Matatu Talk: Philosophies in Transportation

Squeezed into the rough carcass of 15 seat mini bus, barely the size of a minivan, I share simple but interrupted greetings with fellow sardine-packed passengers through the boisterous conductor and the boombastic hip hop.   Each matatu, the name given to them in kiswahili, is characterized by a theme which includes colorful imagery and a genre of music to match.   Some of the most common; a Bob Marley-rasta-themed matatu, sporting the gold, green and black of the the Jamaican flag, blaring beach reminiscent reggae.  Or there is the 'Arsenal Gunners' English Premier League (EPL) football team theme, English Premier League is the American Football equivalent in Kenya.  Or representing their favorite rapper 'Weezy off the Heezy for Sheezy'.   Or if you want to put your commute in the God's hands, probably not a bad option the way matatu weave through Nairobi traffic, the religious plastered option is a good one, example 'Blessed'.  Admission only 20 bob or about 20 cents.  Being smashed among too many patrons ignites conversation, the clogged arteries of Nairobi permit discussion to deepen.

"I am Somali but I am not from Somalia." A retired Somali Airline captain with duel citizenship, Somalian and Canadian.  "When you divide by zero you have nothing, zero in education, zero in health, zero in everything.  I can't be from some where that doesn't exist."  We talk about the artistic tongue of Somalians.  They speak in poetry as described by K'naan's in an interview with the editor-and-chief of the Globe and Bono.  I am able to visualize his pain through his poetic verse even though English is his second or maybe even his third language.

"The Obama administration has let us, Kenyans and Africans down."  I ask if it is because there was a high expectation for President Obama because he is of Kenyan decent?  To my surprise, he explains,  "we did have a high expectation and he is not meeting that expectation.  He is not evening measuring up to President George W. Bush."

This coming from a Kenyan architecture student studying at the University of Nairobi.  I have heard this sentiment over and over in the time I've spent in Kenya.  This is a drastic change even from one year ago when Kenyans noticing the mzungu walking down the street, would make the assumption we are all American and would yell "OBAMA!".  This time much different I never heard any yell the President Obama's name that was so commonplace during my last trip.

I heard this recurring sentiment that the Obama administration has let Africa down, I turned to another traveler "what are your thoughts?"  Oscar, a Kenyan American who lives in Indianapolis and owns his own Risk Management consulting firm eagerly debates "It is time for Kenya to stop expecting handouts, they are old enough, they can do it on their own."

Analogous to a Masai male child who has to slay a lion on his own as his rite of passage to manhood so too Kenya is at the stage where they need their rite of passage, this is Oscar's opinion.  Oscar is in Nairobi on business consulting with companies that are conducting business in Kenya.  This is the first time in years that he has spent more than only a couple of weeks and he notes "things are really changing.  It is amazing.  There is a lot of positive momentum in Kenya."

It can be found that the most common mode of transit, with the most common people and having an open dialogue can be very revealing, thought provoking and challenge our perspective.  When have you taken the opportunity to find out your fellow citizen's perspective?  Take every chance you get.

A Scenario of the Future: Revolution and Change at What Cost?

A Scenario of the Future

Fanned by discontent, top down dictation from the 'powerful', the disenfranchised began to smolder like hot coals underneath a well prepared tent of kiln dried wood. Their complaint: money hungry power brokers are extraditing ever ounce of resource from society. Taking back power and control requires a uniting. Unity through expression. With A uniting and growing opposition a 'revolution' takes place. The disenfranchised are creating news that is being consumed by others around the clock. They have become their own 24 hr newsroom. Using social media sources, they are expressing a voice, a common voice, a voice of change.

Governments fret and are increasingly concerned. They claim they are worried about the effects of irresponsible information being shared by one and cascading to thousands and millions. They are worried about public and national safety. Governments work together to determine how to prohibit the spread of 'misinformation' as if trying to eradicate a pandemic. They discuss registering individuals and providing learners permits to individuals to ensure "responsible" journalism. The controls become tighter all to avoid 'chaos' and all for the sake of national security.

Today's News

This was a future scenario presented during the Internet Governance Forum (IGF) I attended at the United Nations Office at Nairobi, Kenya (UNON). Is this possible? The first half of this scenario is playing out as we speak. The 'Arab Spring' created revolutionary changes throughout the Middle East and Northern Africa despite controls and limits on communications and violence by repressive regimes. These protests are continuing in 'stable' democracies like India and now we are seeing waves of revolution ripple through the 'developed world'. Protests are occurring throughout Europe (Spain, Greece) and the United States (Occupy Wall Street). The "99%" are becoming further disenfranchised

"we will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants."~ Occupy Wall Street.

