Monday, February 20, 2012
Neo colonialism
its hypocritical for the G7 to condemn foreign hand in politics when they hav bn to bed with them through govt to govt deals..the so called presidential duo that kenya hv bn to believe (will be commiting suicide if they dont elect them) has claimed foreign political dictation through envoys and imperialist funded evil sorry i meant civil society.. my solution if they dont want interfernce close world bank, Usaid, imf, Dfid shopsin kenya.. what the civil society gets is petty cash compared to what govt receives frm american and british imperialists in aid ...where does it go in their fat insatiable bellies... Gooday enlightened kenyans....
Monday, February 6, 2012
Kenyans arm youself against deceitful Leaders.
Ni wale wale, the script and the cast is the same only time changes. The kenyan political elite which in most part is the business elite since independence has had an iron grip on the poor, ignorant and uninformed kenyans. soo bad it is that every time a political star of these elites is going down they throw in the btribal card to strike the sympathy of their tonguesmate. but the tongue should not be the basis of any vote and for that a vote to elect a president of a country.
My countrymen i beseech us to arm ourselves with the spear of truth and shield of honesty. Lets arm ourselves by understanding the constitution,and more importantly analysing the life around us. This is in the knowledge that the deprolable state of our school and school system, health and economy in general is because the current and former goverments have taken kenyan for a ride by using them as voting machines to endorse dictatorial and non-perfoming regimes.
When the monster of tribalism, nepotism, favoritism and personality cults want to get better of us kenyans lets try and remember nothing tops the well being of every kenyan. that having quality education, accessible and quality health care is not a priviledge, but achievable realities that have remained hidden from us by these man-eaters.
Good day armed kenyans.
My countrymen i beseech us to arm ourselves with the spear of truth and shield of honesty. Lets arm ourselves by understanding the constitution,and more importantly analysing the life around us. This is in the knowledge that the deprolable state of our school and school system, health and economy in general is because the current and former goverments have taken kenyan for a ride by using them as voting machines to endorse dictatorial and non-perfoming regimes.
When the monster of tribalism, nepotism, favoritism and personality cults want to get better of us kenyans lets try and remember nothing tops the well being of every kenyan. that having quality education, accessible and quality health care is not a priviledge, but achievable realities that have remained hidden from us by these man-eaters.
Good day armed kenyans.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
The Unwillingness of Giant Emitters to strike a deal at COP 17 Durban Talks
From the last two talks i.e is COP 15( Copenhagen) COP 16(Cancun, Mexico) its evident that the giant emitters of the destructive gases are either not convinced or they are displaying utter unwillingness to strike a deal on how to cut the emissions. This is how the world captured the talks
Washington Post
The mandatory targets of the Kyoto Protocol cover less than a third of the world’s carbon output. Major emitters are not bound by it. And, increasingly, the world is relying on a patchwork of measures rather than a universal treaty to lessen the impacts of global warming.
“The formal positions are pretty hard on this,” said Jennifer Morgan, director of the World Resources Institute’s climate and energy program. If negotiators walk away from Durban without forging a clear path forward, she said, “it sends a signal that countries aren’t as serious as they need to be about solving the problem of climate change.”
For more on washington post
New York Times
The United States is not a party to the protocol, having refused to even consider ratifying it because of those asymmetrical obligations. Some major countries, including Canada, Japan and Russia, have said they will not agree to an extension of the protocol next year unless the unbalanced requirements of developing and developed countries are changed. That is similar to the United States’ position, which is that any successor treaty must apply equally to all major economies.
But the European Union, the major developing countries, and most African and Pacific island nations would like to see the Kyoto process extended as a prelude to a binding international agreement after 2020 to reduce emissions so as to keep the average global temperature from ever rising more than 2 degrees Celsius, or about 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, above its current level.
United States emissions are down about 6 percent over the past five years, largely because of the drop in industrial and electricity production caused by the recession.
For more on new york times
The african govts themselves seem not to put enough pressure on these environmental offenders(China, US, India, Brazil) yet its said its the developing that will be worst hit by climate change effects.
As we continue to raise our environmental consciousness lets take upon ourselves to protect the environment in the our own small ways as we can and pressure our govt to put its feet foward on enviromental issues.
Lets use bio degradable materials and reduce consumption of fuel reduce/reuse fuel products such as plastics.
Wandai Gitonga
A Tree Hugger
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
War on Al Shaabab Unwarranted
Why this is not our war but its us who will suffer its consequences and its them the Al shaabab and the donor community that will benefit from it. Somebody convince me how this is a Kenya war aiming at protecting our pride and territorial integrity when our officers in the army have been accused of recruiting and training the Al shaabab in various army camps in the country.
