A Social Worker's View

Male Sex Workers in Kenya

2012-02-15T14:44:00.000+03:00

There has been a lot of talk on the social networking sites and blogosphere about commercial sex work in Nairobi and especially after a docu-series on one of the local TV stations about men who have sex with men (MSM) and male sex workers. The series got various reactions from the Kenyan society with some shocked at the reality of sex work in Kenya, some were outraged as to why it was being broadcast and some, weren't sure what to think.

Being an African society, Kenyans find it hard to discuss matters of sexuality especially when it comes to homosexual relationship. No matter how conservative you wish to be, the reality is that homosexual relationships do exist in our society. No matter one's sexuality, they deserve to be treated with respect.

The series titled 'Muffled Killers' by Kenyan journalist, Anne Soy-Mwendia was highlighting male sex workers in Kenya. Watch the videos below.

Muffled Killers Part I

Muffled Killers Part II and III

Videos courtesy of YouTube - KTN Kenya.

World Social Work Day - March 20th

2012-02-14T13:07:00.001+03:00

'We commit wholeheartedly and urgently to people having power over their own lives to address the root cause of oppression and inequality to work together with others to create a more socially-just and fair world that we will be proud to leave for future generations.'

Every year on the third Tuesday of March, World Social Work Day (WSWD) is marked globally. This year, it will be on the 20th of March and the UN Social Work day will be marked on the 26 of March.

For more information on WSWD, check out IFSW website as well as your local association websites and offices.

Posters in French and Spanish.

In the Headlines V

2012-01-30T16:11:00.001+03:00

Reprieve for Deaf Patients as Sign Language Training Programme for Nurses Launched: A programme has been launched to train medical nurses in Kenyan Sign Language (KSL) to assist deaf patients more effectively. I believe this is a great step in ensuring that hearing impaired patients can be understood when seeking medical treatment.

Abortion case study: ‘There was no anaesthetic’: Read Akech Ayimba's story, she had two abortions and is now pro-life and runs support groups for women who have had abortions.

Helping Your Child Deal with Death: Ever wondered how to help your children understand death. Read this article by National Center for Crisis Management.

Dangerous Abortions on the Rise: A study by WHO shows a rising proportion of abortions worldwide are putting women's health at risk.

I Should Have Mourned My Daughter in Dignity: Read Gibson Kagoi's story, his daughter, Gladys Muthoni, made headlines in December last year following a suspected Ebola outbreak.

Kenya's Gay, Bisexual Men Being Trafficked in Arab Gulf Sex Trade: A report indicated that Kenyan homosexual and bisexual men are involved in sex trade in countries such as United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Happy New Year!

2012-01-02T13:24:00.002+03:00

‘The new year is set before us like an unwritten volume - all its pages blank. Let us write upon each day's page things that at the end of the year we will look upon with rejoicing rather than regret.’

courtesy of google images

It’s a new year!That is reason enough to be grateful. 2011 was a great year for me with thehighlight being that I graduated! I look forward to the new experiences of2012. Thank you to each and every one of you who followed the blog last year. Weare going to our second year and the reaction and feedback has beenoverwhelming.

Wherever youare, I hope that you have a year that you’ll be happy about when you look backat the end of it. Strive to be your best wherever you are, in school, work, andcommunity.

To my fellowsocial workers, near and far, I hope that this year will bring new ways for youto be a change agent and you will have plenty of social impact in your circles.

Happy New Year!

Regrets of the Dying by Bronnie Ware

2011-12-26T11:16:00.002+03:00

Note from Blogger: I came across this article and I figured I should share it with you as the year ends and another starts. I hope you can learn something from it and start a new year with no regrets.

For many years I worked in palliative care. My patients were those who had gone home to die. Some incredibly special times were shared. I was with them for the last three to twelve weeks of their lives.

People grow a lot when they are faced with their own mortality. I learnt never to underestimate someone's capacity for growth. Some changes were phenomenal. Each experienced a variety of emotions, as expected, denial, fear, anger, remorse, more denial and eventually acceptance. Every single patient found their peace before they departed though, every one of them.

When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently, common themes surfaced again and again. Here are the most common five:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made.

It is very important to try and honour at least some of your dreams along the way. From the moment that you lose your health, it is too late. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it.

2. I wish I didn't work so hard.
This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret. But as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence.

By simplifying your lifestyle and making conscious choices along the way, it is possible to not need the income that you think you do. And by creating more space in your life, you become happier and more open to new opportunities, ones more suited to your new lifestyle.

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings.
Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result.

We cannot control the reactions of others. However, although people may initially react when you change the way you are by speaking honestly, in the end it raises the relationship to a whole new and healthier level. Either that or it releases the unhealthy relationship from your life. Either way, you win.

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying.

It is common for anyone in a busy lifestyle to let friendships slip. But when you are faced with your approaching death, the physical details of life fall away. People do want to get their financial affairs in order if possible. But it is not money or status that holds the true importance for them. They want to get things in order more for the benefit of those they love. Usually though, they are too ill and weary to ever manage this task. It is all comes down to love and relationships in the end. That is all that remains in the final weeks, love and relationships.

