Getting Ahead

The caste system in India was a major obstacle for people to get ahead or move forward in their personal life. Because of the status people were born into in society they could not move ahead in their lives and provide better for themselves in their future. This unfortunate reality caused major upheaval and saw the caste system break down. Although the breaking down of the Caste system did not eliminate India’s poverty or problems, it was a major turning point to create a more egalitarian society. Although Kenya does not have the same rigid caste system as India has, there are certainly many elements that keep Kenya and their citizens behind in the game of life.


One of the things that are ever present in Kenya is the old fashioned and historically important tribes. All of the Kenyans I have met still identify with their ancient familial tribes and identify with the rich heritage that it provides. I believe that tribalism can and is an important part of honouring their rich cultural heritage. Like Canada’s aboriginals, the people of Kenya still want their children to understand about the clothes, dancing, food, language and way of life their ancestors lived. I see nothing wrong with this but it is being overly proud of this heritage that holds Kenyans back.

There is a distinct line between honouring ones heritage and being ignorant of the other rich cultures around you. Students in my secondary school classes will pick on other students because of the way they talk and communicate solely because stereotypically, people within a specific tribe also communicate this way. The students always pick on this one student in class because she talks funny according to them. It is these ideas and this stigma that doesn’t allow for prosperity to move forward. I also had an issue in my class five class where a student called another student a cockroach. This derogatory term was used to describe those killed in the Rwandan genocide and still brings an air of uneasiness to East Africa. Adults seem to be far worse in the tribalism argument. Adults will refuse to rent out office space or residential space to businesses and individuals because of what tribe they belong to and some Kenyans will even refuse to marry or date outside of their tribe.
The majority of people I’ve met are not like this but such is life. It is the people who do act irresponsibly that create the chaos within the society and push people back into a system of slavery that is not defined like it but creates a superiority complex of people and can lead to bigger catastrophe. Culture and history should be wonderful contribution to history. I’ve had the pleasure of having a traditional Kenyan meal from one of the tribes and seeing various dances from different tribes. Its also great to see children learn their mother tongue languages in addition to Kiswahili and English. These are them parts of culture that should be shared and taught but it’s the animosities and grievances that people remember and exploit.

The ability to access certain services for individuals keeps them behind. Kenyans have very little collateral and have very little to offer up so getting loans for business ideas and for housing is near impossible. A lot of people simply need someone to take a chance on them but the reality is that people are no inclined to give people a chance without seeing a clear benefit so the people are often times left with nothing. Even when there are structures in place to support people like youth business loans, finding access to those systems becomes difficult for certain types of people which can actually disqualify those that need the help the most. A good university education can also be hard to come by. Getting diplomas is a lot easier then an actual degree that at a good school can cost 350 000 Kenyan Shillings per school year ($3500 CAD). This price seems more then alright when thinking about it in Canadian standards. Although Canadian students themselves don’t usually have the money to pay for their education, they can off set it by earning money in the summer and having a job market to pay their student loans back afterwards but in Kenya, some middle class workers only make 350 000 Kenyan Shillings a year which puts a huge struggle on affording education, getting a quality education and finding work afterwards. Not to mention, there is no student assistance system because the government simply cannot afford one. Not having access to these essential services disqualifies a lot of people I meet from moving ahead in life.

The system has an important focus on serving the community and community togetherness but there are even greater stresses that contribute to a very aggressive and self centered society including poverty. People have to go through great struggles in order to sustain life for themselves so when the opportunity to advance presents itself, even if it is not the most ethical, people can and will jump through hoops. For example, the internet café that I go to, to update my blog recently had a modem stolen so the eight computers in the café have no internet and the owner who still has to pay the bills does not the ability to generate income unless people need to use the word processing. The thieves on the other hand have a very important piece of technology that they can easily sell on the black market and make a huge penny off of while the internet café owner struggles to move ahead with what I think is a very effective business strategy for the environment he finds himself in.

There are many things within the system that prevent people from getting ahead. Its easy to understand why people have a difficult time overcoming poverty and rising above when the system at every turn prevents them from moving ahead because it favours the wealthiest and most powerful in the society. On the other hand, to see people who refuse to move out of the state of mind of living in community and want to hold on to old vengeances and knowing that it holds back progression is dangerous thinking. It needs to start with the people to work together in cooperation. If it starts here, then hopefully the people can work together to change the system.