In Hadado town, within Wajir West sub‑county, the creeping desert is erasing a community’s future. One of the learning institutions in Hadado, Athibohol Primary School, now lies half-buried beneath relentless sand dunes. Each classroom door can barely be seen behind thick layers of wind‑blown sand. What was once a sanctuary of possibility has become a monument to loss.
“In the heart of Wajir West, where the dreams of our children should soar, a gut‑wrenching tragedy unfolds. Athibohol Primary and Hadado schools… are being devoured by relentless sand dunes,” wrote on X @Munamunahamed, capturing the grief and urgency gripping the region.
This crisis extends beyond the school. Homes, clinics, and hospitals across Hadado are being similarly engulfed. Sandstorms swirl through neighborhoods, displacing families whose modest dwellings vanish under shifting dunes.
Years of deforestation, largely for charcoal production and firewood, have destroyed the indigenous trees that once anchored the soil. Without them, wind erosion intensified; dunes now engulf Athibohol’s classrooms. Wajir’s climate, marked by prolonged droughts, unpredictable rainfall, and rising temperatures, only amplifies the devastation.
Kenya’s arid and semi‑arid lands, covering over 80 % of the country’s area, face severe degradation. Nationwide, about 30 % of the landmass suffers from severe to very severe degradation, particularly in the north and east, including Wajir County. In North‑Eastern Kenya, 12.3 % of the land is severely degraded, 52 % moderately, and 33 % vulnerable. The region’s susceptibility to drought and erosion, combined with human activity, has accelerated the advancement of the desert into once-livable territory.
For Athibohol’s children, being unable to attend class is more than an inconvenience; it is a stolen childhood. For families in Hadado, the encroaching sand means homes are abandoned, clinics become inoperable, and hope slips away one grain at a time.
The only means to mitigate this dire situation is afforestation, planting trees to stabilize the soil and rebuild the ecosystem, which offers the only path forward. Organizations like the One Stop Development Agency, which has been on the ground with calls for adopting tree planting culture, working alongside local organisations like Wajir Women Council, are championing large‑scale tree planting across the degraded landscape. The message is clear: restore the vegetation, and you restore the future.
Athibohol Primary School symbolizes more than a structure—it’s the front line in the battle against desertification. Without swift, large‑scale intervention, Hadado may vanish beneath the sand. Its children deserve more than to watch their dreams disappear. Through afforestation to mitigate the climate change scourge, investment, and community action, Athibohol can be saved—and along with it, the future of Wajir West.