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.
This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content. When deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again.

When you are on your deathbed, what others think of you is a long way from your mind. How wonderful to be able to let go and smile again, long before you are dying.

Life is a choice. It is YOUR life. Choose consciously, choose wisely, choose honestly. Choose happiness.

Family Law 101 [Part I]

2011-11-19T10:30:00.002+03:00

Family law is that branch of the law that relates to marriage and the rights and responsibilities that parties have within that marriage. It also covers a large area of children's rights with respect to the care that they need within the family. The above is by no means a comprehensive description of this law, however it gives one a general overview to what it entails.

On the issue of marriage, the law has certain rules as who can get married and when this can occur. It also gives the procedure to be followed when two love birds decide that they want to live together as man and wife. There are also rules for divorce and legal separation within this law.

Considering that all these matters are all covered by this law, it is quite bulky. To cover it all here, even in summary form, would bore anyone reading this post. Therefore I will look at each 'section' of this law and discuss what any common (read as non-lawyer) individual should know about this law. I hope you will enjoy this series and if you have any questions do not hesitate to ask.

To start off this week, I will look at the types of family law systems that Kenya has. Kenyan law recognizes five family law systems. These are, in no particular order, African Christian, Civil, Hindu, Islamic and African Customary.

The African Christian marriages are to be found in the African Christian Marriage and Divorce Act. This law was enacted to cater for those Africans who converted to Christianity and thus wanted to live according to the precepts of their religion. This system has its own unique rules and procedures.

Civil law is found in the Marriage Act. You might be familiar with the practice of getting married at the Attorney General's office. They do so under this Act. It has no religious connotation and like the African Christian Marriage and Divorce Act, it has its own rules and procedures. However, the two do share some provisions.

Hindu marriages are celebrated under the Hindu Marriage and Divorce Act. It is specific to those that profess the Hindu faith. Pursuant to that, it has its own unique rules and procedures relating to how such marriages are celebrated.

Islamic marriages are governed mostly by their Holy Book. However there are certain rules relating to some procedures that are covered by two acts of parliament. These Acts are the Mohammedan Marriage and Divorce Registration Act and Mohammedan Marriage, Divorce and Succession Act.

Finally, there are the African Customary marriages. These marriages are not entirely governed by an Act of Parliament. However some form of regulation is given under the Magistrate Court's Act. It is based on African Customs that differ from one community to another.

Having outlined the five family law systems, the next posts will be focusing on the salient rules of each. Let me repeat by saying the aim of this post is not to make a lawyer out of you but to equip you with important principles of this law which will add to your general knowledge.

Expectations in Relationships

2011-11-16T17:42:00.001+03:00

Over thelast couple of weeks, I have had different conversations on relationships andmarriage and the many expectations that come with it. When you finally meetsomeone and start dating, normally the ‘honeymoon’ phase is on until realitysort of checks in and the person you are dating doesn’t look the same anymore…Beenthere?

Every personhas some expectations of a love relationship and they expect the other person aswell as the relationship to meet their standards. Unfortunately, someexpectations can be unrealistic or they may not be met, leading todisappointment.

I’ll speakfrom my own experience and say that communication, as cliché as it sounds, iskey. Being able to understand each other and openly discuss what you expectfrom each other as well as the relationship will save you a whole lot ofdisappointment.

Now,communication doesn’t come easy for everyone and every couple. Depending on howyou were brought up, your past with relationships among other factors, two differentworlds are meeting and your communication styles may be different as well.

If it takestime to find common ground on your relationship expectations, don’t worry. Be patientand work on understanding each other as well as learn to communicate in a safe,friendly and loving environment.

Most importantly,don’t try and change the person you are dating. Love them for who they reallyare and if you choose not to, let them be. Everyone deserves thechance to be the person they believe they are.

In the Headlines IV

2011-11-07T12:22:00.000+03:00

'Sexting' Driven by Peer Pressure: Check out the preliminary findings on sexting of a study done in university of Melbourne, Australia.

TSC Wields Big Stick To Punish Randy Teachers: Teachers Service Commission (TSC) released a report in October indicating sexual violence happening in schools with teachers being the sex offenders.

The Rape of Men: This is an expose on men who were tortured and raped, most in their war-torn countries. Check out the statistics and the stories of men who were sexually violated.

10 Functions of a Professional Social Worker: Check out this article on the functions of a professional social worker.

Sexual Violence Still A Major Urban Threat: GBV cases are reportedly on the rise in Kenyan cities. Check out the accounts of different women and the issue of reporting cases to the police.

25 Exciting Career Opportunities in Human Services: If you are interested in human services, this is a great place to find out the various career opportunities you can consider.

The Accidental Rapist: Read the story of a man who may have found himself in a compromising situation with his partner where he may have been an accidental rapist.

