READERS, IT'S MY TURN TO PAY BACK; THANK YOU!

This is my last piece this year - 64th article. I have penned it specifically for you my dear readers. I would like to point out that your readership powered this blog. Your thirst for more content watered my pen. You failed not. Through your constant knockings, inquiries, criticisms and sometimes praises, you kept this conversation moving.

You see, I call it 'conversation' because minus you, today I would be writing the 0th article. Your place is indispensable.

Atop my index is this guy (he has always reminded me never to reveal his identity) whose stream of questions always left me like: 'you know nothing. Go read again'. I say a big 'thank you' to him.

Look, sometimes I would pick up an issue, arm myself and grab my laptop ready to splash out my ideas, only to confront this chap with his piercing, touchy, catchy questions. 

Then guess what? I will swallow my ego, pack my ideas and head straight to research expeditions. Through this, I picked some grand lessons: readiness to learn and accept and the art of judging oneself are a must. 

No doubt this enriched my writings. Big up friend!

Most of my pieces as you have noticed reflect the tonality of the men and women on the streets - to borrow that old phrase from our oldies. I bet many of you have entertained questions like these: what  pushed Lemukol into this realm? Or who is behind Lemukol's writings?

Get it from me. I started writing for fun; with no clear objective in mind until most of you readers started streaming in with your sweet suggestions. I obliged. I followed your good counsel. And this is the fruit of your counsel! 

But wait, keep those sweet ideas coming. Now, you are officially part of this blog. This is your platform. This is your home!

Look, I almost forgot to tell you this. We navigated together. 2014 was a game-changer year. We got a weekly column in two newspapers of national circulation. Many requests from established magazines are now 'normal'. 

Ha! We are moving. My social media 'buddies' occupy a special place in my scales. Sometimes we have crossed each other the wrong way. Other times we have sung the same song and picked the same battles.  Your contribution is immense. Ahsanteni!

And to all those who wrote to me seeking my voice on particular issues, I say thanks for finding a useful servant in me. Your 'cries' coloured my writings. I believe the persons to whom the message was destined responded accordingly. 

To those who always find time to drop a comment plus a soapy word here and there after reading my pieces, thanks for extending your kind words. 

This tribute isn't complete without mentioning the role played by my good critics. Those who are brutally honest and hide no words in pointing out my inadequacies. Guys, I need more of you. This blog is built by brains like yours. Thank you.

Lastly, I must mention the pivotal efforts of the Maskani Family of the Star Newspaper and the indefatigable team of Turkana Times Newspaper for springing this blog to the eyes of the many out there. Thank you.

May 2015 bring you good tidings. Be blessed.

Lemukol Ng'asike is an Architect. E-mail:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.  Twitter:  @mlemukol.  

ON TECHNICAL TRAINING, MOROCCO IS KENYA'S GOOD TEACHER

Tellingly, many steps have been covered in developing, supporting and promoting technical training in Kenya. Policy interventions coupled with high level political support has propelled technical training to the higher scales of Kenya's multi-sectoral discourse. This is highly welcome. 

At last, we are reaffirming to ourselves that national economic progress is inseparable from the technical know-how of our youth – and more so those below university/college cut-off lines.

I am happy for one reason. Many folks out there have waited for long to enjoy this largess and now they have the opportunity to do so. 

However, I have some reservations. I may be wrong. The whole structure and thinking of technical training in Kenya calls for a radical overhaul. Our obsession with raw numbers as opposed to quality and responsiveness to market trends is a big obstacle that, if not corrected now, will deal a deadly blow to any noble step no matter the backing it will get from the officialdom.

Two. We have never come any closer at delinking papers (certifications) from real learning (imparting of knowledge to trainees). Even with the accompanying malaise of "paper qualifications" we see around, our grading criteria remain intact. This is why some of us are questioning the wisdom behind locking out a huge mass of talented chaps roaming our streets and villages just because they possess no "basic certificate." 

