Leaving West pokot

I am having withdrawal symptoms. I miss the simple living that was five days in West Pokot!

To think that I almost refused to go there! In my defense, the portrayal of this part of the country has always been negative. We constantly see pictures of extremities; insecurity and a deserted people.

It was quite a surprise to find that a Kapenguria though small is a well organized town with all the essentials of urban living. And the food was much fresher and the restaurants very clean.

The people still have the untouched innocence that only cultural rural living brings. Everyone was friendly and constantly smiling and greeting persons on the streets! That, you do not find in the city. It reminds that not all that courtesy means.

The eagerness of the people to have their voices heard both moved and saddened me.In some places they have never had an outsider sit with them, listen and talk. It was humbling to find people who only wanted to speak out and be recognized.

We jokingly call it the forgotten lands but you get on the ground and you realize that is no joke. These are forgotten people, the forgotten lives. for such a large area, the few number of schools and hospitals is a big joke. To have one dispensary serve a place as big as the city of Nairobi is not only ridiculous but also extremely irresponsible of any Government.

Finding a girl by the roadside heading walking to school, we gave her a ride. It took almost an hour to reach that school!!! This girl was meant to walk as vehicles on that road are very few; passenger vehicles are in fact non-existent!

How can one promote education if school are made inaccessible. In a community where girls are hardly educated it is shocking to see the lack of support towards the girls that do get a chance to go to school. In fact Government does not build these scarce schools; they are all (almost) courtesy of the various missions and donors!

These are people who have to deal with a harsh nomadic lifestyle which is in itself unsustainable but they have even fewer alternatives. They have no basic infrastructure; roads, schools, hospitals etc. They are hardly educated hence unaware of the dangers of some of their practices like female genital mutilation.
They can not seek a better life when they do not know there is another way.

They have been abandoned by the very government that is supposed to help them and serve them. They are people who survive because of sheer strength, belief and hold on culture.
There is so much that West Pokot has to offer. Preservation of a cultural way of life and Amazing landscape that should draw a big tourist crowd, Lands that could become the source of Kenya's crops, warriors who are natural archers who could use their talents to bring us Olympic glory, the sheer desire to learn that is unmatched and much more.

You learn t live again. You learn to smile even when you have nothing left. You learn to remember, remember to live!

I HEART WEST POKOT!

Constitution and leaders

We have a new constitution. Hurray!
We as a nation have been reborn or so the rhetoric goes. For years people of this country have yearned for a new constitution, one they felt would heal all the wounds and correct all the injustices. Flawed thinking, I believe.

We are at the stage where we have the document we wanted but unsure of how to make it work. This is understandable because implementation is always the elephant. If one expects magical change of the way things are done then that person is setting himself up for disappointment.

The new constitution is not going to heal wounds and correct injustices, as a document. The constitution empowers one to aspire for a better country, a better system. It gives the rights, the powers and it is up to you to take hold of them and seek for justice.
As a kenyan you have the right to demand more from your leaders, your fellow country men, legal systems. But, if we continue to think in the same old way, influenced by the same old things like tribalism, greed, a new constitution will make no difference.
We have just gone through a couple of by - elections and you keep hearing the same thing, money was poured! Two things have to change, politicians have to stop being sore losers because that is the root of chaos and secondly, the citizens need to stop being greedy and short-sighted. If you sell your vote for 5000 bob and the guy you vote for stays in parliament for five years doing absolutely nothing other than building himself up, you are the bigger fool, you have been unjust to yourself and you deserve the wounds.

We have a chance to change how we think and how we act. We have a chance to take care of ourselves and our future and it starts with eliminating ignorance, tribalism and greediness and voting on the basis of need for us and the community. We need to vote for a person who is willing to work for his or her pay. Work everyday to improve the people's lives.
If someone has been in Parliament for more than five years and you still have no roads, that person has got to go!
If you have never been able to get audience with your MP even after continuance trying but you definitely find him buying changa'a when it is Kura time, that person has got to go.

The citizen has the power to fire and hire. Use it to safeguard your future!