She Helps Women Deliver, Makes a Hot Meal Before Discharging Them: Read the story of a nurse, Pamela Achieng' and her service in rural Kenya that ensures woman have safe deliveries.

Kenyan Woman in Kansas Speaks Out on her Gay Wedding: This is the story of a Kenyan woman who has recently married an American in a same-sex marriage. It is contraversial in Kenya due to the stand on homosexuality.

Social Work Companion: Check out this app for social workers.

The Pink Project Pictorial

2011-10-27T09:12:00.002+03:00

Check out these photos by James Quest for The Pink Project which I highlighted in my previous post. Remember to get a breast exam. I commend James Quest and The Pink Project for this great initiative.

Follow The Pink Project on Facebook - The Pink Project and on Twitter - @GetABreastExam.

The Pink Project

2011-10-25T13:58:00.001+03:00

I recently came across this great initiative called The Pink Project which has acknowledged that breast cancer is curable with early detection and treatment. On the website, there is a form where individuals are encouraged to provide their information so that every year on your birthday, they will remind you to get a breast exam. This is a great opportunity for everyone so make the commitment and sign up. It is a birthday gift worth your while.

Photo Credit: Leon Muli

A talented photographer, Leon Muli, does a philanthropy breast cancer awareness photo shoot in October. The photo above is from the shoot he did last year. For more on his work, check out his web page Leon Photographer or his Facebook page Leon.Photographer.

Remember to get a breast exam!

Capital Punishment or State Sanctioned Murder

2011-10-21T18:19:00.003+03:00

This month two young men were the first to be sentenced to death within the new constitutional order. Questions have been raised by many over the legality of such a judgement. However the truth of the matter is that Kenya still has a death penalty in its Penal Code for five offences.

These offences are murder, treason, robbery with violence, attempted robbery with violence and administration of unlawful oaths to commit capital offences. The capital offences mentioned in the last one refer to the other four offences stated. All these offences attract a death sentence upon conviction. The two young men were convicted of murder.

Kenya, despite the law says that one must hang for the offences stated above, has never executed a single death row convict since 1983. It makes one wonder whether we even need it in our statute books. His Excellency the President this year reduced the death sentences of some 4,000 inmates to life in prison. The occupant of this office is the only one who can sign an execution order and this further reinforces the idea that Kenya should do away with it.

The death penalty is meted out for offences that are very serious. Some say it is a way of getting retribution for loss of a loved one in cases of murder. But what of the others? Within the whole question of capital punishment is a human rights element. Do convicts deserve to live even after horrible crimes? Should the state be allowed to execute them as a way of pnishment?

Social scientists around the globe have done studies to determine whether capital punishment deters people from committing offences. The results are inconclusive. This means that the matter is arguable between those who support it and those who don't as neither can boast that the death penalty deters or does not deter such crimes.

However from a pragmatic approach, if execution is not there by fact then by all means do away with it in law. But this is only my opinion but may change if convinced otherwise.

PINKTOBER!

2011-10-06T18:54:00.000+03:00

It's that time again when we rock pink as we mark breast cancer awareness month. I believe it's a cause that goes all year long but traditionally, October has remained as the main focus. Last year, I highlighted how to do a breast exam which I also highlighted on the Facebook page earlier this week.

I would like to emphasize that breast cancer and breast exams are not only for women, men can also get breast cancer and they should do breast exams. Doing a breast exam, self or by a doctor, can save your life. Learn how to do one and make it a routine to do it every month. For those of you who didn't see it, here it is.

A breast self exam is advised because early detection saves lives and the BSE is a simple way of monitoring changes in the breasts. A BSE should be done by women starting at puberty, men and women who have had a mastectomy to examine the surgery area. It should be done on the same day of every month - women who have regular monthly menstrual period should should perform the exam a week after the first day of their period. Men as well as women who have stopped having their menstrual period can pick the same day each month. For women who are breast-feeding, the exam can be done after a feeding session.

Step 1: Stand in front of a mirror and look at your breasts with your shoulders straight and your arms on your hips. Look for breasts that are their usual size, shape, and color and that are evenly shaped without visible distortion or swelling. The major changes you need to look out for are change in the shape or contour of the breast, change in nipple, direction or nipple discharge, redness, swelling, soreness, dimpling or rash on breast or nipple, a lump or thickening of breast or underarm.

Step 2: Raise your arms and look for the same changes.

Step 3: While at the mirror, look for signs of any discharge coming from the nipples. It could be watery, milky, yellow fluid or blood.

Step 4: Feel your breasts while lying down, using your right hand to feel your left breast and then your left hand to feel your right breast. Use a firm, smooth touch with the first few finger pads of your hand, keeping the fingers flat and together. Use a circular motion and cover the entire breast from top to bottom, side to side — from your collarbone to the top of your abdomen, and from your armpit to your cleavage.

Follow a pattern to be sure that you cover the whole breast. You can begin at the nipple, moving in larger and larger circles until you reach the outer edge of the breast.

