Kenya: the good, the bad, the f'ugly...and the interesting

As my time in Kenya draws to an end, I find myself in a reflective mood. I just wanted to summarise my perspective on this dear land that has been my home for the last 7 weeks. My list is by no means exhaustive; I’ve limited it to key observations. In spite of some of the comments I will make, I know I’ll miss being here especially because I doubt any of the upcoming countries in my trip will be anything like it

The Good
1. Kenyans are very friendly people. Their hospitality was obvious from the moment I arrived and has been consistent. If a Kenyan walks into a room full of people, it is not uncommon to find them dishing out effusive handshakes (matched with wide, pleasant grins) and in some cases adding a hug or kisses on the cheek. Now, being blessed with one of those generically African faces, I’ve had many incidents where people reel out words to me in Kiswahili, often in that friendly way that suggests an inside joke, assuming that I’m Kenyan. This warm reception is sometimes followed by a slight disappointment that I’m not one of them.
2. The landscape and scenery of this land is breathtakingly beautiful. That is also true for the other East African countries I’ve been to but I’ve found myself in awe every time I’ve driven past the great rift valley or rows and rows of hills and flat lands with acacia trees. I made a trip to a place called Hellsgate a weekend or two ago, which is located in Naivasha, a town some 2 hours away from Nairobi. I’m told it was the shooting place for one of the Indiana Jones movies as well as the first Tomb raider movie. The road to Hellsgate is littered with rocky mountains, dusty roads and hot water springs. It makes for a great bike ride and hike. Of course this is only one of many gorgeous places in Kenya; I’ve mentioned the Maasai Mara, where I went on Safari, Nakuru (with the lake and flamingoes); there’s also Mombasa (the beachfront town which I’m told is a lot like Zanzibar), just to mention a few.
3. The more developed parts of Nairobi are very developed with amenities and facilities akin to what can be found in the West. There is a shopping mall near where I live that has shops, restaurants and cafes comparable to any shopping mall in London. When I find myself at a coffee shop sipping a vanilla latte, using wireless internet and surrounded by people of all nationalities, I have to remind myself that I’m in Nairobi. Of course, this level of development in a place like Nairobi comes with its woes, but we’ll get on to that shortly

The Bad
1. Unfortunately, despite the point made in “3.” above, Kenya is still classified as a developing country, which suggests that most of its people live at or below the poverty line. The disparity in income between the rich and the poor is vast and the evidence of this is blatant. Places like Kibera, one of the largest slums in the world with over a million inhabitants, is located a 20-minute walk away from the affluent shopping mall I described earlier. Its shocking to think that whilst half-eaten plates are being cleared off restaurant tables in said shopping mall, there a people just down the road who can barely rustle a square meal a day.
2. It is fairly logical that the display of affluence in the face of such poverty simply incites and outrages the poor masses. Since the government and powers that be are doing nothing to level the playing field, people take things into their own hands and deal with the situation as they see fit. Unfortunately, muggings, car jacking, armed robbery and the like are very commonplace in the country. Security [or lack thereof] is a major issue, which affects people of all races. It is unsafe to drive around at night as there is a good chance (especially if you are alone and/or female) that you will be followed home and mugged or even killed. Pickpockets operate round the clock in the city and there is sometimes nothing one can do to stop them. The car jacking is so bad that sometimes armed men raid even buses and other public transport modes. I have been very lucky (fervently knocking wood for my last few days here) that in my time here I’ve had not a single incident.
3. I may have had a whine about this issue already but have to mention it anyway: I didn’t know that Kenya (especially Nairobi) got reasonably cold in its “winter” months of July and August. After basking in the sun in Zanzibar, I came breezing in expecting similar weather only to be surprised by cold, overcast and miserable days that remind me too much of London. Of course, I was wholly unprepared and have had to wear layers of clothing each day of my time here in an attempt to keep warm. I’m one of those people who just don’t do well in cold. When winter hits in England, I wear layers of clothes plus a warm jacket, thick stockings, boots, ear muffs, wooly hats, large scarves, gloves; you name it, I’ll be clad in it. So being unable to adequately protect myself from the cold has been a tad frustrating. I’ve consequently nursed a cold from the day I arrived. It often morphs into a flu-like situation that has me sipping tonnes of ginger and lemon tea, popping pills and wearing even more layers of clothing. It of course doesn’t help that we don’t get hot showers in my host home (though I managed to work out a deal where I get a lukewarm bucket of water for splahbaths) and the house gets very cold at night because there is no heating. In fact, as I speak, I’ve been trying to shake off the flu for the last few days with a dismal amount of success. I will not be missing that side of things, that’s for sure

