Poverty

It probably goes without saying, but the majority of Kenyans are living in poverty. We have been surprised by the distribution of wealth in the country, with very few having the vast majority of the wealth. Several Kenyans have told us that <1% of the population have >90% of the wealth. While this might not be completely accurate, you get the idea. Unlike America where there is a large middle class, in Kenya, there is a very small upper and middle class, while the majority is in the lower class. There are also very few public resources to aid the poor, and this role is being carried out primarily by NGOs (Non-Government Organization). Actually, there are very few public resources…period. You see very few (if any) police officers, firefighters, street crews, garbage workers etc. in comparison to America. In fact, most of these functions are carried out by private firms. If, for example, your apartment catches fire, the fire is put out by the security firm that is in charge of monitoring your property, not the fire department. Typically, I am told, the fire department is not even notified!

As I have mentioned earlier, I think that running through the towns and villages is one of the best way to see how typical Kenyans live. On one of my running paths that goes through the town of Twala, I have had the opportunity to get to know a family of 5 girls (ranging in age from 5-14) quite well. They like to join me on my run. One day a couple of weeks ago while I was running, they introduced me to their mom, Lucy.

I was quite surprised, and didn’t really know how to respond when Lucy pointed out their home to me. Honestly, I had seen it before, but thought it was a shed or something; not someone’s house. It is a tin structure no more than 8x12 with no windows and a curtain for a door (see picture). Several chickens were running around it. Like her children, Lucy was very nice, and invited me to have tea at their house. While she made the tea outside on a wood fire, I sat with the kids in the house. There were two sofas and a chair in one room, and a twin bed behind a sheet that separated the house in two. Dirt floor. No kitchen. No bathroom. No electricity. No running water. As soon as I sat down, throngs of other kids and adults from the town paraded through to meet me. While I was there, I told Lucy and her kids about Maddy and invited them to come to the church on campus and come to our apartment afterwards to play, which they did.

While our apartment is not much by American standards, they were all really impressed by it and loved playing with Maddy once she warmed up to them. While you might not be able to tell from the photos, they all have their heads shaved due to the public school requirements. I'm sure some schools back in America would like to mandate something like this!

Last week while I was out running, Lucy stopped me and asked if our family would come to their house for Sunday dinner. I accepted, but later found out that Sandy had scheduled a review session for her class during the time we agreed to meet. So, when the time came, Maddy and I grabbed our football (i.e. soccer ball) and went to their home. On the way I explained as best as I could to Maddy that some people live in very different homes than we do, but that does not make them bad people. I think she got the message since she didn’t say anything about it while we were there. When we got there, we were warmly greeted, and I got to meet the girls’ father, Moses. He is Massai with very long earlobes (nearly to his shoulders), and doesn’t speak a word of English. The meal consisted of boiled hen (the toughest bird I have ever had!), mashed potatoes mixed with corn, and ugali (the dense cornmeal mush that I mentioned prior). After I ate (Maddy wouldn’t try any of it), all of the kids and I went outside and played with the football. Maddy REALLY liked playing with them, and they taught us some of their traditional games and songs. After a couple of hours of playing, dark clouds started rolling in and we decided it was time to head home. Three of the girls walked us home, and it started raining on us about half way home. Maddy thought it was great fun to get stuck in the rain, and danced and danced (singing the Swahili songs we had just learned) until it started pouring and she ran to me to pick her up. Thankfully, it only rained for a couple of minutes and the sun came back out.

After we got back to the university we thanked the girls and they walked home. After they left, Maddy asked me how they kept their food cold without a refrigerator, how they warmed up leftovers without a microwave, and where they went to the bathroom. All great questions that I don’t know the answers to. However, I suspect that the chicken we ate died shortly before we arrived!

Reflecting on these experiences, I am much more thankful for all that we have. I also continue to learn how joyful, kind, and generous people can be even when living in deepest poverty. Obviously, wealth does not bring these gifts to us.

Finally, on a lighter note, here is a picture I thought my sister would get a kick out of. I had no idea that Home Depot was branching out to Nairobi! I just love the two ladies carrying the case of Coke. Yes, those are bottles of Coke and still the primary way to drink Coke in Kenya.