Emarti School’s Maasai Choir

Interviewee

Johnstone Kimojino

Director of Emarti Primary School

Interviewers

Alison M. Jones

NWNL Director and Photographer

Alison M. Fast

Videographer

Naratoi, Kenya, on Sept 25, 2009

Introductory Note

Even song can be a powerful force for creating awareness of the need to address issues of fresh water quality and availability. And the innocence and vulnerability of children singing songs adds to the poignancy and power of their requests to have enough clean water to stay healthy.

Certainly, listening to local Maasai children sing on a bluff above a sharp bend of the Mara River added an extra level of impact to their plea for clean water for all to ensure peace.

Kenya was struggling through a severe drought that year of 2009, and these children were doing all they could to ask for help and support. Lack of clean water is a threat to all ages, to humans and animals, and to our environment. That is obvious. But these children also understood that to address these needs peace must come first and foremost. Bless the children.

Outline

EMARTI PRIMARY
EMARTI PRIMARY SCHOOL DISTRICT
MESSAGE IN STUDENTS’ SONGS
WATER AVAILABILITY
WATER QUALITY CAUSING ILLNESS
WILDLIFE NEEDS for WATER

Key Quote We have many people who have fallen sick because of this water. Recently, we had an outbreak of typhoid. We get information from the health center to help us know that this typhoid is caused by water that has been dirt-ified all along – from its source to here. I have sad losses of friends who drank this water. – Johnstone Kimojino

EMARTI PRIMARY SCHOOL DISTRICT

NWNL Hello, thank you for letting us visit your school. How many students do you have and how many teachers?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO We have 700 students and only 7 teachers.

NWNL That’s 1 teacher for every 100 students! You teachers must be working very hard.

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Too much.

NWNL I easily understand it feels, “Too much.” But you deserve credit, because despite that heavy load, your students have won a prize for their choir singing!

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Yes, our success is because of the determination of a very few teachers. We work very hard because we want to assist our students as they prepare the future. We depend on help, and I think in the future the government will recognize us, and even NGOs could help so more teachers can be employed to help these children.

NWNL Please tell us a little bit about your students’ choir.

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Our Emarti Primary School Choir is one of the best in the country. We have won several trophies. Previously, they participated in the national contests. They are a very wonderful group.

NWNL Congratulations! Are all your students local?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Yes they just live here, along the Mara River. Some come from five kilometers – that is the farthest distance. Some just live along the river.

Most of their families do some farming and keep some cows, goats and sheep. But because of this drought, sometimes the crops fail. That affects both the children and the parents because sometimes they lack food. They then go to school with empty stomachs.

So, the children are singing about that and appealing to everybody to take better care of the environment so that we get water. The song that these children sing are meant to appeal especially to the government. They are asking the government to make sure that the environment is conserved so that we get water because without water, there is no life.

NWNL What a coincidence you use those words. We are here studying water issues, and our project is named No Water No Life. The importance of clean water available to all is obviously an international concern.

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO In some of the years back, we used to have a lot of water, but now you see, even the animals that used to be over there by the river have run away.

NWNL What wildlife do you have here?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO We have hippos. We have crocodiles, waterbucks, zebras and more along the river – all depending on this water. If this river dries up, then I’m very sure millions of our people will keep suffering the way we are now. We are suffering because the people who live around here are pastoralists. Thus, they keep cows and goats, but there is no grass now. There are many problems.

MESSAGE IN STUDENTS’ SONGS

NWNL I hear they are practicing now to perform at a wedding. I’m sure they will get a great reception. Can you translate into English some of the song they just sang?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Yes, they will sing two songs. You heard the first song. Most of it is concerned with conserving this environment and water. The next song is about peace and harmony, because when there is no peace you don’t have time to be successful because everything is in tatters. They are also mentioning the need to plant more trees, to attract and store the rain. We want the people and the animals also to live peacefully in the water.

The first song also appeals to everybody to work together to make sure that there is food for future generations, because now, people are worried. When we live in harmony and peace, as the other song asks, we will be able to conserve our environment and live well. When there is no peace, everything will be in tatters.