Unemployment has reached historical levels, food prices are rising rapidly and it is perceived that governments are failing to represent the majority, but rather seemingly pandering to the rich and powerful. Would the free speech democracies of the West actually limit free speech for the 'greater good' of society? Would they compromise individual privacy to avoid abrupt change? Change by the people for the people?

The the topic of the session that directly followed the Future Scenarios presentation was 'Mobile Privacy'. The panel, constructed of representatives from Google, Ushahidi, AT&T, GSMA and academia (a professor from a European Uni and a member of a Indian think tank). The discussion of mobile privacy quickly becomes 'real' when a probing question is posed by an Egyptian and a participant in the 'Arab Spring' for revolutionary change. Although, he states, he was able to circumvent the mobile network and continue to tweet atrocities and rallying cries during the Egyptian revolution, why did Vodafone in Egypt obey a corrupt regimes demands by shutting down their network at the cost of support for the revolution and maybe even lives. Why weren't mobile carriers protecting their customers rather than pandering to government demands.

In addition, mobile location and information was being utilized by this regime to identify and target individuals. What would stop the same thing from taking place in the West? What if Western governments demanded that twitter or mobile communications be suspended in the name of 'national security' or even the creators of this information be identified by location and by mobile number? What is the definition of national security? And wouldn't these governments also be scripting the definition, and thus there be a severe conflict of interest? Should mobile communication ever be suspended or compromised? Or would this scenario never play out because we are part of a free world and free speech democracy? By the people for the people?

The Third Revolution

Author Jeremy Rifkin states in his new book, The Third Revolution: How Lateral Power Will Transform Society, "the conventional, top-down, centralized approach to organizing economic activity that characterized the fossil fuel-based First and Second Industrial Revolutions, is being challenged by the new distributed and collaborative organizing models that go with a Third Industrial Revolution." Rifkin describes this Third Revolution as a change in "our sense of relationship to and responsibility for our fellow human beings." Is change in our economic, political and financial systems inevitable? Is western democracy, the growth of capitalism and evolution of globalization destined for drastic change? Does this mean that these well established institutions need to be razed and rebuilt? But change doesn't come without a price. What price are the disenfranchised willing to pay and how easily will these mature institutions embrace drastic change? What will it take?

This revolution is called the "intercontinental era" according to Rifkin.  He argues that it "will SLOWLY transform international relations from geopolitics to biosphere politics." It does seem that there is a new way emerging. A way of drastic and immediate change which has occurred in Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and is taking place in Syria and rippling through the Middle East. Can or does change occur (or need to occur) in the West as abruptly and explicitly?

The only thing consistent in life is change. To finish with a statement about the Third Revolution Mr. Rifkin articulates:

The American dream, long held as the gold standard for aspiring people everywhere, is squarely in the Enlightenment tradition, with its emphasis on the pursuit of material self-interest, autonomy and independence. Quality of life, however, speaks to a new vision of the future -- one based on collaborative interest, connectivity and interdependence. We come to realize that true freedom is not found in being unbeholden to others and an island to oneself but, rather, in deep participation with others. If freedom is the optimization of one's life, it is measured in the richness and diversity of one's experiences and the strength of one's social bonds. A life less lived is an impoverished existence.

A challenge to us all and Mohandas Gandhi said it the best "be the change you want to see in the world".

Guest Blog Post: Lions and Eagles: stories of courage and commitment

.......The most common animal was the eagle. “The eagle feeds and raises it chicks until the baby is ready to fly. The mother pushes the eagle out of the nest to thrive on its own when it’s ready.” This served as a powerful metaphor for the work of these amazing childcare practitioners. They all desired to nurture these children in need, and then empower them to survive and thrive as strong individuals......

Please read more about the great things happening in Kenya through my guest blog post for Each Inc at....http://www.eachinc.org/2011/10/lions-and-eagles-stories-of-courage-and.html

The 1am Buzz

Lids spring open.  The roar of an F-16, running touch and go drills on barren tarmac.  Abruptly ended sleep. Just in time for dinner, if I was in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).  6 days in a row and counting.  The hands on the clock have moved 360 ticks past midnight.  As if on a timer, ocular shades fly open, triggered by the 360th tick.

My mind begins to race and then, as though awaiting the right moment, the buzz approaches and fades, approaches and fades, approaches and fades for the next three hours.  Avoiding any anti-aircraft defense I can muster.   I work to create a improvised mosquito net out of my bed sheet.  The sheet is barely big enough for a over-sized three year old.  There are two, beyond stuffed and hockey-goalie-pad firm pillows that I have chosen to use as my first line of defense against the mosquito.

