An introduction to NGO life: Our stay with Action Against Hunger (Action contre la Faim) in Takaba

We met up with Lani, an old friend based in Nairobi and working for AAH. She intoduced us to Franky on an evening out in Nairobi and he invited to visit one of the AAH bases at Takaba, in Northern Kenya.

Takaba is a remote village close to the border of Ethiopia and Somalia. It took us 4 hours to drive the 180km of dirt tracks from Moyale to Takaba. Most of the people in the area are pastoralists, living as nomads and surviving from their camels and goats. Takaba is a trading centre, and pastoralists from different tribes come from far and wide for trade.

The road to Takaba

We found the AAH base by GPS after dark thanks to Franky's map. We were welcomed by Franky, Polycarp and the rest of the team and offered a wonderful dinner. We learned that AAH is concerned primarily with improving food security. This includes educating the population on proper nutrition and hygiene, ensuring food supply chains are adequate and not disrupted and improving water security. Franky and Polycarp’s work is focussed on the water aspects and they showed us a number of projects the following day: two new boreholes and pipeline to feed Takaba with drinking water, refurbishment of shallow wells, building of earth dams to store surface runoff and use of biosand filters for water treatment.

A well under rehabilitation

Camels being watered at a new borehole

One of the large earth dams in Takaba

An educational poster near an earth dam.

It was great feeling like the first tourists to visit the area. We were welcomed by NGO’s and locals alike. We witnessed a thunderstorm in the desert and people dancing in the streets in the rain…

We were very impressed at the dedication of everyone on the AAH base, particularly working under such difficult conditions with limited resources. Well done, guys! And thanks again for a wonderful stay.

Our hosts, Franky (front) and Polycarp (behind).

Us with Takaba behind.