Violence in Isiolo
I received sad news this morning, from our friends in Isiolo (the town near our village of Gambella). Violence has been escalating in Isiolo, and the surrounding area in the recent weeks. As drought continues to crush the area, resources are becoming more and more scarce. People are just trying to survive, and are becoming desperate.
Due to the violence, the school in Gambella has been temporarily closed. Most of the people from the village have left Gambella, and have gone to Isiolo where they feel they will have more safety. Many men have stayed in the village, to protect it should there be an attack.
On Saturday, two men from Gambella were walking from Isiolo back to the village, when they were shot and killed. We drove on that same road (pictured at right) twice a day every day we were in Kenya this summer. At this point I am not sure if any of us met the men that were killed, but I can’t tell you how sad I was to hear this news this morning.
This is reality. Since I went on my first trip last summer, I’ve realized how “messy” this business is. There’s no magic bullet that makes it all go away. The bottom line is that this work involves people, and relationships—both of which can be messy. Throw in some real life-and-death issues, and the results can be unpredictable. But that’s why we’re there. Because we care, and we want to offer hope and a different way of thinking.
There have been tensions, including violence and a number of fatalities, in the area around Isiolo. Isiolo is the town nearest to our village of Gambella. The drought that is so severely affecting the horn of Africa is hitting Isiolo and surrounding villages as well. These are tough times, leading to desperate acts.
villages finally have some rain. As I understand it, they haven’t had rain since we left there this summer—which has been well over two months! Even when we were there, the land was extremely dry. This has been a serious problem for them, and hopefully there will be more rain to follow, but for today, we will rejoice!
If you are a youth in Gambella, and are no longer in primary school, there aren’t a lot of options for how to spend your daylight hours. If you aren’t out with the animals, or fetching water, or preparing a meal, what can you do with your time? Most of the options available are not good ones—until now.
Hassan, one of the GHNI workers in Gambella, came up with the idea of putting up a volleyball net, so that young people can have something positive to do with their free time. So, two days ago they got a couple posts from the lumber yard (or timber store, as they call it there), and put up a volleyball net. I never thought I would see volleyball out in the bush of Kenya! The next trip that GHNI will take to Gambella is in February. Who wants to play some volleyball?