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Our latest accomplishments, progress reports, & musings.
My Heart Swells
My heart swells with pride today as Kenya welcomes President Obama to preside over the Global Youth Entrepreneurship Summit. It swells because Obama, a statesman I greatly admire, has ignored critics that would have had him stay at home over security concerns; it swells at the realization that Kenya has such amazing potential in its youth; it swells because in spite of the fact that a visit from such a VIP has inconvenienced many, in true Kenyan fashion the honor of hosting him and the good that might come from his visit outweighs the hassle of barricaded roads and the massive presence of security personnel.
But mainly my heart swells because this is the land of my birth and casting cynicism aside even for awhile is a healthy and rewarding experience. How else are we to find hope for the future? How else are we to power through the problems we know exist and find ourselves in the territory of what is possible? How else are old burdens to be laid down and new opportunities taken up? This is what I am learning from my Kenyan colleagues here. Hope springs eternal, even against all odds. Patience bears fruit. One day the underdog wins. The virtue of humility is to be treasured. Laughing at our shortcomings an not giving up is a way of arriving at where we want to be.
Perhaps I am overcome due to the reality that soon I will be leaving this land to follow a call that is elsewhere. Never mind. I am somehow Kenyan. Yes, I know I am an American as well, but this is the land that has nurtured me and formed me and I have given it my best years. My roots are here. They cannot be transplanted. I am a "third thing." And today is my day - the best of Kenya and America unite if only for a moment in time.
Sam Harrell
No Innocents in the Battle for Environmental Sustainability
by Sam Harrell
Discussions and debates on the issue of our environmental future often generate more heat than light. We tend to be polarized into camps when such discussions take place. Some have their eyes only on climate change, others on population control. Still others swear that new technologies will save our planet from its current path toward destruction.
The fact is, all of these elements are important. There is no need to take sides. Environmentalists have long realized that the inter-relationships between such factors hold keys to our future. Take for example a simple formula used in the field of Environmental Science that illustrates these inter-relationships. I = PAT. The “I” in the formula is (environmental) Impact, “P” is population growth, “A” is affluence or consumption levels, and “T” represents technological efficiency. Thus, global environmental impact is determined by relationships between population growth, affluence/consumption levels and the technologies available for processes such as energy production, manufacturing, food production and transportation.
Developed, industrialized countries often point a finger at developing countries like Kenya with skyrocketing birth rates that threaten to overburden existing resources. They are right. Developing countries in turn tend to blame developed, industrialized countries for too much pollution (China) or conspicuous consumption (USA). They are also right. All of us, it seems, are desperate for new technologies that will allow us to do more with less. Fine, but not a comprehensive solution since many of these technologies, like GM food production, hydraulic fracturing for natural gas production, etc., have serious ecological costs of their own and tend to ignore many of the underlying issues.
The reality is that we are all complicit in environmental sabotage. There are no innocents in the battle for sustainability. The burgeoning population of our planet is indeed catastrophic and will in the near term overwhelm any technological advances toward greater efficiency. Can you imagine a Nigeria with almost 400 million or a Kenya with almost 100 million people in 35 short years from now (by 2050)? We can’t just blame China for raping the environment and pollution when the bulk of goods they produce are exported for use elsewhere. The hard reality is that this planet has provided us with a limited resource base and demand for these resources will very soon outstrip supply. Consumption levels in the affluent West certainly lead to the overexploitation and waste of limited natural resources, even as those resources are procured elsewhere. The appetite for consumer goods only increases as developing countries transition to industrialized countries with all the attendant appetites. Technology, as great as it is, cannot be counted on to counter these excesses.
We need to wake up to the fact that there simply are no shortcuts. Our very survival depends on reducing population growth to replacement levels and more equitable distribution of consumptive resources so that those who have too little will have enough. Since resources are limited, Western, developed nations will have to trim the fat. New technologies will greatly assist us on this journey but wholesale reliance on the same will be to our detriment.
New Classroom Completed
We celebrate the completion of a new classroom block at Nkasioki which is growing from an initial kindergarten in 2005, to a full fledged primary school.
Even as school children dug for water in the dry bed below, we took time to rehabilitate another suspended bridge near Siana in the Mara so that when the waters do rage, the primary school children will be able to cross safely to school.
Scholarships for Secondary School
This month we launched a new initiative under our Change for Children Program called ICDC Scholars. 8 years ago we began opening Integrated Child Development Centers around the country to meet the needs of young children at risk. Today, many of those same children have begun graduating from primary school (8th grade). The ICDC Scholars progam will make it possible for one child at a time from each ICDC unit to qualify for a full secondary school scholarship. We hope to eventually support 8 scholars at any given time. This year we chose 3 scholars who are now enrolled and beginning their secondary education! We are grateful for those that are eager to help us help these children with a continuing education. Thank you!
Luca's Crossing Completed
Luca's Crossing is now complete! The bridge was completed during the week of January 19 and dedicated on January 24th during a very colorful ceremony. Speeches were given by members of the local community, Bridging the Gap and Africa Exchange, goats were slaughtered and sodas were plenty.
In all the celebration, three things were foremost - the person and life of Luca Harrell, the joy of the surrounding community who will now avoid an otherwise sometimes treacherous river crossing, and the honor we have of working with partners and communities to bring about positive development.
Building Luca's Crossing
Our long-standing partnership with Bridging the Gap Africa springs into action again as we participate together in a very significant project on the Talek River in the Masai Mara region. The construction of 'Luca's Crossing' is a memorial to the life, creativity and talent of Luca Harrell who left us in October, 2013. Funds from Luca's friends and family together with additional generous support to Africa Exchange's Development Initiatives will enable Masai communities seperated by this frequently flooded river to have safe access to education, healthcare and market commerce.
An innovative design by BTG and the mobilization of efforts and contributions from the surrounding community will ensure that this bridge withstands tree strikes during flooding periods, a problem previously encountered on this river. Three phases of the project are now complete, namely, (1) survey and community mobilization; (2) design and fabrication; (3) anchor and tower installation. The final phase, stringing the bridge and community celebration will take place in late January following the cessation of the short rains.
Many thanks to BTG founder and friend Harmon Parker, engineer Eric Bonet, and site supervisor Sylvester Ouko for their talents and dedication to the process as well as the countless community workers who gather sand, gravel and use their strength as an instrument of progress.
