A national population census was carried out in Kenya in August. The Daily Nation (a national newspaper) just announced in an article today that the current population of Kenya is 39 million and that the population is increasing by 1 million people per year.
This last week I have been the teacher on duty and have permitted around 8 different students to attend burials. This strikes me as being a higher rate than a similarly sized high school in America. If this many people are dying every week, and every year, how many babies are born every year to increase the total population by one million?
Kenya is probably smaller geographically than Oregon and Washington put together. Also, Kenya was rated the second or third most water poor country in the world per capita. The average Kenyan does not have access to a surplus of resources. Each generation the plot of land gets divided into two or three pieces in order to give each son an opportunity to plant food and build a house. Most of these pieces of land are now less than an acre, and agriculture is the main source of lively hood. Where do these additional 1 million Kenyans per year make their living? How will development occur and how will the income of the average Kenyan increase if their opportunity to make a living is increasing divided?
No issue stands alone. Compounding the issue of population increase is the drought, which seems to be continuing this year even though the papers reported that El Nino was coming and that the country would have a bumper harvest. Additionally, AIDS, TB, and Malaria continue to ravage peoples well being and decimate families.
What is the way forward? Aid from developed countries is not the answer, but neither is isolation. Religion is not the answer, but neither is agnosticism. Education is probably helpful, but only if is focuses heavily on discussing these country wide issues. Currently the education system does not emphasize this at all. There is a “life skills” syllabus, but there is no national test on it, which means that 95% of schools do not teach it.
If I do anything in Kenya, I need to lead debates and discussions with my students on these issues. It requires a lot of courage to discuss these issues with the students though, because they are taboo issues, especially AIDS. Around 7 percent of Kenyans have AIDS, but it is only talked about in whispers.
There are students in almost every school in Kenya that have AIDS, but most of these students do not know that they carry the disease.
By the way, did you know that more than one million babies are born each year in Kenya?
21 November 2009
16 November 2009
Electricity!!!
I just returned to school from over a week of traveling to help with Peace Corps training. All the buzz around school is about the electricity that was finally connected. Until now the boarding students have huddled around two parafin pressure lamps in the evening and early morning. These break all the time, causing them to go off during the middle of the study periods once every two or three days. They also require a student to prepare them for about thirty minutes prior to every session and they do not provide very even lighting for the room. Now the florescent tubes have been installed in the classrooms and one of the tubes lights the room better than one of the pressure lamps used to.
The principal also installed two halogen flood lamps outside of the classrooms, which helps the watchman to monitor if students are sneeking in and out of school.
I walked past the classrooms during the prepatory period last night, and was met by students who appeared like deer caught in the headlights. Instead of the typically murmering, they were silent, and they looked as though they have been stunned. Looking over their books, it appeared as though every word was captivating.
My guess is that, at most, one or two have electricity at home. Most of them have mud floors at home. This is huge for them.
It also seems to be huge for the teachers. This morning, when I returned from administering a form 1 mathematics exam, they had clogged mine and Mr. Mutia's desks with a Sony sound system.
In the office I had to set up a computer for them. Among the problems were a monitor that needed to be plugged in and two power buttons that needed to be pressed. It is so new seeing people with no computer experience and being the only person within a few kilometers who knows who to help them. I am happy for them, but at the same time I wonder why they have a computer if nobody knows how to use it. Thus far it seems like more of a status symbol than a helpful tool. Hopefully they will learn.
My dream is to start a computer lab in the school for the students. I would love to be able to teach the students how to type and use a computer. It would definitely give them an advantage when seeking employment, and would increase their access to information after they finish secondary school.
Of course I am also very excited to have electricity. In fact, I am writing this blog post using the electricity. I can now charge my cell phone without dropping the battery off with the barber. I am able to charge my ipod, and I can use the laptop computer that I bought in Nairobi back in April. Best of all I can share educational movies that I have with my students. An example that I am very excited about is the Planet Earth series.
Maybe I will even keep up my recent trend of writing blog posts frequently.
12 November 2009
Farms of Loitokitok
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.
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.
