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Community Views

On Mechanisms to Support Local Livelihoods

In the Early Stages of Drought

Reference Number: KRDP/ASAL DM/P-FiM/12-13

January 2013

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Introuction to the Community Focus Group Feedback Report

Community groups shared important issues during the P-FiM field discussions on Wednesday 19th Dec

2012. These discussions raised important issues for all stakeholders to consider.

In particular, the group statements emphasized important issues relating to the role of the community

in the design, development, implementation and evaluation of emergency and development

programmes carried out in the community to address their needs.

In order to gain a deeper appreciation of significant broad issues raised by the community, four

questions were formulated by the inter-agency team based directly on community statements. These

were included alongside the questions that KRDP/NDMA wanted the community to address in the

questionnaire e.g. specifically in relation to the early stages of drought and cash / voucher transfers.

It is important to note that during the ‘goal free’ discussion, the community groups themselves raised

and discussed issues relating to drought, cash, voucher transfers, preparedness etc. as important issues

for the community. The focus discussion questionnaire headings therefore reflect issues important to

the people of Habaswein and KRDP/NDMA. Questions 1 to 4 are drawn from the goal free (P-FiM)

discussion feedback from community groups on 19th December. Questions 5 to 15 are drawn from the

issues that KRDP/ NDMA requested that were further qualified based on community perspectives that

emerged during the goal free process.

How this Report is Structured

Feedback to the 15 discussion questions is recorded in the narrative below. A summary box is inserted

under each question that highlights the Key Findings made by the community group in relation to a

specific question along with emerging Recommendations. The summary sections under each heading

are included in Section 2 of the main report.

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1. How can community involvement help programmes improve impact, increase resilience and reduce dependency and poverty?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Lack of community involvement is undermining trust between communities and agencies

Lack of shared decision making with communities is undermining resilience, creating dependency

Actions do not have long-term benefits and mostly focus on short-term response

Agencies do not discuss their programmes, budgets and plans openly with the community

Projects are not implemented on time

There is limited focus on alternative livelihoods to build sustainable income and not just food aid

Long-term development programmes not just short-term emergency response

Communities are frustrated at the lack of long-term solutions to move from poverty to self reliance

There is low agency transparency, equity and accountability to communities

Recommendation

Communities want to share their knowledge and experience in shaping actions that impact their

livelihoods. Ensure that community views shape how best to plan and carry out cash/voucher

transfers and to engage communities in monitoring and evaluating such programmes.

Children’s Group: Community involvement produces quality projects that will reduce poverty.

Elders Group: The elders said that communities understand best what their needs are and what they require most and should be involved from the beginning. Shared decision making with the community will help come up with appropriate ideas, actions and programmes that can have long-term benefits and this will help develop trust between the community and organisation. Communities know their needs. Pastoralist Group: The community should be involved in awareness creation, programme planning, implementation and monitoring. Programmes should promote self employment and not create dependency. Better coordination with the community is needed and organisations should present their ideas and programmes openly for the community to discuss Women’s Group: The involvement of the community will help decide the right time for programme implementation and this will help achieve the expected impact. Programme timing is very important to achieve a positive impact. Their involvement will create local ownership of the project and produce better plans and management of resources, increase resilience and reduce poverty. The involvement of the community will produce the best mechanism to cope with the impact of drought e.g. improved early warning and livestock management Health Worker’s Group: Involve the community in all stages of the project. To build resilience there should be alternative sources of livelihoods and to reduce dependency, projects should focus sustainable income and impact with the focus on income generation. To reduce poverty, there should be social network and poverty alleviation programmes that deliver long-term benefits and not just focus on short-term emergency projects

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Religious Leaders & Elders: Communities should participate in contingency planning, identifying priorities to achieve longterm relevant and sustainable solutions to move from poverty to self-reliance emphasising empowerment programmes to boost community resilience Female Youth: If communities are involved right from the beginning of a project it will increase their knowledge. Communities will have a sense of belonging and respect when they are met by the agencies in the project planning process that allows room to share experiences and ideas. The previous day when the team met with them they were able to share a lot of ideas and they appreciated this approach. Orphan Group: Create sustainable livelihood i.e. water for irrigation farming and a children’s home to promote education like the Africa Muslim Agency and the Father John centre in Wajir where the children are given their basic needs Pastoralist Dropouts: Community participation will lead to better identification of community needs as agencies should engage with communities to find out what community felt needs are. Communities should have some autonomy and freedom to manage their programmes and not just be bystanders. There is need to improve livestock breeds so that fewer animals can produce the same milk and income. Disabled Group: The community should be involved in identifying their own priorities. There should be transparency and equity in resource allocation and the community should own the programme and the plans otherwise positive results will not be achieved. Male Youth: The community should be engaged in identifying target groups and be part of the implementation process through elected committees. There is need to improve the planning stage of the project by agencies sharing critical information with communities and communities participate in monitoring and accountability.

2. How can entry points to the community be improved to ensure that the whole community is included in the decision making process

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Agencies are limiting their engagement with communities by meeting leaders such as chiefs.

Community entry points do not engage all groups in the community; children, elders, women,

religious leaders, youth, disabled, businesses, government

Ownership and transparency is not being built

There is need for training and capacity building so that various groups can participate in discussion,

decision making, monitoring and evaluation, accountability and to know their rights

Plans should be communicated through barazas etc. so the community is fully informed

Civic education that builds knowledge on participation and rights

Recommendation

Community entry points are just that … entry points. Agencies should ensure that entry points allow

open access to all groups so they participate fully.

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Children’s Group: The children identified four areas for community entry points; elders, the chief, representative committees of the area and women.

Elders Group: Mobilization should be through community elders along with the local leaders. The women in the group said there should be gender balance for all meetings and discussions. Pastoralist Group: Formation of a central coordination committee that comprises e.g. parent-teacher association (PTA), youth group, elders, women’s group, peace committee, water users association and others. Such a group would greatly improve coordination and information sharing. They said that the local administration should be involved e.g. the chief. Sometimes the local administration officers are not available.

Women’s Group: The best entry point is to call a baraza (public meeting) with representatives from all groups such as women, youth, religious leaders, elders, disabled and vulnerable groups. They were strongly against the chief being the entry point.

Health Worker’s Group: In all activities the community should be involved in a participatory bottom up approach. It should involve local leaders i.e. chiefs, religious leaders, youth, women and elders as it leads to ownership by the community.

Religious Leaders & Elders: Structures should be more inclusive and representative. Community representatives from local structures should be involved; women organisations; youth groups; religious leaders; professional people to achieve wholesome decision making. Female Youth: They said that any project should have the involvement of youth, women and local committees as these are vital and should be supported and improved. It is very important to include vulnerable groups such as children, the disabled and the elderly. Orphan Group: There should be a focus on empowerment and direct engagement with the community to promote community interests and needs especially considering gender equity. Pastoralist Dropouts: It is important to use a holistic approach so that the whole community knows what is going on and can have a say. Provide civic education to all the community to raise community awareness of how they can engage and what their rights are through public barazas at all levels – grassroots. Form a group of elders so that they can ensure that agencies are accountable to the community – an important entry point. Develop policies to promote transparency and accountability with full community involvement. Disabled Group: Community entry points should be trained and have their capacity built so they can do the job properly so that the community’s ability is enhanced to identify and meet their development needs. Agencies should have open and honest discussion with the community and work with programme committees at the community level to create ownership and accountability. Male Youth: NGOs should liaise with development committees and religious leaders to achieve full immersion and establish an appropriate community entry point.

