Drought in the Horn of Africa
Oxfam
Wajir, Kenya - In 2017, the Horn of Africa was in the grip of a severe drought. With several seasons of unusually low rain, crops began to fail and food insecurity grew.
The devastation came quickly. Long-standing lakes simply disappeared into orange dunes; livestock died by the dozens - their carcasses littered across burning hot sand for the vultures to pick into dust. Men, determined to save the last of their livelihood, collecting the last of their family savings - their animals - and set off for greener pastures. Wives and children, however, remained behind to survive the desolate landscape alone, or die trying.
By the end of the year, more than 2.6 million Kenyans had no reliable source of nutritious food and competition for water was further exacerbated by climate change and a lack of local infrastructure tasked with delivering sanitation services in the region. With the government facing an 81 percent gap in emergency response funding meant to assist drought victims, many in the East African country were struggling to survive.
I traveled to Northern Kenya to photograph the drought for Oxfam GB, one of the only organizations that provided direct relief in the extremely remote region bordering Somalia.
Drought transforms landscape , Life in Kenya
The once vast fields of long grasses have transformed into sand dunes and cracked soil during the 9-month drought in Kenya.
It will be another four months – or longer – before the rains return to the north.
“This all used to be green,” said Mursal, office coordinator for Oxfam Wajir.
“It has made our animals move away, and some have died. I only have two cows. They cannot find pasture, and now one is sick. Clean water is essential.”
Kadjia Hussein, 30, treks to the nearest water source three or four times a day to collect water for her family.
Hussein lives in Hadado, a village in Kenya’s Wajir County. In the hot and dry climate of northern Kenya, where there has been low rainfall and under-investment in water systems, people have limited access to clean water.
“We are facing a devastating drought,” she said. Most people in Wajir raise cattle; their entire lives depend on the health of their livestock. During times of drought, they are forced to travel far in search of water and land where their cattle can graze.
“The livestock is weak now. I have no means to move. I’ll just stay here and wait for the rains.”
Women carry their children through a sandstorm in a remote village of Wajir County, Kenya.
A family waits for a sandstorm to pass in a remote village near Hadado Town in Wajir County, Kenya.
“This is the worst drought — the most extreme. The drought has affected everything.”
Zeinab Issack, 34, and Fatima Dakane Bulle, 38, wait for a sandstorm to pass with their children near Hadado Town, Northern Kenya.
Sisters Kadija and Aminda Hussein rest at a shop in Hadado town in Northern Kenya. They are struggling to feed their children due to the ongoing drought in the region.
Oxfam ATMs supply water, life
Oxfam Water ATMs store and distribute reliable and affordable clean water to local communities, utilizing a digital token system that can be reloaded with Kenyan Shillings at nearby stores. Families simply swipe their blue token across a magnetic screen mounted to the ATM, which automatically deducts credit per each liter of water collected. Residents can purchase about 20 liters of clean water for .20 cents.
Hadado’s Water ATMs are maintained by Oxfam GB and a government-owned water company.
Rukia Billow, 24, collects water several times a day from an Oxfam Water ATM in Hadado Town, Northern Kenya.
A woman uses her water credit, which is stored in a small, plastic token, to buy water from a Water ATM in Hadado, Kenya.
A family collects water at an Oxfam Water ATM in Hadado Town, Kenya.
Arron Gesar, 34, holds her token to collect water from a Water ATM in Hadado, Kenya.
Abdulahi Yusef, 40, waits near his shop in Hadado Town, Northern Kenya. Yusef maintains one of the only Oxfam Water ATM credit systems that provides hundreds of Kenyans access to clean water in the otherwise remote town.
Shop owner Abdulahi Yusef adds credit to Zeinab Issa’s, 28, Oxfam water token in Hadado, Kenya.
A line forms at Yusef’s supply shop in Hadado, Kenya. Many women and children are waiting to reload their ATM token to collect water before sunset.
Former livestock herder, Halima Boute, 60, holds an Oxfam Water ATM token. She moved to Hadado Town in Northern Kenya after most of her goats and sheep died in an earlier drought. Boute said this year’s drought is more devastating than any in the past.
Ibadha Malele, 38, holds an Oxfam Water ATM token in Hadado town, Northern Kenya.
Only Women + Children Remain
In Northern Kenya, women and children often bear the brunt of drought and famine.
Most families in Hadado are pastoralists, tending to goat, sheep or cattle to survive. However, due to the ongoing drought, many families were forced to separate - the men setting off toward greener pastures with their livestock while their wives and children remained behind, responsible for protecting the household, without fresh milk, meat or a means to survive.
Traditionally, women and children are tasked with collecting water, walking many miles, multiple times a day in search of shallow ponds or small dams to collect from.
But with the installation of Oxfam’s Water ATM systems, women and children are avoiding the long, time-consuming and dangerous treks to find drinkable water.
Bishara Abdi Iladir, 53, sits next to the Jerry Cans she uses to transport water from a pump to her home four times a day.
Bishara Abdi Iladir, 53, rolls a barrel of water to her home in Northern Kenya. The price of water has skyrocketed in the Horn of Africa due to an ongoing drought in the region.
Thankfully, Oxfam provides access to prepaid Water ATMs in drought stricken areas that keep water prices fair and consistent for Iladir and her 30 children and grandchildren.
“Since the ATMs were installed, we hardly get water from the dam,” she says. “The kiosk is just there. It is my neighbor.”
Samey Alasow, 50, and her daughter sit inside their thatched-roof home in Hadado Town in Northern Kenya. The ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa forced Alasow’s husband to take their livestock to lusher land in the east, leaving her and her daughter to fend for themselves in Hadado. That was eight months ago. They haven’t heard from him since.
Samey Alasow, 50, washes clothes outside her home on the outskirts of Hadado Town in Northern Kenya.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing one of the worst droughts in recent history, forcing many families walk long distances to collect contaminated drinking water.
Fortunately, Alasow is able to purchase clean water from Oxfam's Water ATM’s for about $.20 per 20 liters.
Samey Alasow, 50, stands outside her home on the outskirts of Hadado Town in Northern Kenya. Recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa have led to poor crop production and widespread food insecurity. More than 2.6 million Kenyans lack reliable access to nutritious food according to the United Nations. That number is expected to rise in the coming months.
“Before, you had to depend on someone to open the kiosk even though you felt thirsty. Now we get water freely. We are so thankful.”
The Oxfam Water ATM’s "have really transformed my life," said Haretha Muhaumud, 47. "Now, the water is very much close and it has helped me very much."
Oxfam is assisting 169,385 people with clean safe water for domestic and livestock use through our technical support to Wajir Water and Sewage Company and the Ministry of Water.
They aim to reach 450,000 people in Wajir County by June 2018 to help communities cope with the effects of the drought.
