Drought has led to a large number of learners dropping out of schools with families looking to make ends meet as well as looking for pasture and water for their vulnerable livestock.
Chirifi’s Senior Chief Idriss Guyo has revealed that schools had reported a huge number of learners absent from school since the start of the third term with many students yet to report to school.
“Lack of rain in the recent past has presented a huge problem because children have dropped out of school,” said Guyo.
Residents are also blaming the drought for the high prices of food which has contributed to the high numbers of school dropouts and child labour.
According to the chief, the government had initiated the Kshs. 300 Million Small Irrigation and Value Addition (SIVAP) in the county in a bid to reduce migrations in search of food and create opportunities for employment.
He added that people had been moving to Bura since the previous week but he had held meetings to inform parents that their children need to attend school.
“At the moment, people migrate easily with children and livestock because they don’t have work too, therefore we are calling upon the government to speed up the project to create job opportunities for the people,” added Guyo.
The Ministry of Agriculture started SIVAP which involved the construction of three pans in Mkomani, Mpongwe and Nkozi villages. This was intended to reduce poverty by enhancing agricultural productivity, food security and income.
“These will go a long way in checking the movements of nomadic parents and their children and the learners will be able to attend school and post better results in our national examinations,” said Josephat Omari who is the SIVAP project manager.
The National Drought Management Authority (NDMA) has revealed that more than 92,00 people are in serious need of food aid in Tana River County.