Mikel and Erica went to Nairobi about three months ago to map a huge, in fact, second large slum in Africa after Soweto, with the population of over one million. Here’s what their project website says:

“Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya, widely known as Africa’s largest slum, remains a blank spot on the map. Without basic knowledge of the geography and resources of Kibera it is impossible to have an informed discussion on how to improve the lives of residents. This November, young Kiberans create the first public digital map of their own community.”

I was lucky to meet some of the mappers and some other community leaders working in Kibera at TEDx Kibera in December. Mikel also talked there about MapKibera, social meaning of mapping, also about Voice of Kibera – community media news aggregator from Kibera built on Ushahidi and MapKibera. Here’s a part of his talk.

Ever since being about 9 weeks pregnant, and having a second ultrasound that showed that there was actually a baby in there, and that we were not in the middle of our 3rd miscarriage in a row, I have waited for this day.

I briefly considered being amazing like some of my friends and waiting until the day of birth to find out the gender of this baby.  But really, who was I kidding??  I haven’t ever made it through a birthday or Christmas without knowing some of my presents and I’m not gonna make it 9 and some old months through nausea, puking, back pain, stretch marks and other awesome pregnancy related happenings to find out the gender of who I’m gonna meet.  These kids of mine have plenty of personality to keep me surprised the rest of my life!

So, the day finally came this week.  The gender ultrasound.  Or at least that’s what it was to me.  My order read “20 week anomaly scan” and my doctor referred me to a different hospital that houses a more sensitive sonograph machine.

We arrived early in the morning to the walk-in ultrasound clinic and were promptly received and  routed to a waiting room.  Eli, Lucy, daddy and I waited.  Eli and Lucy were GRUMPS with a capital “G” from about the moment they climbed into the car in Thika.   Not quite what I had envisioned for “our” happy day, but I rolled with it.

Here we are with the doctor, as he was reading the ultrasound.  I have never had such a detailed ultrasound through these last 4 pregnancies and 2 births.  It was kind of cool.  He looked at the different portions of the brain, measured leg and arm bones, checked for the nose bone, ruled out cleft palate, identified the 4 chambers of the heart, ensured that all of the organs were inside the body and checked the spine to make sure that the neural tube was complete and closed.  It was really cool!

Looking at the different parts of the baby's brain

And, being quite skilled at his craft, he kept the suspense of the gender to the very end, and then pointed out 2 lines, identifying them as “f.g.”  Huh??  I was thinking for sure, those must boy parts hanging around there.  And now that I think  about it, I remember thinking the same thing during the ultrasound for Lucy.  Nope no boy parts there.  Those lines were female genitalia, as the doctor  very quietly said, “Girl”. 

For sure I thought we’d get a great reaction out of Lucy who had been rooting for a partner in crime since finding out that there is a baby rolling around in my tummy.  Just a slight grin and head turn from her.  Eli just sat  blank stared.  He’s in shock over the fact that there will be 2 little girls to deal with.  He seemed much cheered by my telling him that he was all the more special for being “the only boy” and that for sure this new little sister wouldn’t want to steal his toys…..she’d for certain go after Lucy’s toys.  Now he’s back to his usual self!

Everything looks great, I feel great, and it was exciting to see this new little one.

Here is a picture of the baby  in the 3D mode of the ultrasound.  Here, it looks a bit like that cartoon from the 80’s:  Skeletor, but you can see her holding her hand up to her face.  When we saw the picture at first, Ian exclaimed that the baby, “Looks like your brother Andy!” and I said, “Wow, it has big lips like Eli did!”  I can’t wait to see how she changes and develops between now and 2 months from now when I go back for another scan.

a side view of the baby's head on the left, with the arm and hand on the forehead on the right

Thank you to all of you who have shared in this long baby journey with us that began before Africa and will continue long after.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

THE FACTS, THE LAW, THE INESCAPABLE CONCLUSION

Article: The Post & Email

Barack Hussein Obama has written 2 biographies about himself and has publicly spoken of his origins in

The Union Jack, symbol of British tyranny and oppresion to the American revolutionaries, has flown over the head of Barack Obama from his birth.

many public speeches. He claims as his biological and legal father, a man who went by the name Barrack Hussein Obama. That is the more common Kenyan spelling of the name. His claimed father also went by the names “Barak” and “Barack”, the former when he penned an article in an journal on economics, in Nairobi, in the 60’s, the latter when he registered at the University of Hawaii. The latter form appears on the electronic image of Obama’s alleged Certification of Live Birth.

