The following is maybe more therapeutic than informative. Basically all I know is based on a month and a half stay in Kenya, a few economics based books, and a bunch of hearsay.
“So what is the solution to poverty?” kind of makes me feel sick to my stomach. Sometimes I just want to say “to do nothing.”
I guess that’s kind of how I feel. It is hard to change what has been done; we all have good intentions (hopefully.) But, because of what has been done, we have very limited options for the future. We can’t change the fact that the World Bank and other organizations have been dumping money into Kenya in hopes that they are using it to benefit the poorest and accomplish the goals that “they have set.” We can only move forward by changing our perceptions and measurements of development work.
A huge part of the problem, for both the donor organizations and the company that we currently work for, is that they feel they have fulfilled an obligation or duty by pumping money into the country or, in our case, starting a business that can be replicated. They have completely present-minded points of view. There has been no background research before and there are no measurements to gage whether the country (or company) is truly moving towards any set goal. Lack of training and an adequate system seem to ruin any chance at success.
In the book I am currently reading, The Elusive Quest for Growth, William Easterly often looks into the past to show correlation between certain variables and to prove the success and failure of different development theories. I truly think that this is where we fail. Everyone has an epiphany of how they can change the world and fight poverty (as if it were something to be fought with) but they don’t take the time to look at other factors and analyze how their miracle idea will provide continual, economic improvement.
For example, in that same book, there is a chapter called ‘Educated for What?’ Kenya prides itself in making primary education free for the public (so I’ve heard) but does that motivate people to go to school? I was told by one of the other interns that 95% of the Mombasa Polytechnic students cannot get a job after graduating. For those who say that education is all we need, well here it has failed. I feel blessed for all the schooling I’ve had and I think everyone should have those opportunities, but if I was a high-school aged kid, with good English, contemplating whether or not to attend college I would probably drop out. At that age, I could be working as a waiter at a restaurant and probably earn just as much as I would after graduating from college and having to get the same exact job. I personally don’t think education alone is the answer.
Availability of education has increased but I can’t testify about the quality. While we were in Lamu, Andrew and I met a few military/government looking men on top of a 15th century fort. We asked them what they were doing, they said building schools. We asked them who for, they wouldn’t tell us. But said our tax dollars were paying for it, which made me feel good and bad at the same time. I don’t think availability of schools is the problem. In my opinion, it is the lack of incentives to attend school. Attend school and eventually get a job or leave school now and get the same job?
Education is definitely needed but doesn’t seem to be hard to come by. Coast Coconut Farms (CCF) could do wonders with more training and perhaps a different mindset. At this point, the mindset is as follows: we run operations by the seat of our pants, try to follow our budget, and then ask the donors for more money. It is a humiliating cycle that has been created. In this case, I’m not sure if the blame should be placed more heavily on lack of education or lack of a set system.
After living here for a little while, you start to understand why the government is not revered and trusted like our government is (for the most part.) We’ve experienced first hand the lack of investment the government makes in its infrastructure. Our trip to and from Lamu was full of pot holes, puddles, and dirt roads. Sadly, this was the main road up the coast which is traveled by buses and matatus daily. I was told that it is 160 miles from Mombasa to Lamu. It took us 7 hours. While the roads in town and in Nyali (yes we live in the richest area) are constantly being redone, the road out to Ukunda (where the CCF factory is located) looks about the same as the road to Lamu. I’ve seen construction to fix the road but the repair work is not substantial enough to last more than a few weeks or a month.
We do blame the government for a lot of inefficiencies here. Like how our power goes out once or twice a week or four or five times a week during the rainy and windy season. The government pays out just enough to get by and pockets the rest? Sure seems like it sometimes. This is also shown in their nonexistent waste program. I’ve never seen so much trash and such a wide acceptance for it in my entire life. People will burn piles of garbage on the sidewalk or just throw whatever they are carrying in the streets because to find a trash can is literally impossible. Our hotel room in Lamu did not have a trash can; I almost had to eat my floss.
I think the situation is hopeless at times. I really do agree with a lot of this article that Andrew found and recommend that you read it.
It’s called:
(I’m sure if you “google” it, you’ll find it)
SPIEGEL INTERVIEW WITH AFRICAN ECONOMICS EXPERT
"For God's Sake, Please Stop the Aid!"
At this point in my excursion, I can’t push for any solution. Microcredit, Microfranchising, Education, Aids prevention, technological innovation, etc all sound like nice ideas but I’m not sure I’ll stand by any one of those at the end of the day.
In that article, the African economist says “There must be a change in mentality. We have to stop perceiving ourselves as beggars.” I’m not sure that I’ve reached a permanent conclusion that would advocate doing absolutely nothing, but I’m pretty close to it. We’ve got to stop looking at Africa and its inhabitants with sympathy and pity. The people of Lamu seemed happy and healthy without the presence of aid organizations and large amounts of donor money. They have an island thriving in the tourist and fishing industries and many of the homes are owned by foreigners who have invested their money in the Kenyan economy. And that’s what we need! People should not be giving money out of the kindness of their hearts but investing instead. I think the donors in the states have the right idea with Coast Coconut Farms. With a set system and a demand for coconut oil, this might just work.
As previously mentioned, I haven’t found a way to fight that poverty yet but those are my thoughts which will hopefully lead to some conclusion before I’m Kenyan no more.
2 comments:
Late in his life, when Malcolm X had a change of heart toward white and started working WITH them to fight racism, he still wouldn't let whites join his organization. He said blacks needed to learn to take charge of their destiny. He feared that if whites were in the organization, the black members would let them take charge out of habit.
Sounds like a similar situation exists in Kenya - in our efforts to help it, wealthy nations are actually crippling it.
I agree with your quote that there is a need for a change of mindset...that people need to stop seeing themselves as beggers.
I once had someone tell me that the great thing about the church welfare system is that it gives people aid if they need it, but at the same time, gives them something useful to do (like working at Deseret Industries or at a regional distribution center, etc). Thus, they're not receiving a handout, but are giving some meaningful contribution to society. That's really important.
I think that the US government welfare system has it all wrong...instead of fixing the disease, they're treating symptoms, and in the process, are creating more patients (although Kimberly tells me that they've been trying to fix this in recent years...).
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