Numbers Shock

The CIA world fact book has to be the single most life changing force in preparation before my journey to Kenya this summer to volunteer at Education for Life. I unlike my other classmates have not found a tremendous amount of self-growth throughout the Beyond Borders program. I also would not say that I have really thought about my travels as intently as my fellow friends in the Beyond Borders program so researching the current landscape in Kenya has been and continues to be interesting and at times challenging to truly think about my journey ahead. Truthfully right now, I am focused on finishing my undergrad degree. I am so done with my undergrad, I am ready for that next challenge and I know Education for Life is going to be the right fit for me.

As much as I know that Education for Life is the right fit for me, I also know its going to be different. Very different. This difference became very apparent when comparing the Canadian and Kenyan economies on the CIA website.

In Kenya, the economy “has been hampered by corruption and by reliance upon several primary goods whose prices have remained low.” Moving to Canada, the description is unrecognizable to the country I will be travelling to. Canada is an “affluent, high-tech industrial society in the trillion-dollar class, Canada resembles the US in its market-oriented economic system pattern of production and affluent living standards.”

The GDP of Canada is over one trillion dollars larger than that of Kenya. The difference is clear when you compare the GDP per capita:

Canada $39 600
Kenya $1600

The numbers do not stop there, unemployment is five times higher in Kenya than it is in Canada while half of the Kenyan population live below the poverty line and 10% of Canadians live below the poverty line. You must also consider the difference between the poverty line in both countries. In Canada, our country is lucky enough to export over $400 billion of supplies each year, just over $10 billion is exported out of Kenya. I understand that money cannot equal happiness but I think the reality is money is nice. Its nice to have money. This way, I can buy things like my tuition, food, and a house. Clearly not everyone has these same opportunities like I do. I had to let the numbers just sit with me because I needed time to think about them and comprehend them. The cost of my Beyond Borders journey is more than the average GDP per capita that someone produces in a year in Kenya. We talked in class about what it is like to go to developing countries and be outsiders to the people who live there. Part of the reason is because they see us as always having more than them and them never being able to achieve our lifestyle. When you start to crunch the numbers, it can be an overwhelming experience. Beyond this it also shows you how lucky you are and the natural benefits you receive just for being born in Canada.

The military between the two countries was interesting to learn about and I learnt more about the Canadian armed forces than I knew before. In Canada, our military branches include the Land Forces Command, Maritime Command, Air Command and Canada Command. Youth can join the military services with parental consent starting at age 17 and reserve and military college applicants can start as young as 16. Canada spends 1.1% of their GDP on the military. Kenya like Canada has an army, navy, and air force. Adults can join the forces at age 18 and must commit to seven to nine years depending on what force they want to become involved in. There are approximately 5 million more people available for manpower in military services than there are in Canada which surprised me a little as well as the fact that 2.8% of the GDP is spent on the military in Kenya. Although the dollar amount is still larger in Canada, it is interesting to learn that a higher percentage point is being assigned to a developing country when the resources could be better spent elsewhere. Perhaps this is for security or because of the corruption in Kenya but even with this information, it is disheartening to learn that resources are being spent in this way.

Diplomacy is important to me and I’ve talked about the power of government before so it is good to know that Kenya has risen to many challenges in foreign diplomacy including in 2005 being a chief mediator in brokering Sudan’s North South Border. Kenya must also work hard to prevent clan vs. militia fighting to pass through the border from Somalia to Kenya and takes in thousands of refugees from Uganda who are escaping the Lord’s Resistance army. Canada does not have the same type of issues but what I identified is the relationship between Canada and the US. Although there are disagreements and issues like trade, security between the two countries acts in cooperation for the most part and both countries are lucky to have a mutual relationship with one another. In the continent of Africa, there is a lot of unrest and a lot of isolated issues that make it hard for countries to work in cooperation with one another. Kenya is challenged and hard pressed to find a cohesive relationship with Somalia because of the unrest. The relationships are not the same and unfortunately make it worse off for countries to work together in cooperation and understanding.

The facts and figures do not lie but I know that money is not everything. It doesn’t take much to effect change. This is what I love about Education for Life and their holistic approach to HIV/AIDS. I look forward to seeing how this organization works and the work they do with limited resources. I think its easy to get caught up in your own life as is but when you are able to reach beyond your natural borders and break beyond them (Beyond Borders, Get it?) you truly learn more then you might ever thought imaginable. I believe this to be true and I look forward to learning more about this in the summer.

For More information:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/