The cost of climate change for Kenya's pastoralists
By Diana Njeru
Pastoralists in northern Kenya have told BBC Media Action, the BBC’s international charity, how they're coping with prolonged droughts and changing weather patterns, driven by the global climate crisis.
"When I get back from fetching water, my legs and back ache," says Esther Elaar who is pregnant. "When I carry heavy loads, I feel the baby move and that gets me concerned. There is nothing I can do about it because I need the water."
She walks over two hours a day to the closest source of water, and then carries the full 20-litre jerrycan back.
With longer and more frequent droughts, water points have been drying out faster, forcing the women who traditionally do this task to walk for hours in extreme heat to find water. And when they do find water, it may be dirty or contaminated – but there is no option but to drink it.
"I have heard some people have miscarried because of walking long hours in the sun in search of water and drinking the salty water. I pray that I will have a safe delivery," Ms Elaar told BBC Media Action.
Florence Leilei, a community health nurse from Loima sub-county, described how the climate has changed and made life much harder for people living in the region.
"The weather too has changed. Some time back it used to rain, we would get everything we wanted. Life is tough now; it is not like what it used to be."
This article originally appeared in BBC News.
Photo: BBC Media action