Nairobye

Well it's hard to believe, but tonight I’m heading back to the U.S.A. This was such an amazing experience - everything here is so different from what I'm used to and I really feel like I learned a lot.
  Last night I was thinking about what I’ll take away from this trip, and what its most lasting impacts will be for me. One is that I’ll definitely appreciate the things we have in the U.S. more from now on. This includes things we take for granted such as cleaner air, tap water that’s safe to drink, sidewalks, the ability to walk around at night, and paved roads. I’ll also appreciate the fact that I have enough food to eat the entire year, adequate shelter, quick access to medicine if I get sick, fair elections that occur without violence, and the education I need to pursue a career of my choosing.
    In some ways I think East Africa is a sobering reminder that these are things that must be worked for by a society – they don’t exist automatically. There are people in Kenya and Tanzania who die because they can’t afford very inexpensive medicine, who teeter on the brink of starvation on a regular basis, are killed or lose their entire livelihoods due to ethnic violence, and are unable to escape the subsistence lifestyle they were born in to due to lack of education or other barriers outside of their control. In the developed Western world the average person does not have to deal with these sorts of tragedies, in large part because we have well-functioning governments and social norms that prevent them. Some sort of medical insurance is available to most people, education is easily accessible, political violence is not accepted, policies exist to insure economic growth benefits a broad segment of the population, and safety nets are provided for people in extreme poverty. I think this trip has taught me how important these arrangements are, and how crucial it is that we work to ensure they remain in place and are improved where possible.
    Although the poverty we saw was at times overwhelming, I really did come away with a sense that change, even quick change, is possible. The new constitution in Kenya represents a radical departure from the previous way government was conducted in Kenya. There are many provisions designed to do away with special treatment for politicians (including a provision, which many MPs are still resisting that requires politicians to pay the same income taxes as all Kenyans), as well as to hold government more accountable to its citizens.
   In addition, developing countries such as Kenya and Tanzania are prime targets for investment, especially with the economic trouble developed countries have been having recently. Production methods are extremely inefficient in these countries, and so the returns on technology or capital investments are potentially enormous. For example, we saw construction workers using shovels to construct roads. By investing in a backhoe, their production could be increased immensely. In the U.S., where every construction worker already uses modern machinery, the returns on a capital investment such as a backhoe are much smaller. So in theory, the developing world should receive enormous levels of investment which could help to fuel rapid development.
    The trouble, of course, is that investors are looking to invest in countries that are politically stable, free of corruption, have a well-educated workforce, and possess basic infrastructure such as roads and electricity. So even though Kenya and Tanzania have enormous potential for growth, this potential hasn’t yet been realized in part because they have a hard time attracting outside investment. If corruption can be eradicated, education and infrastructure improved, and political stability achieved, not only will people benefit directly, but the investment needed to become a developed nation will be delivered.
    Lots of the ingredients for rapid development seem to be in place. The people of this region are incredibly resourceful. For example, there aren’t enough policemen to combat speeding, but so many speed bumps have been put on the roads that you can’t really speed anyways. One of the Synovate vans we were driving in had already travelled 850,000 kilometers – with the roads it goes on I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it. People find a way to live in relative comfort on incomes a small fraction of the size that would be considered normal in the developed world. In addition, the entrepreneurial spirit is extremely strong here. Small shops crowd the roads and village centers, and I would say over half of the respondents I interviewed said they ran some sort of small business. And finally, Kenya and Tanzania have the advantage of being able to “leapfrog” some stages of development that the Western world had to go through. For example, in Kenya you won’t see many telephone lines since people have gone straight to cell phones. And it isn’t necessary for countless wi-fi networks to be set up here, either – for a very reasonable price you can buy a mobile modem that uses cell phone networks to deliver internet (practically the entire country is covered).
    So those are my final reflections as I fly over the Sahara Desert. I learned a lot about conducting research this summer, and that’s something that will be very valuable to me in the future. Hopefully I made some contribution to the enormous task of economic and social development in Eastern Africa, as well. But I think the thing that I’ll remember and value most is having seen the way people live here, and the ways in which they cope with enormous challenges and try to improve their lives. Hopefully I’ll make it back to Africa someday, it is such a beautiful and interesting place. When I do, I hope Africa will be well on its way to its goal of being “The Continent of the 21^st Century.” Kwahare!