Many people prefer to stay in cities and towns compared to the village. The educated ones always move from the village to cities where they will enjoy a lot of good services and better infrastructure. With devolution, at least rural areas are beginning to get developments.
I visited Ronnie, my college friend, in the rural village of Uasin Gishu county. Although I learned a lot during my stay there, much need to be done to the residents. People are living in the mud houses, thatched with grass and which do not have windows. If they have, it is usually very tiny. It was raining and you could see water leaking into the house. You could imagine that the house will fall any moment.
Many homes do not have tanks for harvesting water thus water runs into wastage. Shortly after the rain, you will see women and children going to the river to fetch water. The river is far away from homes. It is a very tiresome and difficult task as water is carried on heads and backs. A 20-liter container is hoisted on the back using a rope. Clearly, you will see scars on women foreheads as a result of this routine duty.
In the rural village, there is no electricity. Many depend on kerosene tin lamps for light but those few who are well off use solar power. They have opened stores where they charge phones for twenty shillings.
There are no bathrooms. I joined my friend to the river to take a bath. The flowing river water is used for bathing, washing clothes and for home use. I could see women and children fetching this water just some few meters from where we were bathing.
The roads here are impassable. There is no vehicle that can maneuver through such roads. The old and young children often get stuck in the mud.
In the village, everyone shakes hands. You simply cannot avoid shaking hands with people you know. Passing someone without shaking hands is a sign of disrespect. It is very annoying but you can't avoid. The older people shake your hands vigorously and spit on you. It is believed that they are passing blessing to you.
The breathtaking scenes in the village are irresistible. The fresh air away from tussles and bustles of the congested towns is worth enjoying. The people in the village are hardworking. They plant various crops and rare animals to feed their families.
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