Step 5: Finally, feel your breasts while you are standing or sitting. Many find that the easiest way to feel their breasts is when their skin is wet and slippery, so they like to do this step in the shower. Cover your entire breast using the same hand movements described in Step 4.

Please note that this exam should be done every month and any changes or concerns should be communicated to a doctor. Early detection of breast cancer can save your life.

Information and images courtesy of breastcancer.org. Posts from last year: Breast Self Exam (BSE) and Breast Cancer

Prof. Wangari Maathai 1940 - 2011

2011-09-26T12:16:00.009+03:00

Photo: Martin Rowe

When I was a little girl, Prof. Wangari featured a lot on TV because of her work. I often saw her fight, cry, on behalf of the environment. It wasn’t until I was older that I understood her passion, what she lived for, what she had a heart for. This woman was one person who gave her everything no matter what stood in her way. She is an inspiration to me.

It is with great sadness that she died last night in hospital after a long battle with cancer. She was the first woman in Central and/or Eastern Africa to hold a Ph.D, first woman head of a university department in Kenya and the first African woman to win the Nobel Prize in Peace. She founded the Green Belt Movement in the 1970s and fought tirelessly for the environment.

May her soul rest in peace.

The Numbers Don't Add Up

2011-09-21T13:48:00.004+03:00

THE LAW
Article 81(b) stipulates that 'not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender'. This is a progressive clause especially for our sisters in society. However it may well be that it is not attainable with respect to certain elective public bodies such as the legislature.

THE PROBLEM
The new constitution divides the legislature into two (read bicameral system). On the one hand we have the Senate and the National Assembly on the other. All the members expected to take up seats therein are 418 in total.

If the above provision is to be complied with, then the women should add up to about 139.33 but lets us say 140. this means that at least 140 women should have a seat in the next parliament. But this as will be argued here may not be tenable unless some drastic and somewhat unconstitutional measures are employed.

THE MATH
A number of seats in both houses are ear marked for women come the next general elections. These are 47 seats in the National Assembly, 16 seats in the Senate and 1 seat each for a youth representative and persons with disabilities representative. My trusty calculator gives me 65 as the sum total. I am no accountant, but 65 seats is a far cry to the 140 seats envisioned by article 81.

However there is the other option of being elected in a 'free-for-all' (by this I mean the 290 seats in the National Assembly and the 47 seats in the Senate that have not been earmarked and thus are fair game) category of seats. Here, women would have to tough it out with other men to ingratiate themselves with the electorate. This has proved to be a daunting task as the number of women in the current parliament must speak for itself.

Clearly there is no level playing field and if left as it is women may not enjoy the two-third rule envisaged under the constitution. So is there a solution to this problem?

THE SOLUTION (possible)
I am not sure how one can mitigate the harshness of a paternalistic world to allow the two-third rule to be applied without breaking any other rules. However there is one solution that has been floated recently. Be that as it may, in my opinion, it does not have a legal standing that would be internally consistent with the constitution.

Sympathizers of this proposition argue that to make the rule tenable some constituencies will have to be forced to elect a woman in the 'free-for-all' category. By doing so, more women will be encouraged to engage in active politics. However this position, I think, is unconstitutional or at least renders the constitution internally inconsistent.

Under article 38(2) an electorate has the right free expression of his will at the ballot. The constitution then proceeds to map out which pools of leaders the elector is to choose from (as depicted in articles 97 and 98 of the constitution). Among these pools is the 'free-for-all' category in which men have a constitutional right to participate. Therefore to say that a constituency will have to vote for a woman in this category would mean that you are blocking men from exercising their right.

The other problem with this reasoning is the rationale to use in deciding how many constituencies would be enough and which they would be. As regards the first issue, it should be noted that the two-thirds rule offer the basic minimum. This does not mean that women should only be 140, they could be more but not more than 278.

In reality this may not be acceptable as women will take this opportunity to level the playing field by demanding 50% share. This is not a problem in itself but the ensuing row would be. I do not see a situation where the male dominated field of politics would yield to equal representation.

Into the bargain, there is the issue of which constituencies should be chosen to be required to elect a woman representative in the 'free-for-all' category. Will the people of such be involved in a referendum and let they themselves chose this, or will it be made via an Act of Parliament to force leaders down people's throats? This and others, are the hard questions those in charge in steering this process must cogitate on as they discharge their responsibilities to this beautiful republic.

Another tenable solution would be to amend the constitution as it is. This would mean that we may have to increase women representation in Parliament. This could be the most viable solution notwithstanding economic implications of an already bloated executive and legislative machinery.

Nothing in this article should be construed as being anti-women. This piece only essays to pointing the reality that must succeed the promulgation euphoria. They say it is when the rubber meets the road.

God Bless Kenya!

In the Headlines III

2011-09-15T12:47:00.000+03:00

More Women in EA Delaying Sex, Marriage as Schooling Chances Improve: Women are making decisions on their sexual health, childbearing and marriage that are radically different from their mothers’ generations...

