Christmas time in Kenya - and our wish for this country

Christmas time in Kenya is very different from Norway. Not only because of the difference in temperature and the lack of snow here in Kenya. But also because here, we hardly can find any Christmas decorations. Just in a few shops or malls there can be a few signs of Christmas. Hardly any Christmas songs are played when walking around in thown The two pictures below show what we found in the restaurant Klique here in Eldoret.

The very good thing about Christmas here, though, is that there is no stress concerning gifts. Family members come together and eat and spend time together. But because of the increasing food prices, even family gatherings may be affected. Lack of money for food, means that gatherings do not take place as often as before. At least not gatherings that include many relatives. Shortly after Christmas, when school starts, families need to pay school fees. When prices and costs increase, people who are not rich need to cut somewhere. And for some people, that means the food for big Christmas gatherings.

There are so many Christmas gifts the Kenyan society and the Kenyan people should get. Better politicians with a higher level of integrety is one. Can the upcoming election in March next year bring a change? Even if there have been some changes in the structures of the authorities, the politicians are more or less the same. Experiences from organisations prove that structural changes alone are never enough. Change of attitude and often new leaders are needed.

Corruption is a major problem here. Money can get you out of almost anything  -  and (extra) money is needed for almost everything you need to do. The unemployment rate is high and even though there are exceptions, there is obviously much hopelessness. A lot of people die due to traffic accidents, both because of extremely bad roads and because of a terrible traffic culture. The crime rate is also high. Since we came to Eldoret, both Sharon's oldest sister and her brother have been victims of theft. Her sister found her apartment robbed when she came home from work last week. Her brother had things stolen from him on his way back to Christmas vacation early this morning.

The society is rough, but at the same time there are so many very nice people. Our Christmas wish for Kenya is that the attitude of those many nice people can influence the society and that Kenya gets politicians who are competent and willing to make a change so that this country full of resources can develop the way it should. There are so many treasures to be found. At the same time many of the treasures seem to be neglected.

Kenya has potential. What Kenya needs is a president and other politicians who see that potential and who actually will start doing something about it. The number of people who have registered to vote in March is not as high as we would hope and expect. That can be an indication that people do not have the necessary expectations and hopes that voting will have an effect.

Let us hope that our Christmas wish for Kenya will come true during the next presidential period.

Concerning us, we plan for a quiet Christmas. We have a few gifts and we will gather the nearest family in our cottage on 25th December. Here, Christmas Eve is not celebrated, but Christmas Day is.

You can read a report from our Christmas celebration in the evening of 25th December.