Dhe water in the well of Kargi seems to run out soon. The shaft is seven meters deep, and with a great deal of effort the women get some of the precious goods out. They prayed, they cried, that the spring would not dry up, they say. A young woman says: “If the water runs out, we have to find new boreholes far out there.” Kargi is a place in sparsely populated northern Kenya, which is mainly home to semi-nomadic people who depend on livestock farming. Their livelihood is threatened with every passing day without rain. According to the United Nations, 1.5 million cattle and goats have already died in Kenya. It’s the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 40 years. Millions of people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya are at risk of starvation.
But the chances of rain are slim. The people of Kargi know that too. The Kenyan Authority for Drought Management reports that no drops are to be expected here in the province of Marsabit in the coming weeks. The “Dust Bowl” of Kenya is getting drier and hotter. The future of the rural lifestyle is in jeopardy. From other areas it is heard that parents give their children wild berries to eat out of necessity, although they make them sick. The great Turkana lake no longer yields any fish; even hyenas are hunted.