Hungry Katakwi Kids Quit School
Nov 27, 2002
PUPILS in Katakwi district have abandoned school because of hunger, reports <b> Kenneth Otim.</b>
PUPILS in Katakwi district have abandoned school because of hunger, reports Kenneth Otim.
Katakwi LC5 chairman Stephen Illemukorit told The New Vision that half of the pupils in the district had deserted school.
“The pupils stay at home with their parents looking for what to eat,†he said.
He said in most schools, the school management committees provided food to the teachers and the pupils were left to starve.
“The poor grades in the district have been partially contributed by the famine,†he said.
Illemukorit said people feared going to their gardens because of the Karimojong attacks on the camps.
He said the internally displaced persons had only one meal a day and the adults spent most of their time drinking alcohol.
Illemukorit said cattle rustling and poor roads in the district had created poverty among the population.
The famine in Katakwi, Moroto and Kotido districts has been caused by a severe drought that hit the districts.
Illemukorit, however, said a non-government organisation, Feed the Children, operating in Ngariam sub-county, was feeding pupils in Apeurodit Nagariam, Achanga and Obuleget primary schools.
The Christian children fund was also feeding pupils of Akum primary school in Usuk sub-county. The district authorities appealed to NGOs to provide food to schools. Ends
Katakwi LC5 chairman Stephen Illemukorit told The New Vision that half of the pupils in the district had deserted school.
“The pupils stay at home with their parents looking for what to eat,†he said.
He said in most schools, the school management committees provided food to the teachers and the pupils were left to starve.
“The poor grades in the district have been partially contributed by the famine,†he said.
Illemukorit said people feared going to their gardens because of the Karimojong attacks on the camps.
He said the internally displaced persons had only one meal a day and the adults spent most of their time drinking alcohol.
Illemukorit said cattle rustling and poor roads in the district had created poverty among the population.
The famine in Katakwi, Moroto and Kotido districts has been caused by a severe drought that hit the districts.
Illemukorit, however, said a non-government organisation, Feed the Children, operating in Ngariam sub-county, was feeding pupils in Apeurodit Nagariam, Achanga and Obuleget primary schools.
The Christian children fund was also feeding pupils of Akum primary school in Usuk sub-county. The district authorities appealed to NGOs to provide food to schools. Ends