In Kenya And Africa At Large Poverty Rules

A kenyan mother

 “I know poverty because poverty was there before I was born and it has become part of life like the blood through my veins. Poverty is not going empty for a single day and getting something to eat the next day. Poverty is going empty with no hope for the future. Poverty is getting nobody to feel your pain and poverty is when your dreams go in vain because nobody is there to help you. Poverty is watching your mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters die in pain and in sorrow just because they couldn't get something to eat. Poverty is hearing your grandmothers and grandfathers cry out to death to come take them because they are tired of this world. Poverty is watching your own children and grandchildren die in your arms but there is nothing you can do. Poverty is watching your children and grandchildren shade  tears in their deepest sleep. Poverty is suffering from HIV/AIDS and dying a shameful death but nobody seems to care".  " Poverty is when you hide your face and wish nobody could see you just because you feel less than a human being. Poverty is when you dream of bread and fish you never see in the day light. Poverty is when people accuse you and prosecute you for no fault of yours but who is there to say something  for you? Poverty is when the hopes of your fathers and grandfathers just vanish within a blink of an eye.  I know poverty and I know poverty just like I know my father's name. Poverty never sleeps. Poverty works all day and night. Poverty never takes a holiday"            (One Poor Kenyan)

Brew-'Natural Family planner Among the Poor In Kenya'

It is indeed ironic that in a country where the population has almost doubled after a decade, there exists a place in central Kenya (Mukurwe-ini) where women are given monetary incentives to give birth; a place where the sound of children playing and laughing is as rare as rain in the Sahara, big padlocks greet one at the gates of primary schools which have been closed down because there are no little ones to teach.

Roles in the families have reversed as women take on responsibilities as bread winners and residents stare blankly into the future, wondering whether there is a future for them as both the young and the old men channel their energy to their now worst enemy, the beer bottle.
While this frothy stuff has always been part of the social life in our country, the renewed enthusiasm with which it is consumed, especially among the youth in Kenya would cause our forefathers to turn in their graves. Sadly, this has brought about scenarios like the one above and much worse. Regardless of its alias - relieving stress, drowning sorrows, passing time and bonding with age mates… the drinking culture in Kenya cannot be ignored or wished away.
The effects of alcohol consumption on the society are far reaching - affecting families’ older and current generations, destroying individuals and draining resources. Just where are we headed if this boozing trend continues? Is there a threat to the future proper functioning and operations of our society as we know it?
“People often deceive themselves that they will walk out of the trap at will. It’s like a self imposed jail sentence,”. “What starts harmlessly as ‘social drinking’ soon turns into an addictive habit that spirals out of control,”, This trend can be attributed to factors such as the level of poverty, high stress levels occasioned by the performance culture at work, peer pressure among the youth and a feeling of hopelessness among both the young and old.
The current generation of young people is cynical, and thus are not keen on saving for the future. Their disposable income is therefore likely to be spent on feeding their drinking habits. “Their interpretation of their surrounding – political, social or economic- seems to tell them that nothing is going to change for the better anytime soon. They thus have a ‘live it best now mentality,”

This addiction to alcohol paves way for other ills such as drug abuse and sexual immorality. “In order to sustain the high that results from alcohol, some will opt for illegal drugs such as cocaine. When under the influence of alcohol or drugs, it is easier for an individual to engage in casual sex, thus risking sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV,”.

One significant result of this drinking culture is the change in society’s dynamics. In areas where the problem of alcoholism has affected many men, women are forced to become breadwinners, and take over the role of men. “Some men abdicate their roles and even fail to fulfil their conjugal responsibilities in favour of the bottle. The continuity of society is thus at risk. The women are not spared nowadays, and the number of women drinkers is steadily rising as they also turn to the bottle to deal with stress,”
The children suffer silently from trauma as they witness the abusive habits that result from alcohol. Children from such family settings are more likely than not to be alcohol abusers later in their lives, in addition to having an aggressive and violent predisposition. The cycle of alcoholism will more likely continue through generations.

So where are we headed as a society if this trend continues?

“Drinking culture is destroying the great minds of this generation who are looked at as the future of the country. Some eventually become a burden to their families and prolong the cycle of dependency. This eventually has an impact on the economic and social development of the country,”,destinies are cut short, individuals live in selfish pursuits of pleasing themselves and suffer from depression when they realize that the problems and pressures they were escaping still exist after their high is over. They then drink again to escape reality and the cycle continues.


