The hard economic times, the impact of Covid 19 and the lack of job opportunities across the country have made youth to be creative in order to make a decent living.At the border of Migori and Narok Counties along the shores of River Migori, youth are turning up in groups to harvest sand as a source of livelihood. The chairperson of the group that calls itself Sand harvesters Mr. Abigal Agona says that they decided to form the group to help them economically after the Covid 19 pandemic.
Agona, 34 years old says that although the job does not pay much, it is worth venturing in because it is able to cater for their basic necessities. He says the group is at least doing something constructive instead of sitting idle and blaming the government for lack of proper jobs.He acknowledges that in recent times the sand resource has been diminishing in Migori County because of higher demands.Agona’s group, which has 11 members, decided to camp in Trans Mara East Sub County in the neighborhood of Migori County to do sand harvesting to cater for the region’s ever growing demands for the commodity.
“We have to seek permission from landowners in Trans Mara. If they accept, we are charged a small fee for the usage of their property before we can embark on sand harvesting”, said Agona during a recent interview.The chairperson of the group says that they do not pay any levies to Narok County because it’s not a stable business that will keep them there for months. He also notes that the landowners are very understanding and they only charge a small fee because they know we are trying to earn a living.The major challenges in sand harvesting according to Agona are the long rains in the months of April, May, November, December and January. Agona says that during these months the water tables are always high making it impossible for them to do the sand harvesting.“We are always rendered jobless during these rainy months but our group savings keep us going”, said Agona.Mr. Japhet Ouko the vice chair of the group notes that they have to travel every day a distance of 30 kilometers at a cost of Sh.200 to do sand harvesting in Trans Mara Sub County. He says that he is an orphan who was lucky to finish his primary school but was unlucky to join high school because of lack of school fees.
Ouko states that they always share the little they get and invest the rest in their group. He says that the group has assisted them in wedding and burial ceremonies and, to extent assists them in paying school fees for their children.
He also acknowledges that the group has helped them buy tools that assist them in sand harvesting. He however, says that the river has unseen danger of aquatic animals like snakes and sharp rocks. The cold waters especially during the cold weathers he says can also cause Phenomena, a killer disease if not well treated.The sand harvester group is now calling upon the county leadership to register their group and award them construction tenders of supplying sand instead of using cartels and middle personnel to exploit them of their hard earned money.Mr. Agona wants the Migori County department of environment and natural resources to work together and come up with the sand utilization and Harvesting Act to regulate mining and use of sand just the way Kitui County Assembly did in July this year. He says that the act will make sand harvesting a sure means of income to enhance the county economy.