Dowries Running Dry in Drought-Stricken East Africa

Women use donkeys to transport water south of Wajir, in Kenya, where food shortages caused by drought threaten millions. Many young rural Kenyans are also being forced to postpone marriage as the loss of cattle affects their ability to raise a dowry. (By Chris Jackson -- Getty Images)

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"The drought and changes of weather patterns are disrupting a whole way of life," said Doug Keating of Oxfam International, which is helping distribute aid in the region. "If one was to take the view that the pastoralist way of life is no longer viable and they should give up their cattle, then what's the alternative? Millions head for the cities. I think we know cities in Kenya can hardly sustain the populations they have."

A Hard Life in 'Nai-Robbery'

Samante first came to Nairobi, a city of high-rises and high crime, after a punishing two-year drought started in 1999, the seventh to hit East Africa since 1975. His parents begged him to seek a college education, and it was his father's dying dream, Samante said, that his eldest son learn foreign languages and earn a living that did not depend on cattle.

Samante arrived in Nairobi with $300 for his college tuition. But he lost it to a pickpocket shortly after arriving in a city Kenyans have nicknamed "Nai-robbery."

"We didn't have cars, we have cows, so I was looking this way and that. Not paying attention," he said, laughing at his former innocence. "And there were so many people, some banging smack into me. I would just smile and shake their hands. They gave me odd glances."

He returned to his village to sell more cows to make money. But when he returned to Nairobi a second time, he was robbed again.

This time, he thought he spotted the thief, a man who had stood very close to him asking questions about his Masai life. He ran after the man, and a fight broke out, he said.

Both men ended up in jail. Samante was beaten up by some inmates and teased as a "country Kenyan." He watched in shock as the thief used his college money to bribe his way out of jail, he said.

Samante eventually got out himself by having a friend also bribe the guards. But he had to work several jobs as a security guard to pay for college, and it took him years to graduate.

"We just aren't city guys," said Simon Kiraison, 22, a friend of Samante's from Ntulele who now works in Nairobi. "I can't marry. And I keep getting mugged. The city does not soothe my heartaches. It only brings more."

Samante and his friends in the city said they were afraid of the crime and frustrated that they could not afford milk, which they used to drink for free, or find cow's blood, a staple of their diet.

"Cow blood is very fantastic," Samante said. "I couldn't understand why the Nairobi tribes didn't want any."

Worst of all, they were lonely without their girlfriends and prospective wives.