“At this rate, I fear that the end result will be an Economic crisis due to  breakdown of families and society’s values if this trend is not checked,”.

WHY IS KENYA STILL POOR?

 ‘Kenya  is not  poor because its poor’, Kenya is poor and  will continue to be poor if we  Kenyans are not ready to change and make her rich.

There is poverty  and there is hunger everywhere. HIV/AIDs continues to kill Kenyans in record numbers. The question is not why Kenya is poor but may be how we can make Kenya rich. What  can we do as individuals or groups to help change Kenya?.

There is abject  poverty in Kenya but it’s a country that  has almost all it takes to be the richest country in Africa, from its natural resources to  human resource . The major problem facing Kenya today is corruption and poor leadership.  There are greedy people in Kenya including our leaders who don't care about their poor mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters.

Some people are too greedy and that is why Kenya remains poor. People are killing their own brothers, sisters, mothers and fathers just to make money. People didn't care about yesterday and people don't even care about tomorrow. All they care about is money and money and that is why Kenya remains poor.

All Kenyan leaders I know are corrupt in one way or the other. They come as saints and leave as devils.. A Kenyan president is a president for a few selected people. A Kenyan president is a president for only the educated and a president for only those in the higher class from His community. A Kenyan president sees no poverty. A Kenyan president sees no hunger. A Kenyan president sees no HIV. A  Kenyan president knows no orphan.

 A Kenyan president shows no mercy. An Kenyan presidents sees only money and money and nothing but money.. Not just the Kenyan president but also the  Kenyan prime minister, the Kenyan Member of parliament , the Kenyan Doctor,  the Kenyan Judge, the Kenyan lawyer, the Kenyan PC,DC’s,DOs, and even the Kenyan Pastor. And that is why Kenya is still poor and continues to wallow in abject  poverty."                           

Greed to amass more wealth through counties

 We should be careful on who we elect as our  Governors and Senators. The mad rush by current MPs, former MPs and Ministers to abandon  MPship and turn to the counties is borne out of greed to control and amass more wealth through the counties' Ksh.1.5-2 billion budget. the future MPs can be left to eat the CDF money which is only 7% of the national budget. With less opportunity to eat through the Parliamentary Service Commission, which MPs controlled and increased their salaries at will, our current leaders and former eaters are dying to be Governors and Senators. What Kenyans need to do is  not to elect people who have been MPs/ Ministers before. We look for a new generation of leaders, not recycled old and tired fellows. There is however no guarantee that the new generation will not be as greedy as the old. But what can we do.

We Are Humans Not Squirrels

If there are any animals that are lucky to be a live, then they must be squirrels. Every single day, I have witnessed some of them narrowly and miraculously missing death.  Where I live, there are so many of these squirrels. So every time I walk or drive around guess what I see! Squirrels everywhere; crossing the road, chasing each other or climbing the trees. These little creatures risk their lives by crossing busy roads. There are times that I have found myself closing my eyes or screaming at them to be careful. Not willing to kill them some motorists slow down or stop while others make it by God's grace. Whether these squirrels are able to think and make wise decisions, I do not know. What I do know is that there are many of us who ought to know better and yet every single day, we go about doing certain things that endanger our precious lives. How do you mean? 1.  Some young people  indulge in drinking alcohol that has been a killer drink. Many are they      who have fallen victims of alcoholic drinks. Many have lost their jobs and families, quit school, driver’s license confiscated, and some end up becoming homeless. 2.  Some have chosen to abuse drugs that have reduced them to zombies. 3. Some of us are not careful as regards what we consume. We eat anything, all the time, and   end up suffering due to our uncontrolled appetites. Lord have mercy! We need to remind ourselves that life is too precious to play around with. Let us avoid making unwise decisions that we will live to regret or that will shorten our life on earth

Dowry,doesn't mean you are ‘buying a wife’

            The idea of paying dowry from my point of view or rather from my community's angle was an act of appreciation by the guy seeking to marry to the parents who raised the lady to be married. You might say the guy was also raised by his parents, but this can be countered by the fact that it is the lady who will leave her Parents and joint another family as a full member of that family.

