Story
In Turkana district, northern Kenya, children as young as six have to walk a gruelling six hours in 45 degrees heat to find water. Livestock often do not survive the journey, collapsing from sheer exhaustion and hunger.
The four year drought, caused by climate change and historic marginalisation by governments has ravished the lives of the Turkana tribe, who have been nomadic pastoralists for hundreds of years.
AMREF( African Medical and Research Foundation ) is Africa's leading health charity committed to the principle that only healthy societies can overcome poverty. AMREF has built several medical centres and their dedicated team are constantly working to improve water facilities.
When I was there last September, facilitated by AMREF and reporting for the Guardian newspaper, I met Ekono, the spiritual leader for the district. He said “My people are dying, the water is there, it just needs to be harnessed”. He said he would mobilize his community to donate half the money required for a borehole and he looked at me closely before saying “Can you bring the other half?"
Climate change has been greatly exacerbated by man’s insensitive hunger for power. People living in extreme geographical terrains feel the wrath of this change the most, though they probably contribute the least to it.
To raise funds for a borehole for Ekono and his community,as part of the H2O campaign I walked the same distance that the tribe walks, about 35 Km, albeit from London to Oxshott in Surrey on International Water Day, the 22nd of March. ( H2O requires a walk between places starting with H and O , so Home to Oxshott).
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