Parents Concerned Over School Reopening Amidst Floods
Parents Concerned Over School Reopening Amidst Floods
Ahead of the start of classes on Monday, parents of students attending schools in flood-affected areas have voiced worries for their children’s safety.
A few weeks after the rains began, several parents in the counties of Busia and Narok said they might not let their kids go to school since sections of the counties are still flooded.
Others are still unaware of the children’s educational location because flood IDPs are still occupying some schools.
As the clock ticks down to the schools reopening, some flood victims are requesting help to get their kids ready for Monday.
The Huruma Sports Complex in Nairobi is home to hundreds of internally displaced people (IDPs) who were forced from their homes by flooding. Conditions there are already difficult and will only get worse for families whose children attend primary and secondary schools.
Salome Njoki, a frustrated grandmother of multiple grandchildren, was featured on Citizen TV. Although schools will reopen in less than two days, Salome doesn’t think her grandchildren will be attending classes with the other grandchildren.
“Tuliathirika, ma’am…Itakuwaje hatuna uniform hatujui,” she uttered.
Parents at the camp are in a similar situation to one another. They claim they were only able to preserve their lives during the floodwaters.
“Hata hakuna vile ungefikiria, hata nguo, hata chochote, tulikumbukanga kama tushaenda tukaona tujiokoe kwa jirani tena mai ikatupata huko,” Sarah Ayuma said.
Another IDP Wilmina Awori added: “Maji ilikuwa inajaa, tunajaribu kutoka inakuja, najaribu niingie ndani niokee hata vitabu za watoto haikuwezekana.”
The Kenya Red Cross, managing this camp contends that the back-to-school concerns raised by the parents are genuine and need urgent attention.
“The most need currently is uniform, the majority are willing to go back but don’t have a uniform and of course, they are coming from different schools, and also the stationery they are worried even as the government resettles them back,” Florence Njambi from Kenya Red Cross stated.
Beyond only providing uniforms and school supplies, there are other concerns with the return to school.
The disrepair of the schools and the difficulty in getting to them are both obvious in Busia.Many schools still can’t be inhabited due to the floods’ aftermath, which destroyed the building’s infrastructure.and the parents claim that it won’t be suitable for Monday school.
“Tunahatarisha maisha ya watt wetu kwa sababu wanahitaji maboti ya kuwavukisha,” said Budalangi resident Johnstone Wire.
“Kuna hawa watoto wadogo wa pp1 pp2, hawawezi kwenda kwa hihi mai..wakibebwa na maji tutaambia watu nini?” inquired another neighbor, Raphael Obara.
Uncertainty surrounds the whereabouts of the IDPs now staying at the St. Peter’s School in Narok town after the schools reopen.
Since they were washed out of their houses, the IDPs have been living in the classrooms, making the best of an otherwise terrible circumstance. Some of them don’t even know what Monday brings because they have students at the school.
“Hatujui tutanda wapi tutanda hapa…Carolyne Salau stated, “Hata pesa zenye tulikuwa nazo zilioshwa na maji, tunaomba serikali itusaidi.”
People impacted in the various counties are optimistic that they will receive the assistance they require in the next day or two before classes resume. Their desire is to be resettled and for their kids to be allowed to attend school with their classmates.