Kenya’s Elders take charge
Imagine having worked until the age of 65, and retiring on a 90 KSH ($1.30) a month government pension! Seriously imagine it. Now think of your options, of what you can do at the end of your life, to ensure that the one little bag of rice that you can afford lasts you long enough.
Most people in Kenya quickly join a cultural trend that has existed for decades; the security of offspring. We often don’t understand why having 10 or more children is beneficial, but the prospects of at least one child landing a job and taking care of the aging elder is embedded thinking. The added difficulty of bringing up children on a tight salary, or having a crowded home are often secondary. It is only with government support and a decent pension can this cycle be broken. These circumstnaces are also the reason why only wealthy families have adopted the Western mentality of roughly two children.
In fact, Kenya’s middle class is very similar to what one might find in Europe. A new range of well-equipped grocery stores offers a shopping experiences (and prices) that are very similar to the Western world. An apartment and often a little car can now be found outside people’s homes. The wealthier people in Kenya enjoy a lifestyle that allows them to live and eat comfortably, and at the same time have endless ways to prosper in emerging markets (including retirement security).
There is one association in Kenya, the Retired Teachers Development Group, that is trying to break this cycle. Empowered with the knowledge that many children isn’t always the best solutions, and that their miniscule pension will not feed them, they have created an alliance to help themselves. For over 15 years they have donated 100 KSH per member, per month, into a fund. Having grown to almost 1,500 members, they have recently bought 5 acres of land on the lake in Kisumu. They are now fundraising to build a community center, retirement homes, and cultural exchange centers on this land. These people want to help themselves, and at the time pass on their knowledge and wisdom to others. Once build, the center is designed to run at a financially sustainable level, and provide adequate and dignified housing for the elders.
This is just one story.
One story about people who are struggling — embracing their situation– and trying to fight it from within. It’s one story that exemplifies great leadership and wisdom. It’s one of many stories that show courage and the high level of thinking and foresight that exists in Kenya.
It’s All about the Kids
Over 65% of Kenya’s population is under the age of 25. Many of these young kids receive an education, but when they graduate they find a world without open jobs. Only bribery will often lead to a job, or a strong network which very few have. A lot of youth turn towards alcohol or drug abuse to forget about these sorrows. Kenya is a young country, and in some ways the world here is flatter than abroad. Competition doesn’t just exist for high-paying jobs; it exists for every single job.
We are happy to be working with micro-finance organizations and youth groups to offer employment through bicycles. We are able to make a difference to some individuals, but we will not solve the problems altogether. This sobering fact is tough to swallow for someone who comes over here with the best intentions. I find myself being pulled from left to right, where this project needs funds to complete the building of a school, that project lacks foreign support to be taken seriously, or that project that lacks teachers to educate the poor about HIV. The need exists, undoubtedly, especially when considering rising food prices due to the world-wide oil challenge.
Kenya is in transition-phase where the next generation is highly educated. Empowered with new knowledge, young couples only have two or three children. Kenyans have recently pushed for and written a new constitution. They have also left stigmas about poverty and HIV behind, and start treating the root of the problem. Kenyans see the light at the end of the tunnel. They do not complain, they take action. I met youth that despite being unemployed themselves, have started an organization to help kids from the street. I have met lawyers who proudly detail of the new government that distributes power intelligently. This is a nation that knows it can help itself, and it’s the young generation that embodies the change that will come. The change that is already happening.
Looking at the impact the youth has had in Cairo earlier this year, or the fighting in Libya or Gaza, the silent protests in Iran, the youth are the movers and shakers. They are defining their own future. During a dinner conversation with the governor on Saturday, we discussed the impact of new technologies and media that speed up conversation, and filter out the truth. Realizing the impact technologies have, it’s important to realize that competition has driven down prices towards affordability. Kenya is quite liberal when it comes to import duties and taxes, which allows for much investment and competition. If other countries were to ease the barriers of trade, these benefits could reach other nations as well.
No matter how we look at the situation on the ground, there are always two things I keep in mind: we can’t solve all the problems, but with time things will only get better. This nation is being carried by new young leaders, a whole generation full of optimism. And these change-makers have already realized that if they create a better present for themselves now, they are only creating a better country for their children. In the end, it’s all about the kids.
