Let the kids be: it’s the least we can give them

Being a kid is so interesting, you know, kids are supposed to be the free spirits, the carefree souls, the worry free beings, their world typically should consist of throwing tantrums, playing, crying, sleeping and if old enough studying- which ought to be a leisure in itself. But am afraid things are slowly changing, for the worse I must add. Majority of kids nowadays, barely into their fifth birthday know the pain of lacking; lacking a good life, lacking a good environment in which to grow, they are already aware of the faults and crimes committed in their society, their innocence is already in question.  Long ago leaning was meant to be fun for kids, not any more- what with tuition at just a kindergarten level? Instead of kids thinking about their favorite games, they are thinking about books, about what to eat should they go back home, they are thinking about the disharmony they witness their parents go through, they have to worry about the ills of their society- what happened to being kids? Why can’t we just let them be? 

Play forms a very integral part of a child’s development: 

A child who has been allowed to develop play resources receives many enduring advantages. First, she develops a universal learning skill. Second, play maximizes her potential by developing her creativity and imagination. Third, her relationships with the world and others are based on loving-kindness. Fourth, play promotes joy, which is essential for self-esteem and health. Fifth, her learning process is self-sustained based as it is on her own natural love of learning and playful engagement with life. Sixth, play creates a basic trust in the world.   (Source: http://www.originalplay.com/develop.htm)

 

But prey I ask, how can a child play when she/he barely have a place to sleep? When he/she doesn’t have food in her precious lil tummy? When she\he hardly knows what it means to be happy?

Just for the record, it wouldn’t bother me as much if a kid walked with tattered clothes, or bare feet, no it wouldn’t, but it rips my heart a part when at just such a tender age they already know the pain of hunger, the pain of being unwanted, the pain of having to struggle, to hustle in order to get something to eat. 

There is this particular kid who reminds me every day how cruel the society has become, how his innocence have been taken away from him and forced to grow up well ahead of his age, every day on my way to work, I see this kid- I guess he hasn’t celebrated his 5^th birthday just yet, or utmost he is 5.  Almost 9 into the night (everyday), he is always busy cleaning up the place his mum and him were selling the groceries, he does that so diligently that he makes me feel guilty of untidying my environment, but I wonder what time he gets to sleep, what time he plays, what time he eats and if he ever have a sound sleep? I wonder!  At such a tender age, he knows the pain of hustling, the value of money , he has been forced to grow up, to fend for himself….how can such a kid have  unshakable self-esteem when he grows up? How can he ever trust the world? How can he develop his/her creativity and imagination when he barely have time to engage the world and fellow kids on the playground?

30^th of September was another dark moment in Kenya’s history, a grenade was hurled at innocent children attending a church service by the Alshabab militia groups, one boy who had just celebrated his 9^th birthday lost his precious life, in Tana Delta, kids were among the targeted group, quite a number lost their lives………and I ask, with lots of pain in my heart, since when did it become so easy to kill a child? Why would anyone, however hardcore you are, target an innocent child? What satisfaction do you get from harming a kid who barely understands your motive?  Why would you want to get sexual satisfaction from a months' old baby? How twisted is your brain? Why would you want to molest an innocent child? 

We are failing as a society and as humanity if we can’t shield them from the cruelty that exists in the world, children are the true reflection of the society, you bring up a rogue child, you create unsecure society, you bring up a morally upright kid, you eliminate the ‘ campus divas for rich men’ .

                                             Play your part; it’s your call as well.

 

My vantage encounter with the Professor of Solid State Physics (Atomic Physics?) One Fredrick Onyango

That feeling of importance, of achievement of satisfaction, yeah that was the state I was in, and who can deny how nice that makes you feel, after all I was about to be officially welcomed in the larger Maseno fraternity, I was at last a University Student, making one of my most treasured dreams come true and here he was Onyango himself, this man whose name elicited love and hate in equal measure, this man whose name had almost become synonymous with Maseno was about to give us-fresher’s- a welcoming speech.

I sat in silence watching him pass by, sizing him but silently admiring him, admiring his grace, his authority and how he was so sure of himself. Over the microphone-which he did not need because his voice was loud enough to cover the hall-I heard his somewhat demeaning but reassuring voice welcoming us to the only University along the Equator where he said ‘we churn out Job creators not Job seekers’, you could feel his passion talking about an institution he had offered- then- almost 6 years of service, talk of being proud to be proud, Miguna style, he deliberately floated his credentials and achievements in a manner likely to suggest ‘where are yours’?, ‘What do you have under your belt’? But at the same time it was challenging you to aim higher, work harder maybe smarter and have some long titles to feel good about.