If we apply the provisions of British and Kenyan law to the simple facts, which Obama claims about himself — though in truth there is no publically available documentation to confirm the truth of these facts — the inescapable conclusion is that Obama was born a British subject and is now, still to this day, a British subject: a Commonwealth citizen, to be exact.

The laws and regulations which lead to this conclusion are the official British Consular Registry Stipulations, the British Nationality Act of 1948 and of 1981, Kenya Constitution, and the Kenya Independence Act of 1963. [pdf]

Let’s see how these apply to Barack Hussein Obama, Jr.

The Consequence of Obama’s alleged birth story is that he’d be born a ‘British Citizen by Descent’

The British Consular Registry uses the criteria set forth in the British Nationality Act of 1948 Section 5(1) of the United Kingdom and Colonies to determine who would be qualified as a “British Citizen By Descent.”

Section 5-1 reads thus:

5.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this section, a person born after the commencement of this Act shall be a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent if his father is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies at the time of the birth:

Provided that if the father of such a person is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent only, that person shall not be a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by virtue of this section unless—

(a) that person is born or his father was born in a protectorate, protected state, mandated territory or trust territory or any place in a foreign country where by treaty, capitulation, grant, usage, sufferance, or other lawful means, His Majesty then has or had jurisdiction over British subjects; or

(b) that person’s birth having occurred in a place in a foreign country other than a place such as is mentioned in the last foregoing paragraph, the birth is registered at a United Kingdom consulate within one year of its occurrence, or, with the permission of the Secretary of State, later; or

(c) that person’s father is, at the time of the birth, in Crown service under His Majesty’s government in the United Kingdom; or

(d) that person is born in any country mentioned in subsection (3) of section one of this Act in which a citizenship law has then taken effect and does not become a citizen thereof on birth.

The man Obama claims as his father is Barrack Hussein Obama, Sr., a man born in the Kenya Colony in 1936. Being born in the Kenya Colony, he was a British subject or citizen. Obama was born after the commencement of this above quoted act, ergo, Obama Jr. is a British citizen-by-descent; the precise nature of his citizenship would be a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies (CUKC). Citizenship by descent is the means of obtaining it.

The Consequence of Obama’s alleged birth story is that he’d become a Citizen of Kenya in 1963

According to the Kenya Constitution (87), Obama became a Kenyan citizen in 1963, by virtue of the fact that his claimed father was born in the Kenya colony.

The Constitution of Kenya, Section 87, reads thus:

87*. Persons who became citizens on 12th December, 1963

1. Every person who, having been born in Kenya, is on llth December, 1963, as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person, shall become a citizen of Kenya on 12th December, 1963:Provided that a person shall not become a citizen of Kenya by virtue of this subsection if neither of his parents was born in Kenya.
2. Every person who, having been born outside Kenya, is on llth December, 1963, as a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies or a British protected person, shall, if his father becomes, or would but for his death have become, a citizen of Kenya by virtue of subsection (1), become a citizen of Kenya on 12th December, 1963.

Therefore Obama Jr. became a citizen of Kenya, Dec. 12, 1963, when his father did. Moreover, when his father returned to Kenya, upon graduation from Harvard, he obtained employment with the Kenyan Government as a senior Economist. However, in section 88 it specifies that one who can become a citizen, may only register as such if he is 21 years or older. Whether this means that he is not a citizen unless registered it not clear. If so, then if Obama Jr.’s parent(s) did not register him, he might not have become a Kenyan citizen.

Note, that while the Kenyan constitution prohibits dual citizenship for those 21 years old or older, it does not do so for minors (cf. section 97 of the Kenyan Constitution).

The Consequence of Obama’s alleged birth story is that he’d become a Commonwealth Citizen in 1963

According to the Kenya Independence Act of 1963, Obama would have lost his British citizenship status as a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies, if he became a Kenyan citizen on Dec. 11, 1963.

This is the legal conclusion of the provisions of Chapter 54, section 2(2):

(2) Save as provided by section 3 of this Act, any person who immediately before the appointed day is a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies shall on that day cease to be such a citizen if on that day he becomes a citizen of Kenya.