A plethora of scholarly writings and policy observations on technical training, demonstrate the primordial role the location of a learning institution has in bridging up regional inequalities and responding to sectoral and specific social dynamics shaping a given society. Kenya has long way to go to cure this imbalance malady.

Which beggars some questions: 1) Is the State aware of the inadequacies of this imbalance to the pastoralist communities of this country? 2) Is there a deliberate move to cure this ailment? 3) If yes, how?

Let me walk you through some best (in my opinion) examples elsewhere. The Kingdom of Morocco comes atop my list. 

Talking about Morocco's progress in technical training, some three aspects come to mind. One, the definition of what goes as technical training. Two, who their target groups are. Three, the rationale of  reaching out to these target groups.

A quick look into their categorisation of technical courses reveals an interesting stream of thoughts defining the national philosophical underpinning on matters of training in general, and target-group empowerment in particular. Here, technical training deals with anything man needs to survive.

Put it differently, they have broadened the definition of technical training to bring into the loop the many works which, according to Kenya's intelligentsia, could pass as "untrainable courses". 

Secondly, training is not paper-oriented. The central pillar is to equip the learner with appropriate skills to earn a decent living. To achieve this, see what they do. All entrance levels are catered for. There are courses for every chap out there. The unschooled (read "the paperless") have their place. Equally, those with papers have their place. 

Arriving at this melange is still a distant mirage for Kenya. Reason? Our creativity starts and ends with papers.

I am no educationist. But my reservations won’t allow me to swallow the untruths peddled out there that technical training revolves around tailoring, carpentry, masonry and mechanics.

Where did we hide our creativity?

 

To build a robust sector, we must redefine our technical training to make it more inclusive and responsive. This over-reliance on paper qualifications is a colonial relic that leaves more harm than good.

Clinging to it is outright discrimination against the paperless, illiterate mass populating our streets and remote corners of this great nation. This is not a procedure of creating jobs. This is a short-cut to self-destruction.

Yes, on technical training, Morocco is Kenya’s good teacher. Let’s reach out to these brothers across the Sahara for help. It is never late.

Lemukol Ng’asike is an Architect. Twitter: @mlemukol.  Email: lemoseh89@gmail.com. 

On Banditry Victims' Welfare, The Buck Stops With You Mr. Governor

While "fruits" of insecurity may simply pass as deaths and destruction of properties, an interesting aspect touching on the plight of victims of insecurity and measures geared at improving their social and economic conditions has conspicuously missed out in a number of State-sanctioned interventions in the recent past. 

Something is definitely wrong here. The question, therefore, is: Could there be a deliberate move to view the finality of banditry through the lenses of pursuing combatants and forgetting the reconstruction segment that is supposed to impact positively on victims' lives?

I have followed closely the bandit menace bedeviling northern Kenya. I have gone through a great deal of documentation, government reports, records from NGO and faith-based organizations to figure out whether reconstruction as a pillar of conflict resolution is actually implemented. What pops up, however, is rather scary. 

From these reports, it is evident that much efforts and resources have been directed towards peace building initiatives - (what is generally referred to as community reconciliation meetings.)

In most cases, you could find a single entity running parallel "peace building meetings" in the same locality, targeting the same audience giving an impression that it is lack of steady, constructive dialogue that fuels banditry up there.

The underlying issue here isn't fostering peaceful relations. It is wholly a competition to write reports; no matter the outcome of the said meetings. You see, it takes even a numskull to figure out that this is a big obstacle to successful empowerment of victims.

While it is not entirely solid to dispute that dialogue is an integral aspect in any peace building process, over-reliance on it as the "only" way to peaceful co-existence of the people countenances the very same foundation it is supposed to build. Dialogues, community peace talks, leaders' peace forums, meet-the-people initiatives et al must be punctuated by reconstruction of victims' livelihoods for peace to rein.

A critical look of the resources allocated to the aforementioned "peace talks" reveals a rather damning reality of how a tiny, well-connected clique of individuals is dancing all the way to their bank accounts. Mark you, peace building in these "bandit territories" is a big business. Endless bloodshed translates to steady income to this group. It is therefore foolhardy to bank our hopes on such a thieving squad to divert their attention to reconstructing the livelihoods of banditry victims. They cannot. 

