THAT WOMAN ON THE STREETS

She sees you every day as you hurriedly walk down the streets, stuck in traffic while riding your SUV or probably as you leisurely speak through your humongous smart phone. Her hazel eyes filled with fear, uncertainty and despair in a world full of impossibilities. She often looks lost, lost in her own world. Her clothes are dirty, tattered, partially covering a body that direly longs for just a meal to get by the day. You don’t recognise her, how would you, when your worlds are on two disparate slates. To you she’s ‘INVISIBLE’ simply, ‘THAT WOMAN ON THE STREETS’

‘THAT WOMAN ON THE STREETS,’ doesn’t have a place she can call home. In fact ‘home’ is overrated because all she ever wants is a roof to cover her family. Food is not a basic need; it’s an issue of luck. Education, is too far-fetched, worse still, it’s a luxury. If you can afford it, you can get it.

On my final day of induction at ActionAid, before being dispatched to the respective job jurisdictions, we had an exclusive meeting with the organization’s Executive Director, Bijay Kumar. This was the long awaited meeting, since it was meant to sum up everything we had been guided through. Every time Mary, Christabell [colleague interns] and I thought about it, we would literally panic, often wondering how to present ourselves.

‘Ladies, the Executive Director is ready for you’ one of our lady colleagues informed us. That statement ‘Executive Director’ is not your everyday cup of coffee, therefore being at our best would reflect volumes.

‘Breathe in! Out! In! Out! I couldn’t help but brace myself the best way possible. A step into the boardroom felt like walking on eggshells. Suddenly, we were all conscious about everything. These are the moments even a sneeze could work against you resume. ‘Ladies have your seats’  Bijay Kumar requested. Being 4.45pm, there wasn’t much time to squander hence the session commenced immediately. A couple of minutes later, our line manager also joined us.

Before I could start thinking of how intimidating the room felt,  Bijay took as through a very emotional presentation.  In another platform his Indian accent would have hindered effective communication, but at the time nothing could have possibly tampered with the reception of  the message on ‘human rights.’ I have never had a clear comprehension on how people end up so poor and others blatantly rich. Lucky for me, here was a concise presentation that would put my queries to rest.

‘The world has a lot of resources that the common mwananchi  is entitled to .However, what we have control over is lesser than the overall entitlement. This proves to be the case because some natural resources are mass owned therefore an individual cannot claim individual ownership. This further reduces due to factors such as power, connections and financial ability to rule over resources. If you do not have the above, you cannot get access to some resources. The gap even reduces further to very little an individual can use and if you still can’t afford them, you become totally excluded.’

This secluded person is ‘THAT WOMAN ON THE STREETS’. Automatically, I shift back to her. The government’s responsibility is to take care of her basic needs, shelter, food, clothing, education and access to good medical services. Clearly it’s easier said than done.

Just recently, Kenya was ranked among the top ten middle class countries. Congratulations! Kudos! More investments coming in very soon=more tax holidays=perforation of common mwananchi’s pockets. When does ‘THAT WOMAN ON THE STREETS’ get liberated?

Ever tried to take a minute and think about what that woman thinks about before you swiftly walk away from her as if she were a plague, rolling up your vehicle window when she comes near your car? She’s just like you, only difference is that she’s strapped off what she’s entitled to by a multinational company that has been on tax holiday for decades or someone in charge of improving her life choosing to embezzle funds.

Individual’s often claim that they are strong, but no one knows the definition of strength better than a person living in exclusion. ’THAT WOMAN ON THE STREETS’ is among the strongest people I know. Food is never a guarantee, but her and her kids survive on the same streets you claim to stink. She has no roof over her head but she lives to see another day. The fact that she begs on the streets doesn’t define who she is.

The blunt truth is ‘THAT WOMAN ON THE STREETS’ doesn’t care if Kenya is announced as the richest country tomorrow morning. At the end of the day, when she can’t have a decent life in her own country even life in itself doesn’t seem to make sense.