Clean-Up Showdown
This past Saturday I had to retreat from the world of Kenya and relax at home. After working the last two weekends (preparing for the agrishow and traveling to the Congo), I was ready to withdraw and recharge. Walter planned a clean-up day for Nyalenda, which I didn’t attend. He was assisted in the planning by the most energetic woman I’ve ever met, Anna. She’s from Portugal and is in Kenya for six weeks. When her original volunteer project fell through, a friend brought Anna to my office and asked if I knew of an organization she could work with during her six weeks in Kenya. Do I know of an organization? I immediately told her about Pambazuko and Walter Odede. They hooked up and made plans. First, Anna would teach the widows of Nyalenda how to make jewelry (mostly earrings) using copper wire and beads. With very little outlay of funds for the supplies, the widows can make and sell the jewelry.
Second, Anna helped organize the clean-up. I was busy with the show and then busy preparing to leave for the Congo, so Anna and Walter traipsed around Kisumu mobilizing pambazuko members, speaking to the mayor of Kisumu, visiting the offices of both newspapers, the Standard and the Nation. The city of Kisumu even loaned them a truck for Clean-Up Day to help haul away debris.
On the big day, nearly 200 people from the community showed up. Anna had arranged for music. Tools were borrowed, like shovels and rakes and wheelbarrows. The stream, Nyalenda’s main water source, was raked clean of all the nasty plastic bags and consumer goods packaging. The press showed up and talked to Walter and took photos and hopes are high they’ll report on the clean-up.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, several people defecated into plastic bags and tossed the bags into the newly-cleaned stream. Of course, being densely populated, people can’t toss feces-filled bags into clean streams without someone seeing them. So, knowing who the offenders were, Walter went to the village chief. Village chiefs have great influence over what goes on in their communities. Nothing can really happen in a community unless the chief is informed before hand. Otherwise, any programs or efforts put into the people will fall flat, it is stopped before it starts if the chief feels slighted or left out of the process. So Walter has kept the chief of Nyalenda (and the chief's very progressive wife) informed of all pambazuko events. This time, when he tells the chief about the nasty folks sabotaging efforts to clean the community, the chief does something unconventional. He contacts the police. Usually, chiefs like to handle things within their power and not go “outside” to police.
Littering is against the law. Of course, it happens every second of every day in Nyalenda and no one ever enforced the law before. But now, littering with malice catches everyone’s attention and the police are given the names of the offenders and we’re expecting arrests to be made. Imagine. These subversive attitudes, that harm people rather than make their lives better, are why development is taking so long in African countries. Not only is there corruption at the top drawing monies away from the people who need it, but there’s attitudinal distrust from the people on the ground. Jealousies over who’s making things happen and who doesn’t like to see change of any kind, even very good change.
I heard on the radio yesterday that Kibaki, president of Kenya, is in Japan this week accepting donated monies from the Japanese government totaling nearly $2 million US. And again, another news report said the US is providing about that much money for water projects in Western Kenya, where I live. I want to shout out to all the governments around the world and say, “Don’t send your freakin’ money to the Kenyan government!!!! It’ll be spent by individuals at high levels on houses and cars and travel to Europe and fine dining (well, the finest dining Kenya has to offer) and will never reach the poor Mama in the rural community who is suffering from arthritis (from years of back-breaking work) and cataracts, who’s raising four orphaned grandchildren and who owns only one goat and a semi-permanent house, whose only water source is rain water collected from the roof or a nearby river, if she’s lucky. Poor Mamas. They bear the responsibility for maintaining the day to day existence for themselves and many others, yet the government overlooks them and donations never trickle down.
Even when the monies go to major projects stipulated by governments donating the funds, corruption causes the projects to stop mid-course. You’d be amazed at the number of incomplete, empty buildings around Kisumu. Why are they incomplete? Because the builder stole the monies along and along and when the money was gone, construction stopped—before windows could be inserted, before electrical wiring and plumbing could be installed. Shells, skeletons of shelters with windows like gaping black eyes. Grotesque monuments to corruption. There’s one right around the corner from TICH. I walk past it every day to and from work.
So what’s the answer to aiding development, to increasing the economic prosperity among nations of the third world (or the South as it’s referred to in the development field)? Give the money to the mamas. Many organizations have discovered this powerful truth. When you give money to the mama, she uses the money for the household’s good. She buys chickens and vaccinates them and sells the eggs and her family is able to eat. Give money to the mama and she buys a plough and she farms her plot and raises food for her family and for selling. And she shares her plough with neighboring farmers. Give the money to the mama and she starts a small business, perhaps raising honey bees to market the honey, or growing soya beans to process soya milk. Give the money to the man and he uses it for personal things like local brew or women. I’m not making this up. These are things discussed amongst Kenyans and volunteers in Kenya. The men spend the money on personal pleasures with nothing to show for it.
And the monies do not have to be “given” to the mamas. Many, many micro financiers have had tremendous luck loaning money to the mamas and the mamas repay with extraordinarily high rates. Something like 97% of all mirco loan payments are made on time. Quite remarkable in a place where money is scarce. We’re talking about original loans of $30 or $50 to each mama. Hey, US, give your money to the mamas! Japan, Germany, UK, Holland, give your money to the mamas. They’ll use it wisely for everyone’s sake. And they’d never defecate in a plastic bag and toss it into a newly-cleaned area where families collect their drinking water.