A case in point is the humongous allowances these NGO people plus their government hangers-on (no pun intended) pocket on daily basis to listen to village talks, masked as peace talks, spearheaded by villagers who can hardly walk due to hunger and diseases. 

Good people, isn't this commercialisation of the people, by their own sons and daughters, for their own narrow interests? For how long shall we maintain silence in the face of an existential enemy that is high-level thievery and hypocrisy?

I am no entertainer of theatrics and empty rhetoric as panacea to perennial banditry. Many generations of leaders in times past have pushed for policing as a solution to banditry. I must acknowledge that a number of police posts have been established along banditry hot-spots. Some semblance of order is undoubtedly visible in those places. 

The tipping point, after this endless policing, has remained off the table. This goes on to cement the skewed understanding of banditry, not only as a security problem, but as a social and economic problem. 

Put it differently, anytime banditry creates a new victim, we rush to security "solutions" forgetting that victims need food. Victims need education. Victims need health. Victims need economic empowerment in order to support themselves as opposed to depending on food rations.

This, my people, has to change if the interests of the people remain our guiding star. We must rethink our strategies. We must listen to victims. We must respond to their demands. Only when these happen shall we celebrate that reconstruction of victims' livelihood has actually succeeded.

It takes a leader with an eye of the people, with a heart of the suffering, with a bleeding soul to decipher the joyous aftermath of empowered victims. Governor Nanok, your time to lead the crowd is now. The people of Turkana County will eternally remember you in this. Do something to banditry victims.

Lemukol Ng'asike is an Architect. E-mail:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.  Twitter:  @mlemukol.  

WOMEN'S GENITALIA NOT FOOTBALL FOR TUNNEL-MINDED MEN

I refuse to accept that a dress - or lack of it - predisposes a woman to the piratical nature of many a man - and by extension to fellow women - today. I refuse to acknowledge the raw definition of the person of women as espoused in many of our afro-social constructs. I refuse to accept that a woman's character should be measured by the shape of her genitalia.

Let's confront this painful truism. Development which sidelines half of humanity stands no chance to materialize. Males alone cannot turbo power the engines of progress. Women's input is indispensable.

For it is only by disembarking from this one-sided-ism that we shall discover the hitherto unexploited positive reserves of our female folks.

Talk about one-sided-ism and the push for the recognition of the rightful place of women and you'll confront the gripping reality that is female genital mutilation (FGM) and all the attendant risks that characterize the very act of commercialization of our women.

Mark you, ending FGM isn't a simple ball game. There is a growing need to deepen our understanding of what FGM really is, the logic behind it and the ultimate beneficiaries of its promotion. For it is totally blind to purport to cure an ailment whose foundations we comprehend nothing about. Let's not sugar-coat our discourse about the achievements brought about by anti-FGM laws (especially in Kenya).

Many girls and women still undergo the cut - albeit the existence of these laws. This brings us to center of our discourse. Men - especially the tunnel-minded ones - hold the key to ending FGM. The prevailing philosophy - among communities practicing FGM - on matters of marriage, bride's "qualifications", processes of arriving at such "qualifications" and many other undocumented issues all run counter any scholarly or legalistic interventions geared at ending FGM. 

FGM is a tool of domination. It is designed to put women at "their place". FGM is the vehicle in which the "moral correctness of men and the immoral being of women" travel. It has nothing to do with culture. For I know one thing - no culture is static. Any culture is subject to constant questioning by the people purporting to own it in order to improve it and make it responsive to their daily needs.

Which therefore provokes a bitter question: What makes FGM a near-sacrosanct a subject to be shielded from the constant questioning of people - and even the law?

Don't boil up. The culprit is right here. 

Women's genitalia have never ceased to be football for the many folks in FGM-leaning communities. Wait, this game is two-sided. One, the dominant player, is the man. His power to veto a marriage on such flimsy grounds as a bride wasn't "shaped" to his tests cannot be wished away. You see, marriage down there is everything. It is a prerequisite for social recognition and standing. It strikes at the core of personality indexing of the concerned parties. 

