Mid Term Retreat & Starry Heavens (Day27)

During last Friday to Sunday, I spend at Diani Beach, 30km south of Mombasa, with other three interns and FSD site team as a midterm retreat of our internship.

I can’t believe that almost one month has passed in Mombasa and I have spent three weeks in my organization. I have met many people who have a passion to solve some issues so far. I also love the culture of Mombasa that people value the relationship with others through talking directly and respect seniors. For me, this culture is similar in part with Japanese that I used to do.

Diani Beach is a beach resort area and the beach is covered beautiful white sand. People can enjoy with snorkeling, a coral watching, fishing, and dolphin watching in the area.

Unfortunately, Saturday and Sunday are raining, so we couldn’t do those marine activities. We’re cooking, sipping on tea, and playing games, reading books; that was a pleasant time. It was relaxing and precious time.

The night of the second day was the most impressive day for me. After enjoying very nice seafood barbeque that “Dr. Fish” took those seafood for us, we watched world cup that was the last half much of Germany vs. Ghana on TV. The place that we watched the much was a small bar that took within 5 minutes by walk from our cottage.

One of the interns said that “look up the sky!”. I watched the beautiful starry heavens when I looked up the sky and a lot of stars are shining in the sky.  Some stars were shining strongly and some were weekly, but those were part of the infinite starry heavens.

I think this impression could apply human nature. Some people are shining strongly and some are weekly like stars, but those are part of infinite human life. Sometimes I am apt to compare what I have done, achieved, and got so far with others, and I disappoint realizing that I have done, achieved and got only a little or nothing.

However, imaging I am a part of infinite human life has changed my mind. Comparing other people has no sense of this infinite human life. I would like to shine by myself to do what I should do.

Conference for Peace & Security (Day 21)

Today, there was sad news at Mpeketoni, Kenyan coastal town. According to this news and this news, at least 48 people were killed by terrorist. The theme of the forum that I participated today was related to this incident. The name of the forum is that “Annual National Peace & Security Conference”. This forum addresses the issue of radicalization in the view on Muslim and Christian perspective, legal policy, police, and youth development.

Since I haven’t so much talk about religious issues in Japan and the US, the comparative talk about Muslim and Christian perspective intrigues my interest. To understand the today’s incident and Kenyan coastal area’s community issues, understanding the religious issue is the key. One thing that I was impressed is that the lecturer said that understanding each religion is important to resolve conflict. For example, a Christian university provides a class that students can learn Arabic & Islamic.

The last presenter covered a wide range of Kenyan costal region problems. The problems of the youth who live in the Kenya’s costal region include unemployment, radicalization such as carrying out “physical jihad”, gang culture and crime. He mentioned that problems in those areas are multiple, so the multiple approaches are necessary.

To work in the area of advocacy and human rights in our organization, understanding of the demand of the Kenya’s costal region is key. This forum helps me to understand what the problem is in the region.

The below link is the article that is related to Islamic culture (Japanese) 

イスラム原理主義からアルカイダへ

ソマリアのイスラム武装組織シャバブ、アル・シャバーブ、アッシャバーブに関するツイート 20120224まで 6822字

シリアの現状と国際社会（国際連合）の無力

Women entrepreneurs (Day 18)

Yesterday, I went to the other slum that 7 women entrepreneurs help children go to secondary school. The slum seems better off than other two slums; their houses have stronger walls than that of other two areas and road isn’t muddy. Also, I saw a private school between the houses.

The problem in the area is that all primary level age children of the community can go to primary school, but secondary school is expensive for some of them. Although government subsidizes the secondary school, the tuition still cost ksh 7,000/term (ksh 21,000/year) at a day secondary school and ksh 35,000/year at boarding school. In addition to the tuition, parents have to pay ksh 200 a day as transportation cost.
*$1=ksh 88 (6/12)

What the women entrepreneurs do at the area is they gather funds in the community and use the funding money to support 25 students who are the most poor in the community to go to primary school. They gather ksh 300,000 / a term to cover full tuition of the students.

The 7 women entrepreneurs own individual business and use some part of the income for the fund. For example, one sells secondary clothes, and the other sells maize (corn powder). They mentioned that because of traveler advisory, businesses have become declined, so they feel difficult to do fundraising.

This fundraising activity started three years ago, and those 7 women entrepreneurs still have continued the activity to support poor children, even though their business have been damaged. On the bright side, some organizations have conducted interventions in this area, so their basic level of life is better than that of other two slums. I saw a water tank founded by the NGO. Before the water tank is founded, the community people buy 20 litters of water for ksh 40, but now they can buy ksh 2 for the same amount.

Matopeni — Over Crowded School (Day 17)

Today I went to another slum the name is Matopeni that means mud. As soon as I arrived the area, I understand the reason of the name. After I went through the Kongowea Market — among the largest market in East  and Central Africa — muddy road connects to the Matopeni area. There aren’t drainage systems in the area, so the road continues muddy, especially rainy season, and there are a lot of small houses made of mud as same as Tudor.

