Protracted Conflicts And Children’s Social Well-Being: A Case Of West Pokot County 1990-2014.

ABSTRACT

A society is measured by the quality of life it affords children. The reality of many children in conflict contexts is devastating and extends well beyond childhood posing a threat to peace, stability and development. Inter-community violent interactions among pastoralists for decades have generated communal violence affecting the society’s social well-being and particularly children. Among the pastoralist communities, livelihoods revolves around large herds that entails cattle thus raiding and rustling to restock is a culturally acceptable norm. Nevertheless, this practice with time has become endemic leading to a culture of violence, insecurity and lawlessness in pastoralist areas. In an environment with unpredictable episodes of pastoralist conflicts, cattle rustling, banditry attacks and border disputes, generations of children are socialized and exposed to hostile environment. Kacheliba is such an area where violent pastoralist conflicts for decades undermined the community’s social networks affecting much needed normal routine that enhances children’s social well-being. In the past two decades, the lethal levels of pastoralist conflicts have increasingly led to significant negative outcomes of hostilities undermining the very foundations critical for children’s social well-being. Underdevelopment, household displacements and the deprivation of basic services are consequences of the prolonged pastoralist hostilities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of protracted pastoralist conflicts on children’s social well-being from 1990-2014 in Kacheliba division. The study was guided by four objectives; to describe the nature of pastoralist conflicts among pastoralist societies, to establish the children’s social well-being concerns in pastoralist conflicts situations, to determine the effects of pastoralist conflicts on education and to determine the mechanisms used by the community to address children’s social well-being The study assumption was that pastoralist conflicts had increasingly become fatal with far reaching consequences on the social well-being of children. Three theories were adopted; the Protracted Social Conflict (PSC), the Human Needs Theory (HNT) and the Social Constructionist Theory. The research methods included quantitative and qualitative approaches. Results show that pastoralist conflicts influence children’s social well-being in affected areas. The study recommends that concerted efforts by the stakeholders, government, schools, NGOs and religious organizations should be undertaken to avert conflicts and establish effective frameworks that promote and protect children’s social well-being.