Hard Working Kenyans

Submitted by: Ken Mellish

February 1/07

I think it is fair to say that some of us in the developed world think that if “those people would just work harder” development aid would not be necessary. Let me tell you about some Kenyans we have met since we came here.

Yesterday, we were returning from giving a seminar on feeding dairy cows and Heather was planning to visit some farms to do an impact survey to help measure the impact of our project here in Embu district. I recognized the farm of Lillian and Newton Waweru, where we had visited last year, and I thought we should stop again. Both of the Wawerus are retired school teachers and have a dairy farm with five milking cows. Mrs Waweru told me last year that she had been a long distance runner in her youth and was responsible for leading the Kenyan long distance running team to Gold and Silver medals at the Seoul Olympics! However, what really intrigued us about their farm was their flower enterprise. They are growing a lily that after it flowers forms a stalk of berries. These stalks are used in Europe in arrangements of cut flowers. They not only grow and market these flowers but have organized their neighbors to grow these ornamentals and they do the marketing. When we visited the farm about ten of the neighbors were there learning how to prepare these stems for market. With pride we were shown the top grade which is called Amber because of the amber color on the berries. The Warerus have enough bulbs to plant an acre on their farm next year and should sell $60,000 worth of stems from the acre. They have worked out the growing, harvest and marketing of this crop and have created a new industry in their area. They are not only working hard they are working smart.

Every day we meet hard working Kenyans. We are staying at the KARI guest house. KARI does agricultural research and this house is here to provide accommodation for visiting agricultural researchers. The house is managed by Nellie who also manages the catering at the KARI cafeteria. She lives in an apartment at the end of this house. She makes us breakfast before going out to work in the morning and dinner after we return. Meals are well prepared, the kitchen is clean and the house hold is well organized. She helps organize us also. Yesterday she asked me why I would go out with a wrinkled shirt when there was a pressing iron in the house.

Sportsmens Safaris and Tours provides transport and facilitates our work here in Kenya. For the past twelve years the owner Henry Macharia has us picked up at the airport, has us driven to our projects, provides banking services, and takes care of us while we are in Kenya. Typical was last Sunday when the veterinarians were arriving at 6:30 am. Henry was at the airport early, dressed in “business casual”, meeting our jet lagged group and sheperding them through customs. They bring a large amount of donated veterinary pharmaceuticals and carry more that the typical tourist. Henry goes to the appropriate Kenyan Government office and gets an import permit. He assembles this with packing lists and other paper with letterhead and stamps and uses this to impress customs officials. This all takes planning and extra work to make it happen. The drivers with Sportsmens put in long hours on incredibly bad roads. They are on time, the vans are clean and well maintained and they support us in every way possible.

These are only examples of the people we meet every day who work hard. The men and women on the farms work hard to support their families. The old women who we see bent double carrying wood by the side of the road have destroyed their bodies working hard. The women who carry milk to the pick-up point where men on bicycles take it to the coolers work hard.

Sure, we see groups of men sitting idle in the towns discussing politics and wasting the day. The level of industriousness make me think that in spite of the challenges of lack of infrastructure, governance, AIDS and weather extremes, this country has a future. As Henry told me on the weekend when we were discussing race relations: “God made us all the same”.