Children welcome visitors to their school. [Courtesy]
Schools were open during the Mau Mau, several elders have confirmed that
to me. After the 1982 August 1 coup d’état, schools were open in
September, the following term as usual.
Universities closed for a year, leading to double intake in 1985 to clear the backlog.
The current closure of schools is unprecedented.
When the other pandemic of 1918 came ashore, Kenya was just becoming a nation with only a few schools.
The population was low and transport system poor, making the spread of the virus hard.
I did not realise what the current pandemic means to the younger
generation until I met some parents with candidates in Form Four. The
anxiety was evident - from the voice to facial expressions.
While so much focus is on Covid-19 cases, we need to spare a thought for
the next generation, the young children caught in the crossfires
between the coronavirus and scientists, between politicians and
coronavirus.
The last time our children got into the news was for all the bad reasons, pregnancy.
Every county is reporting the number of pregnant girls and parading them to the media.
That data needs independent verification. We are quick to blame pornography, but the real culprit is idleness.
Schools keep children busy until they are adults and can take
responsibility for their actions. With Covid-19 and the burden of
students at home, parents in future are unlikely to complain over school
fees.
Let us be blunt, we have let the next generation down. Covid-19 has made it plain.
Our social-economic systems are not designed for children. It is evident
there are no playgrounds for children, no swimming pools, no parks.
The children are holed in their crowded homes in an informal settlement
or vertical ghettos such as Githurai and related suburbs.
Don’t say they will not keep social distance even if these amenities were there.
Ever wondered what these kids do all day? What sort of entertainment
beyond TV or online shows including pornography do they have?
Their other entertainment is obvious, relationships and possibly sex
ending up in pregnancy. In all the pregnancy cases reported, I have not
heard of rape. With modernism, parents have slowly lost control of their
children to their peers and an anonymous society. Changes in law and
death of traditions have given children freedom before they can handle
it.
All around the city and its suburbs, high rise buildings are competing for light like trees in the tropical rain forests.
Beyond roads, we leave no space for the occupants of these houses, they
even have no balconies. By the way, why do Kenyans rarely sit on their
balconies or outside?
Bottled up in their homes, the kids have to look for valves, just like a pressure cooker.
Even affluent suburbs such as Karen, Runda or Muthaiga have no space for children, excluding golf courses.
Seen the crowds in Karura forest? Why can’t we have more Karuras? Will
some portions of the big plantations being chopped into plots in Kiambu
become Karuras?
In other countries, such spaces are inbuilt into the design of the
estates. But I am sure you know what happens to such open spaces if they
are spared. There are parks and open spaces in America’s ghettos, I
know that because I lived in one and visited Harlem.
I have always wondered why we are so selective in copying the American
or British political system, with senators and governors, not their way
of life that takes care of you when you are not working with parks and
other amenities.
The paradox of our thinking is leaving no open spaces for children, yet
about 40 per cent of Kenyans are 14 years or younger. How many schools
have no playfields?
The rural areas are fast catching up with urban areas. Beyond school
playgrounds, the rural areas leave no space where one can sit and relax.
The only place one can relax is in a hotel, consuming. Other places of
leisure are charged. Kenyans are charged to see a famous waterfall in
Laikipia.
I was charged nothing to visit Niagara Falls! Free leisure places are neglected or insecure.
Beyond Machakos people’s park, how many counties have bothered to build such amusement or amenities?
Yet with or without Covid-19, human beings need space to relax and exhale.
We are not really indoor animals like roaches. For the rich and
affluent, that’s easy. You can sit in a hotel terrace, in a golf club,
or any members club, or in your backyards or front yard.
Staying indoors
But for the vast majority, including our children, that is a luxury, even staying indoors is hard with overcrowding.
Covid-19 has brought out that hard reality. Yet, we needed social
distancing even without Covid-19. Why are bungalows and maisonettes more
popular than apartments?
We hope the reality of not social distancing when it was possible will
not be paid with lives. Think of it, denied time in school, unhappy at
home, our children, the next generation is suffering for our failures to
factor them in our plans.
Think of children who don’t know when they will return to school, sit for exams, get jobs and live the rest of their lives.
We need more time for them, as parents, leaders and human beings. Put
yourself in the uncertainty of these children, victims of a tiny virus
they don’t understand. I hope this virus will be quickly incorporated
into the curriculum.
Beyond Covid-19, let us plan for the expected and unexpected and beyond our lifetime.
Let us spare a thought for the next generation, we brought them forth.
We must take responsibility for their wellbeing, physical and emotional.
If we don’t, we risk making their problem inter-generational. Did I hear there are 14 million students in Kenya?
That is 28 per cent of the population.
Now you know why we need more time and more facilities for them -and
incorporation of this group into our social-economic systems.
-The writer is an associate professor at the University of Nairobi
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