Baringo woman offers solace to disabled banditry victims
By Wycliffe Kipsang, May 18, 2022When bandits raid communities in the North Rift, disabled people are always a disadvantaged lot as they are always left behind as the rest bodied residents flee.
But a woman who grew up in the banditry-prone region is seeking to change by reaching out to this forgotten group.
Joan Chemtai, a businesswoman is using her personal resources to offer humanitarian assistance, including foodstuff and walking aids to the hapless insecurity victims in the banditry prone Kerio Valley where she grew up in.
In an interview with People Daily, Joan lamented that she has lost relatives to armed bandits from a neighbouring community.
“It is sad the government aid never reaches these people. They are completely forgotten,” said Joan.
The latest victim is her cousin Stephen Chelal, who was shot dead last week by bandits in Loruk, Baringo North sub-county. Chelal, a police officer who was on leave was shot dead as he was herding his livestock. He was to report back to work the following day.
Joan through her organisation, New Dawn of Hope, has been giving out food donations and clothings to victims of banditry and their children.
No political gain
“I’m doing this purely out of goodwill, not for any political gain. I was brought up in the region and most of the victims are my relatives,” she told People Daily. She said she was recently touched after she met a physically challenged lady Jane Chesang at Kagir in Baringo North whose crutches were in a very bad state.
“The crutches were broken and she had used pieces of blankets to fix it. It instantly hit me that I needed to do something to alleviate the suffering of these people,” she recalls.
People Daily established that many people living with disabilities in the banditry prone region have borne the full brunt of the armed conflict which has left more than 100 people dead in the past one year alone.
More than 20 schools remain closed in the region as parents have fled the area with their children fearing for their lives.
Franklin Chelal, a disabled person, says that life has been tough for the physically challenged in the region which has not known peace for many years.
“We live here by the mercy of God. When people flee during raids, we the disabled are left behind given our physical condition. We have witnessed many of our own shot dead in cold blood,” said Chelal.
He had been forced to use metal crutches despite it being heavy and had nothing to cushion him before Joan came to his rescue. Christine Kibet, another disabled person said children, the physically challenged and the elderly are most affected during the bloody raids.
“People like us in the remote areas have really been forgotten. The society cares less about us. Sometimes we go for days without food, not to mention the insecurity environment we are exposed to,” said Kibet.
Joan has been reaching out to area chiefs and village elders to get the exact number of people living with disabilities in the porous region. “I’m currently trying to locate around 20 of them mostly banditry victims in Baringo county along the borders. Most of them are suffering from as a result of Injuries from bandits’ guns,” she told People Daily.