Nor is this obviated by the provisions of Section 3 of the Act, because these expressly do not include Kenya, but only the other colonies and protectorates of the British Empire.

However, according to Section 95 of the Kenyan Constitution, all Kenyan citizens become Commonwealth Citizens:

95. Commonwealth citizens

1. Every person who. under this Constitution or an Act of Parliament. is a citizen of Kenya or who, under any law for {he time being in force in a country to which this section applies. is a citizen of that country shall, by virtue of that citizenship, have the status of a Commonwealth citizen.

What’s happening here, is that Kenya is going from the status of a colony to the status of a Commonwealth Nation. Those who were Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies in virtue of their birth or descent from someone born in Kenya, are now Commonwealth citizens, because Kenya has become independent.

Note that a Commonwealth citizen is the modern term which corresponds to the older term, “British subject”. This is because a British subject was the category of citizenship which encompased Citizens of the United Kingdom and Colonies and British Protected Persons. “British subject” as a term is no longer used, but the notion is the same. It would be more accurate not to call Obama a “british subject”, but a “Commonwealth citizen,” but for Americans they would not understand what the latter is, without an explanation (most don’t know what the Commonwealth of Nations is either).

Obama’s alleged childhood history raises the question that he was adopted by an Indonesian citizen, and therefore became an Indonesian citizen in 1966-67

According to the laws of Indonesia, in force in the 1960’s, Obama would have become a citizen of Indonesia if he was adopted by Lolo Soetero at the age of 5 or younger.

It is not yet known whether he was adopted, of if he was, in what year this may have occurred. Facts to support such an adoption are thus: an Indonesian school record which indicates that he was an Indonesian citizen, bearing the name Barry Soetero, and the Dunham-Soetero Divorce Decree of 1981, which indicates a non-minor as a child of the marriage.

That Obama goes by the name “Barry” was evidenced recently, when he called into a radio show and spoke with the outgoing Governor of Virginia. On that occasion he identified himself as “Barry from D.C..” When questioned about this phone call, the White House said that it “would not be inaccurate” to say the person calling was Barack Hussein Obama, Jr..

The Presumption is that Obama did not revoke his British Citizenship on Aug. 4, 1979

According to the British Home Office: U.K. Border Agency, to renounce British Citizenship one must be at least 18 years of age and fill out a declaration, using form RN.

Therefore, upon reaching the age of 18, on Aug. 4, 1979, Obama could have revoked his citizenship. However, the British Government has never affirmed that he has. Therefore in law we must presume that he has not, if his birth story is true.

There is ground to suppose Obama renewed his Kenyan Citizenship in 1982

The Kenyan constitution establishes that upon reaching the age of 21 years, a Kenyan citizen must renounce all other citizenships, if he wants to retain his Kenyan citizenship. There is a 2 year window in which he must make such a renunciation. In Obama’s case this window opened on Aug. 4, 1982, and closed on Aug. 4, 1984. It is known that Obama visited Kenya 2 years after his father’s death (which occurred in 1981), and thus in 1983, during this window of opportunity.

The Consequence of Obama’s alleged birth story is that in 1983, he’d was born a British subject and remains such today

The British Nationality Act of 1981 changed the nomenclature for citizenship status.

The pertinent provision of that act is found in Chapter 61, Part III, and reads as follows:

PART III BRITISH OVERSEAS CITIZENSHIP

s 26 Citizens of U.K. and Colonies who are to become British Overseas citizens at commencement.

Obama acknowledges his British citizenship, by bowing to his Queen, Elizabeth II.

Any person who was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies immediately before commencement and who does not at commencement become either a British citizen or a [British overseas territories citizen] [FN1] shall at commencement become a British Overseas citizen.

By “commencement”, the Act signifies Jan. 1, 1983, the date upon which it went into force.

Hence according to this Act, if Obama Jr. , did not become a Kenyan citizen, because his parent(s) did not register him as such, he would have gone from being classified a Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies by descent, to a British Overseas Citizen. If he did become a Kenyan citizen, then he became also a Commonwealth Citizen on Dec. 11, 1963, and that is the modern term for a British subject.

