Central Kenya Lacks Role Models and Mentors
It has been established that the number of bars in Central Kenya is higher than the number of schools in the area.The few existing schools have been found to be almost deserted.There have been cases of incentives being offered to accelerate reproduction,with one Councillor from Murang'a on record for offering Ksh500 to any woman who conceives and later visiting the women after birth with baby-showering gifts and a token of Ksh2500.
To support all these facts,there have been the now so popular husband battering cases,a phenomenon that has been attributed to irresponsible drinking and abandonment of duty.It is not uncommon to see haggard looking men hanging around in shopping centres,some leaning on the shop walls as if they were preventing them from tumbling down.
These men are later to be seen before dusk in a drunken stupor and in tattered cloths.Some look wobbly and their trousers barely hold to their waist.One wonders what kind of a woman would accomodate such an eyesore of a man.It is therefore not surprising that these men finally become punching bags to their wives;which woman needs an irresponsible man anyway?
But before I put all the blame on these great brothers,there seems to be so many reasons behind this unfortunate situation.
The government would be the second in line to get the blame,but I am convinced that the greatest problem in Central Kenya is the lack of mentors and role models.Its true that the people around you are your greatest source of wealth,since by sharing their experiences with you,you get to grow as a result.Our greatest role models when we are growing up are our parents;so if these irresponsible men have children looking upto them as role models,what are we to expect?
Poor parenting is not uncommon in Central,and in most cases the child belongs to the mother;a mother who has to take care of everything and everyone,including the irresponsible husband to live by Proverb 14 'The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands'
For a child needing a role model to encourage him to believe that he can reach where he wants to be,it will be frustrating to be in an unfavorable environment that doesn't help to nurture his vision or values.
It is also much easier to identify with a person who has walked the same path as ourselves, went through the same struggles but still became successful.That is when community comes into place.
Most young Central Kenyan men are very ambitious and start working at quite an early age.Our public transport is one of the largest employers of these men.Many of them drop out of school to pursue their ambitions of getting rich,which is not always the case because unfortunately there are people who take advantage of this situation,especially so politicians,who indulge the youth into illegal activities for their self gains.
They manipulate the youth,who are strong and have great potential,by making them believe that the reason why they are unsuccessful is because some other people from another region want to take the country's leadership.They incite them to defend Kenya,since it is 'their land' given to them by God.This is how they end up meeting their deaths and being on the wrong side of the law,as the politicians move on with their daily lives as if nothing has happened.
Recently,Maina Njenga stated that all Central Kenyan leaders and politicians have at least once used the youth and now they have dumped them.
We need to see more role models that can be identified with,the same way our brothers and sisters from Nyanza and Western can identify with the likes of PLO Lumumba.
To support all these facts,there have been the now so popular husband battering cases,a phenomenon that has been attributed to irresponsible drinking and abandonment of duty.It is not uncommon to see haggard looking men hanging around in shopping centres,some leaning on the shop walls as if they were preventing them from tumbling down.
These men are later to be seen before dusk in a drunken stupor and in tattered cloths.Some look wobbly and their trousers barely hold to their waist.One wonders what kind of a woman would accomodate such an eyesore of a man.It is therefore not surprising that these men finally become punching bags to their wives;which woman needs an irresponsible man anyway?
But before I put all the blame on these great brothers,there seems to be so many reasons behind this unfortunate situation.
The government would be the second in line to get the blame,but I am convinced that the greatest problem in Central Kenya is the lack of mentors and role models.Its true that the people around you are your greatest source of wealth,since by sharing their experiences with you,you get to grow as a result.Our greatest role models when we are growing up are our parents;so if these irresponsible men have children looking upto them as role models,what are we to expect?
Poor parenting is not uncommon in Central,and in most cases the child belongs to the mother;a mother who has to take care of everything and everyone,including the irresponsible husband to live by Proverb 14 'The wise woman builds her house, but the foolish tears it down with her own hands'
For a child needing a role model to encourage him to believe that he can reach where he wants to be,it will be frustrating to be in an unfavorable environment that doesn't help to nurture his vision or values.
It is also much easier to identify with a person who has walked the same path as ourselves, went through the same struggles but still became successful.That is when community comes into place.
Most young Central Kenyan men are very ambitious and start working at quite an early age.Our public transport is one of the largest employers of these men.Many of them drop out of school to pursue their ambitions of getting rich,which is not always the case because unfortunately there are people who take advantage of this situation,especially so politicians,who indulge the youth into illegal activities for their self gains.
They manipulate the youth,who are strong and have great potential,by making them believe that the reason why they are unsuccessful is because some other people from another region want to take the country's leadership.They incite them to defend Kenya,since it is 'their land' given to them by God.This is how they end up meeting their deaths and being on the wrong side of the law,as the politicians move on with their daily lives as if nothing has happened.
Recently,Maina Njenga stated that all Central Kenyan leaders and politicians have at least once used the youth and now they have dumped them.
We need to see more role models that can be identified with,the same way our brothers and sisters from Nyanza and Western can identify with the likes of PLO Lumumba.
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