Beautiful Kenya
Kenya
The Republic of Kenya (pronounced /ˈkɛnjə/) is a country in East Africa, made up of 42 different ethnic tribes. Lying along the Indian Ocean to its southeast and at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Somalia to the northeast, Ethiopia to the north, Sudan to the northwest, Uganda to the west and Tanzania to the south. Lake Victoria is to the southwest and is shared between Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Kenya has numerous wildlife reserves, containing thousands of animal species. The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya’s area is 580,000 km^2 with a population of nearly 39 million which is diverse: more than 40 different ethnic groups are present. The country is named after Mount Kenya, a significant landmark and second among Africa’s highest mountain peaks.
Geography and Climate
At 580,367 km^2 (224,081 sq mi), Kenya is the world’s forty-seventh largest country (after Madagascar). From the coast on the Indian Ocean the Low plains rise to central highlands. The highlands are bisected by the Great Rift Valley; a fertile plateau in the east. The Kenyan Highlands comprise one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. The highlands are the site of the highest point in Kenya (and the second highest in Africa): Mount Kenya, which reaches 5,199 m (17,057 ft) and is the site of glaciers. Climate varies from tropical along the coast to arid in the interior. Mount Kilimanjaro (5,895 m/19,341 ft) can be seen from Kenya to the South of the Tanzanian border.
Kenya has a tropical climate. It is hot and humid at the coast, temperate inland and very dry in the north and northeast parts of the country. There is a lot of rain between March and May (the long rains) and moderate rain in October and November (the short rains). The temperature remains high throughout these months.
The country receives a great deal of sunshine all the year round and summer clothes are worn throughout the year. It is usually cool at night and early in the morning. The long rain season occurs from April to June. The short rain season occurs from October to December. The rainfall is sometimes heavy and often falls in the afternoons and evenings. The hottest period is from February to March and coldest in July to August.
Tourism
Kenya’s services sector, which contributes about 63 percent of GDP, is dominated by tourism. The tourism sector has exhibited steady growth in most years since independence and by the late 1980s had become the country’s principal source of foreign exchange. Tourists, the largest number from Germany and the United Kingdom, are attracted mainly to the coastal beaches and the game reserves, notably, the expansive Tsavo National Park (20,808 square kilometers) in the southeast. Tourism has seen a substantial revival over the past several years and is the major contributor to the pick-up in the country’s economic growth.
Tourism is now Kenya’s largest foreign exchange earning sector, followed by flowers, tea, and coffee. In 2006 tourism generated US$803 million, up from US$699 million the previous year.
Agriculture
Agriculture is the second largest contributor to Kenya’s gross domestic product (GDP), after the service sector. In 2005 agriculture, including forestry and fishing, accounted for about 24 percent of GDP, as well as for 18 percent of wage employment and 50 percent of revenue from exports. The principal cash crops are tea, horticultural produce, and coffee; horticultural produce and tea are the main growth sectors and the two most valuable of all of Kenya’s exports. The production of major food staples such as corn is subject to sharp weather-related fluctuations. Production downturns periodically necessitate food aid—for example, in 2004 aid for 1.8 million people, because of one of Kenya’s intermittent droughts.
Tea, coffee, sisal, pyrethrum, corn, and wheat are grown in the fertile highlands, one of the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. Livestock predominates in the semi-arid savanna to the north and east. Coconuts, pineapples, cashew nuts, cotton, sugarcane, sisal, and corn are grown in the lower-lying areas.
Amazing photos from Kenya can be found here.
Getting Ready for Kenya
Our team is getting ready to depart to Kenya to implement the pilot project. After over a year of preparation, creating new partnerships and alliances, meeting with material scientists, attracting mentors from around the globe, we have a vision for how this organization can make an impact in this world.
Stay in tune for updates on our progress in Kisumu, Kenya, on this blog.
Recent News
Movement Bikes will frequently post updates on the pilot project and the organization. Further, we promote other organizations and feature articles relating to the power of bicycles.
Above, you see the first drawing of our cargo bicycle design. Produced in Chiwan, China, (outside of Hong Kong), our bicycles will make their 7,000 mile journey to Mombasa, Kenya. From there, they will go by truck to Kisumu in the very Western parts of Kenya. Working closely with the Boulder-Kisumu Sister City Committee, the local Rotary club, and other organizations, we will benefit this area of Africa through affordable mobility.
Stay Tuned for Updates!
