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Can you, Kenya?
Posted on 4-11-2008
„Yes, he can!" said yesterday's newspaper front page headline splashed across the face of Barack Obama, paraphrasing his campaign's trademark slogan.
If there is one country that will not go to sleep on November 4 until the result of US presidential election is known, it has to be Kenya.
While we have certainly seen the signs of pan-African obamania during all previous stops of Africa Tour, it was nothing like what we are seeing in Nairobi. Not only newspapers, but also T-shirts, car stickers, armbands and even public transportation vans scream the Illinois senator's name.
Of course - his late father was Kenyan and his grandmother and her side of the family still live here, so why bother that the presidential contender himself has never spent much time here, making just three visits to the land of his ancestors.
For now, all that matters is that "history is about to be made", as we hear all around us.
And you know what? Perhaps this will work in the favor of our campaign. After all, senator Obama is universally being admired for his eloquence, oratory skills and grasp of things.
But would he ever turn out to be that way without the excellent education he got, one should ask. Would he be where he is today, had he worked as a child instead of focusing on his studies, and would Kenya now be on the verge of national ecstasy? Don't think so.
And yet, one out of every three Kenyan boys never goes to school, statistics show. So many potential Obamas getting lost along the way, not to mention the even harder plight of Kenyan girls.
On Sunday, as the Africa Tour delegation was taking a well deserved day off and went to say hello to giraffes and rhinos as one typically does when in Kenya, we drove past the edge of Kibera slum, one of the biggest informal settlements in Africa. Rows over rows of corrugated iron roofs sitting on the typical matchbox dwellings, as far as the eye could see, and that was just a fraction of the whole thing, we were told.
So, guess how many public schools are available for the million-strong population of the slum? Zero. Kibera, being essentially illegal settlement, cannot by default have an officially recognized school on it premises, the authorities say.
Our new friend Victor Odero, program manager and advocacy officer of Concern in Nairobi, told us that much.
He also said that many NGOs including Concern work hard to raise the issue with the government. It only makes sense with the estimated 60 percent of Nairobi's population living in slums. You know how it goes - if schools (and governments that run them) are not there for the children, labour market typically is.
Wake up, Kenya. Can you?
Nadia and Pavel
„Yes, he can!" said yesterday's newspaper front page headline splashed across the face of Barack Obama, paraphrasing his campaign's trademark slogan.
If there is one country that will not go to sleep on November 4 until the result of US presidential election is known, it has to be Kenya.
While we have certainly seen the signs of pan-African obamania during all previous stops of Africa Tour, it was nothing like what we are seeing in Nairobi. Not only newspapers, but also T-shirts, car stickers, armbands and even public transportation vans scream the Illinois senator's name.
Of course - his late father was Kenyan and his grandmother and her side of the family still live here, so why bother that the presidential contender himself has never spent much time here, making just three visits to the land of his ancestors.
For now, all that matters is that "history is about to be made", as we hear all around us.
And you know what? Perhaps this will work in the favor of our campaign. After all, senator Obama is universally being admired for his eloquence, oratory skills and grasp of things.
But would he ever turn out to be that way without the excellent education he got, one should ask. Would he be where he is today, had he worked as a child instead of focusing on his studies, and would Kenya now be on the verge of national ecstasy? Don't think so.
And yet, one out of every three Kenyan boys never goes to school, statistics show. So many potential Obamas getting lost along the way, not to mention the even harder plight of Kenyan girls.
On Sunday, as the Africa Tour delegation was taking a well deserved day off and went to say hello to giraffes and rhinos as one typically does when in Kenya, we drove past the edge of Kibera slum, one of the biggest informal settlements in Africa. Rows over rows of corrugated iron roofs sitting on the typical matchbox dwellings, as far as the eye could see, and that was just a fraction of the whole thing, we were told.
So, guess how many public schools are available for the million-strong population of the slum? Zero. Kibera, being essentially illegal settlement, cannot by default have an officially recognized school on it premises, the authorities say.
Our new friend Victor Odero, program manager and advocacy officer of Concern in Nairobi, told us that much.
He also said that many NGOs including Concern work hard to raise the issue with the government. It only makes sense with the estimated 60 percent of Nairobi's population living in slums. You know how it goes - if schools (and governments that run them) are not there for the children, labour market typically is.
Wake up, Kenya. Can you?
Nadia and Pavel