Finally after wearying frustration I become desensitized enough that the mosquito's flyby began to seem more distant and fleeting.   Both the mosquito and I finally reach a level of exhaustion where I drift back into the darkness only to be rudely awaken by my alarm clock and the shimmer of morning light through my gaudy, patterned window curtains.  Lethargic, I roll out of bed hoping that my interrupted nap will be more true the next night and that the mosquito will find another victim or that I will find a full enough sleep to be oblivious to the repetitive, minute, intravenous blood extraction.

Kenya = Convergence

Dimly lit, tobacco yellowed walls, corridors meander their way to the visa counter.  Oblivious mzungus (that was me last year) queue behind meaningless signs 'Visas ONLY'.  Having done this before I selected the shortest line behind the sign that read 'East African Citizens ONLY'.  Awaiting on the other side of customs a rotund smiley chap named Justin.

Immediately met with the electricity of the Kenya hustle.  Cabs queue, individuals pace, the night is alive.  My nose detects a familiar smell, association to memories etched a year ago.  Sulfides from robust diesels sting the nostrils.  The night masks most of Kenya's features.  Jet-lagged interrupted sleep unveils a cloud draped Kenyan morning.  Muted earth tones so vibrant against the enveloped gray morning.  Smell and texture of the chalky earth supplement the experience of the landscape.  How did I end up back in Kenya a year after leaving?

Serendipity.  From a pub called the Weary Traveler in Madison, WI over a pint of one the numerous Wisconsin made micro-brews, a serendipitous friendship.  Two weary travelers exchanging career, family and life experiences.  The common ground, the Mitten state, and as visitors to Madison.  Our conversation turns to another commonality, social enterprise, by way of Ethiopia.  Having just traveled there my weary traveler friend's sister was currently in Addis.  The scarred mahogany bar, our connection and social tribune.  Contact information would be exchanged and so too the convergence.

My new friend's sister was starting a non-profit called Each Inc.  Each Inc's mission; "provide 
capacity 
building and
 technology 
support 
for 
individuals 
and organizations 
that 
identify 
and 
provide 
care 
and 
protection
 to vulnerable 
children 
globally."  A powerful and grand mission.  The equation; I was looking to utilize 6 weeks of vacation I had accrued over the last year and Each Inc. needed someone to conduct their first field demo of a mobile technology platform for child care practitioners.

My intention and objective for these 6 weeks was to 'live' in one location to truly absorb a new culture; the people, the food, the language and the pace of life.  My plan was to volunteer with a non-profit so that I was living, working and doing something productive during these 6 weeks.  Operationalizing this plan would turn out to be more difficult than I had anticipated.  Through all my research the only thing I could find was 'voluntourism' where not only would I have to pay for my flight and accommodations I also had to pay to volunteer.  Believe it or not.

Each Inc. would be the opportunity that I was looking for and I would only have to pay for my flight and accommodations and still accomplish my objective.  The course was set now we needed to decide on a location.  Originally the Latin America culture and improving my limited grasp on Spanish was the draw.  Each Inc. had some potential partners in Honduras, Belize and Guatemala and in Africa (Kenya, Rwanda and Ethiopia).  Having already lived in Kenya there were positives and negatives to being back in Kenya.  I became enchanted with Kenya, a country with endless beauty, unimaginable wildlife, a culture brimming with hope, a people with beaming smiles that seem hereditary and a place with more momentum than a tidal wave.  The only negative...I had already lived in Kenya.

The target was moving and a new location was proposed almost weekly.  My only condition to Jean was that she send me wherever she felt the best opportunities for Each Inc. existed. So +20 hours of travel crossing through Europe then arriving in the dark of a Nairobi night.  Kenya will be my home for the next 4 weeks.  Back to a country and people I had grown so fond of.  A K'naan melody echos among the lobes of the cerebral cortex.  Karibu Kenya!      

The convergence has just begun.....

Potentially Kenya

Running in Nairobi is much like life for the average Kenyan. There are obstacles and risks with every step. Not having sidewalks presents the continuous task of avoiding gaping holes in the black top or feeling the brush of a exhaust spewing vehicle as it passes dangerously close. At roughly a mile above sea level the air contains depleted oxygen levels causing the pulmonary system to labor more intensely. With each exchange the blood is less oxygen enriched then running at lower altitudes.

