Turkana county is experiencing drought and most of its water sources have dried up. This has hindered three to four girls in every class from attending school daily.
Lack of water for personal hygiene has become a major problem.
Kapsmatia Primary School head teacher Benjamin Rotich said in his school, a third of girls in upper classes miss school daily when experiencing monthly periods.
“Most girls in this school have missed school every month due to drought,” he said.
He said the girls stay at home and walk 10-20km in search of water to clean themselves.
The headteacher said boys are a bit tougher. Cases of absenteeism among them have been low, as they can withstand the harsh climatic condition.
Rotich said water has been a major problem, and this may hurt the school’s performance.
They are forced to send boarding students to walk 10km in the evening to fetch water for their personal use.
The head teacher said many pupils missed midterm exams after failing to report the past two weeks.
“Some children have migrated with their parents to search for pastures and water for their animals, and girls are helping their parents to search water for domestic use,” he said.
In the neighbouring Chebukat Primary School, the problems are similar. Head teacher Pius Dakta asked well-wishers to chip in and help solve the water shortage.
He said all schools in the region need to have a borehole to help retain children in school.
“We as teachers we are demoralised when our pupils miss school daily due to avoidable circumstances,” Dakta said.