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3. How can organisations be made more accountable to communities?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Government and agency plans are not shared publicly with the community

Agencies are not transparent and open about their objectives, budgets and plans

Communities do not have direct links with donors which would improve accountability and cost

effective programmes

Representative local committees should be in place to monitor, evaluate, report, provide feedback

and challenge bad practice

Communities should have their own structures for accountability – feedback mechanisms should

use community systems and located in the community and not the agency

Recommendations

Agencies should engage in pre-project discussion with communities setting out possible budget,

plans, start-up time and timeframe, capacity to work etc. so the community can share its views so

that a workable programme with achievable objectives can be developed.

Community involvement in M&E and Impact Measurement should be standard

Children’s Group: Agencies should be aware that their programmes are for the community not the agency. Agencies and government should make their plans and programmes public through public barazas where all information is shared openly. Engage with people in the communities who are knowledgeable and who also engage in making regular follow up to check that the programme is correct – follow up should not just be made by the agencies. Elders Group: Involve the village development committee in their programmes and ensure there is transparency in service delivery and programmes should be owned by the community and provide capacity building for the village development committees. Pastoralist Group: Organisations should put on the table what they have, what they are planning to do, the budget and budget breakdown for different actions, how much the community contribution is and how much from the project and how much is for services and how much is for purchases. Communities should be involved in following the project from the beginning including monitoring – up to the end. Women’s Group: Before the project, organisations should come on the ground and share their plans and budget for discussion with the community who will discuss the activities and budget and make their recommendations before project implementation. Community scrutiny is important to ensure the project will achieve good and lasting results. The women said there should be a link between the community and the donors who fund the agencies so that they are accountable to the community as well as the donors – create greater accountability so that everyone can know who has messed up as the community will also communicate directly with the donors. Organisations should work closely with the community at the grassroot level and a local oversight committee comprising community groups be set up to ensure accountability and to monitor what organisations are doing on the ground.

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Health Worker’s Group: The budget breakdown, amount of money given and from which donors should be made known to the community in a public meeting. The community should be involved in preparing the proposal to ensure that the immediate and long-term goals of the community are achieved in a community centred process. Organisations should allow communities articulate issues that affect them. Religious Leaders & Elders: It is the right of communities to know what organisations want to achieve in their area. An organisation must share its budget, objectives and aims, duration of stay, ability and capacity and what aims they hope to achieve with the community. The community will then input what it likes and does not like about agency plans and what it expects and what it feels should be done. Female Youth: A group from the community can be formed to address any queries or suspicions within the community, this committee will be on the case and will follow up with the organisations to address issues. With the formation of this group, organisations will be more accountable to the community. Orphan Group: The community should elect people who will work jointly with the organisation and they must be literate and have knowledge. The community should own the project and be directly involved in evaluation and monitoring to ensure community needs are met. Pastoralist Dropouts: Decentralization of organisation (NGO) management structures is required so that agencies can be flexible to work with communities and to involve the community in decision making and to sensitize communities on their rights. Disabled Group: NGOs should work closely with communities and should share information and establish effective communication using community meetings so that NGOs can address complaints and issues. Communities want to have their own complaints structure and not to use those of the agencies. Male Youth: The community through its own committees should monitor NGO activities, objectives and area of operation. The community should ensure that the right target group is identified by agencies. Instituting / having community representatives to complement the project on behalf of the community.

4. How can management and governance of programmes be improved to

ensure sustainalbe impact?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Prior discussion with communities on project design and planning is essential

Groups and committees should be trained to enable them contribute fully

Even short-term emergency projects should have long-term benefits that the community support

and agree to before hand

People who abuse resources should not be protected. The community should expose them.

Representatives should be elected/endorsed by the community before engaging with agencies

Recommendation

For communities to own, manage and provide a governance structure on project outcomes requires

that they be involved in management and governance from the outset.

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Children’s Group: The management committee of the village must be given time to learn the project of the NGO and the community should know the project (or mandate) of the NGO before engaging in activities. There should be training of some elders and local leaders on how programmes are conducted and public awareness is very important so that everyone should know what is going on. Elders Group: Communities should decide on the type of projects to be implemented and projects should have long-term benefits and the impact must be discussed before implementation and be prioritized at the village level. Pastoralist Group: People appointed by an organisation to run a project should be locals i.e. people who understand the dynamics of the area and who are from the area. Work contracts in the project should also be given to locals e.g. school construction etc. Awareness – bottom up decision making – the community should identify the project, as they know the needs and will ensure projects work better. Women groups should be in project implementing committees. Women’s Group: The community should elect active committees to ensure good management of project implementation and ensure accountability to the community. The community should develop policies that will punish local contractors who misuse funds. At the moment such people are protected by the community but the community should expose those who misuse funds of NGOs, government and other agencies and a local committee would do that. They would like NGOs, the government and other agencies to provide training for local committees selected by the community as most committee members lack skills e.g. management, oversight, project management, accountability etc. Health Worker’s Group: Community consultation should take place at all levels so that project outcomes are sustainable and create positive change and impact. The community should have a voice in the initiation, implementation and management of projects and there should be a link between the community and the donor partners to help build accountability. Religious Leaders & Elders: The community must be given the chance to play their role. Local governance structures and groups must be empowered in order to evaluate the viability of projects and their relevance to community needs so that they contribute to the successful implementation of programmes. The local governance structures must be able to evaluate projects and input their ideas. Female Youth: Security should be tightened. When there is peace it is much easier to work and also, more organisations may come to assist compared to when there is instability. Government management and transparency should be improved. Orphan Group: Accountability to the community should be improved and community representatives should work closely with agencies as community focal persons. Community representatives should be elected by the community to work with the agencies. Pastoralist Dropouts: Agencies should carry out proper needs assessments that listen to the community. Sit and discuss with the chief and elders in order to reach a right conclusion on what will work and give best results

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Disabled Group: The community involvement should not only be the gatekeepers. To identify issues that need to be addressed, the whole community should be represented and involved. NGOs should share information widely and openly on what their plans are. Male Youth: Formation of project committees that include community representative groups to carry out social audit of activities implemented and information shared though community meetings and feedback sessions.

5. How does drought impact on different livelihood systems at different times of the year and why?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

The impact of drought is loss of pasture, water, increased disease, bad market prices, lack of food

and milk and all this forces people to take action

In the dry season period prior to rains there is increased pasture and vegetation burning that

contributes to drought as the land cannot survive.

In the early stages of drought there is massive livestock migration; sale of animals to get income

when possible to avoid losing livestock later; retain smaller herds to mitigate loss of pasture and

water and have breeding stock for the future.

In the early stages of drought people still have options; sell healthy livestock, use income to buy

food and fodder, move livestock to better areas, treat for disease.

As the drought progresses, there are few options as livestock lose weight and cannot be sold, fodder

and food prices increase, diseases strike livestock and people, there is high inflation and family

income is finished so the situation becomes extremely critical

As the drought continues there is an increase in settlements and those going to settlements as there

are no alternatives and they are attracted by the kind of support agencies give

Agencies usually do not provide support at the early stages. It usually comes late when the situation

is chronic and lives and livelihoods are threatened as more people lose livestock.

Recommendations

There is an important link between what is done to mitigate the impact of drought at the early

stages and the subsequent need for external support (e.g. cash and/or food). It is important that

agencies be fully aware of this and engage actively with communities to address it – before aid.