WATER AVAILABILITY

NWNL I have seen that water supplies are at a critical level now in this drought

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO This water is actually very important because it is used at the home, and as well as used by the animals – especially the domestic animals. In our homes, this water is used for drinking, washing utensils, washing clothes, but mainly for cooking.

There’s no any other source for water around here, other than this water you see in the Mara River. So it is necessary for the livelihood of the people around here. If this water is not there, I’m very sure that everything will be gone. Certainly, for animals, this water is also needed to drink, whether domestic or wild. Sometimes we even get the wildlife from along the mountains. They come here to our river during drought and they drink this water.

NWNL Are the farmers also dependent on the river levels?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO This water is also be used for irrigation. But the problem here is now the farmers have no income to buy the seeds and things they need. All in all, this water is very essential. So, we need to do something to make sure that we conserve this water, because it is life here.

WATER QUALITY CAUSING ILLNESS

NWNL You drink this water yourself. Is it sanitary, clean water? Do you and others drink it safely – or is there concern it may carry disease?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO This water here in the Mara River is what is being used by the people around here to drink. There is not any other water. Sometimes when it is dirty, people will be infected with various diseases, like typhoid and many other very, very terrible diseases. That occurs because, all along the river, people sometimes put some dirty things into this water, so when the people drink it, they become sick.

We need to conserve this water and prevent it from being dirtied by any form of pollution.

NWNL Do you drink this water?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Yes, I drink this water. It is not clean, but I have no other option. You see, we have to protect this water, because there is no any other source.

NWNL Have you stayed healthy?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Yes, I stay healthy; but sometimes, I have some complications.

We have many people who have fallen sick because of this water. Recently, we had an outbreak of typhoid. We get information from the health center to help us know that this typhoid is caused by water that has been dirt-ified all along – from its source to here. But I have sad losses of friends who drank this water. So, we have many problems.

NWNL I am so sorry to hear that.

WILDLIFE NEEDS for WATER

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO I also want to mention that the water in the river is also the home of other animals like the hippos, the crocodiles. We need to conserve water so these animals can live. Right now, you can hear a hippo down there. There used to be so many. But because the volume of water is dropping year by year, the wildlife we had tends to run away and look for more secure places.

NWNL Do you see any impact on the hippos now that many farmers here are farming right down to the water bank? This growing practice means, there is little river vegetation, or river trees to protect the banks from eroding or offering habitat for wildlife. Is that why the hippos have left?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO Yes, hippos have the habit of destroying people’s crops, and sometimes they even cause harm to the people now because there’s no rain. Hippos tend to roam around to look for something to eat. As they move, they clash with humans. Of course, that means we deal with a lot of injuries. My neighbor was just injured by a hippo.

NWNL Do farmers shoot the hippos if they are destroying crops or near the villages?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO No, the government tells us not to harm the animals. The government is supposed to compensate the farmers for crops that are destroyed. But nobody is taking care of that. This is similar to the way we are told to conserve the water. They give a deaf ear, and so now these are the consequences.

NWNL So, what hope do you have for a better future? What do you see as solutions that could make a difference? What’s going to help save the water for future generations?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO The government will put in measures to make sure that the catchment areas are conserved. People should be told not to cultivate along the river. They should also be told to live about 50 meters from the river so we get that actually good water.

NWNL Do you see different programs in place that are beginning to create change? Do you see change happening today that is hopeful and an example that others can learn from?

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO We are not seeing anything. The government is supposed to provide seedlings for us to plant along the river…, but we don’t see those things. We only see destruction. But, at least the government is watching.

NWNL You seem to have a clear focus on the critical need to raise awareness and transfer hope to reality.

JOHNSTONE KIMOJINO With its singing, the Emarti Primary School Choir is giving a message to the people here and the entire world. We need to live in good health and in peace, and we need to conserve the environment for future generations.

Posted by NWNL on June 8, 2024.
Transcription edited and condensed for clarity by Alison M. Jones.

Emarti School’s Maasai Choir Mara River Basin