In summary, Obama was born a British subject, and remains either a British Overseas Citizen or a Commonwealth Citizen, that is, in either case, a British subject even today — that is, if his birth story is true. He was also a citizen of Kenya prior to age 21, and may still be one. He seems also to have been a citizen of Indonesia from 1966-1980’s, but his Indonesian citizenship status is uncertain.

Editor’s note: There was another article at The Post & Email with a similar title and subject, but which I was asked to pull by its author, since the author feared being attacked by Obama supporters. I owe nearly all the research to this author, but this article is entirely my own creation, inasmuch as I have not cited the author in anything, and wrote all the above myself, excluding the cited laws. I have however, altered the argument, since now with further study, I find that it is more correct to say Obama was born a British subject and now remains such.

Come on, Obots. Argue with the facts. Argue with the law. Go ahead and dog on Sarah Palin. Same ol’ Same ol’ — you know.

Merry Christmas from Kenya!

As friends and family in Virginia are experiencing a historic snowfall, below freezing weather, fires in the hearth and Santas in every store, we have been preparing for our second Christmas in Nairobi amidst warm weather and a touch of rain.  With the sun and 80 degree weather, it can be a bit difficult to convince ourselves that we are in the midst of the Advent season, so the day after Thanksgiving we brought in the Christmas boxes from the garage and put up our tree, hung stockings on the mantle, and trimmed the windows with greenery.  It is still a bit odd to hear carols about snowmen, but after a day of family decorating at least our house looked the part!

The stockings were hung by the fire with care...

Christmas is a time of feasting and gathering as a community to celebrate Christ’s birth, and yet each day we are reminded that we live in a country where many struggle to eat even one meal a day.  Our church and the Embassy collect food and toys for needy children each December, and Ethan’s cub scout pack hosted a “Kids-2-Kids” event.  The scouts hosted children from a Nairobi orphanage for a morning of football (the Kenyans showed off their vastly superior soccer skills!) and duck-duck-goose followed by a snack and a donation of food and sports equipment to the orphanage.  The morning was a wonderful time for both the scouts and their guests to build new relationships and grow in appreciation for each other.

For the past two months, Ethan has come home from school singing snatches of unfamiliar tunes, and relating his classes’ preparations for a grand performance.  On December 11 the practicing paid off as the Rosslyn elementary school put on a Christmas musical, “The First Leon” a humorous interpretation of a young boy’s attempts to understand the meaning of Christmas.  Ethan dressed for the performance in his Christmas suit, as well as cool shades for one of the numbers (see the video below!).  Ethan’s self portrait from art class, in the style of Picasso, was also selected for an exhibition following the pageant.

Ethan's "Picasso" Self Portrait

Last week our church gathered on the lawn at Karen Blixen’s house (the author of “Out of Africa”) for carols under the stars. As the sun slid below the Ngong hills, we lit candles and raised our voices to sing of the Advent in the African night.

In addition to Christmas-themed events, the boys have enjoyed playing together for many long hours as Ethan is out of school for the holidays.  They daily build forts and castles, and even “sleds”!

The boys on their "Sled"

We hope that his has given you a little taste of our Advent season here in Nairobi.  As we gather around the Christmas table, wherever we are celebrating in the world, may we remember that the most important gift that we can receive this season is Christ’s love in our hearts.  As the Prophet Isaiah wrote 700 years before Jesus’ birth:

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;

those who dwelt in the land of darkness, on them has light shined.

For unto us a Child is born, and unto us a Son is given!

And the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called

Wonderful, Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace

I dont think people can understand this statement until they understand it. Makes sense? Think about it!

Stress in the office. Tension with workmates. Weeks of work and results not in sight. My 23 December 2009 office-ially ended at 4pm with turning the key after a two-hour chat with my colleague in nigeria discussing the ups and downs of leadership. Now leaving campus to pick my christmas present at the post office and be home at six.

At least so I thought.

Nairobi is not much different from Frankfurt on a 23rd of December. P E O P L E everywhere.

I only reach halfway through town when the strongest thunderstorm of the year started. A full hour I share square meters of pavement with around 50 people and their last minute shopping. We are staring on roads that fill 15 cm high with water, cars that stop moving and busses that block the junctions. We start talking about politics, travelling, christmas, family. And finally I answer the question what I am doing in Kenya. Wow. The old sir next to me went to egypt on exchange through AIESEC in 1975!

We exchange numbers, I move on to the supermarket.