Just like any other informal settlement, Matopeni is no exception from the problem that range from poor hygiene, poor housing and lack of schooling facilities. The problems around the area are serious. The land was a government land and it was unproceduraly leased to an investor who is currently threatening to evict the community from the land without an alternative  resettlement. Being he runs a giant confectionery company, the individual is likely presumed to have  more influential power  according to the community member whom spoke to.

When he presented the eviction notice, the said person only offered the affected ksh 20,000 which could hardly sustain the cost of relocation. He did not put the cost of construction and other expenses that could help the families start a new life.  The community are organized with over 80 members and  structure of leadership while they also work with different stakeholders who provide different services especially  the once relatated to land advocacy which seem more contentious.
*$1=ksh 88 (6/11)

Contrary to what is in the record, the community suffer from low level of education because the only school that neighbor the community Kengeleni primary school is past its capacity and cannot accommodate any more pupils to the extend of standard one holding over one hundred pupils according to the community volunteer who teaches at the locally improvised school. The improvised school is also full beyond its capacity is illustrated in the picture below

The school age children would be more than 1,000 because there are around 2,000 houses and regiment in here is around 6,000 people, and each household with children holds more than 4 children. To support those children, a small building for the school was established. Currently this school holds 129 children that include Baby, Kindergarten (kg) 1, kg 2, kg 3, class 1 and these four grade students have studied in the same room with only three blackboards. Since the room is overcrowded with students, and the teacher works as a volunteer, this school isn’t sustainable.

To the inception of the school was an idea that was generated by an England woman who supported the local women to start a school which she supported for a period before she felt ill and later relocated to England. The children were then studying under a tree and when Muungano Support Trust  build a social hall for the community, the children were allowed in and the hall became the class that currently host three classes with 129 children.

The teacher showed us how to pupils learn before the improvised school established.

The teacher emphasized that to improve the quality of education is a high priority in here. To improve the quality of education, the school needs more teachers, textbooks, facilities that include spacious classrooms, blackboards, toilets, desks and chairs and so on. In terms of hygiene, since the room is overcrowded with children, diseases easily infect to those children, and they lack the toilet facilities. The teacher also needs salary to keep her job at the school.

The problem in here is the government increases the number of school facilities; however, those school facilities haven’t filled the demand.  For example, this paper introduces that “the number of public and private primary schools increased from 6,058 in 1963 to 27,487 in 2010, while secondary schools increased from 151 to 7308 over the same period” (P.12), but still the number of the students in one classroom is very high (the pupil/teacher ratio at primary school level is 1:45 in 2009), and some slum children haven't joined the primary school because it is full. One reason of the lack of school facilities would be the rapid growth of population. This article predicts that Kenyan population  will increase by 33.62% from 2010 to 2020.

The other problem in here is slum itself. Urban slum is a serious problem in Kenya. I can’t find the information about slum population in Mombasa, but this report shows that more than 60% of the people who live in Nairobi live in slums. Slums include problems such as drug abuse, education, and hygiene. In terms of hygiene, the school road of the Matopeni area is muddy (left picture), and playground of the school is also bad condition.

Although primary education is free in Kenya, still number of school facilities doesn’t cover the number of Kenyan children, and some children especially who live in vulnerable areas are out of school.

Soko Kijani ー Green Market (Day 16)

There is a small workshop in Ujamaa Center where I have interned since last week. They produce hand-made, fashionable bags and sandals that are decorated by beads.

The purpose of the workshop is to give skills for young people. The problems of youth around the area are that drub abuse and prostitution. In addition, Mombasa is existed in a costal area and the community people who live around costal area make their livelihood by farming and fishing, though those businesses are not so much profitable. To protect youth from those criminals and get skills to make them live by themselves, the workshop was planning to start.

Though they produce only sandals and bags these days, they produced a lot of products such as Christmas ornament, textiles, tables & chairs, carving, painting, and picture frame made by recycling paper when they started in 2008.

They transferred place for two times because of the landowner issue, and they have settled in smaller place than that of before, so they reduce the workshop size. Before transferring the current place, they hold 10 expertized people who have skills in each area, and those expertized people had their own group; however, the workshop has reduced only one group that produce bags and sandals now.

Their first priority is to renew the sawing machine. Currently, they use an old secondhand sawing machine, so some function is restricted. For example, it is impossible to use twisted thread to saw on the edge of the sandal. To improve the quality to compete big shoes companies, it is necessary for them to renew the sawing machine.

The second priority for them is to reach market. Currently, their target is tourist and local people; however, the tourist is decreasing because of terrorism. They need to expand the market to be profitable constantly.

The third priority is to change the order system. The deposit that is paid when they get order doesn’t cover the cost for production of sandals, so they have to borrow money to complete the products. After deliver the products, they get full amount. They need deposit that covers the cost for production.

