Remote Tana River village where local chief is also teacher

At Abaganda, a dusty, windswept and sun scorched village in Tana Delta Sub-County, life goes on uneventfully. Locals here hardly have much to do besides tending their animals.

While they cultivated fields a few years back, destruction of crops by elephants and several failed seasons owing to drought forced them to abandon farming.

This outpost, 30 kilometres west of Garsen, is hidden between a rugged countryside of hardy shrubbery and thickets on the one side and a forest on the other. There are no roads in the locale, mobile network is close to nil and bandits and wild animals roam with abandon. 

To access the village in Galma Location that’s home to Wardhei, a pastoralist subtribe of the Somali community, one has to follow indistinct footpaths that are the only sign of human habitation.

Other than a handful of motorbikes in sight, locals walk for kilometres to the market, even longer to access water.

Area chief, Omar Ibrahim, is among the few literate adults in his community. Only he can speak Kiswahili, albeit with obvious challenges. Besides his administrative duties, Ibrahim is the fulcrum of education in Abaganda. 

‘‘I’m an untrained teacher, but for several years now, I’ve been assisting our children with their learning, especially those at the ECDE (Early Childhood Development and Education) level,’’ says Chief Ibrahim. 

On the day the Nation team is visiting, tens of pupils in various grades are gathering for the day’s languages lessons, which Chief Ibrahim and an assistant teacher give under a tree.

Makeshift school

With schools closed, the chief’s home doubles up as the location’s administrative seat and a makeshift school, for security reasons and ease of coordination, Ibrahim explained. 

Occasionally, the chief is interrupted from the lesson to attend to administrative business in his court, a mud-walled, grass-thatched hut with only a rug for furniture. After conferring with community elders about welfare issues of the residents, he returns to guide the pupils.

‘‘When the learners gather for lessons, it’s my responsibility to enforce Ministry of Health protocols of social distancing, wearing masks and washing hands,’’ he told the Nation.

This remote locale is served by only three primary schools namely Seri, Abaganda and Gamal. There’s not even a single secondary school here. According to the chief, pupils who are fortunate to pursue studies beyond primary school join schools in either Garsen or about 130 kilometres away in Bura. 

While SMS learning had been piloted here, it proved hard to implement owing to network and literacy challenges. Besides, most households don’t have a handset.

‘‘Most of the learners had to come to me for the academic content. Sometimes I had to interpret the material for the learners,’’ Ibrahim told the Nation.    

Poverty, hostile weather and insecurity are the order of the day here. Even on normal school days, parents have to be vigilant lest their children are attacked by elephants, hyenas and baboons from the nearby forest.

‘‘We’ve had many cases of wild animal attacks in this village. Besides facilitating learning, the leaders here have to provide security for the learners and the public,’’ Ibrahim said.

Huge impact

According to Unicef, closure of schools not only undermines education, but also limits children’s access to a balanced diet while exposing girls to violence and other undesirable cultural practices such as early marriages, a common vice in this county.

For community teachers such as Sabina Kiambati, working in this area demands passion more than a quest for a livelihood.

On some occasions, even after walking for about 15 kilometres, braving the baking sun and the risk of attack from wild animals, Kiambati is unable to meet her learners.

‘‘Some of them go out to herd or to fish at Tana Delta. I’m lucky to find them at home,’’ explained Kiambati, who teaches at Tarasa Primary school in the sub-county. 

Even with community teachers, most learners still can’t afford stationery. Here, learning can only happen during daytime. Most families can’t afford a lantern for use for study at nightfall. 

That Orma and Wardhei communities living here are nomadic pastoralists further complicates education. 

‘‘When drought strikes, they move on with their livestock to other areas, tearing their children from school and access to community teachers,’’ said Peter Mainga, the TSC director of education at Tana Delta Sub -County.

Mainga noted that unless the communities here initiate a deliberate culture change, education will continue to suffer.

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