Kenya/People and Projects

Libehia Primary School

(10 March 2006)

Abida stands outside Libehia School

IR aid workers meet the children of Libehia Primary School where there is a supplementary feeding programme

Inside Libehia Primary School the walls are pierced with holes and there are not enough desks and chairs for all of the children, so many sit on the hard concrete floor during lessons.

There are only four teachers at this school in the Mandera region of Kenya, but every day more and more pupils are coming to enrol. Education, however, is not their primary motivation.

A Meal a Day

The school provides supplementary feeding for its pupils and parents are desperate to enrol their children to ensure they receive at least one meal a day - something no longer guaranteed at home in these days of drought.

"Parents are bringing their children for enrolment so that they have food at lunchtime," said school principal Shobay Abdi Salan. "Children come to school and they tell me that they do not have anything to eat at home so I give them some scoops of maize," he said.

The school has 220 pupils and over 27% are orphans. Built in 1984, its meagre resources are at breaking point as the drought penetrates every aspect of society.

"If the child has no problems at home they can concentrate at school. But when the child goes back home and they have no food then this is also a burden on the school," said Shobay.

Desperation

In desperation parents bring children as young as two years old to the school for food. The school is meant to cater for children aged between six and 16.

"A child of three years is enrolled due to hunger. You will also find a child of two years - not brought for enrolment but for food, and that has put a strain on us," he said.

Every day Shobay witnesses the devastating impact of the drought on the lives of his pupils. "There is also a slight drop-out rate, especially girls, because parents will go to look for food and they leave the children to look after the house and the boys look after the animals - these are the results of the drought," he said.

Living with Drought

Abdul Qadir's uncle can no longer take him to school

Abdul Qadir Hussain,14, is paralysed and studies at the school. After his mother and father died his uncle Muhammad Hasan took care of him. Muhammad also has eleven children of his own.

Abdul Qadir uses a wheelbarrow which serves him as a wheelchair, but recently his uncle Muhammad has been unable to take him to school. "All the animals are dead," he explains, "I used to bring him before, but now I do not have the energy to carry him to school and I have nothing to give him."

For ten-year-old Abida Hasan, the drought has meant her duties at home have increased. "The drought has really affected our family. We only have 15 animals and our food is limited," she said. "The animals need more water and I fetch it from the well and give it to them. I baby-sit while my mother searches for food."

Another pupil at the school is twelve-year-old orphan Warsame Ibrahim. His mother's dwindling livestock has almost been wiped out. "The animals are dead - my family is in a desperate situation," Warsame explains, "Before the drought we had 200 animals and now there are only 50. If the drought continues the 50 that are left will be dead in 15 days."

For the children of Mandera, education is not their immediate concern - their thoughts are occupied with survival. The harsh truth is that if help does not reach them soon, many of these children may not live to complete their school days.