But now there are no cattle to watch. On the plains even the wind is burning hot, dry and dusty. There is no grass around for miles and miles. Now the cows can be found as carcasses strewn all over the landscape. There is a hamlet with a few derelict huts covered by plastic sheeting bartered from the nearby refugee camp.
Several huts look completely abandoned but a small group of women and children remains.
Another reason for the diseases can probably be found in the muddy water that the women collect from wells dug by hand into the riverbed. The men have left with the cattle to look for pasture. Or they look for work in the nearest towns, first and foremost Lokichokio where relief flights to southern Sudan take off every day. Many have gathered around the Kakuma Camp where they can sometimes find work. Even the meager rations of the refugees are luxury compared to the everyday provisions of the Turkana.