Video: FGM in Meru: Watch this news clip by Citizen TV about FGM in Meru where girls are opting to go through the harmful cultural practice so that they can gain acceptance from potential suitors.

Somali Refugees Abandon Babies at Dadaab Camp: Read this unfortunate story of children being abandoned by their parents who have come into Kenya from Somalia.

Compassion Drives Elderly Refugee Worker: Read the story of 70 year-old Father Eugene Birrer who is tirelessly giving himself to helping refugees in Kenya.

Bold Girl Reveals the Agony of Living with HIV in School: Dorcas Kawira is an AIDS-orphan who spoke out on her experience of being HIV positive and being a student.

Speaking up for House Helps:Eva Kasaya's Story: Read the story of one woman as a domestic worker and how she chose to change her life and those of other for the better.

Surviving Colon Cancer: read Leah Aketch's story about her battle with colon cancer.

Plan Your Family or We Will Halt Free Primary Education Project: Kenya's population is growing at a fast rate that may leave the country unable to sustain projects like FPE.

Reducing Your Risk of Cancer

2011-09-08T10:00:00.000+03:00

In my previous posts, I have highlighted ovarian cancer as well as prostate cancer. There are a few measures that you can take to reduce the risk of cancer.

Eat a healthy, low calorie diet with vegetables, fruits and limited fat. Include Omega-3 fatty acids, foods rich in Vitamin A [liver, sweet potatoes, carrots, dark leafy greens, butter-nut squash, apricots, cantaloupe] and Vitamin D [fish, fortified cereals, fortified soy products, dairy products, eggs, mushrooms].

Eat a diet rich in antioxidants. Foods such as sweet potatoes, carrots, cantaloupe, squash, apricots, pumpkin, mangos, collard greens, spinach, and kale, tomatoes, watermelon, guava, papaya, apricots, pink grapefruit, blood oranges, berries [blueberries, goji, cranberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries], legumes [pinto, red and kidney beans] and other foods.

Keep off tobacco, alcohol and related substances.

Maintain a healthy body mass index [BMI]

Include physical exercise into your routine.

Take time off your schedule and relax.

Have a medical check annually, especially after 40.

For The Men: Prostate Cancer

2011-09-05T10:40:00.000+03:00

September is an awareness month for both ovarian and prostate cancer. Last September, I posted information on ovarian cancer which attracted attention and questions from women as well as men who were concerned about the women in their lives. I have to say that the information I post on my blog is to help you and make you aware. In terms of health information, consult with a doctor if you have any concerns or complaints.

The normal prostate sits under the bladder and in front of the rectum. The urethra - the narrow tube that runs the length of the penis and carries both urine and semen out of the body - runs directly through the prostate. The rectum, or lower end of the bowel, sits just behind the prostate and the bladder. Prostate cancer is cancer that starts in the prostate gland.

Risk Factors
These are factors that influence the likelihood of occurrence of prostate cancer.
Age: More than 65% of all prostate cancers are diagnosed in men over the age of 65. However, cases have been found in men in their twenties and thirties.
Race: African-American men are 60% more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to Caucasian men and are nearly 2.5 times as likely to die from the disease.
Family History: A man with a father or brother who develpoed prostate cancer is twice as likely to develop the disease.
Residence: Men in America are more likely to develop prostate cancer compared to men in Asia.

Symptoms

Not everyone experiences symptoms of prostate cancer. Many times, signs of prostate cancer are first detected by a doctor during a routine check-up. Some men, however, will experience changes in urinary or sexual function that might indicate the presence of prostate cancer. The symptoms listed below can occur with prostate cancer (Most of the time these symptoms are caused by other prostate problems that are not cancer). These symptoms include:

A need to urinate frequently, especially at night.
Difficulty starting urination or holding back urine.
Weak or interrupted flow of urine.
Painful or burning urination.
Difficulty in having an erection.
Painful ejaculation.
Blood in urine or semen.
Frequent pain or stiffness in the lower back, hips, or upper thighs.
Delayed or slowed start of urinary stream.
Dribbling or leakage of urine, most often after urinating.
Slow urinary stream.
Straining when urinating, or not being able to empty out all of the urine.
Bone pain or tenderness, most often in the lower back and pelvic bones (only when the cancer has spread).

You should consult with your doctor if you experience any of the symptoms above.

Treatment

There are a wide variety of treatment options available for men with prostate cancer, including surgery, radiation therapy, hormone therapy and chemotherapy, any or all of which might be used at different times depending on the stage of disease and the need for treatment. Consultation with all three types of prostate cancer specialists—a urologist, a radiation oncologist and a medical oncologist—will offer the most comprehensive assessment of the available treatments and expected outcomes.

Information obtained from: Prostate Cancer Foundation and U.S National Library of Medicine - PubMed Health
To check out the post on ovarian cancer, click here.

Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month

2011-09-01T09:25:00.000+03:00

It's another beautiful month! I hope your August was good and what you expected it to be and better. September is Ovarian Cancer Awareness month and I would like to share information with you that could possibly save a life. I will be sharing information about ovarian cancer on my Facebook page as well as on Twitter.