You see, trying out somewhat unpopular things gives me a nice adrenaline rush, the risk involved is even worth it especially if you succeed. It was one of those times that I just had to get it right, somehow this was my last resort and my academic life sort of depended on it and I needed help fast! That’s when I mooted the idea of seeking audience with this man, it took me almost a week planning everything out, I played the plan one too many times in my mind and once I was convinced, I made the BIG move. It was the start of my second year semester, not so sure of what laid ahead of me I asked his secretary to let me in, she adamantly refused to let me in at least not until I stated the purpose of my visit. I insisted that it was personal and should be treated as such, I was only going to talk about it with the VC and I was not going to leave until he agrees to talk to me. The secretary went in and delivered the message, unfortunately he was too busy to talk to people who had personal matters but I stood my ground, asked the secretary to let him know politely that I was not going to leave his office until he agrees to see me.

Sensing my resolve and determination, the secretary went back a second time and passed my message, this time she came back and gave me a go ahead nod. A bit off balance, I briskly walked into his spacious and meticulously furnished office, he offered me a seat, looked at me straight in the eye and asked what I wanted. I did not mince my words:

Me: I am in my second year of the University program, pursuing my degree in Computer Science but I cannot learn the course theoretically and therefore I need you to buy for me or at least find way in which I can have myself a computer because personally I don’t have the financial capability.

Prof: Don’t your department have labs?

Me: Sure there are quite a number but the fixed lab access times are quite limiting if at all I am to fully understand this course, it would be proper to have a computer of my own.

Prof: Surely you don’t expect me to buy you a computer with my own money right?

Me: Well, maybe, maybe not but I know whichever ways you are capable of enabling me have one.

Prof:  Which high school did you attend?

During this time, our conversation took a friendly turn, eventually he called the Higher Education Loans Board offices and demanded that I be given full bursary with immediate effect, and this is the money I used to buy myself my first desktop computer!

Onyango must go slogan became very frequent whenever KPLC decided to plunge us in complete darkness.

We were to meet again when he was conferring us degrees and giving us the ‘POWER TO READ AND DO EVERYTHING THAT APARTAINS TO THAT DEGREE’

Even though he never lived to please everyone during his decade service at the helm of Maseno University, he did bring about several and great changes changes that have made Maseno be where it is at the moment.

RIP Prof.

Internet as a catalyst for development

"If they mess with the internet, I'll mess them up" that's a friend of mines political ideology when he was asked about his political views, a view that am sure most of us share especially those whose daily activities revolve around the internet.
Internet is quickly becoming an integral part in the day to day activities of most people: entrepreneurs, businesses, academia etc its lack therefore literally stalls/messes up these activities. It holds the key to so many benefits: knowledge, education, employment, political activism and the promise of a better future and a means of empowerment, it is also the link that gives our children access to high quality educational resources; it helps our entrepreneurs and small businesses compete and grow; and the internet holds the promise of better health care and a more affordable entertainment.

Computer literacy and other aspect of computer technology are prerequisites for using internet technology, a fact that has greatly lowed internet penetration especially in rural and slum areas because majority of these people are mostly computer illiterate and are either ignorant or simply don’t know the benefits that can be accrued from the internet. This can also be attributed to the fact that in most rural or slum areas, we have poor infrastructures in terms of power lines etc which thus discourages the use of gadgets like computers which requires electricity to operate.

Internet is quickly curving a niche as a great tool for catalyzing development initiatives, it has a direct link to social, economic and even political developments and therefore the Kenyan government directive that IT be a compulsory course for all students joining public universities is a most welcome move but I would rather it be compulsory right from high school if not primary school to give our young-stars an early start of computer literacy which as I have indicated earlier is a prerequisite for using internet technology.

Development-I believe-is directly proportional to the degree of internet penetration, granted, internet has its disadvantages but dwelling on these disadvantages without looking at the bigger picture is like simply refuting the benefits of computers because it leads to ‘loss of jobs’, a so backward argument that you can only be forgiven because you know not what you are saying!