Children’s Group: The children asked … ‘our animals died, why?’ It is because of a lack of commitment by the community. They spoke about the bush fires where people are burning the grass and vegetation during the dry season that destroys the land and pasture. They said such lack of unity in the community is a serious issue as people should not be allowed to burn the grass. They said that the community should also practice farming so that they can have more livelihood options

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Elders Group: There is loss of life and livelihood due to inadequate food, water and pasture and malnutrition due to inadequate food and increase in diseases and low income due to poor access to market and low livestock prices. The major issue is the negative impact of climate change

Pastoralist Group: The loss of livestock, displacement of people to settlements, poor market for livestock as livestock are weak and cannot be sold are leading to increased poverty and the death of livestock and people. Why? Lack of adequate preparedness and low support from partners or support does not come on time.

Women’s Group: There are two stages. During the early stages of drought there is massive livestock migration in search of pasture and water resulting in more pastoralist dropouts who come to settlements in the villages. During the second stage of the drought the following impacts will be felt and this is worst; livestock body condition weakens; no pasture and water in most grazing areas; high incidences of livestock diseases and high livestock deaths; low market prices for livestock; pastoralists have exhausted their money to feed their livestock and themselves. The initial stages of drought they have some income but as the drought progresses they become desperate and they lose their income and livestock and sink into poverty. Health Worker’s Group: Loss of livestock; depletion of family resources; high levels of poverty and dependency; disease outbreaks affecting livestock and people; migration in search of pasture and water and lack of milk are all felt from the outset and as the drought takes hold. Why? Because of lack of rain our livestock are badly affected and pastoralism is the backbone of the pastoralist economy. Religious Leaders & Elders: In time of drought, during the first quarter of the year following good rains, pastoralists usually place their livestock on dry pasture that is near water. If it is drought during midyear and there is no pasture, a good market price for livestock is a solution so that good income from livestock can be achieved and families can survive. If the drought is prolonged and there is no pasture and no market for livestock then a disaster will happen. Female Youth: During drought our animals slowly become weaker and die as grazing areas become less. This affects livestock and they suffer from breakout of animal diseases and there is less and less milk Orphan Group: During the onset of drought, there is growing conflict over water and pasture. As orphans they are more affected by drought than anyone else in the community because they rely on handouts from the community and the drought means that they suffer even more as people had less to share. They heavy loss of livestock leads to malnutrition and starvation. Pastoralist Dropouts: The drought leads to outbreak of diseases, loss of livelihoods through loss of livestock and income and loss of life through starvation. As the drought progresses there is displacement of people to settlements in search of relief and work and to greater migration in search of pasture and water. There is increased degradation of the land due to over grazing and impact of drought. The increased number of those in need adds more pressure on basic resources and new settlements reduce grazing and pasture areas. The burning of grass and pasture land is very damaging Disabled Group: The biggest impact is loss of livelihoods due to loss of pasture and water. The impact on families is the lack of food to survive day by day. Both livestock and people become weak and this makes

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them more vulnerable to disease and infection and adds to their poverty. The shortage of water especially good drinking water is a serious problem for people and animals Male Youth: Depletion of pasture; drying of surface water (pans and dams); animal diseases increase; loss of livestock; low purchasing power due to spending of income and no new income coming; increased negative changes in social behaviour such as increased theft. The result of erratic and failed rains is causing all these problems and making people vulnerable.

6. What do you do to reduce the impact of drought especially at the early stages?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Livestock are sold to get income before the animals become thin and weak

Herds are reduced to manageable sizes so they can survive the drought

Family income is used to purchase fodder and water for remaining livestock

Weak animals are slaughtered as they have no market value. New born animals are slaughtered as

they only weaken the mother who cannot produce milk and both may die if she suckles her calf

If it is not a recurring drought, they travel to areas where there may be pasture and water

Livestock offtake programmes provide alternative income as market prices are very low

People migrate with their animals and others to towns and settlements to look for work and support

Drought is directly associated with bad community practices as well as changes in the climate

Recommendation

Groups stated often that they reduce livestock numbers at the onset of drought to raise income,

avoid losing stock during the drought and retain viable herds. The focus on viable herd numbers

should be considered as a long-term development issue now that the concept is localized.

Children’s Group: The children said that their community has never attempted to reduce the impact of drought.

Elders Group: Reducing the livestock herds to manageable size. They de-worm and treat their livestock so that those remaining livestock can survive the drought. They have to begin buying water from private water tankering business people that they must pay for themselves to water their animals. They migrate with their animals to other places where they may be able to get water and pasture. Pastoralist Group: At the onset of drought they pray for rains so that they can survive. Depending on the situation, they migrate and move their animals in search of water and pasture. To feed their families they stock food as part of drought preparedness – they stock maize and maybe sorghum and they preserve animal meat by drying it. They sell animals before they become very weak to get a good price and to reduce the impact of drought. Before they used to see their animals die but they know that it is best to sell early even if prices are very low. They participate in livestock off-take programmes e.g. meat for relief where agencies buy the animals and then give the meat to the people. They slaughter new

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born animals as the mothers and calves will die if the mother tries to produce milk as there is not enough pasture to sustain milk and body mass. Women’s Group: Once pastoralists know that there will be drought, they now sell their animals in large numbers – up to 70% – and remain with manageable herds to survive the drought and have animals to begin breeding once the drought is over. The cash they get from sale of animals is used to buy hay and commercial animal feed to feed the remaining herd. They rely on destocking programmes where their animals are bought, slaughtered and used for food. The weakest animals are managed in this way. They will slaughter new born calves as they will not survive and the mothers will also die if the calves are not slaughtered. Health Worker’s Group: They will introduce a good saving culture e.g. saving money from sale of livestock in preparedness for the drought. Mitigation plans should be put in place such as early destocking of animals to manageable herd sizes and migrate with animals to areas where there is pasture and water. Religious Leaders & Elders: They support destocking by selling livestock and using the money to invest in other productive ventures such as purchase of fodder. At the early stages of the drought, to take livestock to existing ranching schemes while they are still strong enough to travel. Livestock off-take programmes by the Ministry to cushion the pastoralists from double loss i.e. loss of livestock and loss of income Female Youth: They will seek support from NGOs. People obey God and beg for a better life – ‘oh God forgive us our sins, oh God give us rain’. They try to feed their animals with fodder and acacia seeds Orphan Group: Up to 50% of the livestock should be sold before the drought becomes serious so as to reduce the impact of the drought. During the early stages of drought it is important to feed the orphans and the vulnerable and to provide them with medication and clothing as they feel the impact of drought very quickly and suffer most. It is important to provide funding for re-stocking during the rains after the drought Pastoralist Dropouts: In order to mitigate the impact of drought, it is important to introduce proper land use and land management especially introducing afforestation. It is good to spread and diversify livestock activities so that families have more income and are less vulnerable. Improve animal husbandry so that livestock are managed better and produce better milk and income. Educate the community against bush fires and burning of charcoal and pointing out the damage that these activities cause severe loss of pasture and vegetation. Develop early warning strategies that engage the communities and prepare drought preparedness plans to mitigate the damage caused by drought. Disabled Group: The people migrate with their animals to search for water and pasture and people migrate in search of work to towns and cities. Communities cry out to the government and agencies for support Male Youth: People sell their livestock to avoid losing them during the drought and to try and get income from their livestock before they become too thin and sick to sell. There is need to change livelihood strategies to small businesses from dependence on just a pastoral way of life. There is need

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for the introduction of effective early warning systems so that people can be informed well in advance and make decisions. Strengthening of traditional grazing systems so that drought can be mitigated

