USAID mission Director for Kenya and East Africa David Gosney accompanied by Turkana deputy governor Dr John Erus on Tuesday presided over the handing over of eight fibre boats and other strategic investments worth Sh 253 million in Lomekwi, Turkana North Sub County.
The boats will benefit over 1,000 fishermen by easing and increasing their fish catch by enabling them access deeper parts of the lake.
They are part of an eight year programme implemented in Turkana and Samburu counties, funded by USAID and implemented through USAID Nawiri.
Turkana County has received 70 percent of $ 45 million, according to USAID Nawiri chief of party Hussein Noor.
The groups have also been trained on how to make local wooden boats and the first three boats they have made have been sold at Sh 80,000 each to ensure local fishermen are able to access low cost fishing boats.
One of the fishermen Lomodei Ekiru said the new fiber boats which use petrol will enable the fishermen to reach deeper parts of the lake and catch more fish.
He said in the past, they have been relying on wooden boats which are tiresome which cannot wade into the deep waters.
“We will be able to increase our profits because we do not need to hire boats because we now own have our own boats provided by Nawiri,” added Ekiru.
Gosney said his tour was informed by the need for him to witness the progress made in the programme.
“I came to talk directly to the women group, entrepreneurs that have benefitted, to see the boats that are being launched and to hear from the community workers,” he said.
He observed that the beneficiaries of the programme now have increased their incomes and now have savings they can use for their families to have more nutrition outcomes.
While acknowledging that there was room for improvement, he cited progress made in nutrition outcomes saying a few years ago only three percent of households were fully healthy families but today that has increased to over 27 percent.
“That’s tremendous achievement,” he said.
He added that diarrhea and dysentery has been cut by one- third over the past few years through improved access to sanitation services signifying improvement from seven percent to 26 percent.
On Tuesday, Gosney said the programme seeks to build resilience, to improve nutrition outcomes, increase household incomes to enable them provide for their needs and have access to quality healthcare services.
He at the same time underscored the importance of partnerships in ensuring sustainability of the projects.
USAID Nawiri Chief of Party Hussein said the groups have also received training on financial literacy, business training and how to make products out of fish.
He said Nawiri has established more than 3,000 similar groups of youth comprising of 30 members each involved in electrical and mechanical engineering, dress making among other skills.
A total of 471,000 participants from Turkana County have benefited from the programme that has so far reached 25 out of 30 wards across the county.
Nawiri has also put up 16 irrigation schemes where large scale irrigation is taking place in addition to other nutrition and food security sites.
“Currently we have covered 68,000 hectares of land is under crop including cereals, vegetables, fruits as well as sorghum production. Nawiri also supports 66 percent of the community healthcare services with training and equipment,” he said.
Other support includes training and funding of business startups.
To ensure sustainability of the projects, the organization has trained ward development committees that will identify their priorities and ensure ownership of the projects upon completion of the programme.
“Water user associations have also been trained to guarantee sustainability of water systems,” he said.
According to Felix Erot, he has benefited from mechanic course and is able to repair motorbikes in Lomekwi and eke a living.
“In the past we people used to take their motorbikes to Lodwar and Kalokol, the skills I have gained have allowed me to support my brothers and sisters financially and improve my own life,’ said Erot.
Deputy Governor Dr John Erus noted that climate change had affected the lives of the residents adding that the county had decided to collaborate with partners in key value chains like USAID Nawiri.
“We are working with key partners to develop skill sets of the youth to ensure sustainability of the projects. We want to make sure that the fiber boats that are being handed over today with the fish and fisheries value chain,” he said.
He said the county government was keen to translate knowledge learnt from USAID Nawiri interventions into value chains to support the fisher folk communities.
Turkana North MP Paul Nabuin, Turkana Central MP Emathe Namwar and a host of elected leaders also commended USAID Nawiri for the projects terming them as a success.
He said his visits on the projects such Kaikor water project saying their impact was huge on the communities.
“Turkana North has potential for irrigation farming and there potential for expanding such projects,” he added.
By Peter Gitonga