Convince me if its about territorial integrity why we are not fighting with Uganda and Ethiopia where our hardworking brothers and sisters are being harassed daily by Ugandan authorities and only when the media exposes such does the government pretend to act. 40 Kenyans on single night 2 or 3 months ago were brutally murdered and many more maimed and injured by an Ethiopian militia. Pleasantries were exchanged by the two government's few days later, guess what the militia is back and still hurting our fellow Kenyans. But there no beaches in turkana, there are no investors in Turkana so why bother throw resources to a region that has no value to the economic.
The over dependence on AID by most African countries makes them address issues to do with foreigners as opposed to acting on issues to do with Kenyans,there lacks enough income from tax to sustain the bloated government and ballooning salaries of Kenyan MPs. That's why every year the minister of finance reads a budget that is imbalanced with more weight on recurrent budget as opposed to development budget. To enable the goverment to cater for the above said ills the govt seeks 'help' from development partners through grants and loans to fill the deficit( and think i the former they are not supposed to pay back). Now i hope you know why the Kenyan who is in Turkana doesn't count to the authorities soo much, the protection of the international is the priority of the Kenyan govt and may be a distant 100 there comes Todonyang when the outcry from Kenyans is deafening or and most likely they want to play politics.
Otherwise how do you explain the govt lack of resources to feed Kenyans just a few months ago and now it has tonnes of money to go to war we don't know when it will end. The govt has resources to go to war as its citizenry succumb to various cancer ailments due to lack of care and quality treatment in the country. The youths are unemployed because the government has not taken them seriously on issues of job creation and support of innovation through research and business enterprise ventures. The government have unpaid teachers and seriously demotivated civil servants who knock on their door year in year out with minimal success. But when foreigners are abducted note not dead the government is up in arm to defend border sanctity.The border has been constantly been mutilated by the immigration and provicial administration through receiving bribes to allow people who dont qualify to be refugees in the country unvetted. This what you should be fixed not going to war.
Kenyans lets be vigilant lets hold our govt accountable, alot things are going at the moment and this could be another theatrical exercise to divert the attention of Kenyans from what really matters the implementation of the constitution.
They may amend the constitution, they may pass faulty bill that dilute what we voted for overwhelmingly. They may trivialise the irregularities of purchasing 40% of De la rue as they trivialised the sale of Grand regency.
Open your eyes because when they finish eating what is ours they will come for what is yours. And they have already started through passing all the effects of inflation to the consumer and through this they reward the goose that lays the golden eggs.
Am so smelling something. Lets be vigilant
Wandai
A Thinking Kenyan
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Why reaching puberty early may be a disadvantage to many girls: Demystifying menarche as a significant determinant of age at sexual debut (a critical determinant of HIV/AIDS prevalence)
Background
The fight against HIV/AIDs has come a long way and to sustain the positive gains the efforts put must be unrelenting. The war has been fought from different thematic facets which include campaigns against stigma towards the infected and affected, establishment of comprehensive care centers as a one stop shop for the PLWAS where they get all the services needed, campaigns to abstain and be faithful for those already in sexual relationships and championing of responsible sexual behavior through use condoms correctly and consistently.
Studies
Menarcheal age is the age at the onset of the first menstrual period, this event in the life of a girl has been surrounded by myths and misconceptions one of the being considered mature and ready to engage in sexual activity. Over the years studies have shown that the menarcheal age has decreased by at least 1-2 yrs in the last 5 decades from between the ages of 13-14 to 11-12 years. In the U.S. the average age at menarche dropped from 14 years in 1900(Chumlea et al. 2003) to 12.8 years Pinyerd and Zipf 2005). Average age at menarche in Israel has declined from 13 to 11 years (Chodick et al. 2005), from 14 to 12 years in Poland (Hulanicka and Waliszko 1991), in Scotland from 13.2 to 12.7 years (Okasha 2001) and, in Northern Europe, age at menarche is about three years earlier than it was 100 years ago (Parent et al. 2003) as stated by Meghan in study Trends in age at menarche, sexual debut, and oral contraceptive use among Swedish and Swedish Sámi women in 2010. The study show has been caused by climate change, instable status of the modern family, diet etc. In Kenya a study conducted in Nairobi, subjects being primary school girls age range (12-17) years. The mean menarcheal age was 12.5 ± 2.8 years with peak at 12–14 years. A substantial number of girls (10.8%) attained menarche before the age of 11 years, with 2% of them attaining it before 10 years. None attained menarche before nine or after 16 years.
