Formula to educate nomads totally defective!

There is one issue here that needs urgent attention if justice is to be served to those we purport to serve. It is a matter that remains popular but suppressed at the same time. Its popularity informs the non-inclusive response it has attracted from the many actors – appointed and self-appointed – who claim to be on a mission to effect social change. Actually, it is this so-called change that should be questioned, and if possible, its initiators subjected to a disciplinary process for failing to grasp a simple formula. That is, ensuring the change touches all: young, old, females, males, urban dwellers as wells as villagers, nomadic and settled persons.

This is how. The issue here hinges on how education enthusiasts have reached out to Kenyan nomadic communities and the resultant effect of their preachings; the hollowness of such preachings and why a quick search for answers is needed.

We all agree that education is the cornerstone of any social development, and that educating children is akin to insuring the society against future challenges. Another point, and which I think is the source of my frustration is this: we can't just base ourselves on this minimalist interpretation to lock out present needs. Insuring societies must also incorporate solving today's demands.

The central question here is: how will this be effected?

I have solid reasons to back this point. It is common knowledge that Kenyan nomadic communities are late beneficiaries of formal education. Two reasons pop up. One, the colonizer and the white evangelist, the two prominent faces that imported formal schooling to colonial Kenya saw no need to move up north. Two, post-independence governments reluctantly embraced northern Kenya and its people hence building schools in the region, not as a policy move to eradicate illiteracy but as a veiled attempt to express government's generosity.

The result is alive and visible. A huge proportion of the older generation can neither read nor write. Meaning they are completely locked out of daily socio-economic engagement. Besides, their survival depends on generosity of others and the State. This is why relief food is inherently the region's savior.

Which provokes another question. Why should this merit our attention when we have a younger generation to deal with?

The answer is simple and clear. Times have changed and our creativity must also evolve. I will explain.

In a number of years nomadism as a mode of subsistence will be no more. The disturbing question here is what will replace nomadism and how will former nomads respond to these changes? In places like Turkana, this change is no longer a myth. That oil thing you associate Turkana County with has brought with it irreversible changes that must push us to rethink our development strategies.

And here is my modest proposal. For development to win the hearts of these people, culture must play a prominent role. I know taking that route might prove vague. But here is the point. A look into cultures of nomadic peoples shows a depository of undercapitalized wealth. Their willingness to embrace change has also not been acted upon to their benefit.

Put those stereotypes you hear about nomads aside. Nomads have skills, and these skills are needed to power that sedentary lifestyle you consider "modern and superior".

That a people can crisscross hot, barren terrains for eons and still survive to tell their stories says something incredible about their smartness. It is this smartness that must accompany any move to spread education in their milieus.

Think of setting up integrated cultural and skills centers at strategic corners of their territory. I am opposed to this eliminate-and-replace kind of thinking that education evangelists tend to adopt when they venture into nomads’ lands. It is built on that unfounded belief that "only" what is modern is better and that any other thing must take a second position.

The road to inclusive development must be paved with consciousness and respect of local wealth. Upgrade the formula to educate nomads!

Twitter: @mlemukol