The F’ugly
1. Given that there has been a drought in the country for the last few months, following a pathetic rainy season, there hasn’t been enough water to go round the country for the last few weeks. There has been a water rationing system going on and most recently, electricity rationing was also introduced (power in Kenya is derived from one source: that generated from a dam, which evidently dried up with the drought). A power-rationing schedule has been issued, which of course, is never followed; they turn the power off and on as they see fit. The power is usually turned off in the day (regardless of business needs) meaning that businesses grind to a halt if they do not have alternative power sources (bear in mind that generators are very expensive to buy and run). The ruckus this causes is obvious. The water rationing is none the better; parts of the city dwell in stench as a result of it. In my house, baby wipe showers have become the order of the day (yes, that means you wipe yourself down with baby wipes to keep clean). The longest I could go for was three days before I needed water to touch my skin. Its unclear when the situation will be ameliorated; for now its indefinite
2. A few posts ago, I shared my thoughts on the existence of IDP camps in the country. I found myself at a literary festival shortly after I’d visited the first IDP camp, where conveniently, I happened upon a panel discussion of the post-elections violence and its implications on the country. For context, the audience and panelists were mostly middle class. Many positive things were said especially in relation to the IDP camps. It seemed the people present were aware of the situation and regularly discuss what needs to be done to eradicate it (unfortunately, this is not universally true of Kenyans; I’ve met some myself who do not know what IDP stands for). My frustration though was that no one seems to be actually DOING something about it. It’s all well and good to discuss other people’s woes over a bottle of beer and its something completely different to mobilize a few friends to drive out there regularly and give these people some food and supplies (since clearly the government is not going to do it on a consistent basis). The sad thing, and I’m glad someone pointed it out, is that if nothing is done NOW, the next elections will be even worse as the number of disgruntled people with nothing to lose would have multiplied. Its effectively a time bomb waiting to explode

The Interesting
1. It seems the memo issued by Angelina Jolie and Madonna on adopting black children made its first stop in Nairobi. I say so because it’s fairly common to see black children being carried around by white mothers. In fact the other day, I sighted a family of white parents with one white child, one Indian child and a black baby (bearing too much resemblance to the Pitt family). I hope these people understand what they are doing by raising these kids in the Nairobi I have described to you. If it’s just a fashion statement, then they have another think coming. I have nothing against adoption or reaching out to others in need but complicated issues can arise in families of differing races (like language, culture, etc) and the income divide mentioned previously (the white families are usually affluent, certainly by Kenyan standards) further exacerbates said complications. But that is just my view
2. A fellow volunteer and I were having a discussion the other day and she expressed her displeasure at the fact that the people she’d encountered during her time here did not express as much gratitude for her generosity (i.e. the fact that she had traveled miles from her home country to help people in need) as she’d envisaged, but rather found ways to exploit her by overcharging her for goods, asked her to buy them things or in some cases fell short of taking the very clothes on her back. I had to explain to this young lady, whose naiveté I found charming, that in a country with so much poverty and wealth that is flaunted but not made accessible, it is only natural that people become exploitative, corrupt, even violent and see dollar signs when they look at foreigners. It’s not right, simply natural. She appreciated this perspective but only in hindsight. Our discussion did make me wonder how many others there are, who come to Africa with preconceived ideas that are a tad unrealistic

Mozambique is my next stop. I’ll be there for a total of 27 days, living in the beach village/town of Vilanculos. I will be teaching basic English to adults and pre-school aged children (the lingua franca there is Portuguese so I may well pick some of that up). I am excited, if for nothing, to at least breathe fresh ocean air and enjoy the sun once again