Do they know it's Christmas?

greypower1 wrote:

Thank you Wil for that eye openner. I feel humble and ashamed by my "luxurious " and unfair situation compared to the millions who have little to survive on.

Really sorry, this was not meant to draw comparisons against. I've lived in Africa for the best part of 20 years of my life. I was afforded the opportunity that most are not given,

Fantastic insight Wil & what a worthwhile cause.

Wil Chips wrote:

The emphatic answer seems to be 'yes' here in East Africa.

The re-release of the 1985 original (mashed up with other versions) recently has caused a bit of a stir here and elsewhere, and I've been engaged countless times times over the last couple of weeks on it by friends I made when posted here from 2015-23 ( I still do some consultancy work that brings me back 3 or 4 times a year).

The original version came out through the shocking famine and drought that hit the region in the early to mid 80's. It's estimated somewhere between 400,000 and 1.1m people perished in that awful time.

It's a sensitive issue today though as many East Africans feel as if they are portrayed as needy, overly dependent on foreign aid, and that debate drifts in to, and has, colonial connotations.

The truth (through my lens at least) is there's been a huge uptick in the region's ability to maintain itself through times of hardship since those awful times. No doubt about that. However, and as seen in many countries around the world (India springs to mind), certain elements of society seem to get left behind.

An example of this in Kenya is the pastoralist communities of Turkana and Marsebit in the North and North West of the country. A region some 5 times the size of Wales, where the rains have perpetually failed ( at least 4 years). There's a stark comparison when you look at that area against the bustling metropolis of Nairobi or Mombasa.

Those remote communities depend entirely on goat or cattle herding, there's no real infrastructure, homes are traditional village hits, and water and electricity are only available in the 3 or 4 towns in the counties.
Unlike South Sudan and certain parts of Ethiopia famine isn't driven by geo political issues and civil conflicts there.

So the middle ground on this argument for me might be 'trade not aid'. Food security through the major providers (UN/US Aid etc) is essential in the short term of course, but mid term money might be best spent on developing an ecosystem that supports industry, whatever that may be.

So that you don't think I'm just blowing hot air about it I have set up an NGO here to try to do just that ( trade not aid).

Really interesting insight and some great work by you and your colleague setting up an NGO to help people. Well done both.