Two, the accept-it-all type of woman out there is her own enemy. (Excuse them please.) They are victims of a system that rewards them on the basis of their "loyalty". This ritualistic woman is in need of a dose to pick up and pull the stinger. It is time women stood up to explain their intricacies themselves.

A recapture of these women must be grounded in what touches them on daily basis. Economic muscle is the dividing line between "loyalists" and "rebels". The point is, therefore, a question of how economic scales can be tilted in favour of women. 

For if a society has used economic blows to subject half of its membership to the dustbins of degradation, ritualistic acts and commoditization and elevate the other half to the level of demigods whose morality is beyond question, then it is no rocket science that the same economic means (with some little changes and improvements) can be used to right the system.

Again, the aforementioned tunnel-minded men and their cheering squads need not be forgotten. Yes, women's genitalia won’t be football for tunnel-minded men only if we bring them on board and prove to them that a bellyful, empowered woman is a plus to all.

Lemukol Ng'asike is an Architect. E-mail:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.  Twitter:  @mlemukol.  

WHY DEVOLUTION WILL RE-CALIBRATE KENYA'S URBANISM

Something interesting is happening in Kenya's urban landscape. An urban growth-boom is evident across the country. Many hitherto 'rural' towns are slowly gaining prominence, attracting unprecedented human flow and business activities. Equally, an unusual downward migration is observed. 

The simple fact that many folks and business establishments are considering relocating to these areas calls for a quick, deep examination of our urbanism and urban land use strategies.

Rural land uses and agglomeration go, to a large extent, unregulated and unplanned. It is understandable to believe that super-imposition of urban settings in rural areas must be followed by a concrete thinking and implementation of the same.

From a legal-historical perspective, this change is, undoubtedly, attributed to the post-2010 Constitution which introduced a devolved system of governance that put emphasis in resource sharing and development of national peripheries to solidify the center. 

The move to codify this clear withdrawal from past paradigms that sidelined the socio-econo-political role of rural communities (the peripheries of the nation) gives a solid reason to re-examine the powers and composition of local planning authorities, their role in planning, and the numerous geo-spatial and socio-economic dynamics that inform urban planning procedures.

The essential point about local planning authorities (municipalities, town councils, city councils, devolved units etc) is that they have no 'positive' powers to ensure that the developments (industrial estates, housing, roads etc) set out in their respective plans will take place. Their powers are 'negative' powers - they have the ability to refuse permission for development which does not conform to the plan.

The aforementioned 'positive' powers are grounded in functions of local authorities as initiators of quasi-planning maps (what is generally referred to as zoning) within their jurisdictions. This, at least in theory, provides a legal and spatial framework vis-à-vis development of urban agglomerations and future needs of the same. 

Whenever 'negative' powers are invoked, the resultant effect is generally the curtailment of development even when such development conforms to planning regulations. It is in conditions such as this that corruption creeps in and adherence to planning and legitimate development takes a deep sink.

Such moves create what many would call 'urban anarchy'. A sort of urban jungle where no clear planning direction is followed and where the regulators (planning authorities) play spectator roles.

Past experiences in Kenya's urban planning leave a lot to be rectified. One forgotten factor is the place of cemeteries in urban planning and as a focal point in securing land for future needs. Many a times, we have confronted many Kenyan 'municipalities' grappling with the matter of positioning cemeteries. 

In many instances, the location of this vital urban component comes as an after-thought in our planning discourse. A case in point is the well-documented dilemma surrounding the philosophy of cemeteries as an urban-planning aspect.

It is logical anyway to give priority to the living than to the dead. However, it is instructive to point out that land - especially in urban areas - remains an expensive out-of-reach resource. It is for this reason that an all-inclusive urban planning comes in handy.

The Kenyan case is, in many respects, complicated. One glaring observation is the quasi-cultural attachment of Kenyans to the dead. This attachment puts much premium on burying the dead in the so-called family land in complete disregard of the present and/or future standing of the value of that land.