7. What additional support do you need to offset drought especially at the early stages and why?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Awareness campaigns to inform communities of the pending drought, for what duration, of what

severity and what its impact may be including accurate weather forecasts

There should be proper livestock marketing and market information available so people can decide

when and where to sell livestock to avoid having to sell at throwaway prices

Emergency water supplies should be in place as water is essential for people and livestock

Train communities on drought preparedness so that they can make better choices

Government should control food prices especially during drought when prices become very high

Livestock should be vaccinated before the drought to avoid the risk of disease

Water provision and canal / irrigation channels should be set up to ensure water supply

Early warning systems that involve communities and use of traditional signs should be in place to

help pastoralists make the right decisions well in advance

There is need for communities to be involved in contingency planning to ensure plans are put in

place that address their immediate and long-term needs

Recommendation

The issue of markets and poor livestock prices was raised a lot and there is need to address the issue

of how livestock markets operate and to ensure that pastoralists get the best prices for their

livestock as this is critical to family income and also central to the cash and voucher debate

Children’s Group: Financial support should be in place early for community group work e.g. for activities

planned by elders, women, youth to address drought at the early stages. There should be campaigns to

help the community be aware that drought is coming and what they should know and what can be done

about it. There should be proper livestock marketing. Why is this needed? A good livestock marketing

structure can reduce the impact of drought a lot (up to 80%) as people will have the right market for

their animals which is their livelihood and with that income they can try to survive the drought with

their families and remaining livestock.

Elders Group: The government should introduce subsidized food prices since there is low income during drought and food prices always get higher. There should be soft loans to livestock owners since there is always poor market for livestock during drought as many are forced to sell their animals. Initiate intervention programmes to mitigate the impact of drought e.g. cash transfers. Drill emergency boreholes at grazing areas to avoid the long trekking of livestock to get water as trekking animals losing a lot of weight.

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Pastoralist Group: Adequate information through early warning and preparation of contingency plans is essential e.g. provision of support in terms of food, water, health and livestock feed (fodder production). Provide the community with skills to combat drought e.g. in Disaster Risk Reduction e.g. learning from what has worked in other places and also adapt traditional coping mechanisms. This is necessary to reduce the impact of drought, and make it possible for people to get back on their feet. Women’s Group: There is need for good contingency plans and early warning systems to assist pastoralists make the right decisions before they lose everything. Some years back, pastoralists would keep their herd during the early stages of drought and when the drought got worse they would eventually lose everything. They want to avoid this. The group said they should be given livestock marketing information at the early stages of drought as this will help them get better prices for their livestock as livestock prices during drought are very low in many parts of the county. Due to poor market information and poor market prices pastoralists are forced not to sell their animals as they know the real worth of the animals but they eventually lose everthing when the drought becomes extreme. Health Worker’s Group: Additional support requires timely government interventions and sensitization of the community on destocking programmes at the early stages of drought. Management improvement and better information shared with communities with a focus on early warning e.g. vaccination of livestock to mitigate disease spread during the drought and provision of hay and fodder to keep remaining livestock alive. Religious Leaders & Elders: Weather information and accurate forecasts is essential at the outset of the drought along with market information on livestock prices so as not to be caught unawares. Female Youth: They need nutritious food for babies, lactating and pregnant mothers because they are the most affected during drought. There should be contingency plans by the government to set aside resources to mitigate the impact of drought on the most vulnerable especially vulnerable women and children Orphan Group: Need to improve livestock marketing so that people get good prices for their livestock at the outset of the drought as a lot of income is lost and that makes pastoralists vulnerable quickly. The government, UN, NGOs should provide aid to support food aid and cash transfers in the early stages of drought to prevent people from suffering and losing everything. There should be investment in water harvesting and irrigation channels from existing water sources to produce crops and have water for livestock Pastoralist Dropouts: Development of early warning strategies and development of drought prevention strategies Disabled Group: Initiate income generating projects early before the drought becomes serious so that people have other sources of income. Share weather forecasts early so that people can be prepared and try to make the right decisions. Establish early warning systems that engage communities on what actions will make the biggest difference to lower the impact of drought. Male Youth: Construct more water pans to mitigate the impact of drought especially in relation to water as livestock without water become weaker more quickly. Drill emergency boreholes. Plan livestock off-

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take programmes on time at the start of the drought and de-silting of existing dams before the drought to ensure they hold enough water over the drought period

8. Who in the community should receive cash transfers and why? What criteria should be used? What is the risk on gender relat ions?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Groups were unanimous that a representative community committee should identify the most

needy using local criteria (e.g. wealth ranking) setting out those who should receive cash

The community has criteria to identify the most vulnerable as those at risk of hunger and disease

during drought requiring additional support. Vulnerability criteria be decided locally

They focused on vulnerable groups demonstrating an awareness and care for those in need

There is a gender risk as cash given only to the woman in the home can create tension and violence

that may not have existed to that point and that can have serious results.

Women are seen as having the most domestic responsibility and it makes sense for them to manage

cash for domestic needs. Men deal mostly with livestock and so they too require cash. How the

community engages in determining how cash is given is critical to both

Recommendation

There is need for an integration of vulnerability as community groups identify the needs of those

who are destitute and the needs of pastoralists – but not in an integrated way.

Community should decide who should receive cash, how and when. And set out local bylaws on

what will happen to those who abuse cash (e.g. chewing miraa, not working, not supporting their

family). This must be addressed locally with external actors fully engaged to achieve a workable

solution. Giving cash just to the women in the home solves one problem and creates others

Children’s Group: They said that those who should receive the cash transfer should be the poor in the

community. Why and what criteria can be used to identify poor people? People from the community

should identify the poor such as religious leaders along with women and youth. They identified these

three as being able to properly identify the poor who should qualify to receive cash transfers

Elders Group: Cash transfers should be given to the most vulnerable people in the community especially

widows, orphans, the aged, critically sick and female headed households. Community based targeting

criteria that involves the community from the start. There is no risk to gender relations if the project

involves community from the start – this is important.

Pastoralist Group: Those who should receive cash are the aged, orphans and vulnerable children, the

disabled and the poor. These are the weakest in society, the most vulnerable, the most susceptible to

diseases and those who are hungriest. The poor may be those that have to care for these vulnerable

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people. The community should be involved along with local administration in developing the screening

criteria of who should benefit. The pastoralist group said that cash transfer does not have a gender risk.

Women’s Group: Those to receive cash transfer should be; needy mothers; elderly; disabled; and

vulnerable groups. Criteria should be developed to ensure equitable allocation of cash to all needy

groups. Mothers are the backbone of the community and more emphasis should be given to them as

they take the lead in caring for the children, the elderly and the livestock. Gender risk? If men are given

the money, they will misuse it e.g. buy miraa and do other things. Some are lazy and become dependent

on the cash. Eat miraa, sleep all day and at the end of the month they know they will have money. Some

men might even abandon their families and leave the mother to care for all. There is a gender risk.

Health Worker’s Group: The disabled; orphan headed households; elderly; widows / divorcees;

pastoralist dropouts (as they are often the most vulnerable in society) should receive cash. The criteria

should be; wealth ranking based on amount of assets; size of household; households headed by women.

The risk is of fighting over control of resources within households that can lead to family breakup.

Religious Leaders & Elders: Vulnerable households, the elderly who have no one to care for them. By

gauging vulnerability levels we can know those who should qualify using local criteria. Cash transfers can

cause family breakup, increased idleness and dependency. Breakup can be caused when the cash goes

to the wife and the husband is left out as this can lead to violence towards the wife. Man men chew

miraa and sometimes when they are given money, instead of giving it to the wife to buy food they buy

miraa. He comes home late expecting to get food and the women will tell him to ‘get lost’ as he has

wasted their money and violence can take place.

