Here I reproduce a poignant story from Opio who was a beneficiary of a previous crisis earlier last year The situation is even worse now.
I am Opio David I have gone through many challenges in this village since I was born in 1952; from Karamojong raids, UPA and LRA rebels, water logging and the current tense drought When I grew up we used to grow millet, cassava, sim-sim, ground nuts, maize, green grams, cow peas., and could get in plenty and would store in granaries. We had enough food to eat and we used to sell to Karamoja and we would still be okay. This year we had rains thrice in the first season and twice for the second season.
People had done cultivation but unfortunately the drought hit hard this village and the neighborhoods and has rendered us helpless and food insecure because we harvested nothing. Currently the big portion of the population survives on fishing because they sell some of their fish catch to the market and they buy dry cassava for food .For me to be in position live up now I sold my piece of plot at 750,000shs to purchase cassava and beans for my small family. And 1am not certain of what will happen after this. This drought has added us more injuries, after last year’s water logging that made us to lose all our cassava gardens and this year the village had no planting materials and as for now the whole village is suffering from what to eat and only waiting for the cassava TDT gave us to mature. I heaped some potatoes with the vines provided by PAG-KIDO AND TDT but if it continues being dry their very little hopes of getting tubers from them. I pray to God every evening before I sleep, that ‘Oh Lord now I lay down to sleep I pray lord my soul to keep and if I die before I wake I pray lord my soul to take.’