Cemetery burial arrangements are met with much disdain which, in turn, puts much strain on private land, complicating future development and/or change of use. 

Even in cases where cemeteries are provided, maintenance of the same by authorities leaves one with no option but to seek alternative places to bury their dead - preferably on private land or privately-maintained burial grounds.

It follows therefore that rethinking our urbanism is a must. The 2010 Constitution offers us some clear guidelines on how to achieve a balanced urbanism. Urbanism that is durable and all-inclusive.

Atop its reformist proposals is the absorption of former local authorities into County Governments which are better resourced and boast of a wide range of expert personnel. The Urban Areas and Cities Act of 2011 vests the powers of managing urban areas in the hands of ‘Management Boards’ under direct supervision of their respective county authorities.

This is a departure from the past experience where municipal decisions were under the tight grip of politicos who were completely disconnected from the technical and expert demands of their areas of jurisdiction.

But what remains unattended to is whether these entities will make use of their new-found powers and influence on matters planning in redefining our urban landscape. 

Perhaps it is time to rejoice and be proud of our Constitution for ushering a new paradigm in urban redefinition.

For now, I choose to call it cemetery-oriented urbanism. An urbanism of the living and the dead.

Lemukol Ng'asike is an Architect. E-mail:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.  Twitter:  @mlemukol. 

Our Freedoms Cannot Be Relinquished At The Cheap Price Of Rhetoric

Every time I hear of massacres, political corruption, pseudo-religious profiteering, apathetic response to public concerns and many other ills bedeviling this nation, I silently come to the conclusion that reason and public good have been replaced by short-term noise-making-ism. 

Kenyans may be excused for their escalating pessimism, and especially, on matters touching their government - and (elected) leaders. But, yes, I'm reminded that this pessimism is founded on the glaring government inadequacies and absence of robust citizen-minded approach to matters security.

No wonder someone remarked that our police chiefs have been reduced to obituary reporters - as opposed to what they ought to do - protecting lives and properties.

State monopoly of security has been challenged. Citizens have rightly pointed this out. On the other hand, State functionaries and politicos have consistently denied this.

Needless to say, this push-and-pull has left many dead, orphaned, widowed and in deep pain. As usual, truth has suffered many blows as emotions and high-level rhetoric take center stage blurring any attempt to engage in a constructive, objective discourse on matters Kenya.

The future prospects of this nation should not be delinked from the present security challenges. For no nation that aspires to be an economic leader and a haven for prosperity shall allow the lives of its citizens to be snatched away every minute - unchallenged. Development begets growth which in turn creates an emboldened citizenry.

Freedom - as a pillar of any democratic construct - cannot be guaranteed in an environment devoid of security, where dignity of life has lost its meaning.

Put it differently, the safety of Kenyans comes atop all other national priorities for prosperity - material or otherwise - to trickle down to all.

Again, guarantees of economic liberation are centrally a security issue. Unfortunately, our national definition of security has remained skewed and shallow. Centrality of security guarantees to all citizens - regardless of their status - is no more our national guiding philosophy. Recent massacres (in Mpeketoni, Kapedo and Mandera) and government response (or lack of it) cement this.

Protection - especially for the bottom majority - remains a national shame. 'Personality importance' - albeit its resultant national malaise - continues to shape our security deployment and media attention. We have slowly, but surely, actualized the awkward reality of two Kenyas - one for the protected and the other for the poor fellows whose life goes for a penny and whose dignity preoccupies no officialdom. 

Our understanding of security challenges starts and ends with killings and burial arrangements. Makes one wonder if the media and its apathetic government clientele have ever quantified the weight and challenges shouldered by Kenyans. 

How many widows and orphans has insecurity created for the last one year? How many hospitals and schools have been robbed of their dedicated workers? How many pregnant mothers and newborn babies will perish in Mandera County, for instance, because doctors and nurses withdrew their services to protest against deteriorating security conditions?

