Now, more than 5,000 Baringo pupils must sail over the swollen Lake Baringo to get to school.
The kids use regionally built boats. 18 elementary schools were flooded by Lake Baringo’s overflow, forcing almost 40,000 residents to flee their homes.
The resulting insurrection has put residents at risk from crocodiles and hippos.
The distance between Marigat and Chemolingt has also been reduced as a result.
The majority of school-aged children are at danger as a result of ongoing environmental changes, according to a monthly TSC release.
The majority of pupils are now forced to attend schools in their areas because of this.
The journal places a strong emphasis on the difficulty teachers have managing a surge of students and the peril of traveling across the body of water by boat.
According to Luke Kandie, the principal of Loruk Primary School, the majority of the pupils attend from the islands of Chelelyo, Kiplelchony, and Barchar.
In the affected areas, parents are reluctant to let their kids ride boats to school.
They claim that younger kids are more prone to being attacked by wild animals or strong seas.
He asserted that, on average, 32 of the 318 students were present in class at the start of July.
Students have other transportation options besides sailing boats when traveling to school.
Neighbor Harun Loruk said, “The classrooms are beginning to break due to the effects of flood water, putting the youngsters’ lives in danger.”
Most of the instructors were displaced, and they constantly feared hippo assaults.
Joshua Chemjor, the principal of Salabani Secondary School, claims that the institution is submerged in the water.
According to Chemjor, the distance between the lake and the school last year was five kilometers.
The impacted schools are Katuwit, Loruk, Salabani sec, Ng’ambo Girs, Lake Baringo mixed Sec, Sintaan, Leswa, Lorok, and Loropil.
Noosukro, Kiserian, Ilng’ana, Ng’enyin, Sokototi, and Salabani are more elementary schools
Ngambo Primary School’s headmaster is forced to leave his hiding place behind a tree due to a strong wind and rising dust.
The books and papers on his table are scattered by the wind, and a chalkboard that was affixed to a nearby tree is knocked to the ground. Students must hold their books and cover their heads when under the tree.
We’re accustomed to this. My visitors come here to see me. Since Lake Baringo swelled and our school was subsequently flooded, I have been working under this tree for about two years. The principal of Ngambo Primary School, Parkolo Shariff, declared, “This is an office.
First, second, and seventh graders go about their business under a tree. Three fixed classrooms, two classrooms made of iron sheets, and one classroom within a tent provided by the Kenya Red Cross make up the school’s 342 student body.
The tent is torn, though. Learning here is not easy because of the harsh climate.
This school was one of many that had to relocate because of the rising lake levels.
Salabani Secondary School, Ngambo Secondary School, Lake Baringo, and Salabani Primary School were among the other institutions that needed to be reconstructed.
The sun is harsh, there is a lot of trespassing, and there are numerous animals that constantly pass through this region, which distracts the learners.
He stated that because the students are not fed, absences are common. He claimed that the school lunch program played a significant role in motivating children to attend class.
He continued by saying that the lake’s expansion forced households to relocate and submerged fields; they are now having trouble reconstructing.
Insecurity tends to rise when communities fight over diminishing water and grazing land resources.
Elijah Kipton, the principal of Kapindasum Primary School in Baringo South, claimed that the children and he were compelled to move because of insecurity in February 2021.
He moved to the elementary school in Chemorongion, which was seven kilometers away.
Students from Arabal, Kasiela, Chebinyiny, and Kapindasum schools attend Chemorongion Primary School.
According to George Okeyo, the Baringo South Sub-County Director of Education, Marigat had been afflicted by instability and climatic change for the preceding two years.
In the Mukutani and Muchongoi regions of Baringo South, where initially ten schools were relocated, there has been significant instability since 2019.
Six schools were closed owing to safety concerns and have not yet reopened.
There are several schools, including Arabal Primary and Secondary Schools, Ngelecha Primary, Chebinyiny, Kapindasum Primary, and Mukutani Primary.
The Ngelecha primary school has been closed, and residents of the local villages have moved to distant hills that are deserted.
Families have moved away from Arabal, and pupils are spread out among various schools.
Sosiende hosts the primary school children at Chebinyiny, while Kapindasum and Kasiela students are welcomed at Chemorongion.
“Parents wish to return to their homes, but they are unable to do so. Numerous children who performed well in the KCPE were prevented from enrolling in high school as a result of both floods and insecurity, according to Okeyo.
