Lessons from the coast

Kilifi: The haves and the have nothings.....

 

Last week I spent a couple days on the coast in a place called Kilifi. Kilifi is both a village and region - like a municipality encompassing an area of about 2,000 sq meters and a population of close to 1.5 million people with about 200,000 households. Many pastoral and fishers making up most economic activity but a bit of oil and titanium also help getting folks jobs.


I was here with Jake and Stevie (my kids) almost a year ago and we had the good fortune to swim in the beautiful Indian ocean, ride motorcycles on the beach, enjoy the night life, eat fresh fruit, devour fresh seafood grilled on shish kabobs with pineapple.... mmmmm - well you get the picture. Clearly from the picture above and beside  - it's not a shabby vacation area either. Coconut trees, warm breeze - all the stuff of an easy-peasy tropical living. So when Al Shabab is not terrorizing the region - folks come to spend their tourist dollars like  mad....but not right now.

So back to the coast now but rather than vacation, I came with a group of volunteers to help out around one of the schools for the weekend. This is a non - MSF related activity and the idea was to have a look at the school life of an Kilifian  grade 8er and see what that life would be well off the beaten track. Well there was a little beach time and fresh fish... but hey life needs balance - yes? Indeed!




 
 Somewhat tragically it was an 18 hours bus ride to the coast from Nairobi. It's really a 10 hour trip but with this and that... flotsam and jetsam, fits and starts it took a bit longer than expected. In a moment of utter and complete boredom some 12 hours in - my friend and seat mate Ksenia felt that trying lipstick on me might be a good idea. Doing a sexy runway pouty face is clearly within my wheelhouse though twerking and high heels are definitely off limits!

And a note on my Russian friend Ksenia. She is working for a major corporation in the HR department on a leadership development program that will no doubt serve her well. It will also - I'm sure,  serve the organization well. By moving staff around and exposing them to unique work environments you build the kind of capacity necessary for a successful global organization. And about Ksenia generally - she is a ball of fun in Russian package. Like those dolls one within another  - as I get to know her  - each new thing is refreshing and joyful. She is not only fun, smart and thoughtful but I can't think of many people I'd rather sit next to for 18 hours. This girl can talk al lot and about anything!!!!

My last blog focused on the living conditions in the slum at Majengo in Nairobi. I listed a number of "don't have's"  not really thinking about the impact it might have on my readers. I did receive a couple notes of appreciation for describing the realities of this kind  of life. It surprised me a bit as I realized that as an 18 month resident of Kenya - these scenes are all too common and no longer shocking to me. So my attempt today is not necessarily to "up the ante" but to continue to record my impressions...... and this school situation is a doozy! Even for a environment hardened 18 month veteran like myself !

We camped in the school compound and got to know the surroundings on the day after we arrived. The deal was to plant some trees - do some mentoring with the kids  - and donate a bunch of food to the village. A couple notes on Kilifi ...

• under 5 mortality is 100/1000
• school attendance 13%
• HIV 12% of the population
• Those on ARV's (anti retro viral) of the 225,000 infected - 11,000. so 10% under treatment.

The school itself looks pretty good. It's a dirt courtyard - clean -  with a block of cement buildings scattered about. The buildings looks to be financed by Rotary club...nice to see.

A couple "have nots" though; no running water - sewer (outhouses with squat toilets only)  -  no electricity (a little solar light) very few books - no real school supplies - 1 teacher in the room below for 93 students - 3 to a desk though built for 2 - and breakfast ... a boiled egg and piece of sweet bread. i suspect that held them to dinner of rice and beans.

So what about the kids? Unbelievably respectful and attentive. I sat in on the mentoring session and really enjoyed the experience. The kids on many occasions rose and spoke to different questions.. in a confident and very well organized manner. I was blown away by their confidence and presentation of their ideas.

So here's where I got a little unglued - if you look at the mural carefully you'll see a couple of common sense "do nots" ..... but the one that really concerned me was - avoid hidden places. This sign here - and elsewhere on the school grounds is to warn the kids from sexual predators on the site. Parents, teachers, older students?????? .... who are these predators? I have learned that the levels of rape and related sexual violence is off the charts here. So common as to not be even be remarkable. How did we get here?

In part it's due to corruption and fraud. My sense is that very few public officials are able to maintain and altruistic disposition in the midst of so many kleptocrats intent upon enriching themselves at any expense. Headlines like the one below are common....
All told it was a real eye opener and I'll take some time to think about how these kids can be helped. for almost all of those smiling faces above - this is the end of their education ... many of the girls becoming child brides within the polygamist community...and the boys...well they just go to work no longer boys..

The United Nations

 I was fortunate to be invited to attend the humanitarian Aid summit in Kenya hosted by the United Nations. The discussion centered on the localization of humanitarian aid in the region. Discussion was lively, intense and informative. I'm proud to be serving within this community .... which is responding to the needs of the environment in which we operate. Smart people - good ideas - but of course never enough.

Below - is a guy shot and killed in front of the UN as we walked to our cab. He foolishly attacked a soldier wielding a machete. He was dead before he got his arm up - undercover and uniformed protectors emerging from every shadow and crease. I heard he took 12 bullets in seconds. sheesh!!!

Thanks for reading -Layno!!!!