Baringo: Pupils brave crocodile-infested waters to get to school

The journey to school for hundreds of learners in Kokwa Island in Lake Baringo is one riddled with danger.

It’s a journey they have to make – but one that is lined with danger that knows no discrimination.

Mothers have had to trade their working hours to help their young ones cross the dangerous bridge in search of a good future.  

According to residents of Kokwa, this is not a journey for the feeble-hearted.

Pupils have to wade through the crocodile-infested waters of the lake to attend classes.

Then there are hippos – herds of them.

The already weather-beaten bridge connecting the island is half-submerged in water.

Some parts of the bridge have already call time – and whatever remains is fast decomposing due to the unforgiving effects of sun, water and time.

One has no way of telling what danger could be sitting below the surface of the water, with residents saying it’s a playground for hippos and crocodiles.

“The island is in the middle of the lake. As locals we have a problem because the bridge built many years ago is submerged in the water,” said area MCA Wesley Lekakimon.

“There are more than 2,000 people living in the island. About 200 to 350 pupils attend school in the island. Out of this number, about 100 have to use the bridge to get to school. The other population lives on the other side of the bridge and don’t have to use the bridge,” noted Lekakimon.

Parents have had to carry young children on their backs to help them cross safely.

“As parents in this area we are suffering. In the morning we have to wake up early to take our young children to school, help them cross the bridge,” says Dorcas Siankiki, a resident.

“Sometimes the waters get very rough which makes it dangerous to cross with a child strapped to your back," she adds.

The parents make two trips daily; in the morning and in the afternoon, picking and dropping children from school.

“There is nothing left to do in this islands because we spend half of our day helping our children to cross the bridge,” said Mama Siankiki.

The locals are pleading with the county and national government through the Ministry of Education to help end their suffering.