Who We Are

 

 

 

 

“You are new here. Welcome.”

A beautiful and confident woman greeted me today. 

For the first time since my arrival in this region, I was received as a guest. This warm mother exhibited none of the now familiar signs of shyness, or the attitude of one who is a victim. She had sought out a translator to approach and welcome me. And ask my name.

Hers is Lului. 

I was informed that she is the leader of this village’s women’s committee. She is educated and noticeably bright. As we began our walk, she talked about clean water and sanitation within her community.

After SP staffers Kyle and Gaby finished their work, Lului spread a mat and invited us to tea and the easy talk that accompanies it.

Something that has struck me about the people here is that very soon into any conversation a certain phrase is almost inevitably spoken. It is stated as an answer, an explanation in response to my questions.

The phrase is simple: We are pastoralists. 

These are a people of livestock. Their days follow the walk of the herd. Survival of man and animal are inseparable. Conflict, marriage, life, are linked to the protection of camels and goats. 

Lului told a story that is becoming too familiar, of a life turned on end by three years of no water and no fodder that slowly killed her livestock, one by one.

Every day four or five more households join this settlement of proud pastoralists, mourning the death of their animals and their way of life. They have stopped their walk because they no longer have a herd to lead.

I asked Lului what she would do when the rains begin again. She looked at me, surprised. Her livestock are gone. Rain won’t bring them back. Not for years and years, maybe generations.

She would stay here, in an unproductive land, 10 kilometers from the nearest, overly-taxed borehole, on a bad road, far from reliable commerce.

No one has a right to reduce a strong woman like this to a helpless dependent. So what do we do?

Instead of setting up a system of aid that requires these people to change everything about their lives, perhaps we can begin to understand them as they understand themselves. As pastoralists. 

Please pray that God will provide a means to help these people in a way that helps them keep their dignity and identity.