A night out in Nairobi

My first night out in Nairobi since my arrival week. The occasion, celebrating the end of a arduous week filled with obstacles. Monday morning's commute was ominous of the week to come. Much like the body's circulatory system we travel the main artery out of the heart of Nairobi as vehicle queues build on the vein into the city. Monday morning our car flowed freely out Upper Kibete as the inbound lanes posed deeper queues than normal. Our conversation, comes to an abrupt halt....there is a large bus screaming the wrong way down the middle of the expressway coming straight for us. Our driver, old Charles, (there are three Charles who work for our car service and he is uncharacteristically abrasive for a Kenyan)calmly veers and shakes his head with only slight disappointment as though he had anticipated the ongoing bus. Our heads whip around to make sense of what just happened as we watch the bus barreling down the expressway weaving through oncoming traffic....this wouldn't be the worst of our week.

Analogies of Africa

There is an African proverb that goes like this:

Every morning in Africa a gazelle awakens knowing it must today run faster than the fastest lion or it will be eaten. Every morning a lion awakens knowing it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It matters not whether you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun rises you had better be running.

Sitting in an over-sized plush armed chair in the posh and tightly secured lobby of the InterContinental Hotel Nairobi I am eagerly anticipating a meeting with a delegate from the African Union. The lobby is a buzz with foreign guests seeking meetings with the African and Kenyan elite. The slick marble floor reflects an annoying and eye squinting glare. I am uncertain what to expect.

Jina langu ni Matt

Matt: Habari yako
Driver: nzuri
Driver: na wewe je
Matt: nzuri pia

I think I accomplished the some embryonic dialogue with our driver as he laughs and drives away.

Kiswahili lessons with a jolly Kenyan named Ezekiel. My opportunity to learn some actual Swahili phrases other than just sawa sawa (fine fine) and sema (talk to me). Our introduction a brief history of Africa, swahili and the root of the endless number of African languages.

BOMF- 16k race up Mt. Kenya while straddling 2 hemispheres

6k (3 and 3/4 miles) to go, about 10,000ft above sea level, I took a glance behind me and there he was just 100 meters away....a heart wrenching feeling having ascended so far all alone. I quickly commenced a mentally taxing, tactical triage as I calculated a way to create enough distance between us. The tactic, an acceleration at each of these acute gradient switchbacks in the oxygen depleted air that might establish just enough distance causing the chase to abort....

From 16K up to Mt. Kenya to 11800ft

Physical activity has not been my strength while being in Nairobi. The roads lacking sidewalks, the reckless Kenyan drivers nor the client's demands are conducive to a regular exercise routine. So when an email populated my outlook requesting someone to fill a spot in a 16k (~10 miles)race up Mt. Kenya (from 7800ft to 11800ft)I apprehensively accepted. Influenced by the fact that I would at least get to see Mt. Kenya even if I knew it was going to be a struggle to traverse the 16K up the mountain.

Power Outages, Power Driving, Power Boats and Powerful vistas

Accustomed to power outages I've become (that sentence seems Yotaesque). Reclined, typing away, tucked into the large and worn off-white leather sofa, the lights sputter. A regular occurance sitting at dinner or working from behind a computer screen the energy infrastructure is not very reliable but power is secondary when you are nestled in the grasps of the wild and the vastness of the Great Rift Valley (GRV- they don't use this acronym but I will rock it). An hour's drive from Nairobi the GRV (see saved you a few milliseconds that you just wasted reading this) and the great lakes region of Kenya lies wide open like the mouth of a child awaiting the spoon aircraft to deposit tasty morsels. The dwarfing backdrops of cloud piercing volcanic mountains, sheer cliff like gashes torn into the bedrock, inflict awe inspiring reflection. God's power and glory, painted on the landscape and molded in the beasts that traverse this land. Getting their is the first challenge, by car, by driving, by ourselves(without our reliant driver)....

A Nation Reborn....Kenya's New Constitution

Optimism, painted on the face of every Kenyan, saturating the oxygen depleted air of Nairobi. Reminiscent of Obama's inauguration Kenyans captivated by the illumination of televisions at their local Nakumutt (Kenya's Walmart) as the President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, endorsed the document amidst cheers from the capacity crowd (Kenyans took advantage of every vantages including atop trees). Supported by numerous, in the flesh, international dignitaries and punctuated by a 21 gun salute.

Police shakedown and a series of unfortunate events

Seamless...would not be the way I describe Kenya. Undiscovered intrinsic potential yes. From observation Kenyans work hard performing the most routine of tasks. This includes basic transportation. Like attempting to catch a ride by running alongside a matatu (Nairobi's version of a shuttle bus each characteristically displaying their unique flair)as it navigates traffic to jump in and fill a slight gap in an already tightly packed vehicle. Machines (mostly cars and Matatus) are pushed to their limit as drivers weave through traffic to minimize any gap between them and the nearest vehicle in their horizon.

