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POVERTY  IS  OBVIOUSLY  PREVALENT  IN  AFRICA

We try to be upbeat about all our experiences, but don't want to gloss over Africa's debilitating poverty, dust and dirt, and stalled economies.
So we will note our observations on this page to balance to our safaris, good dinners, time with friends and colleagues, etc.
About 50% of Kenyans live on less than US$1.00 per day, with North Eastern Province highest at 73% and Nairobi lowest at 21.3%.

The Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey released in May 2007 by the Ministry of Planning and
National Development shows the hardcore poverty line

Also according to this report:

-         NATIONAL POVERTY LEVELS: improved 10%, declining from 56.8% in 2000 to 46% in 2005/2006.

·         CONSUMPTION TO MEET BASIC NEEDS: insufficient for 46% of Kenyans. 

·         ACCESS TO SAFE DRINKING WATER: 83% of urban households, 48% rural, and on average 57% of all Kenyan households.

·         LITERACY: 79% of Kenyans above 15 years can read AND 81% can write

·         CHILDREN NOT IN SCHOOL: 6.2% or 690,000 6 to 17 year old children are not in school.

Also see TechnoServe clients whose lives have been vastly improved in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Nairobi slums like Mukuru actually consist of multiple villages.  Led by TechnoServe's Young Women in Enterprise team, on July 4th (not a Kenya holiday) we enter one slum village to host a guest from the program's main sponsor, Nike Foundation.  Because of street conditions, the main 3 modes of transportation are walking, pull-carts, and bicycles (all Dutch according to our Nike guest who lived 5 yrs. in Amsterdam).  Most often,  shops are combined with living quarters in one-room tin huts that line all the streets.  The water is shared from a single faucet on most streets.  Electricity is usually pirated from the few paying customers.  The sewage system consists of the same streets where people walk and children play.
After a few minutes, we cross a bridge (Above Far L) over the river (Above Center R & L), which is just another branch of the sewage system.  We were invited into the home (Above Far R) of one of the Enterpise Club young women.  What you cannot see above the mother's head is the plaque her daughter won from the Young Women in Enterprise business plan competitions.
The children are dressed warmly (Above Far & Center L) but generally wear flip-flops.  Like kids anywhere, large groups play together (Above Center R) then run up to anyone with a camera so they can be immortalized while being silly (Above Far R).
During February  to May 2007 we traveled for 2 to 4 hours to Nakuru, Embu and  Nyeri, cities 100 km or more north of Nairobi. In addition to Nairobi slums like Kibera and Kangare, many decrepit towns / villages like those above can be seen along any road.  Some differences from southern Africa are really noticeable here: people act as beasts of burden pulling loaded 2-wheeled carts;  homes  are built from mud and stone; many small children walk along busy highways; in public Muslim women wear chadors and men, knitted caps; there are lots of bicycles, donkey- and even ox-driven carts on the roads; pedestrians dart across dangerous highways and intersections; and weaving  in/out of all traffic are impatient drivers, crazy matatus, and slow, smelly, smoky trucks.

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