Week 7: Neno Mitaani
“Word on the Street” is this weeks Swailli word(s) as it was filled with misconceptions. There are certain stereotypes that are passed down from generation to generation in which it becomes integrated as fact into their livelihoods. The more time I spend in Kenya, I learn not only the prejudices set for Kenya but how they have arisen as well.
The first way they have risen is through the media. We were engaged in a dinner conversation with a family that asked us how Kenya was different than hat we imagined it to be. The first couple of weeks, I was scared of sounding ignorant or offending someone. I always stated that “oh it was kinda what I imagined” in which I often received surprised looks. I decided, though, that's it's probably better that I was honest. So I embarrassingly said that I didn't expect Kenya to be so modern. They nodded and stated that the media in America doesn’t include any of the modern parts of Kenya or even Africa. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how true it was. On any of the cultural channels such as History Channel or National Geographic always focus on the tribes or the savannas rather than the business people and the skyscrapers. Even in children's books, it shows tribe children who represent Africa. The news barely covers Africa at all. In fact, growing up, I’ve never seen Kenya, and non-the-less Africa, in the news at all. The media has such a power to influence the way we think and what we focus on in the world. I hope that it starts focusing on different layers of different countries someday.
Another stereotypical difference here is that younger generations are shown a great deal of respect. In America, younger generations are often looked down upon and stereotyped as being brash, irresponsible and unknowledgeable. Here, though, everyone treats us like adults. For example, we were at a dinner party in which we met so high up officials from Scottland who asked our opinions on big topics like artificial meat production, future of Agriculture and other such topics. They carefully listened to our responses and gave their view on it INSTEAD of just scoffing at us or putting us down for thinking a certain way. It was the best feeling in the world. I don't think adults realize how much young adults value other people valuing their opinions and thoughts. It feels like we actually have a place in the world like we actually matter. There’s this stigma in America that we are to look up and only listen to those who either older or have a career in which they’ve worked for a long time. Here, we have a voice that isn’t ignored or put down no matter if the person is 60 or has been working in their field or 40 years. They even celebrated National Youth Day on Friday in which all the younger workers at ILRI were acknowledged as well.
The last misconception is a little bit less about humans and more about ticks. Within the community in Kenya, there is a lack of knowledge about ticks. Specifically about identification, diseases, and life cycles. Of course, that isn’t to say that people don't have any knowledge as they have been passed down some sort of tick-information through generations. This is important to note because learning is a two-way street, in which you cannot walk in expecting the people you're educating to know nothing but to, instead, listen and take in what they have learned. Then, you can begin to fill in the gaps. By educating people on these concepts, it would help reduce the amount of tick-borne diseases by establishing prevention methods and educating on symptoms of tick-borne diseases. This is where BITE comes into play. BITE is a self-generated program that hopes to “Take a chunk out of tick-borne diseases in livestock”. BITE stands for:
Background on Ticks
Identification of Ticks
Treatment for Preventing Ticks
Expectations of Tick-Borne Diseases
These concepts are formalized through a website and a brochure (for those without the internet). Both cover these matters in a way in which the general public can understand and apply in the real world, specifically farmers. This has been my project here in Kenya and I have been absolutely loving it! It fully encompasses my love for design, organization and education others!