Female Youth: The vulnerable group in the society because they are the most affected; the poor, the

disabled, orphans, and the elderly. They said the risk to gender relations is not high as cash is usually

given to women in women headed households as they are the ones who deal most with family issues

Orphan Group: Vulnerable groups should receive cash transfers because they are the most in need and

the criteria should be based on who are the most needy and deserving. However, leaders are most

considered to benefit from cash due to their high standard

Pastoralist Dropouts: The poor and needy because they cannot afford the high cost of living and need

some support. Those who should receive support are; the elderly, disabled persons, widows, divorced

women and orphans. The criteria should include; proper investigation of the levels of poverty, gender

issues and family conflict, understand the magnitude of vulnerability and risks.

Disabled Group: Who: The poor and disabled; pastoralist dropouts, victims of cattle rustling. Why: in

addition to supplementary relief food they need cash for other basic needs and to help them survive the

drought and to become self reliant. There is no gender risk involved

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Male Youth: Pastoralist dropouts; disabled poor; orphans and child-headed households; female headed

households; Why? These have low or no income; have lost their livelihoods due to drought and livestock

death; have lost their breadwinner in the home. Criteria: Community based wealth ranking. The risks are

that it can break trust between couples; create a bias towards women and create conflict in homes

9. When is the best time to receive cash and why? (when is cash transfer of most

benefit in protecting livelihoods from drought?)

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Most vulnerable should receive cash all the time as their status does not change. This was qualified

as the community should ensure other initiatives are followed so even the most vulnerable should

try to be self sufficient and not become dependent

Cash transfers should be given during emergencies such as drought, flooding and serious disease to

livestock as pastoralists become vulnerable in these scenarios

Some say cash to be given at the start of drought to mitigate the drought

Others say pastoralists sell healthy livestock at the start of drought to reduce herd size and use the

money to buy fodder and water.

As drought continues, there is growing need to provide cash as money is finished and there is no

income and pastoralists need money for their families and livestock to survive

Recommendation

Logical to focus cash at the start of drought before vulnerability sets in but should be done alongside

improved markets, disease management, access to fodder etc. Should not be given in isolation

Children’s Group: During drought, cash transfer improves the livelihood of the community. Those who

receive cash have even initiated businesses and gained a lot of profit at the end. Why? They said that

the best time to give cash transfers is during drought only and should not be continued at times when

people have enough income.

Elders Group: During drought when there is poor livestock market as livestock is the main source of

livelihood hence when there is poor livestock prices household income is low.

Pastoralist Group: It is best to give cash transfers during drought as livestock are weak and they cannot

eat or sell them. It is good to give cash transfers when livestock are diseased or when cattle are ‘dry’

(usually during drought when they do not produce milk) as during that time there is less income from

livestock and people need support to avoid poverty. The elderly and poor need cash transfers all the

time because they always suffer from widespread hunger and disease which can lead to death.

Women’s Group: The women said that it is good to receive cash transfers both during times of drought

and flooding. During drought, cash can help to mitigate the impact of the drought by saving livelihoods

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and during floods it can help to offset the impact of floods, diseases and loss of shelter. In both

situations they face problems that require cash.

Health Worker’s Group: During periods of drought and floods to offset inflation of food prices as

household purchasing power is reduced during these times

Religious Leaders & Elders: Cash transfers should be given in the midst of the drought when animals

cannot be sold and vulnerability rises. At the start of the drought, animals can be sold and so families

still have income so there not such a need for cash. But in the midst of the drought, when there is poor

market for animals and they do not produce milk, family vulnerability rises very high. This period can

come when pastoralists are waiting for rains after the dry season and the rains fail. They now face real

hardships as there is no rain and most pasture is finished. Cash can be very important then. The most

important period to receive cash transfers is during June, July, August and September (up to the start of

the rains) when pastoralists can be most vulnerable.

Female Youth: They said it is good to receive cash during drought as it directly benefits them. Money

given after drought can be used to build families and businesses.

Orphan Group: It should be permanent as orphans are always among the most in need

Pastoralist Dropouts: During the drought and famine and any other disaster e.g. flooding and disease

cash transfers should be given. It is also important to give support at the start of the rainy season to help

people avoid becoming more vulnerable.

Disabled Group: Cash should be given in the middle of the drought and not at the start. At the start of

the drought pastoralists will still have some income from livestock sales but as the drought progresses

their livestock suffer and they have no market value and they no income or food and so they need cash

support at that time. The impact of poor livestock markets makes people very vulnerable.

Male Youth: During emergencies especially during drought because of loss of livelihood through loss of

livestock and poor livestock prices resulting in low family income and purchasing power.

10. For how long do you need to receive cash transfer snd at what intervals?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Cash is required at the outset of drought to mitigate impact (retain reduced herd), and during

drought to help families survive and purchase food, fodder, water.

Cash is also required during recovery even after rains; it takes livestock at least six months to begin

producing young and milk – meat and milk are staple foods and income

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So much depends on the extent and duration of a drought so the middle part of the drought can

extend indefinitely so timeframe is determined by drought duration.

Cash transfers should not extend past the recovery phase as assistance to pastoralists

Non-pastoralists e.g. dropouts, those living in settlements, the most vulnerable also experience

drought but in different ways and therefore have different timelines

Cash should be used to assist in business and enterprise development

Recommendation

While recommended periods differ, duration of cash transfers should depend on the drought and

the recovery period after the drought. It should not extend past the recovery period

Children’s Group: Cash transfers should be distributed for about 3 years at intervals of one month. The

reason is that within the period of 3 years, the person should be able to get back on their feet by

increasing their livestock herd (5 goats can multiply to become 20) and do business and be self reliant

Elders Group: For a period of 18 months and cash should be given at monthly intervals

Pastoralist Group: Cash transfers should be given for as long as the drought or disease persists and

probably a minimum of 12 months. Why? As long as the drought persists, animals cannot conceive.

Once the drought is over, the animals that survive the drought (cattle, goats, sheep and camels)

conceive and give birth. Animals with the shortest gestation period are sheep and goats which

reproduce after six months. The cash transfer is based on six months drought period and, once the

drought is ended, another 6 months before sheep and goats reproduce – a total of at least 12 months

provided that livestock survive the drought and the drought ends. Cash transfers can then be stopped. If

the reproduction period for cattle and camels is used as criteria, the cash transfer period will be longer.

Women’s Group: They said they should receive cash transfers for 4 years and at intervals of 3 months

each year.

Health Worker’s Group: During hard-times whenever there is drought and market for animals is poor.

The interval should be monthly

Religious Leaders & Elders: Cash transfers should be given up to the recovery period after the drought

as animals will have become productive again producing their young and milk. Intervals of 2 to 3 months

should be used when transferring cash to allow pastoralists to get on with other things they are doing.

Cash should not disrupt normal life and work.

Female Youth: Cash transfers are required for a long duration e.g. one year and be given monthly.

Orphan Group: Until the vulnerable groups such as orphans can become self sufficient

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Pastoralist Dropouts: They should be given cash transfers for 5 years or until such time that drought and

famine are over and they can fend for themselves. Cash transfers should be given at monthly intervals

Disabled Group: Cash transfers should be given for six months at monthly intervals

Male Youth: Cash transfers should be given during the period of the emergency through to recovery as

people are vulnerable at this time – it is usually a period of about 7 months but will depend on whether

the drought is recurring or not. Cash should be given at intervals of 2 weeks to help families cope.

