Let’s Build Together

Linda Lou Burton posting from The Great Rift Valley, Narok County, Kenya–And then we got to Narok. An explosion of school buses, school kids in uniform, people, people everywhere. Stores, hospitals, hotels. Cars, buses, helmets on motorbikes. And SIGNS. A giant billboard loomed ahead as Daniel made a right to C12 south; ASANTE plastered all across. P K Ole Ntutu, Governor of Narok County. A new president for the country, new governors as well? Kenya’s 54 million people and 225 million square miles were divided into 47 counties by that 2010 Constitution (replacing the Provincial designations). Over a million of those people live in Narok County, and most of them are Maasai. I knew that “ASANTE” is Thank You in Swahili, but “Pamoja Tujenge”? Let’s Build Together is the translation.

The landscape changed dramatically as we traveled those last 55 miles south to the Maasai Mara National Reserve, part of Narok County too. All the farm-green hills and deep dark soil turned dry; replaced by dust, and scattered rocks. A field of red – Maasai men; a cattle auction going on; red shukas everywhere; cloth cloaks. The design of stripes or plaids is the family trademark, we tried to spot the different families in the crowd. The Loita Plains stretched wide out to our right; the Loita Hills ridged left. Finally, the Sekenani Gate, and just outside, a row of souvenirs, beads and bowls, lined up for the tourist trade. Follow me.

An Observation

The city of Narok is home for our Guide, Abdi Latif, when he’s not away showing people like us around his country. He lives in Narok with his wife and seven children; his mother lives with them too. There are many fine schools in Narok; Daniel stopped to show us one of the ones Abdi had attended. One of the most serious problems in all of Kenya is lack of clean water. Many people have to walk to a water supply; have you noticed the photos of mule-drawn wagons hauling cans of water, or small black tanks installed on the roof of houses and businesses? Abdi is working to install pipelines from a well he has on his property in Narok to serve a school his children attend, as well as others who live in the neighborhood. Let’s hope Narok County’s new governor puts “water needs” high on his agenda. 

Narok County Government https://narok.go.ke/