- Celinah Ekeruru Lokopu said for many years they have been forgotten because they don’t have water, a school and a health facility.
- Chief Robert Epur said the population of people is growing and people need development.
Image: HESBORN ETYANG
You might as well tear up the Bill of Rights when it comes to Lokupu village, Soima subcounty, Turkana. It's pretty much a cipher here.
Most people are unable to read that they are entitled to dignity, education and the best possible level of medical care.
Consider this. One day in 2017 the county delivered a water tank to the village. Workers just dumped it and left. They never filled it with water. No water tanker ever arrived. Now the drought is excruciating.
A snakebite often means death because the closest health facility is in Lodwar — it costs five goats to get there.
So people trek many kilometres to dry riverbeds to dig wells to reach dirty water for themselves and their animals.
Lokupu isn't the only such place where rights are forgotten.
As dawn breaks over Lokopu village in Loima subounty, residents start their daily routine of trekking more than 30km in search of water.
Lokopu village, a deserted region with about 15,000 residents, has no water point, health facility or school.
Robert Epur, chief of Lokopu, said the population is growing and development is needed. People will die without water, he said.
He said the government has been informed and villagers are waiting for help.
Resident Celinah Ekeruru said for many years they have been forgotten because they don’t have water, schools and a health facility.
“We thought devolution was to bring development projects to us but it has not happened; we don’t have water for our livestock, no school and health facility for medical care,” she said.
She said as drought persists, they are forced to trek more than 30km in search of water and pastures for their livestock along the dry river beds.
Ekeruru said the drought has caused the water table to fall and goats, sheep and camels become emaciated and some have died.
She faulted county government for not ending water shortage in the region.
“In 2017 the county government through the Ministry of Water brought a water tank here. The tank was dumped here, it has never been filled with water yet we hoped we would access clean water for drinking through the water trucking process to fill the tank,” she said.
Ekeruru has appealed to the county government and other authorities to supply water before the situation gets worse.
Gladys Tioko, a mother of seven and a resident, said they have no medical care. When her children are sick, bitten by snakes, scorpions and spiders, there are no medical services nearby.
"The reliable facility is in Lodwar and from here to Lodwar it’s about 80km. It’s expensive to travel because you need to pay a boda boda operator about five goats," she said. By the time you get there, it may be too late.
Tioko has appealed to the county government to build a health facility in their region to end their sufferings.
Resident David Lokwang deplored the lack of a school as children grow p illiterate and ignorant.
“We have enough land here at Lokopu and we are just yearning for development. We need a school and a health facility. We need to see our children learning so that we can eradicate illiteracy," he said.
Lokwang has called the government and other agencies to set up a school.
Evanson Epetet, director for People Transformation and Development Aid, an called on well-wishers and charitable organisations to help the forgotten residents of the forgotten village.
(Edited by V. Graham)