11 November 2009
Loitokitok - Round 2
On Saturday I came back to Loitokitok, but this time I was not a trainee - I was accompanying the new trainees! There are 25 of them, about 2/3 math-science like me and 1/3 deaf-ed. I got to give them this session at the start of the week comparing the Kenyan and education system. I gave them several cards with topics (i.e. diet, books, and tests). Each one related to the group their experience in the American educational system. Then me and the Kenyans in the room gave them the Kenyan experience. Below are my notes for the session.
Assignments - teachers mark notes in math/science maybe twice per three months; students given one exercise book for each subject by the school, where they put all of their notes and assignments together; assignments are not counted towards their grade in any subject (even mathematics)
Access to Information - teachers use the same book as the students; there are no computers or internet in most district schools; textbooks contain all testable material
Religion - there are always prayers (assemblies, special events, and meetings); attending religious clubs and services is mandatory, even in government schools
Hiring of Teachers - There is one central hiring body for the entire country (called Teachers' Service Commission); principal cannot hire or fire any government paid teachers; principal usually hires recent form 4 and college graduates to act as temporary teachers - these teachers usually work harder since they know that they can be fired
Diet - Students eat githeri (35% beans and 65% corn) for lunch and supper 6 days a week; Saturday they each corn flour, cabbage, and a little meat; for breakfast they eat a porridge made from corn flour, water, and sugar
Games/Clubs - Mon: Games, Tues: Clubs, Wed: Debate, Thur: Christian services, Fri: Games - ALL DAYS MANDATORY.
Tests - They come to secondary school to take the KCSE (Kenyan Certificate of Secondary Education). In their minds, the main purpose of school is to prepare them for this test
Teacher-Student Relationships/Interaction - culture dictates that students get teachers anything they ask for (cups, chairs, and water); Very formal; information comes from teacher to student
Books - There are several on the market, but the exam is set from one book, which is produced by KLB, a governmental organisation; this is the book used to set the KCSE; KLB produces the books for all subjects; it is made to be affordable, which means it is not edited often, it is small, and there are no color illustrations; KLB is used in 90% of schools as the only text
Timetable - no time between lessons; each class has their own room, which the teachers come to when it is time; one student is in charge of keeping time and ringing the bell; there is a different order to the classes everyday
Study Habits - Boarding students are required to study from 5:30-6:30am, 7-8:30am, and 7-9:30pm everyday; all students required to attend school on Saturday and Sunday although teachers do not attend these days
Cultural Work Expectations For Teachers - they should be in staff room from 8:30-4; they do not take work home; a lot of time in the staff room is spent reading the newspaper and talking to one another
Students' Responsibilities at Home - girls find wood, bring water, cook, and clean; boys have leisure time, which they can use to study or sit in the market
syllabus - there is a national syllabus; all topics are examinable on the KCSE; teachers are expected to cover every topic
Women/Men & Boys/Girls - students are always called boys and girls; students are not called men or women; women serve food (even women teachers are usually expected to serve the males); girls always wash the classroom; girls caned on hands while boys are caned on the butt
27 October 2009
November Rains Bring Spring
It has been almost a year since I first landed in Kenya, and now I am preparing to meet the new group of trainees as they travel to their training site in Loitokitok. In the mornings I have been hearing a vibrancy among the birds' songs that has not been present since last November. The start of the rains have come and everything is green again. There continues to be a lot of talk about El Nino, with people telling tales of last time El Nino hit the country and all of the destruction it caused. I was a bit scared by their stories, but now I am a bit disappointed by this "El Nino" - if it can even be called that. We only had "torrential" rains for maybe two days. I really think that the country needs more of this. I may be speaking too soon though, since the rain is supposed to come again in November and December.
A few days after the fiercest rains I went outside my house and found a week old puppy curled up next to my bread oven. His mother was not around, and although he as weak he was still alive. I wondered how it had landed here, but without giving it a thorough inquisition I bought it milk and started feeding it. He was so weak that the milk had to be poured into his mouth. It was all the talk around the school, "that dog is lucky to have landed at one of the few houses where it would be given milk instead of being stoned to death." I admit that buying milk for the dog made me feel guilty since there are so many humans around that would love milk. How would I have reacted if a beggar had found his way to my house?
