: “I am not reading a very impressive report card this morning.”
The Kenya Wetlands Draft Policy 2013 highlights the quality of water sources in Kenya which is declining as a result of municipal, agricultural and industrial wastes/discharges. These have negatively impacted water quality and biodiversity within the wetland ecosystems thereby reducing their value. Increased nutrient loads have led to eutrophication, a form of water pollution which leads to algal blooms. In certain areas excessive abstraction of fresh water, diversions and catchment degradation have led to increased salinity. Ondieki reiterates that the County government is fully supporting and promoting enforcement of relevant regulations and laws related to environmental pollution. “We are also promoting public awareness on proper management of waste including reduction, re-use and recycling as a priority,” he notes. The Nairobi River has tributaries like Kamiti River (Gathara-ini) Rui Ruaka, Karura River, Gitathuru River (aka Getathuru), Mathare River, Nairobi River (the main channel) Kirichwa and Motoine-Ngong River.
State of Kenyan media industry worrying By ODHIAMBO ORLALE “The past two years have been tough for the media industry in Kenya,” said Linus Kaikai, chairman Kenya Editor’s Guild. According to Kaikai, as an industry, the media has been swinging between hope and despair. “The legislative agenda has consistently been one that seeks not to regulate but to curtail the very freedoms that make the work of journalists possible. The list is endless,” said Kaikai, who is also Managing Editor of Nation TV. Kaikai was speaking at a breakfast meeting organised by the Cabinet Secretary for Information, Communication and Technology, Dr Fred Matian’gi. The meeting was also attended by his Principle Secretary Joseph Tiampati, and Communications Secretary Ezekiel Mutua. Engagement The meeting was the first official engagement by the Cabinet Secretary with the Kenya Editors’ Guild following the elections of officials last year. The other officials are: Samuel Maina (vicechairman); Michael Mumo (secretary), Hassan Kulundu (assistant secretary); and Arthur Okwembah (treasurer) and Jane Godia (Assistant treasurer) among others. The Guild brings together media practitioners from various media houses to share their challenges and experiences in operating within Kenya’s dynamic media industry. Kaikai acknowledged that despite many challenges, the Kenyan media remains one of Africa’s most vibrant media environments. According to Kaikai, a critical reflection of the state of our journalism and media industry shows that there has been growth and resilience over the years. Kaikai praised his colleagues including editors, for safe steering of their respective ships. “However, we must remember our predecessors who laid a strong foundation under far more difficult circumstances than we operate
Legislation
Kaikai told Matiang’i that the media industry considers some recent pieces of retrogressive legislation as a polite way of rolling back the progress of the industry and that of the country. “I salute the efforts of colleagues within the media and many other well-meaning Kenyans who have committed to a free and independent media,” said Kaikai. He added: “I urge them to remain vigilant especially in the wake of cunning methods of introducing retrogressive laws by hiding the clauses between the lines like was the case in the infamous Security Bill controversially passed last December.” Another major borne of contention was the recent controversial digital migration for television, which left the public and television viewers in a blackout for three weeks. Said Kaikai: “The events are recent enough to be fresh in our memories. Digital Migration, though a technical matter, became a multi-faceted dilemma for the industry that I must say, presented unprecedented disruption since the advent of independent television in the early 1990s.” He noted: “Unbeknown to many Kenyan viewers today, digital migration was not about migrating them from the aerial to digital decoders. This was a battle of big, powerful, yet mysterious business interests some traced to secret accounts overseas.”
He noted there was still an opportunity for KEG and the ministry to shape and nurture the sector in better ways that guarantee the greater good of society. Relationships have been acrimonious as witnessed through the digital migration process and before that, the many attempts at negative legislation targeting the media.
