This visit to Kenya, I have spent 2 weeks in Mombasa and its
environs – most of it out in the field.
I have visited schools in the crowded areas near to the city, and
visited schools out in the far reaches of Kilifi county.
The town schools are the usual blend of sandy playgrounds
and mango trees, in the midst of high density housing, small shops and urban agriculture – wherever there is a
space, you can see maize growing, poking its way up between the weeds and the
garbage – and no doubt, sewage. The schools are amazing places on the whole –
enrolment is often in excess of 1000 kids and classes of 60 are common. The usual glassless windows are ever-present
and when it rains hard, it is impossible to hear anything. Fortunately, the rain is often short lived
with gaps of relative calm in between the showers.
The country schools are my favourite – often big classes but
not always big schools – only one stream per class. The ever present mango trees provide shade
for classes and meetings, and I am sure, food for the children in the mango season. Most classrooms are constructed of blocks,
but there are some which are still mud and wood. Some of the classrooms don’t have doors and
the window holes are not barred, so teachers find keeping their materials safe
a huge challenge. Some classes are held under trees, because there are not
enough classrooms, and as usual, the early years classes are left out when it
comes to provision of space. In other
schools, the enrolment is double what the classroom space allows, and so there
is a double shift - one class comes till 1 and the other works from 1 till 6 –
2 teachers, but only one classroom.
In most schools, the older learners are at school till at
least 4, but in one school in the Rubai area, I saw children coming back into
class as we left at 4.30. They are Gr 8s
who will sit exams this year, and the children come back to work till 6.30 or
7.00 – sometimes with a teacher and sometimes on their own. The school has electricity, and most of their
homes don’t.
To get to Rubai, you go out on the Nairobi road, dicing with
death with the huge lorries carrying shipping containers to and from the Port and
to and from Nairobi, and then turn off into gentler, more forgiving dirt
roads. All around are the “shambas” –
small farms with their patchwork of maize and vegetables, the mango trees and
the palms. These produce coconuts or
palm oil, depending on whether they are tapped or not. Most of the trees have footholds cut into
them. And there are always the animals –
goats roaming freely and cows tied to stakes so they can graze.
I ’ve experienced the rain for the first time. We had two days of heavy rain – both on days
we were travelling to Malindi, which
made roads difficult to navigate – even on the tar road. The Big Rains have come with a vengeance this
year, leaving roads potholed and eaten away at the edges. It’s even worse in town where there is so
much traffic and it is pointless fixing the poitholes till the rains have
stopped. I got wet many times – but the
rain is warm and so is the air, so you dry quickly, without getting cold.
The trip up the coast to Malindi was amazing – the road
follows the coast and every now and then there are tantalising glimpses of the
sea. You cross the big “creeks” where
the rivers come into the sea, and drive across coastal flood plains. All along the way you see signs to hotels and
resorts – Sea Breezes, The Palms and Sea View abound. We stayed in a Sea View in Malindi - quite adequate but an African vision of
what a luxury hotel is – outdated décor, showers that work or don’t according
to their mood, and a “menu” phoned through from the bar – chicken, steak or
fish with chips, chapatti (like roti) or ugali (like stywe pap.)
The seafood in Malindi is wonderful and all harvested fresh
from the surrounding coast – delicious prawns, smoked sailfish and crab. And the grilled red snapper was delicious at
the beachfront “I love pizza” restaurant we ate at.
Coast people are warm and friendly, spending a lot of time
on “people” things – greeting, “appreciating” everything done by anyone,
discussing and making sure everyone’s point of view is heard. It takes a LONG time and trainings are quite
long and drawn out – but it seems to be working.
Despite a terrible, recurring bout of tummy troubles and the
dreadful loos in some of the schools, I had a wonderful time on the coast and
can’t wait to return.