For a full detailed post on ovarian cancer, check out this post I did last year, Ovarian Cancer. If you have any questions, let me know then I can address them on the blog or on the social sites.

Have a lovely and fruitful September!

The 90/10 Principle by Stephen Covey

2011-08-18T10:30:00.042+03:00

courtesy of google images

10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%.

The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%. How? By your reaction. You cannot control a red light but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react.

Let's use an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened. What happens next will be determined by how you react.

You curse. You harshly scold your daughter for knocking the cup over. She breaks down in tears. After scolding her, you turn to your spouse and criticize her for placing the cup too close to the edge of the table. A short verbal battle follows. You storm upstairs and change your shirt. Back downstairs, you find your daughter has been too busy crying to finish breakfast and get ready for school. She misses the bus. Your spouse must leave immediately for work. You rush to the car and drive your daughter to school. Because you are late, you drive 40 miles an hour in a 30 mph speed limit.

After a 15-minute delay and throwing $60 traffic fine away, you arrive at school. Your daughter runs into the building without saying goodbye. After arriving at the office 20 minutes late, you find you forgot your briefcase. Your day has started terrible. As it continues, it seems to get worse and worse.

You look forward to coming home. When you arrive home, you find small wedge in your relationship with your spouse and daughter. Why? Because of how you reacted in the morning. Why did you have a bad day?

A) Did the coffee cause it?
B) Did your daughter cause it?
C) Did the policeman cause it?
D) Did you cause it?

The answer is "D". You had no control over what happened with the coffee. How you reacted in those 5 seconds is what caused your bad day.

Here is what could have and should have happened. Coffee splashes over you. Your daughter is about to cry. You gently say, "Its ok honey, you just need to be more careful next time". Grabbing a towel you rush upstairs. After grabbing a new shirt and your briefcase, you come back down in time to look through the window and see your child getting on the bus. She turns and waves. You arrive 5 minutes early and cheerfully greet the staff. Your boss comments on how good the day you are having.

Notice the difference? Two different scenarios. Both started the same. Both ended different. Why? Because of how you REACTED. You really do not have any control over 10% of what happens. The other 90% was determined by your reaction.

In the Headlines II

2011-08-09T13:17:00.004+03:00

No Woman Needs to Go Through What I Did: This was a touching story about one woman's life and her 12 year long nightmare with fistula.

Somali Women Raped Enroute to Kenya: This article is related to the one I posted in In the Headlines. It has sparked controversy in the blogosphere with some people debating the truth behind the issue. Whichever way, the rights of women and children are being violated.
Jill Biden in Kenya to Assess Drought: The wife of US Vice-President, Dr. Jill Biden led an American delegation in a visit to Kenya to assess the famine crisis in the Horn of Africa region.

Flames, Rioting Engulf London for Third Day and Kenyans Take Shelter from London Riots: If you've followed the news over the past three days or so then you are aware of the London riots that are now spreading into other neighborhoods and towns.

State might Bar Kenyans from Taking Up Jobs in Saudi Arabia: Kenyans have often gotten jobs in the Middle East and come back with horror stories of being denied food, overworked, exploited and tortured by their employers in the Middle East. Unfortunately, some come back to Kenya scarred emotionally, psychologically and physically. A few cases resulting in death have been highlighted in the Kenyan media.

Hunger Fund Target Raised to Sh1 billion: Kenyans for Kenya initiative, highlighted in a previous post on the blog, raised the target from Sh500 million to Sh1 billion.

Stay-at-home Men in Kilifi: This is an interesting article of women who go out to work while their men stay home.

Ministry Rolls Out Project to Give Girls Sanitary Pads: This is a project I'm happy about, I hope it will be effective in ensuring girls don't miss out on school.

The Hunger Relief Campaign - Kenyans for Kenya

2011-08-05T11:44:00.000+03:00

A campaign referred to as Kenyans for Kenya was initiated on 27th August 2011 to raise funds for hunger relief in Kenya. The campaign was spearheaded by Safaricom Foundation, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Media Owners Association and Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). The goal is to raise Ksh.500 million in four weeks with Kenyans, individuals, groups and corporates, giving towards this. So far, contributions have hit the Ksh.130 million mark and counting.
There are various ways to donate to this noble cause. Please find the options below:

Using your Safaricom line,

Go to the M-Pesa option.
Select paybill option and use account number 111 111.
Enter amount and PIN.

Donate in KCB account 113 333 338 Moi Avenue Branch.

Using your Airtel line,

Go to the Airtel Money option,
Send money and enter nickname 'Red Cross'.
Enter amount and PIN.

Using your yu line,

Go to the yuCash option,
Enter business code 200140.
Enter amount, short message and PIN.

For people outside Kenya, use the Western Union M-PESA International Money Transfer Service.

Fill in the recipient's name as Kenyans for Kenya.
Phone number as 0705 999999.
This service is available in the 52 countries worldwide.

