Lokichokio
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lokichokio, also Lokichoggio or Lokichogio, is a town in the Turkana District, northwest of Kenya (4°12′00″N 34°21′00″E / 4.2°N 34.35°E). It is often called Loki. The town lies on the A1 road and is served by the Lokichogio Airport.
It is about 30 kilometers from the international border with Sudan and is host to UN offices (part of the Operation Lifeline Sudan program), around 49 NGOs, and a large hospital run by the ICRC.[1]
Local peoples are mainly nomads of the Turkana tribe and derive their livelihood by looking after indigenous cattle. Ninety kilometers south of Loki is Kakuma, one of the largest refugee camps in Kenya. Refugees from Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, the DRC and several other surrounding countries can be found in Kakuma.
Loki is outermost Kenyan town on the border with Sudan. Kenyans from the southern part of Loki, however, maintain that Lodwar, which is about 200 kilometers south, is the last truly "Kenyan" town in the region. At the north end of Loki, beyond the noted dry river bed, the Kenyan military has set up a border checkpoint. This is considered the "true" border between Kenya and Sudan. Beyond this point lies a road leading to Nadapal, the Sudanese checkpoint which is about thirty kilometers away. The area known as "no-man's land" is situated between these two checkpoints.
The Middle East Reformed Fellowship maintains a base here to administer diaconal aid to Sudan, a training centre for pastors and elders from Sudan, Kenya and surrounding areas, and a broadcasting centre that prepares messages in the Dinka and Nuer languages.
[edit] In fiction
The town has been mentioned several times in pieces of fiction dealing with UN and NGO aid activity there. It was featured in the John Le Carré book on which the 2005 film The Constant Gardener was based, and served as the setting for much of Philip Caputo's novel, Acts of Faith.
Also the subject of a recently published stage musical - Africa Rocks!. The musical is targeted at schools and, in particlar, raising the awareness of youngsters to the harsh conditions of poverty, homelessness, desertification experienced by the people in this part of Kenya. The problems of people in this region go largely unreported in the world media. More details about the awareness raising musical Africa Rocks can be found at [[1]] http://africarocksonline.com Thelicense fees from schools that perform the show go directly to supporting families in difficulty in Kenya.
[edit] References
- ^ "War Hospital". NFB Collection. National Film Board of Canada. 2005. http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=51984. Retrieved 2009-09-02.
[edit] External links
- The town on Kenya map
- Photos of Lokichokio from Rob Rooker
- Photos of Loki by Dave Warner
- Photos of Loki by James Witteveen
