The headteacher of Hatata Primary School Halima Mohamed has voiced her concerns about the 2023 El Niño, noting that the combination of Covid-19 and a recent severe drought had already pushed many poor parents in Mororo to their limits.
Halima stated that during the previous El Niño, approximately half of Mororo’s 20,000 residents found themselves exposed to the elements or perched atop trees leaving their children’s education hanging in the balance.
She further revealed that the school had already faced significant challenges during past flash floods, including the devastating ones in 1997, 2016, and 2018 resulting in sporadic truancy among students.
The headteacher mentioned that these El Niño floods submerged their entire campus for almost a year, forcing them to relocate to Boji Primary School in Madogo town, seven kilometres away.
She lamented that many residents found the seven-kilometre journey to Boji Primary School to be exhausting and unaffordable.
Halima pointed out that due to the grinding poverty of the residents, using Matatu or Bodaboda transportation was not an option.
“Parents struggled to provide even a basic meal, making the long daily trek to Boji for lessons inconceivable for their young children,” she stated.
The School Head also noted that teachers in Boji faced their own challenges as the distance from their destroyed homes made it difficult to engage in remedial work.
Halima feared that if students dropped out of school, the highly fragile and vulnerable region could see a rise in child labour, child marriages, or even the recruitment of children into extremist groups.
Despite theEl Niño warnings from weather forecasters, Mohamed Lokha criticized the Tana government’s response, noting that it lacked practical solutions to help residents move to higher ground.
By Amoto Ndiewo
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