Moral Dilemma

At what point do you draw the line of cultural difference and establish right and wrong? This is not an easy question. There are many things about Kenya that are very different than Canada. The strong religion, the more defined gender roles and, unfortunately, the hitting of children at school. I became aware of this fact recently, and I have been discussing it with some of the staff at school. It was very obvious to them that I did not like the idea. I have been told that “African kids need more discipline” and “save the cane, break the child. Break the cane, save the child” and “you must straighten the tree while it is still flexible”. The canings are not severe by any means, but I am sure they hurt. So the question is, “is this ok”?

Today I was marking science and came across unfinished homework. I muttered “another one unfinished” and the class teacher, who was sitting nearby, heard me. She asked me how many were not completed and I told her almost half. So she grabbed up the books and the cane and made all the children who hadn’t finished or had many things wrong lie on the floor while she caned them. For MY homework. I asked her not to, but she said that if she didn’t the kids would think that for my classes they could get away with not doing their work.

I totally admit that disciplining the kids is not my strength and I’m sure I am too easy on them. But do I object and say I cannot condone caning? Or do I accept it as part of Kenyan culture? Are my Canadian values valid in this context? Is there a universal right and wrong?

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A few other notes. This morning there was a downpour. The noise of the rain falling on the metal roof plus the lack of sunlight to light the classroom made it almost impossible to teach. Makes you realize that we are a stone’s throw from being outside.

I noticed the day something quite unusual. The matatus are very tight. You have to squeeze to get in. Yet when there is a seat next to a Kenyan open and someone is getting on, they prefer to let the new person squeeze past them, often while the matatu is moving, instead of simply sliding over and letting them have their original seat. I have absolutely no idea why this is.

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On the weekend I took my first trip to Kibera, the second largest slum in the world. Both of my hosts were born and raised there. It is home to more than a million people, with many subcommunities, often along tribal lines. As such, it was the site of much of the violence in late 2007. The guy who took me works for an NGO in Kibera focused on enabling young people through the arts. He told me that during the violence he and his group did hundreds of performances of anti-violence skits and plays. The organization hopes to finance a recording studio for talented musicians and do some other small projects, like providing feminine products for girls who can’t afford them. We walked through Kibera for about an hour and saw less than half of it. In the afternoon I watched a dance rehearsal.

On Sunday, Sylvia took me to a place called the Bomas of Kenya, which is a small park of replica villages of the different Kenyan tribes, and an auditorium where they show traditional dances. The music, costumes and dancing were really nice. One dance featured men with large wooden blocks on their feet that they stomped in time with the drums. There were also some acrobats, the African version of Cirque de Soleil.

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An update on my experimental teaching… The clouds experiment didn’t go quite as well as I had hoped, so I walked them through it as an example. This week I will try the puzzles again on Thursday, so we’ll see if they start getting the hang of it.
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P.S. Posted on my birthday!! It's been a good day so far :) I am not ay Daystar Uni hanging out with the AIESECers. Oh, and I saw zebras!