            It is a tradition and a cultural practice which I believe should not be discarded just because some people commercialized it, we should stick to the original meanings and symbolism that this practice represented. We should never equate it as a price, because human beings are priceless, we can never attach a price to a human being, and it should be practiced within the confines of the original intentions. Myself am yet to  pay dowry and I am sure it is a good thing to do. It is a sign to my in-laws that I love and respect their daughter and not even dowry can stand in my way of getting her!!

            Strictly speaking, nobody will force you to pay dowry, and it is not a must that you should clear it before you get married, those parents who insist on clearing it before you are given the bride are those who have commercialized it and they don't understand the meaning and what it represented traditionally.

            I am not of the idea of discarding our traditions just because we are becoming westernized, we will do this to our own peril!! you can see for yourself what is happening to those communities who have departed from their traditions. There is a breakdown of almost everything, kids no longer respect adults, kids used to be raised by the community but now it is an individual thing!! look at the rate of pregnancies we are witnessing, look at the rate of sons killing their parents!! look at the rate of divorce!!! look at the rate of single parents!! look at the rate of homosexuality and lesbianism!!,look at the number of street children !!! these were unheard of sometimes back,but because we have discarded most of our cultures and traditions, these things are rampant and they are of no good to the society.

Have you realized almost everything communities did as a cultural and tradition has been baptized with scary names? i.e.;

Dowry renamed - Bride price

Circumcision  renamed - FGM!!

Stroke discipline renamed – Corporal punishment

and many more, this is a way discouraging people from sticking to their traditions.

Youths and Morality...

Hi good people,

You walk around Kenya of today and you are left dumbfounded on what exactly is going on.
Is it that the youths around cannot exercise self restraint or something?

Most of the youths, and am saying the youths because that is where I belong, are so adamant when it comes to matters of morality and faith.
Cant we spare even some few seconds and reflect on our lives and our moral being in the society?
It is true that a higher percentage of the young people are either engaged in immoral behavior or are getting influenced towards the same direction.

Can we at least have some voice of reason standing up for the truth and help change the direction and our moral being for a better society???
Cant we afford to spare sometime and get even into our churches and doing something for God???

JUST WONDERING ALOUD????

IT’S VISION 2030 NOT ‘3020’

The unveiling of Kenya Vision 2030 marked an important milestone in
our country's development as it came soon after the successful
implementation of the "Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and
Employment Creation" (ERS) over the period 2003 to-2007.The economic, social and political pillars of Kenya Vision 2030 are anchored on the
Following foundations: macroeconomic stability; continuity in
governance reforms;
Enhanced equity and wealth creation opportunities for the poor;
infrastructure; energy;
Science, technology and innovation (STI); land reform; human resources
development;
Security; and public sector reforms.

I'll address the last point which is public sector reforms. If Kenya
is to attain this vision then we need to radically change and improve
public sector performance. This can be done by embracing innovative
reforms-everything from making services like motor vehicle
registration, business registration, and tax filing less cumbersome to
privatizing transportation, energy etc.

Despite the widespread commitment to change, many reform initiatives
have not lived up to expectations. In some cases, external
constraints, such as new administration or shifting legislative
priorities, have created obstacles that have stifled progress.
Meanwhile, internal constraints-such as skill gaps, resistance to
change, time-consuming processes and inadequate technologies-have also
undermined many well-intentioned reforms.
Organization and Process Design
what should the government do? At the outset, they should eliminate
functions that fail to contribute to their core mission. They should
streamline operations; redesign processes and use new technologies
deliberately to stimulate new ways of working. For example, the
Government can go On-Line on Business registration and make it a
single, integrated task that can be completed over the Internet.
Businesses can also manage their postal accounts fully online.
Top-performing parastatals and departments can also design their
organizational structures to be flexible, and establish pilot programs
to test new ideas and innovations. Structurally, they are often
decentralized, empowering employees at all levels of the organization
to take personal responsibility for the processes and activities in
which they are engaged-thus stimulating a culture of
entrepreneurship.
High performers not only design organizations and processes
progressively; they relentlessly change them to improve outcomes and
value for their constituents. This way attainment of Kenya vision 2030
will not be a mirage but a continuous improvement process we should
all think and do something about it.