Culture
At the heart of this acrimony, Kaikai says, there is a somewhat entrenched culture of talking down at media, scolding reporters and lecturing journalists about what responsible reporting constitutes. “It is time this tone and attitude changed. We noticed recently that our ambassadors gathered in the Coast for their annual meeting and one of the issues they raised was what they called negative portrayal of the country by the media resulting in the downslide of the tourism sector as a result of the travel advisories.” However, Kaikai reminded “our distinguished ambassadors” that their foreign counterparts in Nairobi were not necessarily using media reports to send their briefings back home. “As we now all appreciate after Garissa terrorist attack where over 148 students were massacred last month at Garissa University,, they rely almost entirely their own intelligence gathering mechanism to assess situations and report back to their respective governments. So, do not blame our media instead.” Kaikai appealed to the minister and his team to be committed to moving the country forward by respecting the letter and spirit of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 that changed the landscape for good with regard to fundamental freedoms that include Freedom of the Media as enshrined in Chapter 34. “These freedoms are irreversible and our defence of these freedoms will remain brave and unwavering,” reiterated Kaikai.
ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
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Family struggles to acquire land deeds 48 years later
By Wilson Rotich As the Ministry of Lands comes second most corrupt institution according to Afrobarometre survey 2015, three old men in Eldoret are painfully waiting to receive title deeds for the last 48 years. Corruption has smashed their dreams and continues to trouble their offspring of many generations. Descendants of the three old men who are residents of Sangalo Estate recently took to the streets demanding the resignation of the Deputy Governor of Uasin Gishu County Kiprotich Chemno with allegations that he wants to grab their land. Chemno has since denied the claims dismissing them as grabbers. The enterprising old men collectively bought 445 acres of Sangalo Estate in Eldoret West in 1967, but the government of Kenya is yet to recognize them as legal owners of the land. This is not because of inconclusive transactions, not even because of ignorance but mainly because of grand corruption in the Land Registry and local authorities which have now been replaced by county governments. The trio, Kipngetich Tanui, Joseph Tuigeny and Kimorong Mibei bought the piece of land for KSh 100,000 in 1967 and completed payments in 1968 as indicated in the tired receipts that are well kept. The High Court and the Court of Appeal have ruled that the three and their children proceed with the process of acquiring title deeds.
Misery
However, their sons and daughters are anxiously waiting to enjoy the fruits of the expansive inheritance that has the old Uganda Road and a small river flowing across it.
These features ordinarily are taken by their community as signs of blessings but the coming of Eldoret Pipeline Company that bought part of their land reversed the blessings to curses that have caused confusion and mayhem in the farm for ages. Rhoda Jemutai Bitok is a daughter to one of the old men. She has been waiting for the land title for half a century. “I was 20 years old and newly-wed when the land was bought in 1967. Now I am 68 years and I have not seen the sweet dreams of our fathers realized,” says Jemutai. She adds: “Our children and grandchildren are homeless, some were evicted the other day from the streets of Eldoret town by the County government.” Jemutai notes: “When we plant any crops the county government leaders send their officers to ravage our produce like locusts. When we try to erect a shelter for our young men they send their troops to devastate our structures.” Jemutai vividly remembers seeing their parents and their partners struggling to raise funds to purchase the land. “They decided to borrow a loan from an Asian businessman who promised to lend them the money on condition that he would be assisted to secure Kenyan citizenship,” Jemutai recalls. She
Ardhi House which houses both the Ministry of Lands and National Land Commission. It was named the second most corrupt institution in Kenya by Afrobarometre survey 2015. Picture: Courtesy explains: “The old men sought the assistance of the then veteran politician Seroney who connected the Asian to the then Vice President Daniel Moi who helped him secure citizenship.”
Payments
According to Jemutai: “Our parents got KSh100,000 which they used to pay the white settler in exchange for the 445 acres of land.” Wilson Busienei is also a son to one of the old men. He is currently the chairman of 19 sons and daughters who are fighting for their right to use the land. According to Busienei they began the process of securing titles for the land in 1996 but faced several political setbacks and shareholder rivalry. “This battle has drained us both financially and psychologically,” says Busienei while holding a copy of a P-3 form testifying how he had been assaulted pursuing his rights to own the land. Their nightmares set sail in 1988 when a section of their partners decided behind their backs to sell 84 acres of the land to Kenya Pipeline under the Ministry of Transport and Communications. According to Busienei, the
“They lied to us that the portion was acquired by the government for free but when we sought clarity from the then Managing Director of Kenya Pipeline, a Mr. Mbote, we realized that they had sold it for KSh10, 875,000.” — Joseph Cheruiyot
splinter group was led by one Joseph Cheruiyot and Kimorong Mibei. However, Cheruiyot has been to several courts trying to take the entire land but has never succeeded as indicated in the court documents in the custody of Busienei. “They lied to us that the portion was acquired by the government for free but when we sought clarity from the then Managing Director of Kenya Pipeline, a Mr. Mbote, we realized that they had sold it for KSh10, 875,000.”