11. How much cash should be given per household and why? (What size of cash

transfer would be meaningful and appropriate?)

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Even though the amount recommended varies considerably, there is agreement that the amount

should be determined by what is required to survive on a day by day basis.

The issue of inflation especially during drought is raised as a basis to increase the amount

Amounts also vary during different times and depending on vulnerability

The community should be fully engaged in determining who should receive and how much

Recommendation

Further research is required to understand the level and impact of inflation at the outset of drought

and how cash transfers may impact on food prices and the development of markets

Children’s Group: They said that the least amount that should be given is Kes5,000 per month because

of high inflation costs of basic goods, payment of school fees and other needs such as having enough

income to begin new businesses.

Elders Group: They feel that Kes6,000 per household is fair and should be at monthly intervals as food

prices increase during drought and Kes200 per day is the minimum a family needs to survive.

Pastoralist Group: They say that each family should receive Kes10,000 because of high inflation

experienced during drought resulting in high food prices.

Women’s Group: They said that each household should receive Kes15,000 because of the problem of

high inflation of food prices and other basic needs.

Health Worker’s Group: Ranging from Kes 5,000 to Kes 10,000 because of uncertainty in the market,

inflation of basic goods, high rates of unemployment and high levels of poverty.

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Religious Leaders & Elders: Depending on the agencies they are dealing with, they suggest that between

US$80 to US$100 per household per month as this amount could assist a medium size family to survive.

They prefer US$ as the value of the Shilling may also be down.

Female Youth: Not less than Kes10,000 as no one gets fed up of money

Orphan Group: Kes15,000 per month as this will cater for food, clothing, uniform, medication etc.

Pastoralist Dropouts: They should be given 8,000 minimum to cover their basic needs and to offset

inflation as prices are always rising especially during drought and it is good to anticipate that prices of

basic foods will always increase

Disabled Group: Cash should be increased from Kes3,000 to 5,000. One member suggested staying at

3,000 but targeting more people who need the cash to survive. Why? Because prices are increasing and

additional cash will have a positive impact on the lives of those in need.

Male Youth: 5,000 per household as this is the least amount that a family needs to sustain itself with

basic needs for a period of 2 weeks (i.e. 10,000 per month)

12. What criteria should be used e.g. geographically, socially, wealth ranking?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

They emphasized the need for the community to determine the criteria for those who should

receive cash, when and for how long

Community committees should be representative and elected locally as much depends on their

capacity and how they work with agencies

Key criteria issues are; pastoralists who depend on livestock totally

Location; especially those in remote areas, those in settlements who are already vulnerable

Geographically; those areas most affected by drought should be targeted

Size of population matters as areas that are densely populated are more vulnerable

Wealth ranking is clearly the most favored way – community based

The importance of supporting and developing local businesses is important

Recommendation

Beneficiaries being accountable to the community as the community has selected them presents an

opportunity to revise how such projects are managed, monitored and evaluated

Children’s Group: They said that elders, religious leaders and women should be involved in developing

the criteria in each village / community as they know the community, know who is poor and what the

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poverty threshold is. The community should ensure people use the cash properly because the

community has identified them.

Elders Group: The community should elect a programme committee that will determine who should

benefit from the cash transfers. The committee should develop the criteria to identify the most

vulnerable persons in the community using a wealth ranking method.

Pastoralist Group: Criteria to be used should focus the area most affected by drought as all the people

and livestock in an area impacted by drought are affected. They criteria should be geographical. They

said that the other issues of vulnerability etc. would be addressed within the geographic area affected.

Women’s Group: The women suggested that cash transfer should be based on a wealth ranking system

developed by the community to ensure that only those who are poor are included.

Health Worker’s Group: Geographically: Semi-rural and rural areas because these people living in these

places depend on livestock and those in towns and settlements may get casual work. Socially:

Households headed by women; level of poverty; size of household; value of assets held by the

household e.g. livestock. Wealth ranking: families that are unable to have 3 meals per day; the very poor

who have little or nothing to sustain their family needs. Those who possess a lot of wealth should be

excluded. There are distinct categories of people in the Somali culture and so these criteria can be used.

Religious Leaders & Elders: Geographically: Those in the remotest areas who have no access to their

relatives who live in towns. Socially: the most vulnerable e.g. the disabled. What Criteria: wealth ranking

to determine those who are most needy, destitute and vulnerable can be identified.

Female Youth: It should not be based on clan issues. It should target remote geographic locations that

have experienced the worst drought. Those who should be targeted are the poor, the weak, low income

families and children

Orphan Group: Wealth ranking should be the criteria and screening should be used. The physical

location is important depending on how severe the drought is

Pastoralist Dropouts: The vulnerability of the community members and levels of poverty should be used

as criteria; the lack pasture and water for livestock; the size of the affected population and the size of

the population most affected by drought. There is need to understand better how local businesses and

income generating activities are doing and to understand the discrepancy between the rich and the poor

in the community.

Disabled Group: They suggest using a poverty index that should be developed with the community.

Target geographic areas that are most affected by drought as not all areas receive the same amount of

rainfall or face the same drought challenges. Important to target peri-urban areas and settlements

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where most pastoralist dropouts are located as they are a most needy group. Important to establish

community vetting committees to ensure the right people are supported.

Male Youth: Wealth ranking system that involves the community in the process

13. What are the risks in giving cash transfers? How can they be reduced or eliminiated e.g. impact on mobility, on markets, on gender relations?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Discussion, decision making and criteria setting should be transparent and open and engage the

community and agencies – everyone wants money so it must be transparent.

There is fear that cash transfers will lead to inflation of basic goods

There is a fear that cash will attract more people to existing settlements and result in the creation of

new settlements with greater dependency created

Cash will be used to buy unessential things such as miraa and will make men lazy and unwilling to

work thus making the situation even more difficult

How cash is distributed is a concern especially for women in remote areas having to leave their

families / livestock unattended as well as incurring high costs of travel

Women who leave home for long periods can lead to problems of jealousy in the home and lead to

more conflict between husbands and wives

To reduce the problem, cash can be transferred through selected shopkeepers and money accessed

when required

Giving the money to women creates conflict in the home – creating a problem to solve one

Those who receive should be selected and registered by the community so that if they abuse the

benefit they can be cautioned or removed

Cash transfer can lead to double registration of persons who move from place to place and register

in each location

Frequent monitoring and evaluation that includes the community is essential

Cash for productive work should be used to avoid laziness and growing dependency

Lack of phone network is a problem in remote parts where Mpesa does not work. Vouchers and

using local traders as cash outlets can address the problem

Recommendations

The need for cash transfers is hinged heavily on the impact of drought on markets, the fall in

livestock prices and increase in basic goods. There is need to review the primary causes that

underline the need for cash and vouchers e.g. if livestock prices remained good, if viable herd sizes

were farmed, if the land was better managed etc. the need for cash may be reduced.

Pastoralists are requesting that short-term emergency funding that only responds to the impact of

drought be balanced with long-term interventions that address the primary causes

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Research is needed to consider why water is a problem and fodder cannot be produced so that

smaller herds are sustained through the drought without handouts.

Children’s Group: The children said that they know that cash transfers can cause conflict in the

community. They know that even the rich want to get the money. To reduce the risk, the whole

community (religious leaders, women and elders) should be involved in setting the criteria, overseeing

the transfer and monitoring how the money is used and how the project is going. If this is not done, the

poor can suffer and it can lead to wider conflict.

