Who Is Gambella?

The village of Gambella is located in Kenya, near the town of Isiolo.  It is just north of the equator.

Some facts about Gambella:

• Population of approximately 2,000
• One of 1,000 Borana villages
  • About 3 million people in these villages
  • The forgotten people
• Adults speak Borana (sometimes also called Oromo, as they are a sub-group of the Oromo people), and some Swahili (but no English)
• Most families live on about $.50/day
• Their soil is incredibly rich, but completely arid
• They’ve historically been pastoral (no, not church, think “animals”-primarily goats), but climate change toward drought has made that far less productive.  As a result, they’re needing to learn agriculture
• The village itself is as dirt poor as you can imagine. Most people live in small huts they’ve made. The girls start having babies at around age 14. They each have one set of clothes… plenty of holes and rips… and wash them in the river every so often.
• “Honestly, what the adults want more than anything is a better life for their kids… healthier, more than one bowl of food to eat a day… and they want their kids to be educated.”-Jeff Power, from his travel blog