T-shirts are also on sale at select Safaricom shops, Nakumatt stores and KCB branches countrywide retailing at Ksh. 1,000.

To follow this initiative, check out the web page Kenyans for Kenya.

In the Headlines

2011-08-02T12:01:00.002+03:00

I got a new idea of sharing links from news pieces that I would like my readers to check out. If you have any, send them to me by posting them on the Facebook wall or sending me a tweet on Twitter.

Somali Women Refugees' Rape Horror : This is an article about the increasing number of rape incidences in the Dadaab refugee camp.

The Double Lives of University Students : This article was published in the Daily Nation newspaper a couple of weeks ago and it caused major moral debate about the youth in Kenya.

25 Secrets to a Great Marriage: Check out these 25 tips to a great marriage that have been given by a divorce attorney.

I'll share more later.

The Inspiring Rose Nasimiyu

2011-07-25T09:30:00.012+03:00

“Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death”

If you are in Kenya and have been following the news over the last week or so, then you know of Rose Nasimiyu. The courageous nine year old who is battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer. She opened up to share her story and moved thousands in this nation.

She has sparked conversation everywhere, on the street and on social media sites. I felt so inspired and challenged by her confidence, strength and courage even as she continues going for chemotherapy every two weeks.

I was moved that even at her age, she understands what she is going through and has chosen to believe that it isn't the end of life. She has chosen life and has a positive outlook to everything. She challenged everyone when it came to cancer treatment where cancer has been seen to be on the rise in Kenya with treatment costs being unaffordable for many.

She was very hopeful and shared the quote, "Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death." Listening to her was such a humble experience and I wish her all the very best with her treatment and beyond. She is growing up into a phenomenal woman.

For a clip of her interview, click here.

Revising Social Work Definition

2011-07-15T10:00:00.001+03:00

This paper was presented by Prof. Jan Agten who is aprofessor at Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen in Belgium. He serves in European Association of Schools of Social Work (EASSW) and International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). He is part of an expert group comprised of members of IFSW andIASSW to review the international definition of social work.

He discussed revising the definition of social work andquestioned whether it is a discipline, a science or an applied science,conceptual or empirical. There is confusion or dissatisfaction in terms of whatis social work, who is a social worker, the global definition of internationalsocial work and the core elements of social work. The definition is continually being reviewed to keep up withthe changes in the profession as well as reflect the diversity of social workpractice.

The international definition accepted by International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) is:

The social work profession promotes social change, problemsolving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people toenhance well-being. Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems,social work intervenes at the points where people interact with theirenvironments. Principles of human rights and social justice arefundamental to social work.

Social work is dynamic and evolving and therefore no definitionshould be regarded as exhaustive. The definition debate is on-going amongsocial workers and agencies globally.

Professional Social Work in Actualizing MDGs

2011-07-13T10:00:00.001+03:00

This was presented by Dr. Gidraph Wairire who is a lecturerat University of Nairobi in Kenya. He is one of my lecturers and has seen methrough four courses of my undergraduate degree. He also serves in Association of Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA) and International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) and is actively involved in the PROSOWO project. He lookedinto each MDG and our role as social workers in actualizing the goals.

What is our role?

Give people hope to overcome their unfavourablecircumstances.
Champion rights of individuals to achieve basic education.
Lobbying for appropriate policies to facilitate provision ofneeds such as sanitary wear for adolescent girls.
Mass awareness and sensitization on traditional beliefs ongirl child education.
Activate laws such as those against female genitalmutilation (FGM).
Advocate for gender mainstreaming.
Social mobilization on gender equality.
Strengthen advocacy towards policy and resourcemobilization.
Strengthen and support behavior change in regards to health.
Networking with relevant stakeholders and local communitiesfor practical interventions that involve protection, conservation andmanagement of natural resources.

Check out related posts: Millennium development Goals and Kenya: Where we are

The Current State of MDGs in Kenya: Challenges and Prospects

2011-07-11T10:00:00.003+03:00

This paper was the third to be presented by monitoring and evaluation(M&E) specialist, Mr. Baridi Manyasi from Ministry of State for Planning,National Development and Vision 2030. In Kenya, the process was initiated in2002 and focused on mainstreaming the goals in policy, planning, budgeting andrallying stakeholders.

The challenges faced in achieving MDGs in Kenya are:

Lack of monitoring and evaluating culture
Lack of M&E funding in programs.
Inadequate infrastructure in the newly created districts.
Some district development officers’ serve two districts.
Posting of newly recruited officers in the field.

Way Forward involves:

Increasing the relevance of the district developmentofficers.
Training on monitoring and evaluation.
All programs and projects should have M&E budgets.

Check out related posts: Millennium development Goals and Kenya: Where we are

Treat Him Right!

2011-07-07T13:11:00.000+03:00

When I have time, I usually listen to radio and of course, I read the newspaper and a selection of magazines. Something that you'll never miss is an article about men and/or women or a help section where a man or woman writes in for advice. The most interesting thing is that women are so quick to say that cheating is in men's genes yet they still say there are good men "out there" who are so hard to find.

