Africa Teaches

Some thoughts between trips ...

A US teacher friend of mine suggested that my African friends might be better equipped for life (survival) than the rest of us who luxuriate here in the western world.  Interesting thought.  Any idea how well you'd do in similar circumstances?

For perhaps most people in the world, building a house is something they do themselves, maybe as a family project.  How many of us could do as well?

Here, dad oversees the construction project his daughter and new husband have undertaken; a simple house on the lot next to his.  They buy materials as they can afford them and hand-carry them to the site.

Simple chores like laundry are handled as needed; perhaps at the nearest river, if there is one.

Dishes and cooking utensils often travel the same route, or are washed at home with water they carried there for the purpose.  Here, the youngest sister has dish duty today.  She almost smiled for the camera.

Work for Kenyans; try this on for size

"Do you use blocks like these for construction in the US?"  Abdul is curious about how things are done elsewhere.  "These are quarried stone blocks from the coral bedrock here on the coast."  When I asked how, "We cut them by hand; if we had machines, they'd be straight," he explains along with the fact that manual labor in the construction industry pays around $6 a day.

The land is hard here, literally.  It was a huge coral bed long ago; now it's just rock ground.

It takes a lot of work to build; when you do the septic, you have to dig down to the water layer.  By hand.  About 10 meters.

Employers have rules about equipping their folks with boots and helmets, but they just pay bribes to municipal officials so they don't have to. 

Helmet-less and in sandals, this worker moves the cut stone blocks, cement, all by hand.  Note the scaffolding; enough to make an OSHA inspector faint.

Employers are required by law to provide benefits for workers they employ longer than 6 months.  Health insurance, retirement, standard wages.  So they don't employ anyone for more than a few weeks at a time which leads to underemployment for a large portion of the population.

Kenya is among the more corrupt countries in the world.  On average, an urban Kenyan will pay 16 bribes a month according to a 2005 estimate.

Kenya; too many stories to tell.

OK, is that your real hair or is it extensions.  "Hahaha, it's extensions!  You should get some!"  Chuckles over spaghetti lunch at my favorite restaurant.  It's a continuation of a conversation we've had before.  The rest of the staff join in, laughing, telling me I should get extensions!  Come on, guys; two weeks ago you were giving me a hard time for needing a haircut!

So tell me about your family.  "Well, I have two daughters, one 8 years old and the other not quite 2."  Is the older in school? "Yes, and she's doing well.  I have 6 brothers and 2 sisters on my mother's side.  I'm the first girl! (with a big smile).  "My father has two wives, so I have 3 more brothers and 2 more sisters."  Two wives?!  Can you do that in Kenya?  "Oh, yes.  It just depends on your pocket, you know.  He's 73 and works as a cleaner at the hotel.  He had a 3rd wife, but she left with one kid.  I live with my mom, and she takes care of my girls while I work."  I tipped much bigger than usual.  On the days she works, it's 8:30 AM until 10 or 11 PM.  She'll make $50 - $70 per month if things are good.

Guruguru, Kenya; the reason I was willing to go back.

The children we meet along the way are unfailingly polite and welcoming as are their families.  These are preschoolers in a program Bishop Samuel's church provides in Mariakani.  They sang a welcome song for us, and each one came and shook hands politely.  It's a great work for these kids by the church community.

Click on the photos for a larger view.
 
Bishop Samuel and I drove up to Guruguru today to see the area and incidentally, to meet the children you helped back to school.  It's a long way down a terrible road, of course.  Fortunately, we know Samuel and he's dedicated to serving the people there, so we have an in.


Guruguru used to be a bustling market center.  Back in the 70's when the area was fertile, folks gathered there to sell their fruit, vegetables, and milk.  They could raise pretty much anything in those days, even pineapples. Since the famine around 1980, the area has declined, the locals tell me.

Home for 4 days, then back to Kenya

Pretty girl; served me my lunch.  I asked her how long it took to do her cute hairdo.  I know guys don't ask those kinds of questions but I'm a foreigner and old enough to be her grandfather.  "Half an hour," she says laughing, "'cause it's extensions in back."  Extensions!??  This girl lives in a rustic village in Kenya and she does extensions?  Girls and their hair; gotta be a genetic thing.  Guys will probably never understand.

Arrived home on Sunday, unpacked everything into the washing machine, then at work on Monday, got a call mid-day asking if I'd be willing to go back to Kenya.  Of course.  :)  My heart is willing; my backside is tired of airplanes, though.

Airplane, airport, airplane, airport, airplane, airport...

Back in Kenya for less than 12 hours; I went across the street to have a coke at the bar; "Mr. Brian, Mr. Brian, I heard you had returned!"

Kenya Changing

Advertising in Kenya is interesting.  The ad here is for a soap powder used in hand-washing clothes.  Most don't have machines to do the work; they wash by hand.  The very poor can't afford the soap, of course.

Huge billboards line the major thoroughfares of the Mombasa.  A coastal city with a large tourist population, Mombasa has many attractions and services.  The beaches are stunning.

For local folks though, it's a tough world.  Begging is a practiced art.  Presentation is everything.  "Sir if you'll sign this petition for the orphans school ..." along with a coerced donation; annoying, even though the fellow doing the scam lives in poverty and tells such lies in hopes of making enough to feed himself and perhaps a family as well.

Then there are the truthful ones.

This young fellow and his mom can be found beside the road; she's a paraplegic after the accident that killed her husband.  She sells trinkets to tourists as her only source of household income.  She lives with her grandmother and brother in a village nearby.  Since she had invited me, I came to her village and met them all.