I made a burlap bed for the dog and went to teach my classes. When I returned the dogs mother was there, and it was obvious that she was too malnourished to produce any milk for the puppy. A teacher at school told me, "if you love the child, shouldn't you also love the mother?" To which I said, "sure, but that doesn't mean that I want to feed her." After a few minutes I softened and I cooked the mother a meal of dog food (the dog food here comes as a powder. You have to mix it with boiling water and stir).
I tried to attend to the puppy again, giving it more milk, until it eventually threw it all back up due to my enthusiastic feeding regiment.
As I went to sleep I tucked the puppy into the burlap bed, and watched as the mother put her paws around it to keep it warm.
In the morning, the puppy was lying about a foot away from the mother, dead. I was disappointed, because I had been thinking about how fun it would be to have a dog, but I was also relieved because I have other things to focus my attention on besides a dog. Maybe I should have let the puppy sleep inside my house next to a sauce pot of hot water. Maybe there is nothing I could have done. I felt bad, but I dug a hole, while two of my students sung a Kimeru burial song, and that was the end of my puppy.
Since then almost all of the heavy rain clouds have faded from the sky. Even the dirt seems to be more vibrant than before, probably because of the contrast between the brown and green. The dust is definitely gone for a few days and the students are happy to be able to sit in the grass without getting muddy OR dusty.
I hope that we remain in this equilibrium for another week so that the new trainees can wake up their first morning in Nairobi to the smell of growing plants and the sounds of birds. If they miss it, at least they will get to see Kenya's second spring season in April.
A few days after the fiercest rains I went outside my house and found a week old puppy curled up next to my bread oven. His mother was not around, and although he as weak he was still alive. I wondered how it had landed here, but without giving it a thorough inquisition I bought it milk and started feeding it. He was so weak that the milk had to be poured into his mouth. It was all the talk around the school, "that dog is lucky to have landed at one of the few houses where it would be given milk instead of being stoned to death." I admit that buying milk for the dog made me feel guilty since there are so many humans around that would love milk. How would I have reacted if a beggar had found his way to my house?
I made a burlap bed for the dog and went to teach my classes. When I returned the dogs mother was there, and it was obvious that she was too malnourished to produce any milk for the puppy. A teacher at school told me, "if you love the child, shouldn't you also love the mother?" To which I said, "sure, but that doesn't mean that I want to feed her." After a few minutes I softened and I cooked the mother a meal of dog food (the dog food here comes as a powder. You have to mix it with boiling water and stir).
I tried to attend to the puppy again, giving it more milk, until it eventually threw it all back up due to my enthusiastic feeding regiment.
As I went to sleep I tucked the puppy into the burlap bed, and watched as the mother put her paws around it to keep it warm.
In the morning, the puppy was lying about a foot away from the mother, dead. I was disappointed, because I had been thinking about how fun it would be to have a dog, but I was also relieved because I have other things to focus my attention on besides a dog. Maybe I should have let the puppy sleep inside my house next to a sauce pot of hot water. Maybe there is nothing I could have done. I felt bad, but I dug a hole, while two of my students sung a Kimeru burial song, and that was the end of my puppy.
Since then almost all of the heavy rain clouds have faded from the sky. Even the dirt seems to be more vibrant than before, probably because of the contrast between the brown and green. The dust is definitely gone for a few days and the students are happy to be able to sit in the grass without getting muddy OR dusty.
I hope that we remain in this equilibrium for another week so that the new trainees can wake up their first morning in Nairobi to the smell of growing plants and the sounds of birds. If they miss it, at least they will get to see Kenya's second spring season in April.
12 October 2009
A Few Photos
I am in Nairobi and I am using my access to electricity and nearby cellphone booster towers to upload a few pictures from my computer.
