Water, Cement and Plastic Chairs

It has become apparent that without water, cement and plastic chairs, Kenya or Africa in general would suffer and stop existing.
Bikes are piled with yellow gas like containers, twined all over to take somewhere to be filled. I've seen bikes with one to three passengers, with a car tire, with a mattress, with easily hundreds of pounds of maize, carrots, bananas, but mostly yellow gas like containers for water. Water, clean water you buy. If you can't buy water like those in the I.D.P., the camps for Internally Displaced People, you drink dirty water. Two years ago when there was a severe shortage of water, daughters were sold, for water. I venture to guess the most profitable vendors here sell tires or repair bikes. For 5 shillings you can get a lift anywhere, 1,000 shillings is $8.00 in the USA.
Rhino Cement must be the best, or at least the best at advertizing. Even sloppy buildings, one wonders are occupied, are painted in the bright yellow and lime green Rhino Cement logo. I learned you add water, that key ingredient and sand to mix cement. I am ashamed I didn't know this! To save additional money and use less cement your suppose to put the core of the block your making, with pebbles. My first thought was the brick gets heavier. So they make bricks, bricks of cement in all sizes. I asked on one of my first drives through Kenya (after all the questions about where the irrigation was...) why were there so many buildings, everywhere that weren't finished? Festus told me it takes 10 years to build a home. While in the car for 5 hours today I saw much construction and stopped construction. I had an AH HA moment, nothing was gas powered, electric powered or battery operated, the building process is painfully slow and consequently painfully costly. Buildings are rebarb, cement blocks and cement holding them together. The scaffolding is out of tree timbers, narrow and not straight. The drive was long and we got lost a few times. On the return trip I though I will never ever not appreciate the USA street signage again. I was a guessing game.
So with a very high unemployment, high crime, Somolia population on the rise and political unrest, the plastic chair is vital. So much idle time, hanging around. No internet, newspaper or house cleaning. Yes, cell phones, everywhere, even in the I.D.P. People are clustered here and there, kind of waiting for another day to do the same thing. Really sad. If I misplace my calendar I am talking to myself! Its a different world, shocking and so so thought provoking.
One unique thing happened today, on route back from photo sessions at two locations, (which I will later blog about, once I process it all) the streets were lined with police for miles, both sides. All cars were to go to the shoulder of the road and stop. I said this is just like Air Force One, all air space must be stopped, there has to be someone important who is going to be going this route. Seriously, I should be in the C.I.A., it was the President of Kenya. What an insane dog and pony show, must have been some 50 cars, in no real order until the three cars that said "President Escort", everyone was speeding, I assume to out run any bullets? Finally, 5 identical black Mercedes Benz, kind of in a bowling pin arrangement, all with flags. I thought, its kind of like the shell game, HE is in one and we don't know which one. All in all it looked like an ego parade and just made me believe even more that Kenya is a two class society. It is painfully obvious. I'm feeling like I did, in Rome at the vadican, statues three times the size of a human, carved, everywhere, gold leaf, gold, domes, arches and the huge tv screens in the courtyard for Mass. I am not against religion as long as the needy get need, we all need self respect and esteem to get out and get ahead, give the needy the tools to get there. While in the car observing the Presidential display I asked the people in my car if the President feels his life is threatened, they said no, I thought weird it this. I then asked, when is the election, they said it hasn't been decided when the election will be held, we haven't been told yet. Kenya became independent in 1963, independent on whose terms? It reminds me of the olf Virginia Slims tag line "we've got a long way to go baby".