Commission
The amount was divided among four of them; Peter Ngetich (for Kipngetich Arap Tonui, Kimorong Mibei and Joseph Cheruiyot for Jacob Arap Tuigeny) and Florence Cheruiyot who later confessed that she was no longer part of the remaining portion of land. “She tried to convince the others who had partaken the money to do the same but they decided to fight for the remaining portion of land even though they did not share the money with us,” narrates Busienei. Armed with a whole pile of documents, Busienei reveals that their inquiry revealed that the then Commissioner of lands J. R Njenga gazetted the 83 acres of land on February 9, 1988 and the receipts in their possession indicated the persons who were paid the money after the acquisition process was completed. According to Busienei, their search for the legal land documents became a battle between the two factions as from 1999 to 2013 when the High Court and the Court of Appeal ruled twice in their favour. “When we went to the Lands Tribunal and eventually to courts, Florence Cheruiyot
who was previously among our opponents became our witness because she spoke the truth,” says Busienei. “Initially when the High Court ordered that we proceed with subdivision of our land and the then town clerk for the Eldoret Municipality rejected the map after it had been approved by the Physical Planning Office and District Surveyor,” notes Busienei. He adds: “We suspected it was a political interference from some local government councillors who wanted to grab our land.” Busienei notes: “The twist of events led us to the Court of Appeal again which upheld our previous status but now the deputy governor has vetoed our progress saying he wants to involve the Anti-Corruption Commission in our case. Busienei alleges that their opponents have promised the deputy governor some portion of the land. “That is why he is interfering with our progress,” claims Busienei. However, Chemno who earlier refused to comment on the matter has since denied the allegations saying Busienei and his team want to acquire the land inappropriately. The 19 residents of Sangalo Estate are anxiously appealing to Muhammad Swazuri, chair of the National Land Commission to come to their help after all avenues have failed. They applaud the Judiciary for giving them justice consistently and expeditiously. However the same justice has been delayed and denied by political corruption. They have been waiting for justice to be implemented for the last over 1.5 billion seconds, actually 48 years.
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ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
When convenience is costly By Annie Waite
The high cost of fresh fruits and vegetables is the least worry for those who buy the commodities at the garbage-choked Kware market, in Ongata Rongai, in Kajiado County. Against a backdrop of open sewer and unmanaged garbage, the health implications are far reaching but customers have few options as this is the main market there. The horticultural market opens at the crack of sawn when most middlemen transport their wares to small scale traders to sell either at their retail outlets or hawk in the town streets. Due to the large number of customers at the market, health experts are now saying the residents are staring at an epidemic in the making. For this reason, there have been calls demanding that the National Environment Management Authority (Nema) to tour Kajiado County and inspect the food businesses there Critics are raising concern about the hygiene standards, like preparation skills, place of preparation, location of street vendors, handling, storage, personal hygiene and storage of left-overs. More than one food types were prepared at the same surface and these could promote cross contamination. Food to be eaten raw, like fruit salads, was not kept under cold temperatures; instead, fruit salad was kept in plastic bowls and it was sold from there. A close observation revealed that most food handlers are not conscious of the public heath regulations by wearing aprons gloves and caps. The exchange of money is done by the same person selling and preparing the fruits regardless of the fact that money is dirty it can contaminate safe food items. A recent walk from Kware to the Rongai stage one, next to Uchumi is a disaster and the county management should step in and make the area more presentable. Ongata Rongai does not have a proper sewage system and most residents depend on septic tanks. The supply of water is generally from sunken boreholes. Where I turned off from the main road, at church road, was a mkokoteni with five types of fruits pineapples, bananas, apples, melon, and avocado
Fruits on display in Rongai market ,some traders have however neglected hygiene standards hence exposing the consumers to infections. Picture: Annie Waite arranged on this trolley .The positioning of the trolley was next to a flowing sewer . The fruits look palatable and well sealed in a see-through nylon paper. “The thought of the hygiene when being prepared worries me”. Unfortunately the day before it had rained all night to early morning and at that hour, the black cotton soil had not dried up. At the market stalls, the spaces allocated to the women to place their food stuff for sale are so small that they have taken up part of the designated foot paths. Women and men are making their daily bread by selling perishables in this uncompleted
market. According to a recent study ”Hygenic and sanitary practices of vendors of street foods in Nairobi, Kenya by Muindi OK and E.Kuria, -these unhygienic and sanitary conditions of this industry have resulted in a dirty environment attracting flies which are an indication of poor hygiene and sanitary practices. Adequate drainage and waste disposal systems and facilities should be provided in the street food industry and designed in a way that will risk of contamination of food.