Sexual debut is the initial sexual activity in this case and for purposes of understanding this paper is define as ‘the penis of the male entering the vagina of the female’. The age at sexual debut has been a critical indicator in the fight against HV/AIDS. This has been informed by studies showing the age at sexual debut when delayed could positively impact the on number of partners one engages sexually in their life time, “The age of sexual debut directly impacts the number of sexual partners an individual has over time. Young people who participate in first intercourse before age 14 are significantly more likely to have more lifetime sexual partners. Fifty seven percent of girls who initiate sex before age 14 report six or more lifetime partners, compared to 10 percent of girls who initiate sex at age 17 or older. Likewise, 74 percent of boys who initiate sex before age 14 report six or more lifetime partners compared to 10 percent of boys who initiate sex at age 17 or older”(IYD,1999).
There is minimal or no documented evidence indicating age at menarche as major determinant in the fight against HIV/AIDS. This has relegated the all important indicator to be quoted only in relation and reference to support sexual debut, but this aspect has been studied widely in western world and has helped in the prevention of STIs and use of contraceptives but not HIV/AIDS in specific. The reviewed studies in africa point to an early age at menarche e.g (9-12)yrs always leads to an early initial sex activity and consequently increased number of sexual partners and puts girls at high risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other STIs.
For purposes of this review or essay age 9-12 is defined as early menarche and ages 14-15 is later age at menarche.
The lack attention required for girls at menarcheal age may have a direct relationship with disparity in the male and female HIV/AIDS prevalence biological reasons not withstanding. This disparity in male and female HIV/AIDs prevalence is a further indication that the female population requires extra attention in the fight against the scourge. Currently prevalence among young women 15 to 19 years of age (2.7 percent) is nearly four times higher than prevalence among young men of the same age (0.7 percent); prevalence in 20- to 24-yearold women (6.4 percent) shows a similar fourfold increase compared to that of their male counterparts (1.5 percent), though the national stands prevalence rates for HIV stand at 7.8% (KDHS, 2008—2009)
Increased self efficacy and intention to abstain from sex have been noted as to two important determinants of delayed sexual debut, but an equally important determinant that has been missing is age at menarche commonly “seen as a sign of maturity and readiness to engage in sex” (Glynn et al, 2010). The understanding of the interplay between menarcheal age and sexual debut would be a step towards continuous gradual decrease in HIV/AIDS infections. The empowerment of the girl at the onset of the menstruation period will be helpful. This empowerment will come in what I want to refer as the “Chill Freedom package” for the vulnerable girls (the urban poor, the rural poor, those in displacement camps) at this age. The basic care package will have brochures on abstinence, self esteem topics, two pants, and sanitary pads. This will ensure that positive behavior is maintained and delayed sexual debut will be achieved and ultimately the fight against HIV/AIDS will be enhanced. This can be supported by the Malawian study that shows “early menarche could lead to early sexual debut via school drop-out, or more directly, in response to individual and societal pressures” (Glynn et al, 2010). It goes further to support this claim indicating more than half the girls with menarche before 14 fail to finish primary school, have sex before they are 16 and are married before 17, whereas 70% of girls with menarche at age 16 or older finish primary school, many going on to secondary education, start sex after the age of 18 and marry after the age of 19. The schooling level reached by girls with late menarche is similar to that of boys in the community. That reached by girls with earlier menarche falls far short of this (Glynn et al, 2010).”
Conclusion
The provision of the care package will reduce the chances of the girl either from dropping out of school or to the said individual and societal pressures, the conclusion of the study states and I quote “Women with early menarche start sex and marry early, leading to school drop-out. It is important to find ways to support those who reach menarche early to access the same opportunities as other young women” (Glynn et al, 2010).
The media campaigns and other tailor made interventions should be enhanced with messages targeting the parents, mentors, icons and policy makers. Efforts already in place should be reinforced by those involved targeting family as unit and specific messages developed targeted at the girl aged 10-17 years on self efficacy and menstrual period management as well as delayed sexual debut. Reason being the sex sick society we have become, coupled with a case of broken social support system has been an impediment towards a clear shot victory against the HIV plague. Earlier age of menarche was found to be associated with adverse childhood experiences and earlier sexual activity. Negative family behaviors which include family abandonment by either parents lead girls to earlier menarche and sexual activity and less stable relationships.
For the war to be won we must win the battle first and this new battle front should not be ignored. An integration of sort between efforts on delayed sexual debut and those to delay and manage the age at menarche should be reinforced. The government and those in with interest in the girl child and the community as whole should join hands and fight as one.
References
Kenya Census Bureau UNAIDS ***KDHS 2008—2009
WHO/UNAIDS/UNICEF Towards Universal Access report, 2008 recent national surveys, including the 2007
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