We can fly blames to one another. We can smooth-talk all these security nightmares as mere artificial constructs. We can hire our own private security. But the inescapable reality is right here with us. The people must be assured of their safety regardless of their status and location in this country.

I agree security is a shared responsibility. The people are the primary promoters of peace. But the actionable component rests with the State. To blame the people for insecurity is purely arrogant and smacks of a security system calling for an urgent, radical overhaul.

Essentially, the government banks on the willingness of the people to share intelligence in order to achieve its operational targets. This, in my view, can only materialize when confidence in State control and security monopoly is felt by all and sundry.

For it serves no purpose to deliver loads of intelligence briefs to a government that is outwardly reactionary and inwardly clueless.

I side with Wanjiku. Intelligence briefs can only be delivered if tangible follow-ups happen. To achieve this, top security honchos must re-invent the wheel. 

I long for some quick starts. Purge saboteurs. Pay officers handsomely. Flexibility of the mind and admission of guilt is a must. Remove this always-deny-when-caught-syndrome from government official lingo.

The State must put its act together to win public trust. We are tired of these massacres.

Lemukol Ng'asike is an Architect. E-mail:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.  Twitter:  @mlemukol.  

I'll Rejoice Only When Kenyan Youths Commercialise 'Flying Toilets'

Of late I have come to develop a deep attachment to Nairobi's social dynamics, its people - and anything exclusively "Nairobian". One of this is the recent stripping of a woman, allegedly by touts, for "dressing indecently".

Life of a Nairobian has many contrasting facets. The 2009 national census puts Nairobi City County at, well, a better position on matters education. A Nairobi resident is, by comparative standards, believed to be exposed (to many marks of progress) than say, a chap from far flung Turkana County. 

On information flow, "city people" (no pun intended) still lead the crowd. A Kenyan in Nairobi has higher chances of knowing say, when new laws take effect and the content of such laws. This is diametrically opposed to what happens in the deep pockets of Baringo. 

Still on numbers. A huge chunk of Nairobians, (forty-nine per cent to be exact), falls in the category of active, mobile and informed population (i.e 15-34 year olds).

From statistical perspective, Nairobi looks like heaven on earth - the Promised Land of Kenya. But, recall the stripping incident and you spoil the party. 

The rosy numbers notwithstanding, Nairobi - and by extension, Kenya - stands on hot ground. There is ingrained bitterness among the ballooning masses of young people of this country. They are desperate and unstable. They are looking for a way to vent out their anger. 

Like the proverbial happiness-chasers, they are out on the streets looking for ways to "cool down" their tempers and assert their position. Mark you, their prime target isn't the mighty.

Public stripping of a woman in Nairobi is thus not an isolated case. It is a wakeup call to the nation that a deadly tsunami is ashore. The earlier we fortify our defenses the better.

Back to our numbers. Twelve per cent of Nairobians use unimproved sanitation - official euphemism for lack of toilets (commonly referred to as 'flying toilets'). This means about half a million of the city population - majority of whom live in slums – are victims of Nairobi "toilet-shortage" menace. Literally speaking, these people are on their own. Not even their county government is troubled by this choking condition.

Now, consider the figures streaming in from across the other forty-six counties. Put them together, then bring in Nairobi's monumental figure and you see a real tornado staring at Kenya. A tornado of "toiletlessness"!

Wait, some sweet news is coming. There is wealth behind this "toiletlessness". Some clever characters in the Mukurus (slums) of Nairobi are already on it. Get a glimpse of what they do.

They distribute "service bags" (these are special polythene/plastic bags used by slum dwellers to store human excreta). They charge a fee no less than Ksh. 5 is paid for every "service" rendered!

Now do the maths. Nairobi County alone with its half a million-strong "toilet-shortage victims" gives something close to Ksh.2, 500,000 per day. This goes straight into the pockets of those witty Mukuru chaps.

Look, this multi-billion-shilling toilet industry must be calibrated to save our young people from self-destruction. And there is a way to actualise this.

First step: There is need for an official recognition of the bad shape of our public health sector - in this case, the risks facing millions of Kenyan "toilet-shortage victims".

