I have a story to tell you about people in Wajir and their love for tea

A mother and her son taking tea. (Oxfam)

By: Hibaq Ahmed

WAJIR—The sun outside is sweltering. It’s 36 degrees on a rocky ground, getting brighter as the day goes by.

We look for a place, with a shade of course, where we could breath off after daylong  of activities, starting from the morning when we went to look for a doctor to comment on a story we were doing on Down Sydrome in Dalsan location, Wajir South.

“So dhawaaada gudaha. Shax nocee ayad rabtaan (Welcome in. What type of tea do you want?),” a tea vendor who own the ‘dhash’ (a stick-house) tells us without asking for our preference: hot or cold drinks.

You see, in Wajir people take tea to pass time, to address hunger pangs and to cool off at noon on a sunny day.

As a first-time visitor, I was interested to know why tea was such a darling among this community. Welcome to Wajir where tea is second to air.

Rising sun in Wajir town. (Abdikadir Ukash)

The residents in this town would rather pay sh30 for tea at 12:00 pm when the sun is scorching than buy cold, bottled water  to cool off.

In Wajir, people have variety of tea; camel-milk, dairy, goat-milk and black tea.

Black tea also has several other names: Asmali, Strungi, Caleen, Wariko, Wareenta and Bigees.

In Nairobi, a person from Wajir county can be identified from the rest by the sheer love they have for tea. Of course a lot of people take tea,  but the level of attachment is just unique.

“I can’t think straight without tea,” Abdikadir Ukash, a colleague from Wajir County tells me.

“We take at least six cups during the day and three more when the sun goes down,” he adds while sipping tea prepared with camel milk opposite Orahey ground in central Wajir.

In fact they have a saying to encourage you when you turn down their offer for tea.

“Waran iyo waarkio meel looma waayo (A spear and a cup of  tea will never miss space in the body)”

At late afternoon after Asr, people meet up at tea joints opposite First Community Bank, Huduma Centre, Orahey  and Equity Bank to pass time and catch the latest happening in the political world.

While in Wajir town, a story came up that urgently needed our attention. The local medical authority declared cholera outbreak without divulging more information as to the causes apart from sanitation and the general hygiene.

We wanted to know if the infrastructural underdevelopment could have caused the epidemic because while coming to Wajir from Nairobi, we came across several vehicles laden with medicine, stuck in the muddy road.

The road leading to Khorof Harar in Wajir East. Rainwater cut-off roads in most part of Northern Kenya. (Abdikadir Ukash)

We set out to different parts of the county starting from Ganyurey, Dasheeg, Lambib, Argane, Eldas, Biladul-Amin, Qarsa, Mansa, Qanjara, Lehely and finally at Malkagufu in Wajir North.

While we found out  that cholera was catalysed by the delay in the supply of the drugs to the medical facilities in the area, the families we went to interview for the story always had a similar way of welcoming  us—a flask full of freshly prepared tea and cups. It doesn’t matter the time in the day or the heat of the sun.

At Argane in Wajir South, the community in that location had a problem receiving food supply whenever it rained. At the time we went to meet the victims of the cholera outbreak, we were informed that the town survives on tea with milk. That’s all.

“How long is it going to last,” our driver asked.

“Until when the roads will be passable; may be a week from now,” a woman we met at one of the tea joints replied.

That’s how tea is cherished in the county.

Next time a person from Wajir gives you a visit, don’t rush to the fridge to bring cold drinks. Make a dash to the kitchen and prepare tea and serve while hot. You will thank me later!