About Marigat District

Socio- economics:
In Marigat, semi-nomadic livestock rearing is the main economic activity of the community, though there is an increasing interest in crop production to augment the family food supply. The rangelands on which the livestock and the community depend are denuded and seriously eroded.

In many years the region has been unable to adequately support the livestock population, thus the existing livestock population is unable to meet the full subsistence needs of the people. The situation has in the recent past been exacerbated by the invasion of a tree species calledProsopis juliflora. This is an exotic tree shrub that was introduced as a conservation measure to roll back land degradation.

The area is characterized with the few wealthy households controlling the highest percentage of resources. In areas with irrigation schemes, more wealthy households have access to the large plots.

Traditional Values and Beliefs
Female circumcision has been practiced for many years as a rite of passage by different communities in the area. The age brackets for circumcision vary from community to another one. In others it is done as young as 9 years while in others it is done at 12 years and above. Children are supposed to obey the adults no matter what they are asked to do. This has both positive and negative effects; it serves to provide some social sanctions that guide the relationships of the two age divides. However some adults have misused this to their advantage and ended up being abusive.

The Gender Roles
Each community has defined roles that boys and girls, and men and women are required to perform. However girls and women have more roles than boys and men.

Literacy and Education of Region Surrounding the Maarifa Centre
There are 6 secondary schools and about 40 primary schools in the two divisions of Marigat and Mukutani. All the secondary schools admit both boys and girls. There is one primary school with both facilities for blind and sighted children. A large percentage of the population in the area is either illiterate or semi-literate, especially in the age set of 40 years and above. Most members of the community below the age of 30 have at least attained primary school level education. However many girls drop out of school because of the cultural beliefs and traditional practices such as FGM and early marriage. Those who have attained university level education are very few.