Dripping wet I search for some groceries then go to the matatu stop. Where there are no mats but a 3 or even 4 digit amount of people waiting for the same. In the next two hours I get to know the lady next to me, we nearly get friends. One fourteen-seater-vehicle after the other comes announcing three times the usual price (Githurai! Mia hamsini!) and still people fight to enter. By now its dark and as expected the rain has caused a power cut in town. From all sides I am told how well integrated I am into Kenya.
Notice: Waiting for a ridiculously organized transport system makes
you attractive.

More and more busses come, the waiting crowd gets less.
At eight my bro and mum call, I direct then to where the mats are.
During my year in kenya you have already sensed that they are not always found on one spot.

I get on a bus with the lady and just when we leave, daniel and mum arrive. I figure they would get on the next bus and i see them at home. My bus decides to take the most crowded road in town and it takes me 2 more hours to arrive at home. In fact dani calls me from home while we are still stuck in town. Crazy. Our driver took the wrong road… People are exhausted and falling asleep on their seats, their phones on their laps.
I think I should be the first white thief in nairobi and get rich (people say i wud rather die trying).

Instead I facebook half the way, read Germans complaining about the train being late for 45 minutes and Kenyans discussing the weather. (“God blessed us… In an unusual manner”) and its results in nine months.

When I get off the bus, my jeans have dried, my mind is relaxed and I am in christmas mood. But my present is still in the post office.

Six hours for 15km distance. Stories for a whole week.

These days only happen down here.

At least so I think.

COLLECTION OUTSIDER – PART 4

The 21 children recovered in Nairobi in 2004 during the Miracle Babies investigation

All 21 of them. All apparently conceived without sex. All miracle babies.

It is more than five years since police in Kenya seized 21 children from two homes as part of an investigation into baby smuggling. Archbishop Gilbert Deya, who ran an evangelical church in London, reckoned he could make women pregnant through the power of prayer (he also claimed to heal a man with a “rotten penis”). He is still fighting extradition.

Meanwhile, 50-odd sets of parents came forward to claim the children. However, none proved a genetic match for the kids leading police to speculate that the real parents may have sold their children – for as little as £15 – making them unlikely to come forward. With the case unresolved, the children are stuck in limbo, wondering where they came from.

according to the paper this morning four of only eight remaining northern white rhinos have been transported from a zoo in the Czech Republic to a Kenyan game park in an attempt to save the subspecies.

The two males and two females were flown to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, 300km (180 miles) north of the capital, Nairobi, where it is hoped they will reproduce – something they have refused to do in captivity.

“The objective is to get as many offspring as you can from the females – at least one calf out of each within two years”, said Rob Brett, the director of Fauna and Flora International.

Continuing ChildFund New Zealand Programmes Coordinator Laura Patterson’s personal journal of her experiences in Kenya with her final week: one last day spent in Emali before heading off to visit early childhood centres in Kajiado.

Laura at Primary School in Kajiado

By Laura Patterson

Saturday – Emali
Today I planned to sleep in for a bit and catch up on some zzz but was woken at 5.30am with super loud music and then preaching. Seriously so loud it hurt my ears! It was from outside the guesthouse somewhere. Ahhhhh! Tomorrow a new law being passed will come into effect and no loud speakers will be allowed. Too late for me but I hope it makes a difference for everyone else!

I worked on reports most of the morning before heading out to one of the rural districts to relax for the afternoon.

Violet and Faith

Violet tells me that Faith is an orphan with a difficult home situation and she would benefit from having a little break out of town. When both her parents died, she and her sister went to live with their grandmother who is sick. We travelled out of town and spent the afternoon exploring the rocky area – just hung out and relaxed which is an unusual opportunity during a field trip.

Faith and Laura

We got back to Emali and I struggled to say goodbye. Faith’s going back to her sick grandmother and her sister where I know they have hardly anything in their house. At least I know that she is receiving help through ChildFund’s Emali Dedicated Project work. But she’s just a normal kid with a huge smile and a cheeky streak. Why does she have to suffer so much and struggle just to survive? What does her future hold? I’m so glad that she has Violet and the project near her to watch out for her and give her hope.

