After a period of post-election unrest and political discontent, Kenya was hit by an early rainy season. Along with the rains came floods. Right in the middle of March, after several hours of downpour, a few rivers burst their banks and flooded entire areas. The site of our development project in Joska, where we run a boarding school for 385 children, was no exception.

For several days now, Kenya has been plagued by floods caused by a sudden onset of rains. On 15 March, overflowing river waters flooded many areas, sweeping away several bridges, dozens of cars, shelters, animals, and also people. So far, around fifty Kenyan residents have died. The hardest-hit areas were those around Nairobi, Machakos, Kitui, Nakuru, Narok, and Taita Taveta. Our project in Joska has also been affected.

During the rainy season the school bus cannot get through

Infrastructure destroyed after one downpour

Flooding problems occur in Kenya almost every year and, due to the negative effects of climate change, they will appear even more frequently. Especially in cities, floods are a disaster because of an inadequate or almost non-existent sewer system that would drain water from the roads into canals. During the rains, roads become unsurfaced and most of them are impassable. After heavy rains, they are often destroyed and need to be rebuilt from scratch. Homes in some areas (especially slum areas) were also flooded this March, and families lost even the little they had – the water destroyed furniture and electronics.

Many schools in the slums were also affected by the aforementioned floods, and children were left without classes for several days. Downpours and subsequent floods can significantly slow down or completely halt school attendance. At our site in Joska, where we have been operating the St. Philip Neri day and boarding school since 2013 (in cooperation with St. Elizabeth University of Health and Social Work and thanks to the support of SlovakAid), the water has caused enormous damage. It took all 16 goats we were raising there, and that is far from everything.

The loss of life did not affect only animals but also people. In Joska, the water killed four people – fathers and mothers who tried to save their livestock, their only source of livelihood, from drowning. Some people saved themselves only by climbing high into tree branches with their children, thus avoiding drowning. From the trees, they watched in grief as the water carried away their homes and livestock.

Heavy rains at our school can always be seen as a major challenge as well. Since the village has no paved road (only dirt roads lead everywhere), after two or three days of intense rain the roads become impassable. Day students, dependent on transport by school bus, cannot currently attend school. Some older students try to wade through the mud in rubber boots. Since they enjoy learning, they try not to miss too much school and somehow make it there.

During the rainy season, power outages in buildings have become almost the norm. This had not been a problem for our project until December 2017, when our generator exploded. This currently means that from 7:00 PM the children are mostly in the dark. This is a rather serious situation, as our development project houses 385 children aged 6 to 15 in the boarding facility, and they usually do their homework in the evening. From May, additional children – those with physical disabilities and albinism – will join the classes at this primary school (the only one in Africa run by Slovaks). The generator is essential for the school, but currently financially out of reach.

Helping a school cut off from the world

When it starts raining outside, everything slows down and some activities simply have to be suspended. Construction sites stall because the necessary material cannot be transported over the muddy roads (and often neither can the workers). Parents are unable to properly visit their children at the boarding school because not even a motorbike (the only means of transport in the village) can get them to us. During the rainy season, we are simply cut off from the world – we are located about 2 km from the last decent paved dirt road.

The children are trying to cope with the situation with discipline, prayer, and by completing some of their tasks before dark. For now, they do not know how to fight the situation any better. Potential donors from Slovakia could help resolve the situation, for example, through individual financial contributions. A very effective form is distance adoption, where adoptive parents sponsor the education of selected children. Or (since we are in the tax return filing period), people can donate 2% of their tax to our civic association JUA, which currently fully operates the boarding school (in cooperation with St. Elizabeth University) in Joska.

The collected funds will be used in full for our school-age Kenyan children, who are facing problems that people in Slovakia cannot quite imagine. Dealing with the aftermath of downpours and floods is only part of the problem… All necessary information about the possibility of contributing to the civic association Jua can be found on the website: https://www.juapredeti.com/2-percenta

Text: Dária Kimuli OZ Juahttps://www.juapredeti.com**