By Betty Luke
Pamela Leparkeri, 48, was living in a mud walled hut within her mother’s compound, a kilometre from Wamba town in Samburu County when last November heavy rains struck.
She had moved to her parents’ home after separating with her husband over unspecified issues.
She narrates that though she clearly understood she risk she was subjecting herself and the children to, she had no option but to walk out of her matrimonial home for the mother’s flood-prone village.
“(Mum’s) home was the only place I was assured of shelter. There, I embarked on raising my children single-handedly,” she shares.
Although she anticipated a trail of destruction in event there was heavy downpour, she never thought floods would be so intense to render her homeless.
More than 65 Kilometers away in Archers town, we meet a 21-year-old Geoffrey Saitoti, a second-year Health Records student at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) who was also affected by the floods.
Alongside his father and elder brother, they shared a makeshift polythene shack that would at the onset of the rains be blown away by the heavy winds, exposing them to cold.
They were forced to seek asylum at a neighbour’s home as one side of the hut had been completely destroyed and could no longer shield all of them from the wrath of the nature.
The situation was no different for hundreds of other residents hard-hit by the floods in Samburu East Constituency whose homes and livestock were washed away by the raging waters.
Ms Lelina Lekiluai, a resident of Learata whose home was swept away and her 20 goats killed by the floods, was reduced to a beggar.
“On the fateful day, it rained the whole night. While we hoped the rain would cease, water levels kept rising and we realized we couldn’t open the door to our hut,” she recalls.
The rising water levels, the widow shares, rendered her home inhabitable for several months forcing them to seek refuge elsewhere.
The three got a relief after they were considered for a housing program by Archers Post East African Pentecostal Church’s (EAPC) and Wamba Kenya Assemblies of God (KAG) Child Development Center (CDC) targeting vulnerable families whose homes had been partially or completely destroyed by floods.
The project, undertaken in partnership with Compassion International Kenya, sought to restore dignity to families who had been rendered homeless resulting in deteriorating living conditions for children, who the program mainly supports.
Archers EAPC CDC Project Director Peris Maina said the initiative sought to support the families rebuild their lives in a more dignified manner so as to ensure children are raised in conducive environment.
“Our primary beneficiaries are children who we support to grow holistically but we also work towards ensuring the caregivers have a decent place to nurture the children from,” she noted.
The project funded by a group of churches in Netherlands, also supported families who had lost their livelihood start income generating projects, with some opting to buy goats that they now depend on.
“Apart from them building a house for me, I received Sh4900 that I used to restock after I lost my animals to the floods. I now get enough milk for family and even sell the surplus to buy food items,” noted Mr Musa Lenengwesi, another beneficiary.
KAG CDC Project Director Miriam Wangari says although those impacted by the floods had benefited from the project, water scarcity remained a pressing issue that should be addressed to ensure caregivers do not trek longer distances and have more time to take care of the families.
“Majority of the parents take up to a whole day in search of water for domestic use leaving them with little time for their families. If adequate boreholes are sunk in the dry areas, water will be sufficient for domestic use,” said Ms Wangari whose center supports 79 children.
The beneficiaries also received gift hampers comprising of kitchen wares from female staff members at Compassion International Kenya’s main office.
The CDC program targets children upon conception, support the mother till delivery and thereafter the child until they attain 20 years of age.
The center ensures the physical, spiritual, mental and economic well-being of the beneficiaries as well as supporting their education.