In March 2014, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero, added a fleet of 11 trucks to boost the garbage programme in Nairobi County. Kajiado which is now in the devolution system hopes for standards to improve. The disposal system of garbage is another big challenge to date. And the market at Kware stage makes it worse when all its refuse is put in sacks and then dumped carelessly on the sides of the tarmacked road. These points have become a feeding point for goats and donkeys which is also not good since animals should not be in the town or market areas.
Kitui residents cry out for water as families remain disrupted By Nzinga Muasya
Sarah Mulwa, a class four pupil at Ukasi Primary School in Kitui County takes at least three days of school to search for water. Such is the life for Mulwa and her peers who have to routinely skip school and endure the vagaries of life, in an area that has not experienced enough rains for years. We found Mulwa, 10, at Ndovoini watering point waiting for her turn to fetch water, alongside a multitude of equally desperate girls and women. For two days running, the girl had pensively perched on her empty jerry cans; hungry, dusty, thirsty and lost in thoughts, with no idea of when she would get the water. “I came and found a very long queue here as usual. I have to wait since there is no water at home,” says Mulwa, pangs of hunger obviously taking a toll on her. A few metres from Mulwa, Ngui Mavuti, 14, a Class Seven pupil at the same school stands next to emaciated cows and braying donkeys. Mavuti came to water his father’s livestock and predictably found a mass of other animals on the ‘queue’, forcing him to spend a whole day waiting for his time. In another corner, Mumbi Mbokya is clutching her three month old baby while staring blankly into the open space. She spent the night here and the second day is way past the afternoon. “I have to wait for as long as it takes. I can’t go home without water because my other children are expecting me to go back with some,” says Mbokya who hails from Miuni Village.
The situation here is so dire that it is no longer strange for children to occasionally miss classes at Miuni Primary School whenever is no water for cooking or bathing. Elsewhere in the same compound, a mother who has grown weary of sitting idle has placed her toddler sandwiched between empty jerrycans as she walks to stretch herself. Close by Mwende Mumu, 67, from Mutyethou Village is also here looking for water for her grandchildren. “I have spent two nights here and still waiting. Where else can I go? It is all we do every other day,” says the old woman in desperation. The water crisis in Ukasi Location has affected all residents; pregnant or breastfeeding women, old and youthful women, young girls, men and boys. They have all been herded together by vagaries of life, and every passing day, together with their animals, they must cower under the blistering sun where temperatures are hovering around 40 degrees Celsius. Matters are worsened by the fact that this is the only borehole that serves the entire Ukasi Location with an estimated population of around 6,000 people. Mwatha Wambua, a resident of Musovo Village and a mother of five sums up their troubles. “For one to get water, you have to spend at least three days here queuing. We have suffered for a very long time because we cannot engage in any meaningful economic activities. We are sinking deeper into poverty,” laments Wambua. She says the rate of school dropouts is high in the area as parents, keen on struggling to put food on the table, dispatch their children to the borehole to look for water.
