I returned home to my host family in Loitokitok for a cup of late afternoon tea and fruit. Patrick, my 7th grade host brother is doing well. He told me that he is continuing to be ranked 1st-3rd in his class. My host father's daughters came to say hello and they told me that all of their children are doing well. Sammy, Stacy, and Kamau are just about the cutest kids.
When I looked up from the kiswahili book that Patrick was teaching me from my eyes fell on their bok shelf, which was lined with animal carvings the last time I saw it. From left to right I looked at an a walking elephant, a rhino bucking its head, a trumpeting elephant, an empty bottle of '07 Ransom Cattrall Brothers Vineyard wine, and a tall giraffe.
One of those items was not there last time... Continuing my gaze around the room I began to feel a bit empty myself. The simple items that I had given them were still there, including an Obama Biden bumper sticker that they had stuck to the inside of their covered porch.
Meanwhile my father told me about how Loitokitok has not had rain since the last time I was there. I remember hearing from him one year ago a similar story. That was December of 2008 and they had not had good rain since the December before that. People in this area literally survive by the rain and the last time that they were able to take in a sufficient harvest was sometime in late 2007. In 2007 they also had election related violence in which the country's food supply was burnt. I 2008 relief food was obtained but mysteriously disappeared with allegations that the minister of agriculture had sold it illegally.
This means that the whole country has been trying to survive for two years on one years yield.
In Maua it is not very visible due to the money from tea and miraa, but in Loitokitok you can see the effects. This area has many Massai who are traditionally herders, and even on to Loitokitok there were cows that had dropped dead next to the road due to the lack of water.
My family is still here though, surviving on about a hundred dollar a month pension, putting their daughter through college while at the same time their 5 acres of fields have dried up prematurely for too long. The people have no other option to plant. When they stop planting they will have no other hope to turn to.
These people have planted four times, once every six months, weeding by hand, spraying pesticides with hand held sprayers, only to find each time that your work was for nothing.
They have heard that El Nino is coming this year, but so far there has been less rain than during a regular year of good rain. Nobody in the area knows if it has come and missed them, or if it is still coming. The people of the coast are seeing roads and bridges being washed out and would tell the people of Loitokitok that El Nino is bypassing them.
Looking towards the south you can see the reason why. Mount Kilamanjaro has attracted attention for centuries due to its' size. Most of the clouds seem to come from the south-east and dump their water on the Tanzania side of the border. It is only when all light is blocked out by pregnant clouds that substantial rain is released onto the northern side.
I continued to talk to them about the state of things while I wondered to myself if I would ever see my Kenyan family again. Gazing out the window across from where I was sitting on their couch I noticed that the covered area where they store food for their animals was completely empty. How long can they buy feed for two calves, a dairy cow, and four goats, while feeding their own mouths and the mind of their daughter in school. Mama was so happy to see me, and this time I was better able to talk to her in kiswahili than when I left, which made her even more jovial.
These people are better off than most. There has been an upsurge in kidnappings of westerners, but what amazes me is that it has not spiked higher than it has.
As dusk was setting in I said my good byes, my host father walking me a half kilometer up the road commenting on the state of the farms along the road side. He repeatedly told me there fate is up to God and that it is not good to ask for hand outs.
Just before he left me he conceded that it is also not good to work year after year without getting any return for the labor.
I agreed as I said good bye. Then I left him there as I walked away. Wondering to myself about where I want to apply to graduate school and what I believe the purpose of my life is.
The Sun continued to set and I had to quicken my pace to avoid being left in total darkness.
No comments:
Post a Comment