Arsi University

English Communicative II Assignment

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Name: Netsanet Tadesse

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Drought in Borena Ethiopia

The Borena zone of the Oromia region is prone to recurrent drought. It is common to see drought in
Borena. But lately, its frequency and intensity are increasing. A recent rapid is reported by
FAO indicated a delayed start to the rainy season. This marked the third consecutive poor rainfall season
resulting in loss of assets and severe food insecurity. Borena is one of the lowland areas of Ethiopia that
have been faced severe drought and the resilience of communities has been seriously tested.
Households are yet to fully recover from the impact of the back-to-back droughts which have also been
exacerbated by desert locust infestations in ten woredas.

The zone’s Disaster Risk Management Office indicated that nearly 85,000 cattle deaths are reported
affecting the livelihood of more than 32,000 families. The chronic shortage of water and pasture forced
many to move far from their usual migration route.  

“This is unprecedented,” says Fitsum Degemu who coordinates the emergency response of NGOs in the
zone. “For communities in Borena, their survival is closely linked with their cattle. They depend on them.
Loss of cattle means loss of livelihood. Even the price of cattle is dropped because their condition
deteriorated significantly.” 
For 11-year-old Adi Kure, life is hard with the drought. As the first-born girl child, she is responsible for
fetching water, cooking and taking care of her mother who recently had a baby. Her father, like the
other men in the village, is away with the cattle. “I help my mother at home. I fetch water with this
[pointing to a 20 littler jerry can on her back] and carry it home. I also prepare the meal. I go to school in
the afternoon, but I don’t have time for studying,” says Adi.  

Adi is at least lucky to stay in school despite all the challenges. According to the zone, out of the 124,000
students who were registered to attend class at the beginning of the year, nearly 14,000 of them are out
of school mainly because they move with their family and cattle.  

Generally The drought has its toll on children’s education, health and wellbeing.  And gets a great
damage on the peoples with their cattles .