Sunday – Emali to Kajiado
Goodbye Emali – it’s been a busy but rewarding visit! Heading to Kajiado…. This is the area where ChildFund New Zealand is supporting a three year project that focuses on children, their needs and rights, through supporting early childhood centres – rehabilitating the buildings and installing water tanks, training teachers and caregivers, equipping the classes, monitoring the children’s health, linking the centres with health clinics, introducing savings and loan scheme, and heaps more. The centres are quite remote and I’m looking forward to seeing the progress made on their construction.

Monday – Kajiado
Lots of meetings planned for today! First up with the nutrition staff from the Ministry of Health and Public Health and then the early childhood coordinators from the Ministry of Education. Was great to talk and hear from the Ministries that the projects are in line with the local government strategy. There is great collaboration between government and other agencies. Met with the chiefs of the area and passed on many greetings from New Zealand to them. They’re also fully supportive of the work that ChildFund is doing.

Making compressed bricks

I had hardly left the car before all the kids came running up to greet me. They were so funny each wanting to say hello and suss out who I was. Again the supplementary feeding programme has made a huge difference here. Mothers were telling me how it has taken some of the stress off finding food for the children.

Tuesday – Kajiado

Monitoring for malnutrition

Travelled further into the area and visited a primary school with an early childhood centre attached. Training was in progress for the teachers and caregivers, assisted by the Ministry of Education and Health. The teachers and caregivers are all very enthusiastic about the training. The project is working with both early childhood centre teachers and primary school teachers so that there is smooth transition between classes and a reduction in school dropout. It’s great to see that a lot of sharing between the groups is going on.

Stampede!

We spent the afternoon meeting with different representatives from water and land committees. Land is a huge issue in this community as it’s become privatised in a lot of the area over the years. Individuals however have donated large areas for the early childhood centre with visions of seeing primary schools and then higher education established in the future, which is really encouraging to see.

Wednesday – Kajiado to Nairobi
Travelled over an hour to get to another early childhood centre this morning, after turning off the main sand road there was no cut road to the centre and so the driver followed his nose winding around rocks and trees until we found the place. We took a water technician with us who needed to measure up the area for pipes for the water tank. Saw impala and ostriches wandering around the place. The kids were all excited and wanting to say hello. It was extremely dusty, I was completely dirty at the end of greeting them all!

Meeting parents

Back at the office after more meetings and debriefing, it’s time to head back to Nairobi. Not looking forward to the major traffic jams expected in Nairobi city! Should be back at the guesthouse by around 9pm or later I guess.

Thursday – Nairobi to NZ
Another full day in the ChildFund Nairobi Office, meetings, meetings and more meetings discussing everything seen and heard during my visit and looking at ways to continue improving our work.

It’s been a great visit. There are many challenges happening in both areas, but I’ve seen some great stuff including seeing children getting to school and being empowered and communities being assisted to carry on amidst this challenging drought. It really is a privilege for me to work with the ChildFund Kenya team.

Heading back to NZ at 11pm tonight…

Kwaheri from Kenya!

COLLECTION OUTSIDER – PART 3

COLLECTION OUTSIDER – PART 2

The views expressed on this blog are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of Oracle.

Africa’s consumer market exceeds 900 Million people, the fastest growing market in the world.
For the purpose of this article  I will join those who often talk about Africa as if it was one country. Africa is not just a fast growing market it is also the 10th largest world market. According to the world bank the 2006 Africa Gross National Income was 978.3 B $, just after Canada at 9th position and before India, Brazil, Korea, Russian Federation, and Mexico who had the 11th until 15th position.

This being said I consider the 54 countries to be very diverse.  I recommend you have a look at http://www.gapminder.org/ where Professor Hans Rosling  provides the statistical facts in an exiting way that will make you understand the importance to look at African countries rather then to look at it as one Country.

The informal economy on average in Africa according to Friedrich Schneider accounts for 42 % of GNP in a survey of 1999/2000 where the US accounted for 9%, the UK 13%, Canada 15%, Sweden 20% and Greece 29% by comparison.
If we look at Africa  using the typical statistical data that is available to be factual, or if we want to go by the average notion on Africa based on the media, even in a worse case scenario the opportunities in reality are much better than what one expects.

