A Vibrant Village in the Drylands of Kenya
Tucked in the rocky hills of Laisamis sub-county, is the village of Lekuchula. Named after a Samburu family that lived here once upon a time. On one side are huge boulders, one on top of the other. The other side is flat shrub-covered-earth as far as the eye goes. It is beautiful, green and camels are home, meaning plenty of milk. We are here during the rainy season. This is not always the story.
Rains here are seasonal; the villagers are well aware of their short-lived comfort. The most recent drought in 2019 had threatened to wipe them out. It was so bad that, Ntitei Lereari, a businesswoman says she thought they were going to die of thirst. ‘’We could go for days without drinking water, all the open sources had dried up. We would wake up at 3am, walk to Namarei, a 14-kilometre distance to get a 20 litre jerrican of water. KDEF stepped in and sort of adopted Lekuchula. First, they solved our water problem by constructing a rock water catchment, a tank and desilted the dam here, they revamped Lekuchula Primary School; constructing classes, Sanitation Blocks, kitchen and fully equipping it, the school’s land is now fenced with a school gate thanks to KDEF and Vibrant Village Foundation. The expected rains failed and KDEF did water trucking to keep us alive. Our Children have recently been gifted with school uniforms and food. We are eternally grateful that this amazing people heeded to our plea.’’
Of the human’s competing needs, water takes lead. Ntitei had to close her kiosk because no one was buying from her and she was spending more time looking for water than selling. All her six children are in school and their father takes care of the family’s livestock. Before KDEF’s school feeding program reached Lekuchula, her children would often go home lunch hour and she would either not have food to give them or she is still not back from Namarei where she had gone looking for water.
The Lekuchula water-rock catchment serves a population of more than three thousand people, including those from the neighboring villages and their livestock.
The school enrollment has increased from sixty to one hundred and twenty-three currently. It had started with grade one to three, then KDEF supported construction of more classrooms that the school now has classes up-to grade five.
The enthusiastic school Headteacher John hopes that in the next two years the school would grow to grade eight. He is optimistic with the support of the community, government and well- wishers, theirs is going to be a story of transformation. This he says because, he is receiving new kids every term who would want to enroll in Lekuchula primary. ‘’There are so many children from this community who are past grade five, who either trek to Namarei Primary School or stay with relatives in the nearby villages so that they can attend classes. This is a dangerous tendency especially for girls. I would like to one day be able to have room for everyone in this school”
Ntitei says her family is officially settled, and looking forward to constructing a permanent house. With all the amenities in Lekuchula her family’s future is secure. Livestock could move but for her children to stay in school and her business to flourish, she is abandoning her nomadic lifestyle. She attests to improved hygiene and health conditions resulting to active participation in meaningful economic activities that has improved production in even the livestock industries.
“KDEF came to build a future for us, my village mates especially women like me are thankful we can access water and education for our kids just within our village. We can now focus on building ourselves economically” Ntitei Lereari