Borena - "Living like refugees" in Megado

Assessing the community in Megado Village (Photo: SCIAF)

The situation in Megado in the Dire district of Borena is desperate SCIAF has found

There are no cattle to be found in the village with the dry bushes and barren land telling an immediate and difficult story to any visitors.

It is imperative that the situation is not simply taken on face value - the people must be listened to. In performing this form of robust assessment, the humanitarian response can be better designed to meet the specific needs of the Borena region.

The Joint Ethiopia Programme* coordinated 14 local/international NGOs and government departments to conduct a drought assessment from 25th - 28th July 2011. They sat under the shade of a tree with a wide cross section of the community and encouraged them to share their thoughts on the situation.

The assessments uncovered a range of findings when speaking to women, men, children and elders from the Megado village community. The concerns discovered included:

Four of the five water structures in the village are out of order - leading to issues with water and food supply in the village;

Women travel 7 hours to collect water;

20% of people have left the village because of the drought;

80% of livestock have migrated from the village seeking pasture to graze and water.

One of the community members said "we are here because we lost all our cattle, we are living like refugees." Entire communities have been devastated.

Mulu Busula has lost large numbers of livestock (Photo: SCIAF)

Mulu Busula (66) is a farmer from the village of Megado with 11 children and had this to say:

"I had 20 cattle and 20 goats. Fifteen of my cattle died because of drought. There was is no water and grass. We thought we were also going to die, so I sold 15 goats to buy food and keep my family going.

Three of my children took the remaining five cattle to Didera village, where they can access grass and water. They travel 5 days to get there.

We had thousands of pastoralists from Kenya and stayed in our village for a year. They have massive number of livestock and we shared the small pasture we have with them. Had it not been overused, the pasture would have kept us at least for another three month.

Previously there was good rain, I even used to farm and produce maize and teff. We used to have everything we wanted: rain and food. But, the rain has become shorter and shorter since five years. We haven’t received good grain for two consecutive years. If it continues like this, it will be catastrophe for the people as well as the animals."

Borenas seek guidance from their traditional leaders when they want to know what the future may hold for them. Their elders are currently predicting catastrophe. However, assessments like the one which took place during July in Megado could help develop approaches more focused on the specific needs of individual communities.

If you would like to show your support for our the Horn and East of Africa Emergency Appeal please give what you can today or by calling 0141 354 5555

*CAFOD, SCIAF and Trócaire (CST) represent the official relief and development agencies of the Catholic Church in England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In Ethiopia, the three agencies work in collaboration on a single programme

SCIAF

Scottish Catholic International Aid Fund

Borena - "Living like refugees" in Megado