Second step: A public-private partnership in toilet construction and management is, probably, the way to go to realize tangible results for both the youth and the general public.

Think for a moment, if, the county government of Nairobi embarks on mass construction of toilets in its low-income areas and call in youth groups to manage them (toilets), how many of our young people would secure full time employment – and by extension get off the streets?

Heavy handed treatment and mass arrests of jobless youths, dedicated hawkers, mama mbogas et al, won’t stop others from stripping women. We must address the root cause of these "illegal" acts. 

Poverty – material and mental – is the cause of this degeneration.

It is historical truism that human beings – when pushed by material want and desperation – would resort to wearing a temporary gown of insanity to appease their mental self. This, my people, is the push behind the pettiness evident in Kenya’s socio-econo-political spheres. (I’m in no way defending those stripping women).

Thinking outside the box is the way. Make money from ‘flying toilets’ and save our youth. This, in my view, is the safest option to save ourselves from public embarrassment.

Remember, it began with stripping women for “dressing indecently”; who knows tomorrow you will be the one on the chopping board?

Lemukol Ng’asike is an Architect. E-mail: lemoseh89@gmail.com . Twitter: @mlemukol.

MR GOVERNOR, BUILD YOUR NAME BY BUILDING THIS SCHOOL

Dear Sir,

Jambo Bwana Governor! By all objective measures, I hold that you understand the enormity of your job and believe you are equally prepared to level the ground and impact positively on the soul, body and spirit of the people of Turkana County. For this, I commend you and your team.

I have gone through many of your government's reports; I have conversed with a number of your people and many more out there. A verdict of "Yes, there is a will!" is evident in their talks. They are hopeful to the core.

However, there is a segment of your people that can't speak for themselves - but want to speak (anyway!). They are many. They are what many of us would describe as the "the industry of tomorrow. A foundation over which future development is anchored." These are the 'school-less' children from the remote pockets of your county.

They radiate hope. Their resilience and reasoning can touch even the hardest of hearts of Men. It is at the backdrop of this that in the name of the many 'school-less' children of Turkana, write to you - as a person and a leader - to spare a fraction of your busy schedule to address the plight of these children.

Allow me to take you through the life of Kootoro Mixed Primary School. The school, according to information at my disposal, is located in Nakabosan-Nakaalei corridor of Kalapata Sub-location in Kalapata Ward in Turkana South Sub-county. 

The school enrollment as at january 2014 stood at:  Primary school: Boys-153, Girls-112; Nursery school:  Boys-115, Girls-98; Grand total 478 with only one T.S.C teacher (who also doubles as the school's headteacher), three volunteer teachers, a cook and a security guard.

Classes 4 and 5 learn under temporary structures. The rest find refuge under trees. Learning materials still remain a distant dream for this community of learners.

The question thus shoots: do these children deserve to learn under this condition? 

I'm alive to the fact that the role of rewriting histories rests not in empty declarations but concrete follow-ups geared at empowering the dis-empowered and educating the uneducated. We are the generation that must rewrite this history. The future of these children - and many more across Turkana's forgotten plains - depends on our present undertakings.

Mr Governor, do something to these kids. Build your name by building this school. 

Lemukol Ng'asike is an Architect. E-mail:  lemoseh89@gmail.com.  Twitter:  @mlemukol.  

JUDGE LEADERS BY THE NUMBER OF TOILETS IN THEIR BACKYARDS

The other day I received a message from an unknown source - probably one of the many readers of my articles - lamenting about the state of our public health. He pointed out lack of practical linkages between human waste production and disposal and the apparent absence of official recognition that a significant number of Kenyans do defecate 'openly'.

His view was anchored on recent government statistics and the fact that open defecation is no more a secret but the 'only way' for many of our folks living at the socio-economic periphery of this country. 

This, definitely, is a pointer to many factors. The measure of a country's progress is inseparable from the (primary) health standards of its people and the quality of ideas flowing from its leadership.