Elders Group: Inflation of the price of basic goods in the market as business people will know that

people have money. Increased migration to the settlements as cash will draw families there and further

reduce livelihoods and increase poverty. Cash transfers may also cause new settlements to develop.

Pastoralist Group: The major risk is that cash transfers will discourage people from working and create

dependency. It will encourage misuse of money where cash is used to buy things that are not essential.

Money that is not worked for can be used to buy miraa as they have not sweated for it. If many people

get money they fear that it will result in the further increase in the price of basic goods and food.

Women’s Group: The risks are; women forced to travel long distances to get the cash and because of

travel their children and livestock become vulnerable due to the mother being away for so long.

Traveling long distances also costs a lot e.g. traveling expenses. For those deep in the bush, it may take

two to three days for them to hear that their money has come. Then they have to travel and a lot of the

cash transfer money is used on transport, not on food. How to reduce risk? Money should be sent

through Mpesa to the beneficiaries as there is good Safaricom network coverage. Or contracts be

awarded to shop owners from the village who in turn pay the beneficiaries and because they are

permanent in the village the beneficiary can come anytime to get their money. Market impact: The flow

of money into the market will increase costs of basic items; however, livestock prices will also increase

due to in-flow of money into the community.

Health Worker’s Group: Impact on mobility: it can lead to double registration of beneficiaries due to

pastoralists moving from one place to another and because of poor management of people especially

the pastoralists. Impact on market: it can lead to increase of prices in the market, decrease of

commodities in the market and lead to increase in laziness and dependency.

Religious Leaders & Elders: If cash transfer is not managed properly, it can create domestic violence. If a

woman has to travel far to get the money the man can be jealous and accuse the woman resulting in

violence. Distances are far and can take a lot of time making the man more suspicious. Beneficiary

groups may organise themselves and flood the market with sub standard items (noting that this would

probably reduce prices – a good thing – and that it contrasts many statements that increased cash will

mean a rise in food and commodity prices).

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Female Youth: The risk is low because cash will improve the market as everyone will be in a position to

buy enough food each day. Especially mothers will have money to buy food. There will be movement of

people into settlements from other locations wanting to benefit from the cash transfers and as a result

there will be increased population of settlements

Orphan Group: The risk of cash transfers is increased dependency rates and waiting for handouts. These

risks can be addressed by developing projects that provide sustainable solutions and not just handouts.

Pastoralist Dropouts: There is a risk of developing a dependency syndrome if cash is not managed

properly. Creating differences and conflict within the community on how beneficiaries are identified

especially if the community is not involved in the selection process. It is important to have cash for work

to avoid laziness and dependency and the work should be of real benefit to the community and to

families and with frequent monitoring and evaluation and frequent follow up on what is working or not

working and why.

Disabled Group: There are no risks as the cash will directly benefit the poor and vulnerable people

Male Youth: The Lack of phone network makes it hard / impossible for people in remote areas to

receive their cash. Long trekking distances for people to get cash means they spend a lot of money and

time that undermines the benefit. Distortion in the market due to more cash in the community and

pushing prices up. Some of these problems can be addressed by using local traders who are qualified

and trustworthy to facilitate payment to beneficiaries. Use of voucher systems as well as cash so that

families can access basic needs from local traders based on a voucher system as well as cash.

14. How should communities participate in cash transfers? What difference will their participation make e.g. as part of the management process?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Community representatives should participate fully in developing the project

There should be public awareness campaigns to inform the community on what is planned

The emphasis should be on building livelihoods and communities can lead on advising what will or

will not work even when cash is being distributed

A community screening committee with criteria to screen who should benefit

Ensure that the community own the project and outcomes by participating fully

The community know who the most vulnerable are and should oversee their selection

Community involvement will result in accurate planning and sustainable results – not being achieved

at the moment

Community involvement will improve accountability of agencies to the community, of the

community to itself and of agencies to donors

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Recommendations

Community participation was raised as a major issue to be addressed. While benefits have been

stated, there may be others that have not been explored fully e.g. improved value for money, small

business opportunities, inward investment initiatives etc. Further open focus discussion is required

on an inter-agency / community basis

Children’s Group: The community (elders, religious leaders and women) should sit down and write their

own proposal – that is what the children say. This will ensure the community is participating in all

activities. There should be public awareness campaigns that explain the importance of the cash transfer

programme and who is involved in it and why.

Elders Group: Formation of community programme committees to oversee the process of targeting and

un-targeting. Develop ideas in the groups to initiate micro business projects within a transparent

process. A method that involves transfers to traders as the means of payment can be used

Pastoralist Group: The community should form a Screening Committee to identify beneficiaries. The

committee should set the criteria and it should be done in a participatory manner. Community

participation will increase efficiency of project implementation and ownership

Women’s Group: The community will select the right business people within the community and the

organisation will award the contract. They will select business people who are honest and trustworthy

and who can do the job correctly. The difference that community participation makes is that the

community will own the project and a positive impact will be felt on the ground. Since it is our own

initiative and our own decision the results on the ground will be positive and people will be accountable

Health Worker’s Group: The say the community should participate in the decision making process e.g.

village relief committees (VRC). The community should identify the agent to be used to distribute the

cash as those who are trusted and have the capacity to handle cash. The community should do the

targeting since they know who the most vulnerable are and why.

Religious Leaders & Elders: Identify the right beneficiaries working with organisations and reporting on

the impact of their projects and whether it is positive or negative. Communities suggesting solutions and

remedies where necessary

Female Youth: Community involvement is vital in all projects from beginning to end. The community

involvement will lead to the success of the project and should be considered as vital

Orphan Group: The community must be given the opportunity to work on the project process as they

understand who is vulnerable and how they should be assisted

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Pastoralist Dropouts: To form local committees to advise and oversee the cash transfer. The community

will establish and develop trust in the process if they are fully engaged. The activity must be transparent

and accountable to community members so that the right people benefit and there is no abuse.

Disabled Group: Establish community and village committees to work with agencies in targeting who

should benefit and they should be involved in the management of the process and programme.

Male Youth: Communities should be involved in identification of beneficiaries, identification of agents

to operate the cash transfer / voucher system and registration and verification and selection of

beneficiaries. The impact will be positive as there will be greater accountability; complaint solving

mechanisms will be owned by the community; communities will be empowered to take a leading role

with greater trust between the organisations and the community

15. What kind of informaiton do you need to inform you about early drought and when and how should you be given the information?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

Information on how to mitigate drought should be shared e.g. on how to store food such as

producing milk powder and dried meat that can be stored as food and for sale

Information should be shared through the media especially in relation to pending drought and

expected impact e.g. BBC Somalia, KBC, Wajir Radio, through barazas, by text message

There is need for frequent and accurate weather forecasts to inform people about weather patterns

(drought, flooding, disease) well in advance so that people can plan

Planned agency activities should be communicated openly and transparently so that communities

can share their views. The timeliness of projects is critical

Recommendations

The need for information is emphasized. The information should be accurate and timely and given in

ways that pastoralists can access. Information should encompass market issues including livestock

and commodity prices and trends so that pastoralists can plan when and where to sell.

Early warning is more than a focus on drought or flood forecasting. It should encompass market

information, trends in markets, disease management, information on planned interventions.

Children’s Group: The children said that the main information needed is public awareness on the

drought and the community should be trained on how to store foods so that they have enough food

during the drought. Information should be given at the right time when people have realized that the

rains have failed or will fail and action must be taken. Information should be given through mass media

e.g. through Wajir radio and through barazas and community meetings including public awareness

meetings in all villages.

