When water runs out, the closest resource is more than 40 km away, in a location that is distant and inhabited by the rival Toposa tribe. Crossing these territories for the Jie means risking their lives, so they often prefer to go to less dangerous, even if more distant, locations, traveling over 80 km to get water.
“Thanks to AVSI, we have the hope of being treated like human beings”: this is how the head of one of the villages that benefited from the distribution of matches, oil, and salt, following one of AVSI’s first missions in Lopet, concluded his speech.
Although seeming insignificant, these little goods represent the first step towards a more dignified life for a population that risks disappearing from the face of the earth.