TRUTH EXISTS; ONLY LIES ARE INVENTED (GEORGES BRAQUE): LETS LEARN FROM MISTAKES OF OTHERS Certainly pride is a good thing to possess. Self- esteem is key in our well-being and interactions. How, this should be grounded in real value of the self....not lies. At independence, the Ukambani leadership failed to classify their areas correctly. In their minds, it would have been shameful (SHAMEFUL) to accept: (1) That they are a pastorist (CATTLE KEEPERS) community, (2) That their areas were wanting in rainfall. They aligned the area with the agricultural rich Mt. Kenya region, silently suppressing the realities of their people sand region.... Drought and famine plagued their people... In 1976/7, the situation was so severe that a mother, no longer able to watch her children nearly dying of hunger, she attempted to seize someones grazing goat on her way from seeking food assistance. The herds boys raised the alarm and her attempt was foiled. In turn, on reaching her home, she resolved to kill one of her children to feed the remaining ones to ensure their survival. This her act, prompted the Mzee Kenyatta Administration to conduct a nationwide relief appeal.... In early 990s, the late Anthony Wambua Ndilinge raised the alarm that Ukambani people were severe need of food assistance. The then elected leadership, led by cabinet Ministers denied that there was hunger in Ukambani. They did so because they felt going public was going to embarrass the National leadership and themselves: They were not leading a poor hunger stricken population...Ndilinge stood his ground; the Church joined him and stated its resources were so meager that it could not meet the needs of the numbers which required assistance.... The consequences of these self-denial were: 1. Failure to formulate or influence the formulation of policies at national level to mitigate against the severe consequences of adverse weather effects in the area. 2. Delayed development of dry farming in the areas; absent of funding at national level...for related programmes 3. Absence of leadership when the areas were eventually classified as Arid and Semi-arid Lands (ASAL). Anyone familiar with this classification and programme work will agree the Ukambani Leadership never became the DRIVERS although it was its people who were meant to benefit.... This month, Mrs. Agnes Mutindi was given the Drought Management.. mandate... So, what is the point of raising this point on Kwale County fb groupings? It is obvious! The poverty levels are above 70% (people are poor to the extent that it affects education; a hungry child can hardly remain in class and the girl child is easily disposed of in early marriage, etc) coupled with high dependance ratios... and drought stricken in more than half of the County... I have seen people here talk loftily of the Hotel Industrys (Tourism) investments along the sea shore. Indeed, Diani is the Miami of Kenya. South Coast is rich in Tourism... Some have even taken a step further to talk of Dubai... All this talk is good and possibly correct on face value. However, on the development front, the talk only serves to prop-up personal egos. Just like in Dubai where the city plans/ design work and businesses are only meant for the wealthy, so is the case with Kwales tourism show. It is the wealthy who patronise the hotels; it is the wealthy who have invested in the Industry so to speak. And these are the minority and mostly from outside Kwale. The locals have little direct benefits. As we tap it (Tourism), lets not forget to work on the realities of our people. Lets not be ashamed to acknowledge and articulate ways to mitigate our poverty and social needs. A holistic approach is necessary. The word is HOLISTIC. To the requester, you can take it up from here! My advice is get in touch with Kwale County Government individuals for better liaison....if the passion is to bear fruits! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamba_people
Posted on: Mon, 27 Jan 2014 10:47:07 +0000
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