My worst nightmare....I am on my way to the Doctor..... in Kenya

I am on my way to the doctor in Kenya....every traveler's worst nightmare, it is uncomfortable enough going to the doctor in the States let alone the developing world. Flashbacks of ostentatiously hung photos in the waiting room of Passport Health where I received all $1000 worth of shots in two arms prior to leaving the Baltimore. The photos depict crude medical facilities in the developing world....all a scare tactic....right?

Are we in Jurassic Park? Friday morning coffee and bbq

The lions devoured the calves that we were breeding and we've been eagerly waiting 9 months to see the outcome, Agaba, a scientist at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), tells my colleague Nick and I. A few months ago they also got in and killed 40 sheep. They killed all 40? Agaba chuckles no the sheep freaked out and stampeded each other. It must have been a relatively bountiful and easy smorgasbord. This usually only occurs during 'the migration'.

The Entrepreneurs of Kibera Slum

How are you? How are you? How are you? The little kids of the Kibera(means Jungle in Nubian) slum (the second biggest slum in Africa and home to somewhere between 600,000 and 1.5 million Nairobians depending on time of year)shout as they see wazungus (whites) walk through the slum. It is the only English most of them know. The children are strikingly cute even though their faces are marred by dirt and snot. All smiles as they run over trash laden dirt walkways edged by small drainage ditches and low profile shacks made of mud and roofed with corrugated metal. Dogs scamper amongst make shift bbqs spewing smoke from the drippings of indistinguishable animal parts. Goats, chickens and ducks wander through trash piles grubbing on whatever edible crumb they stumble upon. Meat from these animals is displayed hanging from windows and on rice sacks covered in flies. A constant rotten, sour and pungent smell is forced into my mouth and nostrils by the swirling winds mix with dry red earth almost immediately drying out my eyes, nostrils and mouth. The only structure that is not a low profile shanty is a giant mosque that protrudes from the middle of the slum and a few community centers that house public latrines, sanitation stations and fresh water dispensing silos.

The morning heart rush

ITS ALL OVER....as I grasp for the handle above the window, my heart immediately goes from a peaceful early morning flutter to a flurry of irregular beats out pacing the rhythm of the Chris Brown song 'Forever' being broadcast from small factory speakers in a early 90s Toyota Corolla...we are picking up speed as we head, not around but between a series of notionally working cars crossing our lane. Harrison, our driver, rockin' a classic Phoenix Suns starter jacket seems unnerved as he successfully navigates all the moving obstacles. He knew exactly how it was going to turn out. A moment of reality...Chris Brown is still singing to the club. I can no longer focus or even hold a conversation with my colleague who sits adjacent, sharing the tattered back seat pinned between dark pitched stain windows.

Life in Nairobi

Everything seems familiar, like everyone knows my name. Nairobians always greet you with a smile and an inquisitive look, their warmth exudes their handshake and greeting. Have been here before because the surroundings seem oddly familiar. The landscape bares the markings of a equatorial climate (which I assume Nairobians enjoy during a majority of the year since Nairobi sits nearly on the equator) although currently the southern hemisphere is coming out of the winter season and entering into spring. Nairobi is a mile above sea level (nestled 5,450 ft above to be exact) and is especially cool right now, to some degree bone chillingly cool. I wear a sweater around the apartment and about town. If you have ever spent a misty 58 degree autumn day outdoors, away from a source of heat you know what I a talking about. The chill is tough to shake. My colleagues are reassuring me that it has been getting noticeably warmer. Although Nairobi is chilly they say any trip to the Kenyan lowlands will immediately send the mercury back atop the thermometer achieving confirming my preconceived notion of this arid and toasty continent that I had anticipated.

The Rift Valley and Beyond

The smell of a new(old) world tickled my nostrils as I exited the door of the boeing 777. The ceilings were low and wood paneled. Everything seemed a bit muted. I felt as thought I was watching an episode of "Welcome Back, Kotter" on Nick at Night. Making my way through the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport(Jomo Kenyatta was the founding father of Kenya's independence from the British in 1963) to immigration. I had received an inside tip just days prior...."when approaching the immigration lines pick the shortest line even if the sign reads 'Pilots and Cabin crew only'... signs don't matter". It turned out to be absolutely spot on. I received my 90day visa and I had officially arrived in Nairobi, Kenya. How did I make it this far....