“Their performance in school is pathetic because often times they go to school without a meal because there is no water to cook or are out searching for water,” she explains. As a way forward, Wambua and her female colleagues are now demand for sinking of more boreholes at Musovo, Kiwanza, Syanika, Kiio, Savasava and Miuni to address the drought situation. Meanwhile, the chairman of Ukasi Traders Association Bismark Munyoki claims the political leadership has abdicated its responsibility and left the community to its own devices. “Where are our leaders and what is their priority? The crisis has affected businesses here; school dropout is high just like the poverty levels. We are telling our leaders that come 2017 they dare not come looking for votes here unless we get water,” charges Munyoki flanked by his vice chairman Joel Wambua. When contacted, Simon Musili, an employee of Kiambere Water and Sanitation Company, which runs the borehole, says due to lack of rains, the water table in the 67-metre deep borehole has receded alarmingly, adding that the generator was not powerful enough. According to Musili, a feasibility study had been done by hydrologists who showed that the borehole’s depth could be increased to 150 metres to raise the water volume. “If that is done, then we get a powerful generator and much of this problem will be addressed,” explains Musili. However Kitui County executive in charge of Agriculture, Water and Irrigation Charles Kang’e has assured Ukasi residents that the county government is working round the clock to address the problem.
Kang’e acknowledges the water crisis noting that KSh60 million had been set aside this financial year to sink more boreholes and construct earth dams in the dry areas of Ukasi, Ngomeni, Nuu, Malalani, Mutha and Kanziku. “We are aware of the problem and we are addressing it. Already a survey for a new borehole in Ukasi has been done and it will be sunk soon,” says Kang’e. He reveals: “A new dam worth KSh5 million is nearing completion at Kitivoni in Mwanzele area that will take care of Ukasi and Sosoma residents who are mostly pastoralists.” However, the placement of this dam at Mwanzele, an area mostly inhabited by Somali herders from Tana River County has irked the Ukasi residents. Over time the herders have clashed with their neighbours, the Kambas, over pasture and water, mostly resulting into death of people and animals. “How do you take a dam 40 kilometres away from Ukasi in an area less populated yet mostly inhabited by Somalis? How will that solve the vicious conflicts between the two communities?” asks Joel Wambua, Vice chairman of Ukasi Traders Association, claiming the dam will only serve the Somalis. Kang’e disagrees. “The area is in Kitui County and we have our people there. Constructing the dam in a conflict zone means the fight over scarce water resource will reduce drastically. It is a winwin situation for both communities,” he says. Pastor David Muthui of East Africa Pentecostal Churches says the water problem should be addressed with urgency since it is fuelling conflict in the homes between spouses and even with their children.
ISSUE 108, May 1-31, 2015
Unfiltered, uninhibited…just the gruesome truth
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Efforts put in place to halt environmental degradation in Kitui By Charles Muasya The wanton destruction of trees in Kitui County is giving the founder of Charcoal Producers Associations in Kitui County, Patrick Kituku, sleepless nights. This is because the County government is not giving him as much support as he needs in terms of policy, legislation and enforcement. According to Kituku, his dream has always been to conserve the fast degrading environment which is threatened by charcoal burners and dealers. Kituku’s vision is to conserve the environment, rehabilitate and sustain the forest cover in addition to the water catchment areas. Kituku, who is also chairman of the Mutha Charcoal Producers Association, is concerned about rising cases of environmental degradation by charcoal burners who fell trees every day and the reckless sand harvesting from the region’s seasonal rivers. Four years after he initiated formation of seven charcoal producers associations in the County to ensure charcoal trade is reduced and carried out in a sustainable manner, spanners have been throw into the works to frustrate their efforts. This is despite a ban imposed by Kenya Forest Service stopping production and transportation of charcoal. Instead, fleets of lorries can be seen ferrying tonnes of charcoal out of the region every day. This is evidence that defeats the association’s goal of enforcing sustainability in charcoal burning without depleting the forest cover. “We had intended to put in place comprehensive environmental structures which integrate individual and group efforts to conserve the environment,” says Kituku. “However, those who are supposed to help implement our by-laws are instead working in cahoots with charcoal merchants.”
