Kisumu

  Just wrapped up field work in our second to last site, the Kisumu region of Western Kenya. Kisumu(below) is a town of about 100,000 people on the shores of Lake Victoria, about a five hour drive from Nairobi. It was good to be back in Kenya after three weeks in Tanzania - in many ways Kenya seems a lot closer to home. English is much more widely spoken here, and several of the field workers and CRS staff that we worked with in Kisumu were also with us during the Malindi leg. We arrived in Kisumu on a Monday, and after three days of training, one day conducting a pilot survey, and a day off (surveys cannot be conducted in this region on Saturday because of the high percentage of devout Seventh Day Adventists), we were finally ready to get back to surveying.  

   Before I get into our experience of this region, I’d like to provide some background information on this area. Kisumu is the capital of Nyanza, one of Kenya’s eight provinces (the others are Western, Rift Valley, Central, Nairobi, Coast, Eastern, and North Eastern). Nyanza is tucked into the southwest corner of the country, and borders both Western Kenya and the much larger Rift Valley, where we are about to start surveying. Nyanza is populated predominantly by the Luo tribe, Kenya’s third largest behind the Kikuyu and Luhya. Some notable Luo include Raila Odinga, the current prime minister of Kenya, and Barak Obama’s father (when Barak Obama was elected, there was much celebrating due to an expectation that this region would benefit from its connections to our president).  

    Kenya’s president, Mwai Kibaki, is a member of the Kikuyu tribe, and he was elected during a bitterly contested election in 2007 in which he ran against Odinga. This election, like many Kenyan elections, led to an outbreak of violence. Kikuyu is one of Odinga’s strongholds, and it was at the center of the post-election violence. Kikuyu people living in this region were in many cases forced off their land, had their property destroyed, or were violently attacked. A Kikuyu CRS staff member who we worked with used to live in Kisumu, but was forced to leave after the election.

   There is still much evidence of this violence today. One large building we saw in the middle of Kisumu remains destroyed after having been set on fire, and we have seen many burned out homes and businesses.  The next election is about a year away, and we have been unable to reach a number of our respondents because they have left the region in anticipation of renewed violence.    

   By all accounts, tribalism is a major problem in Kenya.  In addition to helping motivate the sort of violence seen in 2007, it has led to political dysfunction and mistrust of government. There are nearly 50 distinct tribes in Kenya, each with its own language, culture, and homeland (although it is not uncommon for people to live in other areas). In the wake of the previous election, Kenya has begun taking steps to try to deal with this problem.

   Shortly after the election, Kenya passed a new constitution. One of the most important changes this new constitution made was the introduction of devolved government. Instead of choices being made by the central government, which is often dominated by one tribe, more power will be given to local governments. The hope is that people will feel more represented by their government, and there will be less of a power struggle in the central government. Another initiative is to spread the use of English and Swahili, which could unite different tribes through a common language.  

   So these are some of the issues that have shaped Nyanza’s past. The area itself is much different from Malindi and Tanzania. In many ways it is like a warmer version of Nairobi. It is green, wet, and hilly. People here are better off than the other places we’ve been (it seems that we have gone to progressively richer locations). Most of the houses have metal roofs, multiple rooms, and furniture. One house even had a TV, powered by a generator. One interesting thing about this house was that the woman we interviewed said that the family often had to go about a month or so without eating lunch in order to make food last between harvests. This household appeared to be solidly in Kenya’s middle class (one of the richest village households), and is located in an area where food security is less of a concern than many other regions of East Africa. However, even they are not able to acquire all the food they want for one reason or another.

    The people in this area were exceptionally hospitable. They often insisted on praying for us when we arrived and again once we were ready to leave. In addition, we were usually offered large bags of groundnuts (peanuts) after the interviews. I always tried to refuse this gift, especially because eating more than a few could make us sick since they are uncooked (this also makes them taste not quite as good). However, on two occasions this was impossible, and so I ended up giving the bags to the enumerators, who will boil, fry, or soak them in salt water before eating. I was also offered hot fermented milk once, which I actually sort of liked before I realized what it was.  

Groundnuts

   We only spent three days in the field in this region, as the Western Kenya team we are monitoring is split into two groups. I will definitely miss this area. The climate is perfect, the scenery is beautiful, and the people are friendly. Another nice thing is that many of the respondents speak relatively good English, which allowed me for the first time to actually speak directly with them. One of the interviews I observed was actually conducted in English, which was very interesting. This also represents the beginning of the end of our trip – five days in Eldoret and then it’s back to Nairobi for one day before flying home. This trip has gone by so fast! Tomorrow we start our final leg – the Eldoret region of the Rift Valley.