When i talk about my beautiful country Kenya, i end up falling in some kind of trance because there is so much greatness and beauty to tell about. Kenya is one of the countries with almost all vegetation that you can think of. From the rain forests, savanna grasslands, semi deserts, hills, mountains, coastal lowlands and the rift valley. I talk of the mesmerizing sights of tea plantations from the balcony of my parents house. I don´t want to start with the extraordinary sweet taste of a mango directly picked from a neighboring farm, because if i do then i really get home sick.
When i rave of Kenya with these stories, i might get impressed by one or the other who dare and ask me:
If Kenya is so beautiful, great and wonderful; why then are you in Germany?
If you ever were in Kenya, doing some practicals, missionary work or even as a tourist then you will agree with me that you somehow some when got confronted with corruption. May it have been with the police or the officers or even with the custom duty at the airport.
An example: A police officer stops a couple on the road at the junction near Meru town:
"Habari?" he says "Can i see your papers please?
"Habari officer" the guy says, still holding the starring wheel with one hand
The officer looks straight to the lady sitting on the by-driver seat and asks; "everything OK madam?"
To which the lady answer, "Yes sir, everything is great."
"Do you know this man?" He asks
"This is my husband sir" she replies
"O.k i see" the officer says giving the papers a rough glance.
"After working with such harmony on this case, i would appreciate a lemo (lemonade)" says the officer trying to sound very nice. "The Kenyan police is not corrupt," he adds trying to explain himself; "And this is not meant to be a bribe" he continues. "Its just showing gratitude for the work that we do. Its not a easy job" he concludes
They are forced to press a 200 or 500 shilling note on the palm of his hand, before he gives back the papers and gives the drive on, OK sign.
A lemo (lemonade) or a cup of tee (chai kidogo) which literally translated means a small cup of tea in Kiswahili are some of the words Kenyans use to describe a bribe.
Chances and opportunities are expensive commodities in Kenya for which one has to pay heavily to receive.
To get a place in the university to study courses like medicine or law, you need to be able to pay up to 200,000 Kenyan shillings, just to get a position. This is not tuition fee.
To get a good job, or a beautiful house in a good estate, to get your child into a good school, to get your ID-card, to get a promotion at work, a doctors appointment...etc you either need to know somebody or you have to pay for it.
The middle class and the lower class people have almost no chance in Kenya, because all the good chances and opportunities are given to the rich, despite of whether they are qualified or not.
At the end of the day, Kenya has many unqualified people in the working class and the qualified brains remain home and rot in poverty.
If you are really, really lucky like i was and get the opportunity to leave the country and get out to the world where opportunities are equally open for both the rich and the poor, where your performance and effort are your only limiting factors, then you might be able to live your dreams one day!
I really hope that this will change one day. That future generations in Kenya will have equal chances and opportunities despite their financial status.
This one of the few logs pulling Kenya down the drain.
With that, thanks for passing by and stay blessed.
lots of luv,
ItsRose_beth
When i rave of Kenya with these stories, i might get impressed by one or the other who dare and ask me:
If Kenya is so beautiful, great and wonderful; why then are you in Germany?
If you ever were in Kenya, doing some practicals, missionary work or even as a tourist then you will agree with me that you somehow some when got confronted with corruption. May it have been with the police or the officers or even with the custom duty at the airport.
An example: A police officer stops a couple on the road at the junction near Meru town:
"Habari?" he says "Can i see your papers please?
"Habari officer" the guy says, still holding the starring wheel with one hand
The officer looks straight to the lady sitting on the by-driver seat and asks; "everything OK madam?"
To which the lady answer, "Yes sir, everything is great."
"Do you know this man?" He asks
"This is my husband sir" she replies
"O.k i see" the officer says giving the papers a rough glance.
"After working with such harmony on this case, i would appreciate a lemo (lemonade)" says the officer trying to sound very nice. "The Kenyan police is not corrupt," he adds trying to explain himself; "And this is not meant to be a bribe" he continues. "Its just showing gratitude for the work that we do. Its not a easy job" he concludes
They are forced to press a 200 or 500 shilling note on the palm of his hand, before he gives back the papers and gives the drive on, OK sign.
A lemo (lemonade) or a cup of tee (chai kidogo) which literally translated means a small cup of tea in Kiswahili are some of the words Kenyans use to describe a bribe.
Chances and opportunities are expensive commodities in Kenya for which one has to pay heavily to receive.
To get a place in the university to study courses like medicine or law, you need to be able to pay up to 200,000 Kenyan shillings, just to get a position. This is not tuition fee.
To get a good job, or a beautiful house in a good estate, to get your child into a good school, to get your ID-card, to get a promotion at work, a doctors appointment...etc you either need to know somebody or you have to pay for it.
The middle class and the lower class people have almost no chance in Kenya, because all the good chances and opportunities are given to the rich, despite of whether they are qualified or not.
At the end of the day, Kenya has many unqualified people in the working class and the qualified brains remain home and rot in poverty.
If you are really, really lucky like i was and get the opportunity to leave the country and get out to the world where opportunities are equally open for both the rich and the poor, where your performance and effort are your only limiting factors, then you might be able to live your dreams one day!
I really hope that this will change one day. That future generations in Kenya will have equal chances and opportunities despite their financial status.
This one of the few logs pulling Kenya down the drain.
With that, thanks for passing by and stay blessed.
lots of luv,
ItsRose_beth
Loved the post Rose!
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written!
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