Residents of Marsabit appeal for help as drought persists

In the wind-swept plains of Did Galgallu lies a sandy village of Burgabo. Caritas Marsabit has 

been supporting residents in this village with food and water for their survival. Here, meet Mr. 

Kulu Kushi, who paints a picture of how life is like in Burgabo.

“I am a resident of Burgabo, and a village elder. Burgabo means short hill in Somali language. I 

have lived here for the last 20 years and as a pastoralist, I move with my livestock, from one place 

to another, many times leaving most of my family members behind," said Kushi. 

“Life has always been with challenges with regular dry spells but, there has never been anything

like this before. Just until recently, severe droughts would occur but then it ends after some time 

and lives resume as normal,” he said. He added that during such times, they would move with their 

livestock and families to places where pasture is available and return only after the rains have 

come. Now at my old age, I can’t walk for long distances with livestock. I am left behind to just take 

care of my household while the strong men follow livestock to far places. And we cannot predict 

when the next rains will come. It is very hard to survive these days” he said, shaking his head. 

Ravens flock the outskirts of the village pecking remains of dead livestock, as smell of rotting 

animals sweeps the area. As you can see, our livestock are dying daily,” he continued, pointing at a fresh carcass of a 

donkey lying next to a shop where the residents were receiving their food vouchers. “Before this 

assistance, people were already starving. There was nowhere to run to.” He added.

He explained that as livestock had migrated to as far as Ethiopia, in search of pasture and water, 

the people left behind, mainly women, children and the elderly were actually at the brink of death. 

The few herds left behind were so emaciated, they couldn’t fetch a good price in the market, 

according to Mr.Kushi. “Water sources had dried up like never before. People walk for tens of 

kilometers in search of water for domestic use. Children and lactating mothers were going for days 

without eating. I can’t imagine how things would have been if this assistance had delayed further,” 

he explained. Burgabo is one of the intervention areas Caritas Marsabit has targeted for support through its

drought emergency response program. With funding from Catholic Agency for Oversees 

Development (AFOD), the organization is providing food vouchers, food rations and water 

tracking for the hundreds of households facing the verge of starvation. The impact this aid is having on communities, cannot be overstated as puts one of the project 

participants. “Because of the assistance by Caritas and other development partners, we have had 

our lives this far. But a lot still is needed as you can see drought is continuing to persist.” 

Residents are now calling on the government and other development partners to take urgent action 

to upscale the provision of food and water to thousands of people affected by the devastating 

drought.