Development will come. Eventually, slowly. Maybe not in my lifetime. But when the world catches on about the powerful truth of assisting the mama to assist the family to assist the community to assist the district, province, region, then we’ll see development take off economically and politically. We’ll see health for all, not just the few who can afford it. And we’ll see clean water sources, free education and all buildings complete with glass in their windows and electricity in their wiring.
Like the governor of Goma’s province in the Congo said in his speech at last week’s graduation, until developing countries value their women, empower their women, elect their women to parliament and other offices, development will never arrive.
Second, Anna helped organize the clean-up. I was busy with the show and then busy preparing to leave for the Congo, so Anna and Walter traipsed around Kisumu mobilizing pambazuko members, speaking to the mayor of Kisumu, visiting the offices of both newspapers, the Standard and the Nation. The city of Kisumu even loaned them a truck for Clean-Up Day to help haul away debris.
On the big day, nearly 200 people from the community showed up. Anna had arranged for music. Tools were borrowed, like shovels and rakes and wheelbarrows. The stream, Nyalenda’s main water source, was raked clean of all the nasty plastic bags and consumer goods packaging. The press showed up and talked to Walter and took photos and hopes are high they’ll report on the clean-up.
That was Saturday. On Sunday, several people defecated into plastic bags and tossed the bags into the newly-cleaned stream. Of course, being densely populated, people can’t toss feces-filled bags into clean streams without someone seeing them. So, knowing who the offenders were, Walter went to the village chief. Village chiefs have great influence over what goes on in their communities. Nothing can really happen in a community unless the chief is informed before hand. Otherwise, any programs or efforts put into the people will fall flat, it is stopped before it starts if the chief feels slighted or left out of the process. So Walter has kept the chief of Nyalenda (and the chief's very progressive wife) informed of all pambazuko events. This time, when he tells the chief about the nasty folks sabotaging efforts to clean the community, the chief does something unconventional. He contacts the police. Usually, chiefs like to handle things within their power and not go “outside” to police.
Littering is against the law. Of course, it happens every second of every day in Nyalenda and no one ever enforced the law before. But now, littering with malice catches everyone’s attention and the police are given the names of the offenders and we’re expecting arrests to be made. Imagine. These subversive attitudes, that harm people rather than make their lives better, are why development is taking so long in African countries. Not only is there corruption at the top drawing monies away from the people who need it, but there’s attitudinal distrust from the people on the ground. Jealousies over who’s making things happen and who doesn’t like to see change of any kind, even very good change.
I heard on the radio yesterday that Kibaki, president of Kenya, is in Japan this week accepting donated monies from the Japanese government totaling nearly $2 million US. And again, another news report said the US is providing about that much money for water projects in Western Kenya, where I live. I want to shout out to all the governments around the world and say, “Don’t send your freakin’ money to the Kenyan government!!!! It’ll be spent by individuals at high levels on houses and cars and travel to Europe and fine dining (well, the finest dining Kenya has to offer) and will never reach the poor Mama in the rural community who is suffering from arthritis (from years of back-breaking work) and cataracts, who’s raising four orphaned grandchildren and who owns only one goat and a semi-permanent house, whose only water source is rain water collected from the roof or a nearby river, if she’s lucky. Poor Mamas. They bear the responsibility for maintaining the day to day existence for themselves and many others, yet the government overlooks them and donations never trickle down.
Even when the monies go to major projects stipulated by governments donating the funds, corruption causes the projects to stop mid-course. You’d be amazed at the number of incomplete, empty buildings around Kisumu. Why are they incomplete? Because the builder stole the monies along and along and when the money was gone, construction stopped—before windows could be inserted, before electrical wiring and plumbing could be installed. Shells, skeletons of shelters with windows like gaping black eyes. Grotesque monuments to corruption. There’s one right around the corner from TICH. I walk past it every day to and from work.
So what’s the answer to aiding development, to increasing the economic prosperity among nations of the third world (or the South as it’s referred to in the development field)? Give the money to the mamas. Many organizations have discovered this powerful truth. When you give money to the mama, she uses the money for the household’s good. She buys chickens and vaccinates them and sells the eggs and her family is able to eat. Give money to the mama and she buys a plough and she farms her plot and raises food for her family and for selling. And she shares her plough with neighboring farmers. Give the money to the mama and she starts a small business, perhaps raising honey bees to market the honey, or growing soya beans to process soya milk. Give the money to the man and he uses it for personal things like local brew or women. I’m not making this up. These are things discussed amongst Kenyans and volunteers in Kenya. The men spend the money on personal pleasures with nothing to show for it.
And the monies do not have to be “given” to the mamas. Many, many micro financiers have had tremendous luck loaning money to the mamas and the mamas repay with extraordinarily high rates. Something like 97% of all mirco loan payments are made on time. Quite remarkable in a place where money is scarce. We’re talking about original loans of $30 or $50 to each mama. Hey, US, give your money to the mamas! Japan, Germany, UK, Holland, give your money to the mamas. They’ll use it wisely for everyone’s sake. And they’d never defecate in a plastic bag and toss it into a newly-cleaned area where families collect their drinking water.
Development will come. Eventually, slowly. Maybe not in my lifetime. But when the world catches on about the powerful truth of assisting the mama to assist the family to assist the community to assist the district, province, region, then we’ll see development take off economically and politically. We’ll see health for all, not just the few who can afford it. And we’ll see clean water sources, free education and all buildings complete with glass in their windows and electricity in their wiring.
Like the governor of Goma’s province in the Congo said in his speech at last week’s graduation, until developing countries value their women, empower their women, elect their women to parliament and other offices, development will never arrive.
posted by Cindi at 10:37 AM
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