So what can that poor woman or that poor kid do with internet back in the village/slum yet they don’t have food on the table, shouldn’t they be worrying about better things other than Internet?

Long time ago, we had three main basic needs: food, shelter and clothing others were simply luxuries if you wish, but today, computers, phones and internet are necessities if not needs. You talk internet and you talk information, that poor woman can learn a lot from the internet- from what type of crops to plant during dry season, from how to carry out a first aid of snake bite to save her baby before she can take her to hospital, from how to find market for her produce and sell them at fair prices etc. That poor kid who can’t afford to buy books, can get all that materials from the internet and compete fairly with that boy whose parents can afford, he can learn new programming languages, can learn how to hack, can learn how to play guitar and loads of some other stuff, who knows he can even show the world his musical prowess like Justin Bieber did- see where he is right now.

But the challenge is, if they cannot afford to put food on the table, who will take care of the internet bill, who will buy them computers coz internet and computes go hand in hand? This is where the government should come in, to ensure that every sub location, market place, public school has a library equipped with computers and good internet speed, maybe restrict the time per sitting to say 30 minutes per person but offer the service free to encourage many people to use computers and internet and tap these benefits, the government should have its own innovation hubs and organize events where these people can show the skills acquired from the internet, by so doing, the government will eliminate the worry these poor people go through of how to pay these bills but at the same time foster  an information rich society where people can gain skills to do plenty of stuff without just sitting back and waiting to be employed in a society where jobs are becoming a scarcity, they say nothing is as dangerous as a wounded animal who knows it can survive, I say nothing is as motivating to the poor as knowing they can improve their situation! And internet holds the key to that.

Things I would do different if I were to go back to collage

They say that we are better educated than our parents' generation (a fat lie). What they mean is that we go to school longer. ~Richard Yates

 I was having a brief chat with a student some days back, so I asked her whether she was enjoying her studies and the plans she had for the future, (she is yet to Join University) she told me she was so looking forward to joining university and would only be happy after graduating and getting herself a job- talk of being independent :)  somehow I felt happy for her but felt the urge to tell her to tone down her getting job enthusiasm a bit, coz apparently, that’s where happy life seems to end for most graduates.

I see students joining University with a lot of enthusiasm, with the hope that after graduating they will immediately secure their dream job and set their life rolling! (Which is perfectly in order only that there appears to be lots of challenges before you get it rolling) and the ‘better’ the course that you are pursuing the happier your future life looks. I remember we use to tease education students that they were waking up early just for 20 bucks (That’s almost the amount that Kenya TSC pays graduate teachers) coz somehow we felt that our course was a bit superior to theirs and therefore our starting salary was somehow pre defined :)

Most students realize that life is actually different when looking for attachment places but most importantly after graduation. That’s when they realize that real life is far from the imagined life after collage. We have heard of extreme cases where graduates tear up their original university certificates after failing to secure a place and others doing the unimaginable jobs. In some parts of the country like Nairobi, drivers and jobless graduate youths have entered into an informal arrangement in which the latter occupy seats to lure passengers so as to fill the vehicles quickly, for their effort, the job seekers get between Sh30 and Sh50.

I have nothing against being enthusiastic when joining collage, but I just wish I could tell them to tone their expectations just a bit, in that case, they would know how to fit and deal with real life after collage without getting extremely disappointed.

Just like churches have become a major source of income for some preachers, am afraid learning institutions are slowly turning into cash cows by introducing some courses that are not so relevant which they insist students must take. Much education today is monumentally ineffective. All too often young people are being given cut flowers when they should be taught how to grow their own plants.

Having had a taste of life outside collage (real life) coupled with so many other issues, I came to the conclusion that if I were to go back to college, these are some of the things that I would do different:

• As much as I will learn the offered courses, my ears will always be open to what is going on in the job market, I will learn tones of other things that I feel will give me a competitive advantage over the others.
• Passing exams will never be my priority, I will instead concentrate on getting the concept
•  I will have fun and lots of fun, will enjoy my collage life to the maximum (coz apparently, this is where real life is!)
• I will network right from year one but most importantly I will focus on being the job creator rather than the job seeker because it is this jobseeker mindset that prevents most people from exploring their full potential
•  I will be flexible enough to do anything/any job (and I mean anything) with all the enthusiasm that I can master, provided I have my set targets and goal in life- which you must have if you are to go anywhere