SATURDAY, 7th JUNE 2008
THIS WEEK IN ELDORET, we have seen the presence of the Army back on the streets. Quite low key - two or three thinly spread in the Town centre and immediate suburbs. They are armed! Still they look very relaxed and fairly friendly. More like the local 'bobby' on his beat but with army fatigues instead of the usual uniform. BUT WHY ARE THEY HERE?
Well it is NOT because the Country is up in arms again for any reason as it was in the early New Year. No, but there IS discontent and especially amongst the unemployed or semi employed youth. You may remember that on average Kenya has approximately 60% of its population aged under 20. Most of these are out of School AND unemployed. A situation that produces a largely layabout mob in most towns in various degrees of need. NO - it is because, at least in Eldoret, the Municipal Council has decided to set itself against Street Hawkers, as they are called.
Usually these are young men peddling wares on the street, sometimes on behalf of Retail Shops in the town and sometimes on their own behalf. There have even been times - say on a Friday afternoon when they have actually spread out their wares on the pavements and streets, necessitating traffic diversions. This has not seemed to have upset many until the newly elected Mayor and Corporation came into Office. They are not apparently determined to clear the streets of Hawkers come what may - and MAYHEM may be the outcome.
Some years back a Slogan appeared in the Press
KEEP HAWKERS OFF THE STREETS, BUT IN BUSINESS
I thought then, as I do now, that this was very apt, and a slogan that should be taken to heart by all - at least in our town of Eldoret if not throughout the Nation. Many Authorities see Hawkers or Peddlers as they may have been called, as very undesirable; even a public nuisance; something like a pestilence, akin to flies and mosquitoes - similar to the way Street Children are seen to be. BUT these people are very different to Street Children, for they are actually doing their best to earn a living as honourably as they can either with or without education - and I can personally honour them for that!
Too many are content to steal rather than actually WORK, and many others are just as willing to hand around and live off the labour of others. Paul says in 2.Thessalonians 3v10- 'If anyone will not work, neither let him eat.' VERY strong advice! He says in Ephesians 4v28 - 'Let the thief steal no more, but rather let him be industrious, making an honest living with his hands, so that he may be able to give to those in need.' OF COURSE there IS a huge unemployment problem, but it is not always because there is NO work to be done, no job to be had. Sometimes it is because the job available is not to the liking of the one seeking employment. Not everyone can begin in a nice clean work environment at comfortable wage. Many available jobs are dirty, underpaid, physically demanding and just plainly unattractive. - BUT if someone wants to EARN something for himself work IS there. And a self respecting man or woman will make every effort to FIND something to do.
Thus the Hawker has my commendation. He has found something to do. He may have been to School or College, even University. He may be totally uneducated, landless and homeless, but he has found something to bring in an honest shilling or two. Such a person is worthy of respect AND also encouragement. Rather than being seen as a burden to society or their own family these people have humbled themselves to do what is often very hard indeed to do - to turn away from their hopes and dreams to face the hard reality of life and necessity. They walk miles and miles in a day in all weathers, often loaded with merchandise which is wearisome to carry, difficult to exhibit, and hard to sell! For their labour they must ever be ready to be ignored, scowled upon, and even cursed for their importunity. At the end of the day they find little gleaned for themselves to live upon, and day after day, week after week, they must continue to so toil, for the most part despised by everyone. Yes, it is true, the can harass the shopper, the man or woman in the street; they may take a little trade away from the regular shopkeeper. But all the same they are trying earn an honest living.
Should we or anyone else discourage them? Should we harass them OUT of this honest endeavour? The answer OUGHT to be NO!
AND NOW, here we are again with even more Hawkers mingling with the shopper and the traffic on the streets of Eldoret, and no doubt on every other town and city in the Country. They are a nuisance! Let's get rid of them.
There seems little sympathy for them from the powers that be. Many of the hawkers on the streets will have voted our present Municipal Council into Office - and now those very Councilors have taken council together to get rid of these very same hawkers. Feelings are funning high, and there have been signs of riot and antagonism - thus the ARMY is in Town! Not a good sign. Not a good way to solve a human problem.
A man in his late fifties that I knew in England many years ago had been a self made man. He had spent a lifetime in commerce, starting off by selling a bag of plums in his local market. With the profit he purchased two more bags, selling them also, and so on. As the weeks and months passed he prospered enough to buy a barrow, and later rent a Market Stall. Finally he bought a shop in the High Street, and eventually owned a chain of Green Grocery and Fritterers across the north of England. But he had laboured in order to prosper, and he was permitted to labour by a sympathetic society that saw his right to a living.
