Projecting voices of communities
Contemporary thinking on youth and conflict remains to be overly negative. Youth everywhere are known to be protagonists of criminal and political violence. In pastoral settings, youth – specifically warriors – are famous for conducting raids and banditry. Hence, there have been unjustifiable assumptions about the role, position, and contribution of youth in conflict which have appeared to cast elites at the helm of recovery efforts within societies undergoing conflict transition.
Turkana and Dassenach are pastoralist communities sharing pasture and water along the Kenya – Ethiopia border. There are, however, semi-nomadic sections of the two communities, residing in areas near the shores of Lake Turkana – the largest desert lake in the world and the most saline lake in East Africa.
The last few decades see sharp shrinking of the lake from Ethiopian territory towards Kenya, forcing the Dassanech community to move towards Kenya, resulting in frequent conflict with the Turkana community over fish. The lake is steadily shrinking for three reasons: drought that reduces flow of the River Omo which supplies about 90% of water to the lake; higher temperatures which scientists say increased evaporation rate in the lake, and; Ethiopia’s construction of a hydroelectric and irrigation dams along the Omo River.
Adupa Dinah Lorika is a social education advocate from Moroto District, Uganda. “My motto is education is the key to social positive change and peace in the society” says Ms Lorika who joined the Moroto women forum in 2016. Moroto women forum is an initiative of PEACE III, a USAID-funded conflict management activity implemented by Pact and Mercy Corps along Kenya’s borders with Somalia, Ethiopia, Uganda and South Sudan.
Yearning for more results in International Development interventions? this article by Yuen Yuen Ang provides some bitter medicine.
Koech Cheruiyot Denis 