The awkward reality - and perhaps one that leaders must know - is that sanitation is the core of all our socio-econo-political experiments. For no population lives in isolation. We are inherently predisposed to risks and/or positives of others. The Ebola epidemic in West Africa is one perfect example. 

Ebola - albeit all groaning and cries flying from its victims - has brought to the fore a new positive thinking. That no frontiers exist on matters of public health. That the mighty and the weak, the rich and the poor, the schooled and the unschooled, the urbanites and the rural folks, are equally predisposed to public health risks. That an all-inclusive engagement is the way to go to stay healthy.

Which brings us to the core of our discussion: Is our public health preparedness commensurate to the dangers lurking ahead of us? Put it differently; are we ready to judge our leaders by the number of toilets in their backyards?

This is what the Kenyan government numbers say. Thirty-nine percent of Kenyans have no access to improved methods of waste disposal. Most of these victims, live in what is generally classified as rural areas - those pockets of our nation that feature prominently on the wrong side of Kenyan intelligentsia. (check:  http://www.sidint.net/content/inequalities-kenya)

In my home county, Turkana, 91% of residents use unimproved sanitation. In this place, valleys, bushes and rocky grounds not only serve as those must-reach beautiful selfie-spots, but the only place to dispose of human waste.

Look, out of the thirty wards in the county, practically twenty of them have no improved sanitation facilities (read toilets). This is sixty percent of the county going to the bushes! 

No wonder under-four mortality rate in the county is always on the upward trajectory as we keep on blaming mosquitoes and hunger. The problem is poor sanitation. This is what is killing my people.

Mark you; this is not about toilets and defecation alone. It is the whole sanitation thing. And according to them (these government people); sanitation refers to the principles and practices relating to the collection, removal, or disposal of human excreta, household waste, water and refuse as they impact upon people and the environment.

Decent sanitation is grounded in appropriate hygiene awareness and behaviour as well as acceptable, affordable and sustainable sanitation services which is crucial for the health and the wellbeing of the people.

Some observations are clear even for the numskull. Poor or inexistent human waste disposal facilities leads to higher human and economic costs to communities through pollution of rivers, ground water and higher incidence of air and water borne diseases. Needless to talk of the blows education will suffer from this.

On the other hand, women and girls shoulder the greatest challenges of open defecation. Bush defecation puts them right into the hands of rapists and other sex pests roaming around in the vicinity.

The Indian "rape-hunter" experience proves this right. In rural parts of India, many women have been sexually abused and even died as a result of attacks from these sex-hunters.

From the look of things, Kenya should not afford hurtling down this deadly path. We have the capacity – material or otherwise – to make things work. However, it is instructive that the rethinking of our strategies takes into consideration the many dynamics out there.

There is an ingrained pseudo-cultural understanding among our people that things like toilets, are for the cream in the society. For them, this is a show of progress that the poor cannot afford. Tellingly, this is purely a problem of the mind that can only be vanquished by consistent public awareness and follow-ups.

Again, building a toilet falls at the bottom of the priority list of many economically disadvantaged Kenyans. For many of these folks, building a toilet means foregoing most of the badly needed items atop the family index. It is for this reason that government-led sanitation projects come in handy down there.

At a time when youth unemployment is the in-thing across public and private corridors in this country, perhaps, it strikes some sense to shift our focus and energies to sustainable toilets. 

County governments stand a better chance in actualizing this. What they need is simple: train youth, support them financially and have them deal with toilet construction, maintenance and management.

From a radical standpoint, Parliament and County Assemblies can do Kenyans a great service by passing laws stipulating that government officials – and especially, those residing at the countryside – (should) build at least one toilet as a mark of their commitment to sanitation.

Come 2017, before you troop to your polling station, count the number of sanitation facilities (toilets, refuse disposal points etc) in your village, constituency and county to gauge the commitment of leaders in the development of this country.

We must think, speak and act sanitation to propel this nation’s socio-econo-political wheel!

Lemukol Ng’asike is an Architect. E-mail: lemoseh89@gmail.com . Twitter: @mlemukol.