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Elders Group: Early signal to communities for drought preparedness through early warning systems at

the outset of the drought and developing of drought management committees to mobilize communities

at the village level to respond to the drought on time. Through the District Management Committee

(DMC) and the local radio stations e.g. Wajir radio station and Stay FM.

Pastoralist Group: The need to be warned in advance and given early warning advice is essential e.g.

signs of changes to pasture, where water will be available, treatment / sale of livestock, predicted

rainfall patterns, changes in the weather – are all part of early warning. They need to be informed about

the availability of basic commodities especially if they are likely to be out of stock or scarce (e.g. maize)

and important that prices are checked regularly given the problem of inflation. They should be advised

on the likely severity of the drought e.g. whether it will be prolonged, will be La Nina etc. They need to

be trained on how to cope with drought and how to put coping strategies in place. How? Through radio

bulletins, reports, weather forecasts even though radio reception is mostly in the settlements and

towns. They prefer to listen to the BBC Somali Service and KBC to get the right information. Community

sensitization and training on early warning and drought is very important.

Women’s Group: The early warning system should be provided before the onset of the drought and this

should be communicated through Wajir community radio, KBC and BBC Somalia to give accurate

information and create awareness. Written local notices and text messages; GOK line ministries, other

agencies such as NDMA, KRDP and other stakeholders should inform the community.

Health Worker’s Group: Management information of planned projects and sensitization of the

community on what is being planned. Early warning information to ensure communities get the right

information on time and able to make the right decisions e.g. on predicted rainfall patterns. Information

on destocking programmes to ensure livestock numbers can be sustained during the drought.

Religious Leaders & Elders: Weather forecasts and likely weather patterns so that pastoralists can make

the right decisions. Information should be given especially at the start of the rainy season which is the

most critical time.

Female Youth: Information about drought should be given at the early stages in relation to specific

locations. It can be given through community committees by the government or NGOs and through the

media.

Orphan Group: Information about drought should be given more than two months in advance of

drought so that people can prepare in advance. Information should be given through radio e.g. Star FM,

UN and NGOs, weather forecasts by the Meteorological Department

Pastoralist Dropouts: Provide accurate weather forecasts to inform pastoralists on time and inform the

community on the magnitude of the expected disaster e.g. how long it may last and how much damage

may be done whether drought or flooding or disease.

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Disabled Group: Weather reports should be shared well in advance especially at the start of the rains to

inform pastoralists and other agencies of what may happen. Early warning should be in place on

livestock diseases to avoid a double problem of drought and disease. Pastoralists need to be informed of

livestock market prices so that they can decide when the best time to sell their animals is. The best way

to inform pastoralists is in public forums where all can hear the information properly and together.

Male Youth: Early warning system to update pastoralists and communities on seasonal changes and

weather forecasts and what may happen so that people can make informed decisions. Information on

weather patterns to be shared at least 45 days (6 weeks) before the predicted drought or disaster and

should focus information on expected impact on availability of water and pasture and likely migration

patterns. For this information to be useful and accurate it requires the full engagement of the

community. Early warning is not just for agencies. Information should be shared by drought monitors;

FM radios and through indigenous traditional knowledge and predictions.

16. Additional comments from the team on feedback from the Groups?

Key Findings from the Community Focus Groups

“If the projects had been planned with the community, then we could have moved forward very far

by now” … children’s group.

In the first discussion the communities said that we took time to listen and develop trust with them

that meant they were open and honest in both discussions

The first discussion was very important as it prepared the ground for the second discussion where

the elders were even more open and honest about their issues.

Cash transfers should continue if proper strategies and procedures put in place with only deserving

people receiving cash – if this is not possible, the cash transfer programme should be stopped.

The women said that during the rains they have a lot of milk and meat and a lot of the milk is wasted

as the market is flooded and all that food and income is lost – let us develop businesses that

produce milk powder and dried meat

One elder went as far as saying that support to develop kitchen gardens is better than cash

transfers; irrigation schemes, even re-stocking of sheep and goats is better than a cash transfer –

cash does not produce, livestock and gardens produce

They were very happy with the discussion with the people and wanted to know when they will be

called again so that they can discuss and share more.

Recommendations

Cash transfer on its own is not a solution. The community make the point a lot and strongly. It must

be properly done and must be done in a way that integrates markets, long-term development,

proper engagement of pastoralists etc. They do not want handouts, they want sustainability.

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Children’s Group: The children said that the community has never been involved in discussing project

design and planned activities. They said that NGOs come with their projects and they say they will do

this and this and that is it but it has never come from us. If the projects had been planned with the

community, then we could have moved forward very far by now. As a team we were very surprised that

young children of 12 to 15 years could have such understanding and hold such views and ideas and

according to our African culture it seems not right that children should be able to share their views like

this. We were surprised by what they knew and how they felt.

Elders Group: There are two boreholes in Kursin about 1.5km apart and the water in the boreholes is

not fit for human consumption. The village depends on water tankering. Because of the problem of

water during drought their livestock die unless people can afford water tankers. They said they were

stressed by projects that were brought by NGOs that normally fail because communities are not

involved at all and projects targets are not reached i.e. address the real needs of the community. They

are not involved at all. The complete lack of community participation is a serious issue.

Pastoralist Group: The pastoralists said that how we have used this time is the best method. Agencies

coming to discuss openly with them and listen to them – they found that encouraging as agencies were

ready to listen to anything they had to say. In the first discussion earlier in the week they appreciated

that agencies took time to listen and establish trust and a rapport. This helped them a lot also in the

second discussion as it was like we were with our friends and the discussion was open, honest and

respectful from the start. Even older mammas, who are normally shy, shared a lot in the discussion. The

first discussion was very important as it set the base for the second discussion where the elders were

even more open and honest about their issues.

Women’s Group: The women said that during the rains they have a lot of milk and meat and a lot of the

milk is wasted as the market is flooded and all that food and income is lost. And during the long dry

season there is little milk. They were asking if there are ways that their milk can be stored or processed

e.g. into powder milk so that they have milk all the time and not lose income and food. In the same

way, they asked if their livestock meat especially the camel meat can be processed and dried so they

have meat all the time. The local name for dried meat is nyeri nyeri but not many people know the

tradition of curing and preserving meat this way so training and better technical ways of doing it are

required. The women also emphasized the need for good markets as they really suffer from lack of

market access for their produce and impacts badly on their family incomes. Milk and meat preserved for

food and income and improve markets – these can directly impact family livelihoods.

Religious Leaders & Elders: With regard to cash transfers and whether it should continue or not, the

religious leaders say there are two issues; the cash transfers should continue if proper strategies and

accountable procedures are put in place and the deserving people only receive the cash – if this is not

possible, the cash transfer programme should be stopped. The second issue is that communities are

yearning for more sustainable programmes. One elder went as far as saying that support to develop

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kitchen gardens is better than cash transfers; irrigation schemes, even re-stocking of sheep and goats is

better than a cash transfer. Another elder said that money has no permanent value in the culture but

when they are given livestock the animal (shoat) will double its value in 12 months and give milk and

food for the family. With regard to food aid the religious leaders and elders said that food aid is not

adequate and that it is also degrading as it does not respect that people can work for themselves. While

there are gaps in the cash transfer, it is a more respectful and positive way of giving support. The quality

of the discussion was high and they were very happy with this programme of discussing with the people

and they wanted to know when they will be called again so that they can discuss and share more.