Glastonbury Festival - Struggle for our survival where Man first walked on the Earth

Struggle for our survival where Man first walked on the Earth

02 Dec 2003

In the first part of our exclusive new series, we told how Oxfam is bringing hope to drought-ridden regions of Kenya. Today, Western Daily Press reporter TINA ROWE describes why the charity is encouraging traditional herdsmen to turn their backs on the land and learn new skills.

More than two million years ago, some of mankind’s earliest known ancestors walked the shores of Lake Turkana.

Today, the cradle of mankind is rocked by giant forces which threaten the existence of their descendants.

Life for the Turkana people in this punishingly arid district of northern Kenya is a daily fight for survival.

Eighty per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and the incidence of disease and malnutrition among children in some areas is very high.

But the Turkana are working on their own solutions in an impressive partnership with Oxfam.

And Lake Turkana, which at 250km long is the world’s biggest desert lake, is playing a part.

Michael Eavis, founder of Glastonbury Festival, one of Oxfam’s major supporters, saw the partnership in action during a tour of Oxfam’s Kenyan projects last week.

The rainy season here lasts only two months, but even that blessing is becoming less certain with droughts now occurring every three to five years.

Traditionally, most Turkana are herdsmen, ranging the vast plains with their livestock and moving from one thatched village to another as they eke out a meagre existence. But in the three-year drought which ended last year, many animals died or had to be sold and it was clear some alternative source of livelihood must be found.

The answer – turning herdsmen into fishermen – might seem simple, but villagers who had lost everything could never afford to buy nets.

Oxfam offered support, and, true to its ethos of helping communities become self-sufficient, did not simply supply commercially produced netting. Instead, it gave Turkana women the raw materials to make twine.

They have now learned to produce fine fishing cord, so generating their own incomes, while the men have learned net-making from communities who already lived beside the lake.

Another bonus is that people are far more involved in their communities
and helping give women independence has empowered them, gradually changing a culture where traditionally only men take part in debate.
Now women are doing much of the talking – and leading women’s groups make handicrafts and generate cash.

Several new lakeside villages have been established, including one specialising in building the simple wooden boats traditionally used by fishermen.

It is a sustainable solution for some, though it could never solve the problems of all the 200,000 people of northern Turkana.

The elements also conspire to make fishing difficult and dangerous. Lake Turkana is notorious for winds which can transform its glassy green surface into a rough grey waste in minutes.

Africa’s biggest population of Nile crocodiles inhabits Lake Turkana and it is also home to hippo – but it is the winds which cause most deaths among fishermen.

On the day that Michael Eavis and the Oxfam party visited, it was too rough for fishing. There are many fish species in Lake Turkana, but at this time of year, before the rains begin, they are far out in the lake’s centre.

Eris Lothike, Oxfam project coordinator for Turkana, says: “By providing the skills to make nets and boats we are helping ensure a sustainable way for people to look after their families. But droughts are becoming more frequent. They
are coming every three to five years and it means that as soon as livestock
has recovered we are back where we were.

“We received enough rainfall in April and May, but since then there have been only a few showers. Satellite technology is helping predict rainfall and so help us plan for the future – and unfortunately below average rainfall is being predicted for the rainy season.”

Oxfam’s water management projects and the fishing schemes are complemented by support for basic public health and schooling in remote areas. It supports eight schools with a population of 3,800. Oxfam has also spent £250,000 on short-term relief. Locals have been paid to make part of the long road south from Loki to Lodwar safer by clearing bushes which provide cover for bandits.

Next part: Slum the size of Bristol

Reprinted with kind permission from the Western Daily Press. Words by Tina Rowe, and pictures by Steve Roberts.

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