• Wasolo, 22, said due to he drought, sand harvesting is very difficult as miners are expected to buy and sprinkle water on the steep walls to make them soft for mining.
• The river dried up so they are expected to fetch water from far away at a fee.
Image: TONY WAFULA
Sand miner Nicholas Wasolo, 22, says his job is complex, arduous and deadly.
To satisfy Kenya's construction industry, he works in deep pits using just a jembe and spade. He has no protective gear.
The work has attracted many young men in Sirisia constituency, Bungoma. Most are school dropouts and some were laid off other jobs because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
There are women and children, too, and it's not just happening in Bungoma but all over, especially where there are or were rivers. You'd think sea sand would be more than enough, but the composition isn't right for making concrete.
In Kuafu area, Sirisia constituency in Bungoma, hundreds of harvest sand on their farms.
In an interview with the star, Wasolo recounted his challenges in sand mining, venturing deep into pits that are risky and can easily collapse when weakened.
He harvests sand to support his family, saying all the money he spent for Christmas and New Year celebrations he raised from selling sand.
"I am not employed anywhere but I use my energy to mine and sell and put food on the table after a hard struggle," Wasolo said.
"Hunger is what drives us into sand mines. We earn peanuts here despite the risks we undergo. We excavate sand without safety helmets," he said.
He said the deep weakened pits collapsed and killed a woman who was mining sand. She left behind a young family that struggles to survive.
Image: TONY WAFULA
"I have seen my fellow sand miners die when weakened steep walls collapse in the midst of the excavation," Wasolo said.
"One man was covered by heavy weakened walls of the sand mine. He survived but he is now deformed," he said.
San miners desperately need protective gear, he said.
Wasolo said the drought in the country makes sand harvesting even more difficult as miners must collect and sprinkle water on the steep walls. The water makes them soft for mining.
The nearby river dried up so they have to walk long distances to fetch water, at a cost.
He said that the price of sand is far below their expectations and miners keep asking buyers to increase the price.
He sells a lorry of sand for Sh900 only.
"We struggle to bring sand from deep pits but we sell it at a lower cost that cannot satisfy us. We make a humble appeal to those purchasing sand for building that they increase the prices," Wasolo added.
At night wild animals,snakes and mammals, hide in sand mines and he's scared in the morning when he gets to work, wondering what dangerous animals he will find.
“Yesterday, while I was in the deep pit on my usual hustle I found a python snake inside that almost bite me,” he said.
(Edited by V. Graham)