Obviously I am not saying that every hawker on the streets will become a millionaire. But perhaps some will. The Bible says in Proverbs 10v4 - 'He who deals with a slack hand becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes one rich.' And again in Proverbs 13v4 - 'The soul of the sluggard desires and has nothing, but the soul of the diligent shall be made rich.'
and finally in Proverbs 22v29 - 'Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand in front of unknown men.'
IN THE 14th Century, in England, a boy of 13 was said to have left education and gone off to the City of London to find work. he found none to his liking and finally became an errand boy to a Clothing company. He was paid nothing, but provided with his food and lodging. But he listened carefully and watched, and LEARNED the trade of the Clothier. Very much like my friend with his bag of [plumbs Dick Whittington started a small business selling cloth and material of all kinds. Eventually he established a business that became renowned. so famous was it that even the king heard of it and became a regular customer. Dick Whittington was to become a household name in England, and was four times Lord Mayor of London and Knighted by the King. BUT he began as a school drop out, on the streets of London, a poor, parentless boy who wanted to WORK and better himself. He was not in a hurry, but he was determined, and with carefulness and honesty he slowly established himself. He was NOT lazy, not looking for something for nothing. He was not a 'con-man'. No he was a young person with self respect, moral fiber, and vision - and he succeeded. If we have God in mind, and if we are industrious and true in all we attempt, we shall also succeed - as also will the contemptible 'Hawker'. To prevent and frustrate such is to bring down calumny upon our own heads and commercial prosperity.
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I am writing this in the afternoon of a very cloud-laden WET Saturday.
Once again I am typing in our sitting room in Green Cottage, looking out through the big window onto the lawn and across to Testimony House.
It is cold today. Later we shall light a fire, as will probably the other Family Homes. Well, at least Testimony and Jacaranda may do so; Drakely and Tyndale do not have fireplaces so will no doubt have to switch on their electric heater if it gets too chilly.
This is a 'coldy' / malarial time.
The time when the COLD and RAINY season begin to suddenly bite
The change from a fairly moderate and comfortable climate to one that has suddenly forgotten the sun and the warmth can be drastic for the well being of some.
It will probably not go down in temperature much more than to C17 - it is 19 today. I guess that sounds quite pleasant to you, but to us it is COLD!!
Our four teenagers have now left Testimony House and started their own lives in their own rented accommodation. None of them are far from us, and we shall probably see them Sunday by Sunday as they come to Church with us - at least initially. Each had used their three months salary from their places of work to buy bed, bedding, and cooking utensils. TFH has added £150 each in cash to help them get started with foodstuffs, rent etc. for the first month. Quite an adventure - no doubt a little daunting - (I know it was for me when I left home to fend for myself when I was 16) Our son James Manu has also left home - He actually has been attending University for the last four years but we have had him home with us most weekends. Now he has finished his Course in IT and has gone some 800 kilometres away to do his final Attachment. He will be away two and half months, then return for Graduation. After THAT he is hoping to find employment in Nairobi. To all intents and purposes he has been slowly leaving home for some time now, and we can see that the future consumes his interest and ambition, which is as it should be. It is still somehow hard to see one's children more and more at a distance physically......... Helen our youngest daughter will commence Nursery Teacher Training in a Christian College in Nairobi in September, God Willing. She is still the quiet little 'Tweetie-pie', but she is more self assured than she was, and seems happy and excited about this next step (her own choice) for her self. And so by the end of the year it will be 'Darby and Joan' alone! NOOOO..! we will never actually be alone, since our home is for ever crammed with children both from the Homes and the School.
Thursday this week saw a great storm of rain and hail engulf our compound and surrounds. We have never seen or heard such a deluge since living here - almost 36 years now. The hail was so think upon the ground - pieces of ice as big as marbles - that it had not melted away even after 5 hours. Good test for the new room of the Guest House. No leaks, and no damage to anything except for one small bird that lost her next and chicks in a small shrub where she had built her home quite close to us. The phone was dead for two days, and the Electricity went on and off four times into the night. But that is normal....
Yesterday - Friday - we had a gift arrive via AENON Trust to which many of you had contributed. We had in fact been totally without funds since the previous Saturday, but we had enough on hand not to need us to spend until Thursday night. When Friday dawned we knew there was nothing in the cupboard or the Bank. By 10a.m. the Bank rang to say a Gift had arrived! Yet gain the timing was perfect. We thank you all who may in some way of contributed to our deliverance in His Name. Obviously some of you will have contributed financially, but I am equally sure that some of you will have also been praying for our provision, preparing the way for together with ourselves. SO truly Friday was a Day of Thanksgiving. Praise the Lord.
God Bless and be with you all.
John and Esther
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