Suwako Nagata, Part 1

A cheerful life, lived on less than a dollar a day

Suwako Nagata (left) explains how to make organic fertilizer to local residents in Kenya. (January 2011)

Suwako Nagata

Born in Nagasaki in 1951. After graduating from the department of education at Nagasaki University, she worked as an English teacher at junior high schools in the city of Kobe for 35 years. While working as a teacher, Ms. Nagata was a member of the Japan Education and Resource Network (JEARN), an NPO that promotes international education. In 2003, the International Education and Resource Network (iEARN), the parent organization of JEARN, organized a conference which led to the founding of the 窶廣MANI Internet Centre窶・in Kaimosi, Kenya in March 2010. Ms. Nagata then retired from teaching and has taught Japanese in Kenya since September 2010.

I now live in a village called Kaimosi, located in western Kenya. I teach Japanese and my husband and I are doing what we can to combat poverty.

The village lies below the equator, but is situated in the highlands, 1,700 feet above sea level. This makes the temperature a pleasantly cool 15-20 degrees Celsius in the morning and in the evening. During the day, the temperature reaches to about 30 degrees Celsius, but we're able to live without air-conditioning and heating throughout the year.

There are many farms in this area that grow tea, and the tea can be picked from the fields at any time. The tea leaves are then exported to other places in the world to make delicious tea. However, tea is the only plant that can produce income for them and it earns only 12 yen per kilogram. Although the climate is mild, the soil tends to be acidic, and the fields aren't cultivated well. Most farmers live on less than 1 dollar a day.

The community has no water supply so the people make use of the rain if they have a tank to hold the water. Families who can't afford to buy a water tank are forced to scoop up water from the river nearby and use that water for cooking as well. Collecting water in this way is mainly the work of women and children. It's hard work carrying water on your head four or five times a day.

Electricity is available to homes in the area, but each family must pay to have an incoming line attached to their house. At this point about 30% of the people in the village have electricity. In houses without electricity, people use kerosene lamps. Recently, though, the price of kerosene has been rising and that has prevented students from studying at night. Kerosene fumes can also be harmful to the eyes and lungs.

There are more schools in this area than I expected before I came here. In 2003, public schools from the first to the eighth grades became tuition-free. But they still need to pay for school uniforms and textbooks, and school supplies like pencils and notebooks are precious things. I see a lot of students carrying their textbooks in plastic bags from the supermarket instead of school bags, and many children go to school barefoot. If they go on to a public high school, usually at the age of 15, they have to start paying tuition then. High school students who commute to school from home pay around 2,000 yen a month, while students living in a dormitory pay around 4,000 yen a month. This means that the costs of education, for families with low incomes, weigh heavily on the family budget.

Still, there are many education-minded parents, and schools compete for the best results in the Kenya National Examination. These results, which include a school's ranking in its area and across Kenya, are announced to the public. Students in each class are also ranked, with some earning 窶彙est student窶・status while others receive rankings toward the bottom.

The standard of living in this part of Kenya is like that of Japan 50 years ago, but the appearance of cell phones and cars has greatly changed life here. As I mentioned, tea leaves are sold for just 12 yen per kilogram, but its costs 10 yen to charge a cell phone at a shop. Kenyans enjoy chatting on their phones so they quickly use up the time in the maximum calling plans and spend a lot of money keeping their cell phones charged.

As for cars, only rich families can afford them. Some people have vehicles that they operate as taxis, which provides a way of getting around the area. Villagers can also hire such a vehicle to take them longer distances, but the fare is more than 60 yen. In the past, the people here could only manage to feed their families, but the rapid globalization they're now experiencing makes it necessary for them to earn more money for this new lifestyle.

On ordinary days the people wear soiled or torn clothes, but on Sunday, when they go to church, they dress up in nice suits or dresses. Several years ago, women's hair had a strong and natural perm, but lately they have enjoyed using hair extensions. When I meet them on the street, they're very cheerful and offer me friendly greetings.