Cartel
Kituku says a cartel of charcoal merchants and some Kenya Forest Service officers, police and the County Commissioner’s staff have made it difficult for environment conservationists to reverse the high rate of degradation. According to Kituku, indiscriminate felling of trees for charcoal is worrying as the producers have moved from farmlands to encroach on gazetted government forests and other protected areas. In Mutomo sub-county, the major supplier of charcoal targeted areas include Kitui South Game Reserve, Mutha and Egamba gazetted forests where thousands of producers are harvesting indigenous trees for commercial use. To advance his course, Kituku has teamed up with Green Africa Foundation (GAF) to control depletion of environment by enforcing the new charcoal rules and guidelines using enhanced dry land development, sustainable agriculture and sustainable charcoal trade. “We have embarked on an initiative to empower communities who
solely depend on charcoal for livelihood to start other income generating projects like horticultural farming along the seasonal rivers to improve their income,” explains Kituku.
Benefits
Kituku notes there is agricultural potential along the rivers but the residents lack empowerment to tap the resources, adding that farmers who have done so along Thua River are now ripping benefits from the sale of horticulture produce. The Chief According to John Kioli Chief Executive Officer of Green Africa Foundation, the organisation in partnership with other environment conservation agencies including Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG) and Acts, green villages, waste man-
Green Africa Foundation (GAF) Chairman Dr. Issac Kalua (left) and Patrick Kituku admires a modern charcoal kiln that uses limited tree branches. Picture : Charles Muasya agement, water harvesting and ecotourism zones will be established in Tharaka Nithi and Kitui counties where environment depletion has contributed to climate change. Kioli notes that a baseline survey carried out in the two counties indicated that 10 kilogrammes of firewood are consumed every day in a household for cooking while 6.7 million trees are felled every day for domestic and commercial charcoal. “If this wanton destruction of the environment is not checked, the message we are sending to the world is that the country is fast becoming a desert hence need to devise decisive programmes to reverse the trend,” explains Kioli.
We have embarked on an initiative to empower communities who solely depend on charcoal for livelihood to start other income generating projects like horticultural farming along the seasonal rivers to improve their income.” — Patrick Kituku
The Green Africa Foundation is strengthening the Charcoal Producers Associations by empowering them to meet their mandate of controlling the charcoal trade.
Need
“We need to educate residents who depend on charcoal for their livelihood on the need to plant trees as they cut others for charcoal,” says Kioli. He notes: “Through capacity building of members of the charcoal producer associations, tree- nurseries will be established in the project areas where the residents will get fast growing tree seedlings which mature within three years.” Kioli advises the residents to plant indigenous trees of high value and which are resistant to drought like the melia volkensii whose products are always in high demand.
Empowering
According to Kituku they are not out to deny the community their only source of income, which is from charcoal. “We are out to empower them and urge that they adopt modern kilns for charcoal burning which uses tree branches only and has a high recovery
rate compared to the traditional kilns.” Kioli says: “Through the new technology of charcoal burning, there is no waste as the remains can be used as charcoal briquettes to earn the producers extra income.” To reduce dependence on charcoal burning for livelihood, Kioli notes the organization is empowering residents through farmers’ groups to maximize on potentiality of the seasonal rivers by venturing in food production along the river banks. Through selected farmer groups and model farmers, sustainable agriculture is encouraged as a mitigation measure to ensure food sufficiency in the households. However, Kioli says several gaps have been identified in the charcoal rules and guidelines that need to be reviewed to for charcoal trade to be carried out in a sustainable manner. “The role of the charcoal producers associations have not been spelt out especially on location sites, their membership and licensing,” says Kioli. He notes that arid and semiarid lands face serious environmental challenges which impact negatively on the residents socially and economically.
Executive Director: Arthur Okwemba Editor: Jane Godia
Write to: info@mdcafrica.org
Sub-Editors: Carolyne Oyugi, Joyce Chimbi and Odhiambo Orlale Designer: Noel Lumbama
Contributors: Philip Yegon, Nzinga Muasya, Antony Zoka, Ole Joto, Wanjiku Mwaura, Joseph Mukubwa, Larry Kimori, Eric Oloo, Charles Muasya, Wilson Rotich, Annie Waite, Henry Owino, Omondi Gwengi and Mary Mwendwa
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