WHO WILL SAVE LODWAR'S 'WRETCHED OF THE EARTH'?

Sometimes I tend to believe (which I actually do) that I'm a prisoner of my childhood awareness. I still see myself through the mirror of the collective social consciousness of a small village. A set of thinking that puts the collective good before personal and/or individual aggrandizement. Through this, I find it unreasonable and impossible for a society to maintain silence in the face of challenges bedeviling a segment of it (society). I'm literally tortured by this apathy and not-our-duty way of doing things.

Look, hold your breath and be ready to activate your mind. Let me take you through a road up north and to the streets of Lodwar town in the oil-rich Turkana County.

This is a land full of contradictions. It is home to countless number of aid agencies. A cursory look of its dusty streets reveals the true picture that is Lodwar town. Fuel-guzzling N.G.O and government vehicles compete for space with street urchins. It is a daily contest that evokes no sense of guilt and self-reflection.

Residents, stakeholders and government have normalized this. They have accepted to live with it until the 'situation dies a natural death.'

It is a fallacy that is gaining currency and taking root in the minds and souls of all. When will it die a natural death? Who will contain this before it goes out of hand? Is there a will to contain this deadly contest?

To think that the ever-increasing street children of Lodwar, Kainuk, Lokichar, Kakuma, Lokichoggio and their environs will salvage themselves and 'leave us in peace' is myopic, counter-productive and a sign of a decayed collective social consciousness. It is time all men and women of good thoughts to rise up and do something. These are our children. Their challenges are our challenges. We cannot leave them alone.

The county government of Turkana too must wake up and see the reality. A look at the Proposed County Budget for the year 2014/2015 is a true evidence of what awaits these forgotten children. Not even a single shilling has been set aside to meet their needs. They are literally on their own.

You see, not even their government has their interests at heart. Maybe they should continue looking up to the skies and plains of Turkana for help. Who knows? Perhaps Tullow Oil Plc and foreign angels of good tidings have good things in store for them.

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I must thank the church/religious community in Turkana for their great deal of work to improve the lives of the Turkana's wretched of the earth. It doesn't escape me even for a single day to admire their generosity and love. May the Almighty God bless them.

Finally, I want to encourage the minds behind Turklife Youth Program. You form the foundation over which change and progress is built. Keep helping those street children. Don't be distracted by cynics. Keep this close to your heart: whoever says you are too small to make a change, has never spent a night with the mosquito!

Twitter: @mlemukol