The limited amount of suppliers that this growing amount of consumers can chose from however allow the vendors to provide very poor service, to dump dangerous products on the market, to overcharge customers for services and products and not to respect warranties or guarantees.The consumers have no proper legal framework that protect them from these practices to claim their rights. Governments do not proactively protect their citizens either from dangerous or poor quality products and services
France and the UK know this all too well and continue to protect their old vested interests stemming from the old colonial days and this translates into situations where the average African consumers have to take it or leave it with hardly any functional or affordable system in place to protect them.
Deutsche Telecom wanted to buy Sonatel in Burkina Faso, The French Minister of ICT told his German colleague to stay out of his territory and the deal was called off.  Vivendi took over with Maroc Telecom as the fronting company. Today the service has badly deteriorated and one can complain about the service but to no avail. New subscribers are accepted daily while insufficient investments are made in the total infrastructure causing very unstable networks.

New players like China have discovered the African market as well and do not meet many obstacles selling low cost and poor quality products including pharmaceuticals with Chinese descriptions leaving consumers at the mercy of the retailers guidance instead of being protected by health care regulations as is the cast in most places in the world.

A few more examples across industries:

If you buy an airline return ticket with British Airways in Africa to the UK it will on average be more expensive than buying the same return ticket in the UK in countries where BA face little competition. The same is true for Air France or KLM.  While the flights to some of the destinations to Africa are shorter in miles and travel time the rates are higher than flights to the USA for instance that are longer in distance and time.  All the mentioned airline carriers in this example use the best airline configurations to the destinations where they face stiff competition and they continue to use their oldest configurations to places like Accra, Ouagadougou, Bamako where they almost still maintain a monopoly.
Each of these airline companies do face competition on destinations like Lagos, Nairobi and Johannesburg and therefore you will get a flat bed configuration flying BA to Lagos in business class, but not to Accra while the rates are almost the same. On flights to Lagos the mentioned carriers have US inbound passengers that work in the energy sector who have lots of alternatives to chose from once arriving at London, Paris or Amsterdam before continuing their destination to Lagos.
But what if you fly to Paris starting your journey in Ouagadougou, you have been a loyal frequent flyer of Air France and you want to use your air miles to upgrade your ticket or you want to sit in a business class lounge at the airport of Dakar using your club 2000 card ?
Well you can’t. Sorry sir on this route these perks are not available.  I was recently rejected even in transit at the airport in Paris to sit in the airport lounge coming from Ouagadougou. If you read the terms and conditions Air France clearly state that your club 2000 card gives you world wide club access regardless of the class you travel in and you have the right to invite a fellow passenger. Air France does not mention “except for the following African destinations”.
When you complain, you get letters explaining how terribly sorry the company is and they hope to soon welcome you on board of their flights again because they know that you have few or no alternative.
Emirates Airlines are expanding their network of destinations across the continent but frequent flyers of Emirates will notice that the cash and miles service does not include destinations like Ghana even if they have a daily direct flight between Dubai and Accra. How come ?

What about ordering through Amazon.com if you live in Africa where bookstores are not a commodity and the population is young and eager for knowledge ?
Well you can order books, but in todays technology driven world where youngsters increasingly look for multi media alternatives, unfortunately you cannot order any multi media nor software, nor any electronics that are on offer at Amazon.com.  The excuse in this case is the fear for piracy, but this is taking a short cut in my opinion. Today’s technology offer enough solutions to counter piracy if only one is willing to invest. Apparently 450 million youngsters is not a big enough market opportunity for Amazon to at least explore some alternatives.

What if you want to transfer money to relatives ?
Up until some years ago Western Union was the only viable solution for the large diaspora community to transfer money to and from Africa. The costs associated to the transfers exceeded even the highest fees one would pay using bank transfers anywhere around the world.  When Moneygram started to operate in Africa fees came down overall, but with only two service providers the fees are still disproportional if you consider the purchasing power of the majority of the beneficiaries and the main reason for these money transfers. Most of the transfers are made to support families in their most basic needs. The banking sector in Africa is still mainly focusing on corporate banking and the continent has the lowest bank account penetration rates in the world. Western Union and Moneygram can therefore charge any fees they like without too much risk of losing customers.  While central banks do control foreign exchange and limit currency outflows from some of the African countries, they don’t seem to feel a need to protect their population from being overcharged.
A few banks do have retail branches and for a handful of their client base they offer premium services, meaning that these clients have access to air conditioned areas to do their banking transactions, while the majority of the clients have to queue in long lines in the heat often moving from one counter to the next to queue again to conclude very outdated manual procedures to make a money draft.

