Outside The Box

I’ve been doing some bit of thinking, going through my past articles and trying to come up with a solution to the many problems I have discussed before. For the sake of the first time reader, it would be wise of me to say that my writing usually speaks about the need for change and the urgency of the youth’s involvement in the shaping of our society today. This time round, I intend to take a slightly different approach. While I still will talk about the youth and change, why don’t I try and look for solutions from a few different sources.
Okay, first there is the issue of the economic recession. Fine there are no jobs, the currency is weak, and the price of flour is still high. Apart from the many people who have sadly passed away as a result of the famine, do we still need to take a political approach to solving these and many other problems? One might still argue that the reason for all these problems is politics; fine that is the reason, now what? As I said I have been thinking. I will not speak of how the system needs to change or how we need a vibrant youth…we do! What I will try and do is harness solutions from simple acts and situations.
The problem with our country today is that we are too individualistic. So the government has failed in buying maize and other foodstuff from the farmers…well, sell what you think matches the government’s offer and keep the rest in your granaries. Come up with a cooperative society that would buy the remaining food, that is after the farmers have stored up enough for themselves without being selfish (like the politicians who failed them in the first place), and provide the starving communities with the food they really need. I am sure if all the farming communities in Kenya did this, then the famine stricken communities would benefit. This would then transform to sharing of agricultural ideas that would see the non-agricultural communities benefiting from a few acquired skills. Now inasmuch as this sounds simplistic and unrealistically idealistic, it sure beats the idea of throwing back at the government. We all know how far that has taken us.
As I write this, I keep on checking on my computer’s battery power. I really do not need to stress on how much we need electricity today. We are back to the ‘dark’ days of power rationing and now there is the new water rationing. Allow me to take a turn on the point and say if only the government introduced ‘MP salary rationing’, in a bid to save the country’s economy. Anyway, back to my point. People, we need to start thinking of alternative energy sources. It worked on calculators and it could work on anything today – solar power! Not unless the sun undergoes extraordinarily long eclipses, I can’t see why we shouldn’t use solar power. If solar is too technical for you, we have wind power. This would be especially beneficial to maize mill owners; the problem is they would all have to relocate to windy areas like Limuru or Ngong’. Come on people, it’s a small price to pay. The people who yearly spend most of their time coming up with weird inventions like wooden aircrafts and local radio transmitters should come up with engines that use alternative energy; like polythene papers. How’s that for hitting two birds with one stone!
I still have a problem with the 8-4-4 education system. Inasmuch as the students learn a lot of almost irrelevant information, the system tends to ignore a few important things. If the current generation of drivers would have learnt a few important words such as car-pooling, then I believe Nairobi would be a greener less crowded city. Why do Kenyans insist on driving to the city even though they work together with their next door neighbors? Car-pooling would solve congestion, fuel prices, road rage and, my favorite; it would rid our roads of corrupt traffic policemen. A few other words that would be worth teaching are moribund, commission and impunity.
It would be a bit off if I do not mention the youth in my article. First, kudos to all the youth who took part in the census; all you still singing the unemployment song, get up and get a job. I’ve remembered another word the schools should emphasize: self-employment!
I still insist on our role in changing society. The change we want still depends on us; we only need to change the approach we take. As I always say, only a mad man does the same thing over and over hoping for different results. Think outside the box!