Who will Restore the hope of the Northern Child??

The government should be worried about the impact of extreme insecurity on education in northeastern Kenya. It is a matter of urgency that the region is freed from the grip of militants to save education from total collapse.

According to civil societies and education stakeholders in North-Eastern kenya , one of the most pressing issues caused by rampant insecurity is the inability of school going children in the region (NEP) -mainly inhabited by Kenyan-Somalis -to continue their studies after an estimated 2,000 teachers have fled the area fearing for their lives following deadly attacks by Somalia-based terror group Al-Shabaab.

In the past year the education sector in northern Kenya has declined. There are no teachers and many schools have been closed. Hundreds of student

s are feeling hopeless.
Without education, we might as well hand the whole of northern Kenya to the armed militia. Education is the hope of society for a bright future. It is the tool that fosters dreams of peace, independence, success, and even hope. It is a basic human right. This is a dream that is about to be shattered by the paralysis in the education sector in northern Kenya, courtesy of  terror gangs.

The children of NEP are in danger of being robbed of their hope for the future due to the failure by the government to protect them and provide education. This group of disillusioned and neglected young people risk becoming a formidable foe and a target of extremists, human traffickers and all those with  ill intentions. Despite all this, neither the cabinet Secretary for Education nor that of security visited the region, to at least assess the situation.

All stakeholders in education and human rights groups must ensure that the people of Wajir, Mandera, and Garissa do not watch their hopes for a decent education die. Insecurity must be addressed now.

As all this happen, the so called leaders of NEP are dining and wining in Nairobi issuing one press release after the other in five star hotels.  So are the professionals. And the  lords of poverty in Northern Kenya - NGOs. After all the future of their kids is secured.

Even those who convinced us that they were walking in search of hope, ended it in disarray.  Noordin Bedel and the walkers who met the president had no bad intentions and should have been supported by all involved.
My advise to the team -Walk of Hope- going forward: Be united and sort the rotten potatoes in your midst before they spoil the team work.  My concern comes from the aroused hopes of the northerners including myself. Otherwise ni kama sina otherwise...