On Saturday 19th of March, are delegation of all the departments of the local government of Nyangatom Woreda travelled to Turkana north, accompanied by the team of the MCSPA working in Nyangatom and Mr. Abdi Adam from the Turkana County. The purpose was to visit the different mission of the MCSPA in along the border and the projects we are carrying out there.

The aim of the visit was to take advantage of the peace situation between Nyangatom and Turkana for the last one year, trying to foster father links of collaboration between the two communities, by visiting the different projects that the MCSPA is carrying out in Lobur, Todonyang, and Nariokotome missions. 

In Lobur the team visited the school and the Furrows in the desert project, and it was an amazing experience to see the trainees, women and men from different ages, including one from Nyangatom, fully equipped and ready to learn about the wonders of growing fruits in the dessert. On Sunday, the team was welcomed by the christian community during the lively mass at Lobur chapel.

In todonyang, the team visited the project at Nakinu, where the mission drilled several boreholes to provide water for the pastoralist communities at the foot of the Lapur mountains, helping shepherds and herds who before had to travel long journeys in search for water every other day, to places where they used to class with the Dassenech. Now, as the water is near the pastures, they can stay confortable by the mountain side. In addition, the boreholes provide sweet water to the mission through a pipe 10 km long.

The following day we visited the Todonyang integrated school, where Fr. Andrew Yakulula explained how the school was initiated as a Peace initiative. The main objective is that children from both conflicting communities, the Dassanech and the Turkana, learn and grow together in the same school, and establish bonds of friendship that change their negative cultural assumptions about each other’s communities into positive ones.

Fr. Andrew also explained that the botany project carried out by the mission is helping fishermen in their livelihoods and giving them an opportunity to send their children to school and give them proper education. 

It is amazing to realise how all three projects, water, education, livelihoods, intermingle to improve the lives of the people and give peace a chance in the Turkana-Dassanech corridor. It was a wonderful learning experience.

On Monday morning, the team headed for Nariokotome mission. There we visited the health centre, and Kaitoo kindergarten. In the afternoon, we visited the mission and ended with mass and dinner. Nariokotome offered a whole different experience to the crew, whereby they saw how the mission has shaped, along its thirty years of existence, an entire barren and arid region, improving the lives of so many vulnerable people through health, nutrition and provision of all basic resources such as water, livelihoods and education, necessary for human life. 

The trip ended with a visit to Lodwar, where the delegation was received by the Turkana county commissioner and the county secretary. On the way back we also had the chance to visit Loropio IT school and also discussed about possible cooperation in the near future through training of young people.

Throughout the whole exchange trip ideas about how development is possible in such remote areas through securing water and the basic human needs, gave the whole team encouragement and hope. It was a re-assuring journey of discovery and strengthening bonds of cooperation between the Nyangatom local government, the mission in Nyangatom, and the Turkana counterparts.

Let us enjoy the fruits of peace!

Fr. Angel Valdivia MCSPA