Thika Kenya
History
Situated on the equator on Africa's east coast, Kenya has been described as "the cradle of humanity". In the Great Rift Valley palaeontologists have discovered some of the earliest evidence of man's ancestors. In the present day, Kenya's ethnic diversity has produced a vibrant culture but is also a source of conflict.
Violent unrest - and international pressure - led to the restoration of multi-party politics in the early 1990s. But it was to be another decade before opposition candidate Mwai Kibaki ended nearly 40 years of Kanu rule with his landslide victory in 2002's general election. Despite President Kibaki's pledge to tackle corruption, some donors estimated that up to $1bn had been lost to graft between 2002 and 2005. Other pressing challenges include high unemployment, crime and poverty; most Kenyans live below the poverty level of $1 a day. Droughts frequently put millions of people at risk.
Rapid population growth and the disproportionate distribution of income have worsened social problems. For most people living in rural locations, subsistence farming is the main source of income. Increasing migration to the industrial centres has led to the creation of large slum areas. Kenya has made real efforts to improve health care and the educational system - education is compulsory between the ages of six and fourteen - but diseases such as malaria and sleeping sickness are still prevalent and like many countries in southern and eastern Africa, Kenya has been hit hard by HIV / AIDS . The country has an adult HIV prevalence rate of over seven per cent.
Kenya has been a leading light in the Somali and Sudanese peace processes.
With its scenic beauty and abundant wildlife, Kenya is one of Africa's major safari destinations.
The lucrative tourist industry has bounced back following the slump that followed bomb attacks in Nairobi in 1998 and Mombasa in 2002. And in 2006 tourism was the country's best hard currency earner, ahead of horticulture and tea.
Why Kenya?
Having worked for a number of years in East Africa, amongst other countries, with a knowledge of the country and the national language Swahili, it seemed likely that I might be best equipped to help those in need in this part of the world
On my first visit I was attached to a Salesian Mission in Makuyu, an hour and a half north of Nairobi, and to a Mission in Hola, nine hours’ bus journey from Nairobi on the Tana River near the Somali border. The village of Makuyu is the centre of an agricultural area, where the agriculture is mainly subsistence carried out by smallholders, although there is one very big commercial agricultural estate producing coffee, various fruits and timber. The majority of the inhabitants are of the Kikuyu tribe The town of Hola was established round a penal colony and was until recently quite inaccessible because there were only dirt roads which became impassable after rain. It lies on the Tana River about 200 km south of Garissa. Unemployment is very high and the population has to rely on its own agricultural produce. In the past when there has been a drought or floods, international and government aid was necessary to prevent starvation.
I was engaged in supervising the construction and renovation of kindergartens, as well as a variety of help to both Missions.
After four years I felt I was in a position to work independently and to concentrate on helping those individuals who I judged would be able to make the maximum use of the financial help and advice I was able to give them in order to set up their own commercial enterprises, thereby providing employment to others in dire need of a living, such as orphans and families without a breadwinner.
The following enterprises were set up and are running successfully: a tree nursery producing 100,000 saplings annually; a hardware store with two outlets and an expected turnover for 2008 of Euro 200,000; a transport business which undertakes the regular transport of vegetables from remote areas into the towns; a carpentry workshop producing all kinds of furniture; a blacksmith making metal doors, windows and other metal goods; and small agricultural holdings.
At the same time I continued to give help to old people without children and sick people in need of medical attention