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The Chairperson of KENAPCO (Kenya National Association of Private Colleges), Dr. Ekrah Ndungu, has taken a moment to share with us her invaluable words of advice, particularly regarding the catastrophic and devastating floods that have not only claimed lives but also rendered many Kenyans homeless, including those in Private TVETs. To exacerbate the scenario, the weatherman is on record warning that the rains aren’t about to subside anytime soon.
Here is Dr. Ekrah’s perspective:
“From my keen observation over the previous three weeks of continuous rainfall, I would like to share my personal views on this topic. Firstly, it is important to acknowledge the efforts already in place to respond to the disaster at hand. In this regard, I applaud His Excellency the President for his leadership in forming a multi-agency team and directing it to respond swiftly and evacuate Kenyans, especially those living in high-risk areas such as riverbanks, foothills, flat plateau-like areas prone to flooding, mountainous areas, mudslide-prone areas, swampy areas, marshy areas, and riverbanks, among others. The list is endless.
This situation prompts us to reflect on how Prof Wangari Maathai fought for the protection of riparian lands to prevent such outcomes among other things. She was truly ahead of her time, indeed, she was a prophetess of climate change that God had raised for this nation, and we need to heed her advice and work. Planning and building for sustainability, not profitability… The late Prof warned us: Nature is very unforgiving. It’s time we retrieved her warnings from the archives, leaders read, learn, and implement her warnings. The effects of climate change are a reality today, which she warned us about decades ago.
As KENAPCO, our institutions’ learning has been disrupted, especially in Northern Kenya. Some students are unable to attend classes due to heavy rains, flash floods, and rising river levels, which have caused fatalities, displaced thousands of people, damaged infrastructure, and resulted in losses of livestock and property, as well as restricted access to roads in various regions of Kenya… though so far, we’re grateful to God that no institutions have reported losing a student… these floods have undoubtedly disrupted learning as much as they have disrupted other sectors. This teaches us that we need disaster management planning in all sectors and disaster resilience skills. Floods cause significant monetary and social losses, barriers to employment during and post floods: this will definitely affect our TVET graduates, prolonging recovery from floods, and disaster risk reduction initiatives need to be adopted. We all need to be equipped with disaster resilience skills; every experience with mother nature is a lesson not to be wasted. Let’s learn from this experience and other global experiences like the Nigeria floods & Thailand floods… TVET skills will be invaluable in recovery, especially in the reconstruction of washed-away bridges, plumbing, unblocking of drainages, dealing with power outages, road reconstruction, welding, masonry, fiber optics, vehicle wiring, and mechanics, as vehicles are stalling on roads as we all know vehicles aren’t manufactured to be driven through water… the skills needed list is endless, further emphasizing the importance and role of TVET in our country and how TVET plays a vital role in all aspects of our daily lives, and why we need to embrace TVET.
For future disasters, I’d like to recommend as follows, not as an expert, but as a patriotic Kenyan: Let government agencies work in synergy pre-floods and ensure that proper watertight strategies are put in place to mitigate the aftereffects of floods. For example, we often see our infrastructure being tested whenever there is a flood. By this I mean some roads flood, drainages overflow, bridges are breached, and some dams collapse. (The Sasamua Dam in Subukia is a living example). Aware of this fact, we can say that during the dry season, proper measures ought to be taken, especially before the onset of rains. The drainages ought to be unblocked constantly, roads reinforced, bridges strengthened, river courses cleared, and dams built. It’s ironic that despite the deluge that has flooded everywhere, just two or three months down the line, we shall be speaking about water shortage and food scarcity. What if we had mega-dams in place to carefully harvest and store the water? What if we are planting more even on the idle land to be food secure? What if the counties also did the same in terms of mapping some of the areas that are prone to flooding and safely evacuating people beforehand? All these are pertinent questions we ought to ask ourselves. How can we turn the heavy rains into a blessing now and in the future?
My two cents. Over to you, my people.”
Dr. Ekrah was kind enough to advise Kenyans to always be careful and exercise caution. Some of the precautions Dr. Ekrah recommended, but not limited to: don’t jeopardize your life, don’t shelter under trees, avoid crossing swollen rivers, and don’t swim in rivers during the rains. Those who fish should take precautions due to the abnormally swollen rivers and waterways.”
From our desk, we wish Dr. Ekrah God’s immeasurable blessings, good health of body, mind, and soul.