TThe manager of the workshop said that he would like to compete big companies; however, I think they have advantage that appeals some markets, so it is not necessary to think about as same market as big companies.  For example, the products are handmade and very nice quality, and the object of the workshop is socially good. Also, their concept is very nice. the workshop’s other name is “Soko Kijani” that means green market. The reason why green market is that they sold the products that was made of recycled materials. For example, the sole of the sandal was made of a tire. Although the recycled materials stop using now because tire is sometimes too hard to walk, I think the concept of using recycled materials attracts some people. My feeling is to change the gear to the target who prefer the products.

Bombolulu Workshops and Cultural Centre

Bombolulu Workshops and Cultural Centre is a program of the Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK). The organization produces crafts that include jewelry, textile, wood and leather products. Most of the crafts are handmade and created by disabled people. 

The workshop includes four areas: jewelry area, textile area, leather product area, and wheelchair area. In the jewelry area, I observed people created some parts of jewelry and cut and knitted with recycled materials (those are cans of soda), and at the textile area, people printed clothes by using silk screen painting. In the wheelchair area, I saw a lot of order-made wheelchairs that adapt the users' body.

The person who introduces the Bombolulu Workshops said that “we think that people who work here is not disabled, they have strong points”. According to him, the workshop started in 1967 in Mazeru, 22 km far from the current place, by a British guy. The workshop transferred to the current place in 1986 and APDK took over the project.

The workshop started jewelry craft with only 20 people. Currently, the organization expands about 160 people including 90 permanent workers, 60 part time worker, and 16 admin people. The organization also incorporates a nursery school that holds 180 kids. The other feature of the workshop is that the workers in the organization live very near to the workplace. 

Surprisingly, Japan is one of the biggest business markets for them. The guide said that Europe, the US, and Japan are the biggest sales partner. The Japanese organization that partner with the workshop is Global Village that is the mother organization of People Tree.

Although this organization does a social good, there were some problems. I heard about the issue that they differentiated the salary between disabled craft maker and not disabled marketer or designer. The capital system utilizes socially vulnerable. 

Community Meeting at a Slum Area

I went to a slum area that exists in Tudor today. The purpose of the visit is to see one aspect of regional disparity in education. According to the village elder, around half of the school age children have lacked the chance to attend school system in the slum area.

Before coming to Kenya, I researched about the Kenyan educational system. Based on the report, the national Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) at primary level increased from 107.6% in 2005 to 115% in 2011. The GER at the secondary level also increased from 28.8% in 2005 to 48.8% in 2011. Also Second Medium- Term Plans of Kenya Vision 2030 addresses the issue of lack of school facilities.

One of my colleagues, Mr. K, took me to the area to see what is the actual situation in the slum area. I realized that there is still regional disparities in terms of school attendance exist at the place.

There are some problems at the place. The primary education in Kenya is free, so every child can go to public school without pay; however, public schools are crowded with children. This report mentions, “The pupil/teacher ratio at primary school level increased from 1:39 in 2003 to 1:45 in 2009”. According to the report, there are gross disparities within regions and I assume that the pupil number is more than average. Therefore, only the children who have parents with influential power can go to public schools. Even if children could enter school after school age, sometimes they can’t follow the lecture, because they lack basic knowledge, resulting in a high drop rate.

Because it is hard to get high quality education in the area, children are deprived of getting capability for human capital, and they only can get casual work or sometimes they can’t get jobs. This is a visions cycle. There are some private schools at the place, and the tuition of those schools is ksh 21,000/year (ksh 7,000/term). The people of the area have lived with less than $1/day, so it is difficult for the parents to have their children go to private schools.
*$1=ksh 88 (6/10)

In addition to educational problems, there is hygiene issue of the place. There are only two toilet facilities and a bath in the area for more than 2,000 people. During the way to beach, that takes within 10 minutes, I saw a lot of small houses that made of mud exist, and wastes are scattered on the road. I saw a well that some organization established, but before the well is established, the people use a hose to bring water.

When I went through the crowded houses, there was one building at the place. Mr. K introduced me that the building is community center as well as school and church. There was one black board in the building that was made by the elders of the area. The idea is that they create the place that supports the children who can’t go to public school by themselves.

I joined the community meeting that held in the building. Around 10-community people that include 2 women and a village elder participated the meeting. They are welcoming me and ask me to come together with my friends to see the area’s condition. The people strongly require education for children to get better lives, especially women worry their children’s education. Finally, the community people took shaking hands gesture (sending power gesture) that means crapping hands. Mr. K explained that people who live in slum area are prohibited to have meetings, so they don’t use crapping hands. To receive the power gesture, I also took receiving gesture.

I have heard about the slum’ conditions and problems; however, it is my first time to go to a slum so far. Actually children who live at the place are very cheerful, and hygiene condition is more worth than that I expected. This experience is an eye opener for me, but how can I address this issue?