What if you buy a computer or a cell phone while traveling overseas from world renowned vendors like HP or Nokia, just to name a few, and you use it in Africa?
Although the vendors when selling you the items claim that they offer world wide guarantees and warranties the reality check comes once your equipment fails on you back home in Africa.
Even when the vendor has a local distributor, the world wide agreements are not always respected and consumers either have to travel back with their equipment and have it repaired where the items were purchased or pay for the repair. Either way they lose.
Africans use places like Dubai and  China extensively to buy items that they cannot find in their home countries. On arrival the consumers often are charged high duties.
Guarantees and warranties very often are not respected in Africa and if you read the small letters you will see that some vendors exclude Subsaharan Africa all together.
The price does not reflect this exclusion and again considering purchasing power of average African consumers, they end up paying a premium for non-warranted items.

If you buy a Toyota in Ghana and export the car to say neighboring Burkina Faso, warranties will no longer apply and spare parts have to be imported at surcharges from the country where you bought the car because the local Toyota dealer will not keep parts in stock for different care types. Most car makers sell different versions of types of vehicles in different countries.

Pharmaceutical scams of trials using African human beings to test new drugs have been headline news items in many newspapers and cable new stations over the years.
Today anybody can buy drugs over the counter that would normally require a prescription. Drugs that are imported from China with only Chinese descriptions that nobody in Africa can read and that no health care institution has approved since  controls are either not in place or not enforced are sold even through small Chinese retail outlets exposing vast amounts of people to medical side effects in a place where medical care is unaffordable for the majority of the population in any event.

In Africa consumers have not yet found ways to organize themselves. Most governments are happy to see investors come and apart from tax and duties there are not too many regulations that have to be respected. But in the end the consumers who pay for the government services indirectly via their taxes have rights that need to be protected.
Hopefully we will see a private initiative take off soon somewhere that will set the example for others to follow protecting consumers interests…

© Desi Lopez Fafié

Before we went on safari to observe animals in the wild, we visited two animal orphanages in central Nairobi.  The first was the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust which cares for orphaned baby elephants and rhinoceros. 

Our first visitor who inadvertantly walked through the parking area was a giant rhinoceros.  Most of the people in our group were a bit nervous that this giantic beast was approaching our cars.  Perhaps naively, I nonchalantly assumed that this massive vegetarian was just taking a short cut to some good eats nearby and wasn’t remotely interested in goring anyone with his deadly horn.  In a few seconds, one of the caretakers managed to maneuver the gentle giant into the bushes and all was well again.

First, the baby elephants under one year old marched out for a public feeding.  The babies were actually quite shy when greeted with a chorus of cooing and oohing, and some hung onto their caretakers with their trunks the way I probably tightened my grip on my mother at age 2 when strangers tried to say hello to me. 

The most moving part of this visit was hearing about how the caretakers are constantly in the company of the babies. Baby elephants need to be fed every three hours, so the caretakers sleep with the elephants and provide the same intimate companionship, protection and nourishment that they would normally get from their mothers.

Each baby elephant had a name and a story.  Most of them had fallen into water holes and were stranded, often saved by rangers.  One orphan with tattered ears was being attacked by a pack of hyenas when a ranger saved her.  After two years of age, the elephants are ready to be released back into the wild.  No doubt, it’s a tearful parting for the caretakers who spend so much time being substitute mothers to these precious babies.

After the babies were fed, the teenager elephants (over a year old), marched in for their feeding.  Far less shy and far more precocious than their younger counterparts, the older elephants wasted no time eating and playing.

A group of local schoolchildren also showed up for a visit to learn about orphaned elephants.

To learn more about orphaned elephants in Nairobi, visit the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust here.

COLLECTION OUTSIDER PART 1

yes yes…it’s a shot from my first walk in Mathare, one month ago, but what the hell… it fits…

Nairobi National Park is Kenya’s first National Park and it’s in few kilometers drive from Nairobi center. It covers about 120 square kilometers and turned out to be an amazing experience, even though I’ve never thought I was big fan of wildlife. And yes, you’ve got to have a camera with much better lens than mine.

Enjoy few of my favorite photos from my first safari ever.

Big big rhynos

Baby-zebra with mom

This one was right around the tree when we drove down the road in the park