MAKING A DIFFERENCE

GIVING HOPE TO A POOR COMMUNITY-AN INTERVIEW WITH SOLOMON GACECE

Introduction

This ray of hope was ignited for one community because two individuals, Mr. Solomon Gacece and his wife, Alice, made it their business to look into the plight of their neighbours and to assist them get out of the bleak situation in which they found themselves. For our feature "Making a difference," WAJIBU's editor interviewed Mr. Gacece about the initiative which he and his wife started in a poor community not too far from Nairobi. WAJIBU shares this initiative with our readers, trusting that it may serve as an incentive to others.

Wajibu. Mr. Gacece, could you give us a bit about the background to the community with which you are working and how you and your wife came to be involved with it?

Gacece. A number of years ago my wife Alice and I purchased a small plot in Ng'undu, a suburban area east of Nairobi on the road to Kangundo. This plot was originally part of a settler's farm and had been taken over by a cooperative more than 25 years ago; some of the other people who purchased plots from the cooperative had previously worked for the settler. The place, known as Kamulu, is legally within the Nairobi City boundary although it is 40 km. from the city centre. The area, although savannah type, is fertile but lacks water. A small river does pass through it but it is seasonal.

We had little interaction with the community until we were able to start developing the plot some ten years ago. We naturally became interested in our future neighbours; I started chatting with the men and Alice with the women. We discovered that there was little development in the area. After the departure of the settler, the workers had been left in a poor state. Some started peasant farming and others found casual work in the city. Those who engaged in farming were hardly able to feed their families because of lack of water: the borehole was only sufficient for drinking water and household use. Wild animals were also a menace: they would destroy the crops. Storage of crops was another problem the farmers were facing.

The area had no schools, no markets or health centers; there were no recreational facilities and no churches. There was much idleness and people had taken to bad habits: smoking, drinking, and taking drugs. There was much immorality and many young girls got pregnant out of wedlock. Once they gave birth, they were not able to give proper nourishment to their children. The crime rate was high: cattle would be stolen and houses broken into; community structures were often vandalized and food would be stolen from farms. Then there was much brewing of illegal beer. Due to illiteracy and the lack of educated leaders, there were no community activities for bringing people together.

The first thing that we did, therefore, is to look into the possibility of starting a primary school in the area. This we were able to do with the help of the City Education Department (who provided teachers) and the community who collected stones and built three classrooms. Once there was opportunity of schooling for their children more people moved into the area. Some of these people were educated and they set up different types of business. This was a positive development.

Next we introduced recreational activities. Taking advantages of the large areas where people grazed their cattle, we identified some young leaders and donated footballs and netballs to them, the two games, football and netball, being the most easily manageable. Young people immediately started playing in the evenings: big boys on the first day, big girls on the second day and small children on the third day. In this way each group had a chance to play once in three days. Later more football and netballs were donated. The groups formed for sports were also used for the introduction of religious education. Bibles (English and Kiswahili versions) were made available to the older boys and girls. As they gathered for games they made a practice to study the Bible together.

Mr. Gacece, you of course drew upon your own background in sports as a means of bringing people into contact with Christianity. Could you tell us a bit about that?

It is my experience, having been an athlete myself, that sports is a powerful means of bringing people (children, parents and grandparents and even whole communities) together. As an example, look at the statistics of what happens when an event such as the Olympic Games or the World Cup in football takes place: more than three and a half billion people (over half the world's population) follow these events on the news. Sports has the following advantages:

• It will keep people occupied as players or supporters;
• It provides enjoyment;
• It promotes physical fitness;
• It engages people in mental exercise;
• It reduces stress;
• It enhances relationship and friendship;
• It strengthens a sense of unity and belonging;
• It gives a feeling of achievement;
• It is a challenge to hard work.

You can imagine what an incentive this has been to the Ng'undu Football Club and to the community as a whole: it has opened a window to the world for them. They can invite other clubs to their area and they themselves go to other places to play. What happens on days when a major game is being played has really touched my heart. The young men who are herding cows in the area will bring these cows to the edge of the playing field where they can keep an eye on them while eagerly watching the game.

The Football Club has also introduced discipline into the community. They have set rules for their players: no smoking, no drinking, no drugs and punctuality in coming to practice. They also encourage the members to attend church on Sunday mornings. The families in the community are happy to see a change in the behaviour of the young people and have pledged their support. They attend the games, especially when competitions take place and some of the community members have given the team transport money for games played elsewhere. The greater cohesiveness of the community became evident also in the case of a young girl who had a serious heart problem and needed an operation. I managed to interest the Heart to Heart Foundation in her case and obtained the help of Dr. Betty Gikonyo, the heart specialist and the Executive Director of this Foundation. But many pints of blood were required for the operation. The football team members showed their concern: they were very happy to donate a pint each. What a pleasure it is now to see the young girl running about the house whereas before she could not walk 20 meters without sitting down three times.

After getting young people interested in sports as an alternative to being idle, you looked to the community from which they came and saw the pervading poverty. I believe you and your wife took some initiatives to bring about some improvement in that situation. Can you tell us a bit about that?

My wife and I were both convinced that food production would be the key to making at least a small change for the better in this situation of pervading poverty. So my wife, who is a nutritionist by profession, took a six-day intensive course at the Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF). Armed with the additional knowledge she had gained there, it was possible for our small plot to become a demonstration area. The ladies from the Institute came to show us as well as other interested community members how to grow vegetables like carrots and onions in a small area by means of drip irrigation. This knowledge has definitely made a difference for a number of people. Some of the men are proud of the fact that they no longer need to buy vegetables for their family elsewhere: they can grow them on their own plots. Some even do so well that they sell the surplus to their neighbours.

What do you see as the reasons why the community leaders had not themselves come up with some of the ideas which you introduced to them?

As I mentioned, there were few educated people among them in the beginning and there was lack of leadership. However, with good example and the increase in numbers this is starting to change.

There is much talk about poverty alleviation in our country but on the whole very little action. To what factors do you attribute this lack of action?

Basically this attitude is due to selfishness. But another factor enters in as well: people need to be challenged to become concerned with the problems of their community! And it is not enough to talk to them: they must see for themselves that there are alternatives to the status quo. So meeting with people from outside their own areas can be helpful and so can seeing for yourself how others do things. Becoming involved in sports can become a very good avenue for this kind of interaction. Another challenge to change can come from having positive role models.

When you bought the piece of land in this area you could have just concerned yourself with making it productive and using it as a source of income for yourself and your family. Specifically, what reasons can you give why you made the problems of the surrounding community your concern?

It is my conviction that in order to enjoy life one needs to share what one has, whether this is material resources or a particular talent. You cannot feel secure if you are the only one having a particular resource. It is common knowledge that you enjoy your food more if there are others to share it with you. If you share your knowledge, everyone benefits; if you share your love, life becomes fulfilling. Of course, some people may take you for a fool but in the long run you will derive greater satisfaction from sharing.

Take the example of growing sunflowers. If you are the only one growing them in a particular area the birds will come and eat the seeds. However, if everyone grows them, sure, the birds will come and eat some seeds but not all of them because they can find other places where they can eat. Everyone will indeed have fewer seeds but no one will be without them altogether. If people would learn this simple lesson in sharing what a difference it would make in our country!

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