Finally, here are two pictures of common building materials for homes in rural Kenya. The first home is mine. It measures approximately 10 ft. by 20 ft. The Kenyans in the village did not believe that a white person (muzungu) is able to live in a house like this. They believed that I would threaten to go home when I saw this house and demand that it be replaced by a much larger home with more amenities. I think it is nice though. It keeps the rain out most of the time, and it encourages me to spend more time outside. The bottom picture is of a more traditional style of home. This one is not quite traditional due to its tin roof, but the walls are made out of a mixture of sticks, mud, and cow dung and the floor is made of dirt.
The first picture is one of the form four students at our school standing in front of his father's matatu. This is the most common vehicle used for public transportation. The student helps his father over the holidays by washing the vehicle and driving the route (and promptly washing it again because it is so dusty).
This is the acting deputy principal at my school, Mr. Nderitu. He lives in the hills above the school where the conditions are right for growing tea.
Finally, here are two pictures of common building materials for homes in rural Kenya. The first home is mine. It measures approximately 10 ft. by 20 ft. The Kenyans in the village did not believe that a white person (muzungu) is able to live in a house like this. They believed that I would threaten to go home when I saw this house and demand that it be replaced by a much larger home with more amenities. I think it is nice though. It keeps the rain out most of the time, and it encourages me to spend more time outside. The bottom picture is of a more traditional style of home. This one is not quite traditional due to its tin roof, but the walls are made out of a mixture of sticks, mud, and cow dung and the floor is made of dirt.
10 October 2009
Farewell Party for Form Four Students
The form four students are having a farewell party in about one week. They asked me to be their adviser for the preparations, and for the most part the program is similar to that of an American ceremony for a similar occasion. It will start with a service, then there will be presentations by the school clubs, followed by speeches from the PTA Representative and the chairman of the school's board. The difference is that as part of my role as adviser is to help them pick out a bull, which will be slaughtered the day of the event. We have not yet found the bull, but the process involves finding one in an animal market and then walking with the bull on a foot path cross-country to the school (up to around 15 km).
The bull is really what makes the occasion. We have to find a big healthy one. This isn't my specialty, and the students know it. Mostly my role is to be the money bearer and lead novice bull-hunter.
It is still strange to think about the places where technology has come in and the places where it has not. Everyone has a cell phone and wears a New York Yankees baseball hat (new, still with a sticker, just like my brother in America wears), but electricity is not very common. Only very rich individuals own refrigerators and then they own what Americans call a mini-fridge. Butcheries definitely do not have a refrigerator and neither do schools. The people are very able to do without them though. On the day of the party our school cook and his two aides will butcher a cow, cook tea, cook the bull, and cook rice for around 400 people.
(Below is a picture from the wedding of Mr. Mutia that shows what a meal at a party looks like.)
Day After:
I met my students in Maua on Saturday expecting to spend the day sitting in the market until the time when the students bargained for a good bull. Then we would end the day by driving it home. Instead, I met the students on Saturday to find that they had not made the necessary arrangements. I went home realizing that I needed to come up with a back-up plan for them in case they needed me to become the head bull diviner. I am good friends with an animal doctor and after a phone call with him on Sunday morning I was preparing to take charge of the bull, but then one of the students called me to say that one of their fathers had agreed to sell us a mid-sized bull for the price we had budgeted for.
I am happy that my student's pulled through without me, but then my happiness turned into slight disappointment when they told me that the father agreed to deliver the bull in the back of his Land Rover. I have been told since that bulls can be rough on their handlers when they get separated from the herd. Although I coveted the idea of trekking cross-country through the Kenyan bush, the Land Rover really was a blessing.
Due to the delay, I did not have the time to go by foot anyways. I had to head to Nairobi very early the next morning, because I was selected by my supervisor in Peace Corps to help plan the training for the new group of secondary school teachers that will come in November. I will be busy in Nairobi, until Saturday morning, at which point I will rush back to Athiru to eat the bull that I picked out of the herd with my students. Together we will listen to speeches by the PTA, board of governors, and the principal. Then the deputy will give prizes to the students who performed the best and those who were active in leading the school.
Then on the 20th the form fours will begin their KCSE. Each day for two and a half weeks they will take two 1.5-2.5 hour tests. Then they will leave the school and wait at home for over two months before they receive their scores.
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