Tucked away on the eastern shores of Lake Turkana, more than 800 kilometers from Nairobi, lies Ileret, a remote and windswept outpost that few Kenyans have heard of, but where the impact of connectivity is deeply felt.
Home to the Dasaanach community, Ileret sits at Kenya’s northern border with Ethiopia. Until just five years ago, it remained largely cut off from the rest of the country, with no roads, no reliable communication, and no mobile network. For residents here, simple everyday tasks that others might take for granted, like calling for help in an emergency, accessing market information, or even just staying in touch with family, were impossible.
“In the past, if someone fell sick, we had to send someone by motorbike for hours just to find help,” says Koriye Kuute, a Community Liaison Officer at the Turkana Basin Institute (TBI). “There was no way to alert a doctor quickly. No way to get medicine delivered on time. And if something happened in the community, a birth, a death, an urgent need, word could only travel by mouth.”
The lack of network access also meant that local traders and entrepreneurs operated in the dark. Fish traders along the shores of Lake Turkana’s had no way of knowing market prices, no means to coordinate delivery schedules, and no access to financial services that could help them grow.
“For us, business was pure guesswork,” says Adnan Mangia, a local fish trader. “We had to travel long distances just to get information or find buyers. Sometimes we’d lose money simply because we couldn’t communicate quickly enough.”
Education, too, suffered. With no internet access and no network, local schools remained cut off from the digital tools that have transformed learning elsewhere in Kenya. Students couldn’t access online resources or even interact with peers outside their region. Teachers, in turn, had no way of participating in training or education forums, limiting their growth and ability to deliver quality learning.
That changed in 2020 when Safaricom extended its network to Ileret, a bold move that finally brought this forgotten town into the digital age.
“The arrival of the Safaricom network was like light being switched on,” says Koriye. “Suddenly, our computers worked. Our phones had purpose. Communication became instant, and life began to move faster, for the better.”
For Adnan, the impact on his business was immediate. “Now, I can call suppliers in Nairobi and plan my stock. I can use mobile data to check prices and demand in different towns. I’ve even started using apps to manage my orders.”
Youth in Ileret have embraced smartphones, opening up to a world they never had access to before. From watching educational content on YouTube to engaging in mobile-based training programs, the younger generation is now connected to opportunity and ambition.
Even cultural practices are evolving. Ila Raila, a young Dasaanach man, proudly wears his traditional attire, paired with a football jersey, as he pauses from dancing to share: “I now know my number by heart. I use the Safaricom network every day, not just to talk, but to learn, to connect, to grow.”
Despite the progress, Ileret’s growing population is beginning to stretch the limits of the current network capacity. Residents express gratitude for the network, but also a common sentiment: it could be better.
“Over time, due to population growth and some equipment aging, the Ileret signal has weakened,” explains Engineer Joseph Kihurani. “We are currently working on upgrading the site and have developed plans for new infrastructure, especially in places like Siricho where demand has surged.”
As a border town near Ethiopia, Ileret now stands on the threshold of regional significance. With Safaricom expanding into Ethiopia, the network here could serve as a bridge to neighboring towns like Omorate and Ari, boosting cross-border trade, tourism, and cooperation.
Once forgotten, Ileret is now a beacon of what network connectivity can make possible, not just calls and texts, but transformation in health, education, business, and daily life.
Watch the feature below to learn more.
