There are some things I miss about America. For a long time under the
Bush regime, I really disliked my country, but in retrospective there
are things that I wish everyone on Earth had available. There should
be a minimum living standard for all people and a safety net for those
who faulter. I miss food stamps, Medicaid, and social services. Being
poor in Kenya is an entirely different subject from what we in the US
would call poverty. In all actuality American poverty is richness.
Entire sub-sectors of the population of American society live off of
waste from the wealthier elements and these are the least advantaged.
Here eating 3 meals a day is a luxury. I dream of cheese.

In Kenya instead of the government giving the people the resources to
be able to eat, all too often they “eat the entire cake” themselves.
The rich have eaten at the expense of the poor to the point that the
entire country is in a famine. The media and international
organizations have been the main actors doing something about the
famine crisis. The World Food Program and the Kenyan Red Cross are
distributing food and all of the media stations have raised large
amounts of money to purchase corn flour from large milling companies
and international importers and distribute it to the people. This is a
short term fix to a long term problem. While people who receive food
aid may live a few more days, they still do not have the ability to
pull themselves of our their desperate poverty and will find
themselves perpetually in need.

With financial resources the Kenyan people could grow their own food
even in areas where agriculture has previously been thought
impossible. If Arid regions had irrigation systems, they would have
bountiful crops. Yet in these areas people die of thirst because they
do not have boreholes to reach the water that lies in deep underground
rock aquifers. Digging boreholes is an expensive undertaking as the
equipment is very costly and it demands significant labor. Thus people
barely survive on food aid because they do not have resources to pay
for a borehole.

One of the things I miss about the US was the constant flow of clean
water. I miss being picky about my water and buying ozone treated
ultra pure water from Whole Foods. Now I just pray that the Chlorine
treatment we give the water kills all the bacteria and parasites. In
my house we have pumped salt water  from a shallow borehole. Our
drinking water is purchased from a man who pulls a cart from house to
house with 20 litre jerrycans filled with water. Each jerrycan of
untreated water is $0.30. No money, no drinking water.

Without money, many have no water. But in most households, people can
somehow come up with something small to ensure liquid survival. Human
beings cannot live on water alone. A majority of families in Kenya
cannot afford to buy enough food to fill the stomachs of their
children. A varied nutritious diet is completely out of reach. Food is
a right not a privilege. The government of Kenya in order to be
legitimate must ensure that hunger is eliminated. Even if there are
price controls on food and rashioning for those below a threshold, it
would be better than the tremendous number of people suffering all
over the country. I miss eating well. I had so much even when I was
living below the poverty line. Now I understand what it is like to go
without anything. No electric, no water, no food, no freedom.

If someone cannot afford to eat properly it is more likely that they
become ill. If they have no money, they have a more difficult time
traveling to look for work due to the expense of transportation. It
becomes a reinforcing cycle of despair. Due to the reduced nutrition,
illnesses run rampant. Especially now during the short rainy season.
Flies carrying disease are everywhere, ants all come indoors, and the
mosquitoes are spreading  malaria.  When people are ill, they can't
work. When they can't work, they can't make money. Therefore the
people become increasingly malnourished. The malnutrition then
increases their susceptibility to disease. Thus the cycle begins. Many
spiral down in a kamikaze fashion, others live in despair perpetually.
Life becomes nothing more than an endless tale of misery.

Life in Kenya is like balancing on a tightrope with no safety net.
Having fallen, the body lies in utter anguish and the ladder is out of
reach. Some die on impact. Other lie there waiting for help that never
comes. Some manage to make it back to the bottom rung of the ladder
and begin the perilous climb once more. Climbing the ladder takes
courage, determination, and immense suffering. Once you begin the
climb there are thousands more on the first rung trying to push you
down. The others will do anything in their power to keep you you from
rising on the ladder. Some will pull on your legs to bring you down,
others will step on your hands. The competition is so intense and the
need is so great they will go so far as to seek out “witch doctors” to
curse you and hire thugs to end your life.

The scarcity of resources in a land that could be plentiful is beyond
my imagination. I remember times in the US where I was out of work and
had few resources. I found many organizations willing help and rarely
found myself truly hungry. In even the worst of times, the government
was there to ensure that if we were sick there was medicine, if we
were hungry there was a food kitchen, and if we needed money there
were unemployment benefits. For many families in America to be
“reduced” to government sponsored social welfare programs would be a
catastrophic disaster, yet in my dreams I receive government cheese
and am elated.

The American dream has become universal. In Kenya people want tables
of food, good jobs for their families, and nice houses with running
water and electric. Here, we in Kenya, we want the basic provisions
other people take for granted. There has to be an end to this madness.
There are not enough natural resources to be able to sustain a world
of American houses, cars, and beauty products. But should anyone have
to suffer as we do? To dream of food?

© Crystal Watley Kigoni, Mombasa, Kenya, 2009