Well, I'm a bit confused because we, as women, bash men so much but still expect them to be the amazing men in our lives, husbands (or boyfriends), fathers, providers and the various roles they play. The reality is if you have a man in your life, appreciate that man for the amazing things he does as well as the good person he is.

Constantly putting him down and classing him together with a man who may have done you wrong in the past is unfair. Making your man pay for the wrong actions of another man is unfair. Continually pointing out his weaknesses and never appreciating his strengths is also unfair. Being unkind to a man and expecting them to be kind to you is unfair.

Yes, if your one of those women who is guilty of the above, I suggest you apologize. If he treated you like you treat him, how would you feel? He isn't perfect and if you are looking for a perfect man, I'm sorry, they don't exist on planet earth. It's up to you to accept the man you have chosen for who he is and not only in theory but in practice. Grow up! You aren't perfect either. Quit bashing men and passing on this culture to your daughters.

If you are a mother, hold your tongue, choose to correct your sons in a kind and loving way. Words can easily wound boys/men who don't process as easily as girls/women do. Don't break him and do not put him down for something he's unable to do or criticize him harshly.

If you are in a love relationship, married or not, love and respect yourself first because that is where it all starts. Learn to talk to him rather than shout at him. Ladies, that includes listening. Appreciate him for who he is, he will have some slip ups but we all have our bad days.

Let's not make the good men suffer for the mistakes of one who may have hurt you in the past. I hope that we can treat the men in our lives right and respect them.

Gender Perspective in Poverty Reduction and Social Development

2011-07-06T11:00:00.001+03:00

This second paper presented at the International Social Work Symposium was presented by Dr. Janestic Twikirize who is a lecturer at MakerereUniversity in Uganda. She began by presenting statistics of poverty and gendersuch as 70% of the poor are women and 61% of adult illiterate are women in Sub-SaharanAfrica.
Gender affects how individuals experience their reality likeage or marital status. Gender inequality increases poverty not only atindividual level but also household and broader society levels. Women are worsehit by poverty in society which is commonly recognized as the feminization ofpoverty.

Why are women generally poorer?

Gendered division of labour and type of work. Women havetriple role of reproduction, production and community work.
Access to and control over resources and benefits.
Condition and position of women vis-à-vis men, subordinationof women driven by culture.

There’s need for policy and regional frameworks, nationalpolicies and programmes to address

gender equality.

affirmative action.
mainstreaming gender in all sectors.
women’s participation in governance.
female enrolment in different levels.
land ownership.
maternal mortality rates.

Challenges

Weak institutional capacity to translate relevant policiesinto sustained action.
Tension between civil and customary law e.g gender violence,land ownership.
Women’s burden of triple roles.
Entrenched patriarchal attitudes.
Politicization of gender, poverty and social developmentprograms.
Corruption.
Little involvement of men/boys.
Lack of adequate resources to put plans into action.
Elitist dominance of gender quality movements.

The World Bank integrated gender aspects intheir programmes and argued in 2001 that:

"Ignoring gender disparities comes at great cost-to peoples well-being and to countries abilities to grow sustainably, to govern effectively, and thus to reduce poverty; policymakers have a number of policy instruments to promote gender equality and development effectiveness; to enhance development effectiveness, gender issues must be an integral part of policy analysis, design, and implementation."

Social Work and Poverty Reduction in Africa: The Indelible Reality

2011-07-05T10:00:00.003+03:00

This was the first paper presented at the International Social Work Symposium by Prof. VishantieSewpaul who is a professor at University of Kwa Zulu Natal in South Africa. Sheis also the president of Associationof Schools of Social Work in Africa (ASSWA). She made a number ofreferences to Jeffrey Sachs who is a celebrated economist. There are threetypes of poverty, extreme, moderate and relative poverty.

Factors thatcontribute to poverty are slave trade, colonialism, corrupt dictatorships, effectsof distorted globalization, blame-the-person approach, failure of donorcountries, MDGs as performance measures represent Africa unfairly among others.

William Easterly:

“It seems undesirable to exaggerate the “Africa as failure” image,which in turn exaggerates the role of “the West as Savior” for Africa (as theMDG campaign has often played out in practice). It is demoralizing to havegoals for Africa that only be attained with progress that is nearly withouthistorical precedent from other regions or in Africa itself. Africa has enoughproblems without international organizations and campaigners downplaying Africanprogress when it happens.”

What canbe done in terms of poverty reduction?

Invest ineducation especially for women.
Improve healthbecause healthy children learn better and healthy adults work better.
Democraticgovernance with emphasis on voice accountability and political stability.
Promote economicgrowth.
Reduce Africa’sdebt burden.
Treatmentand prevention of HIV/AIDS, TB and malaria.
Improveinfrastructure.
Adoptmulti-sector approach.
Channelaid and ensure it fulfills its purpose.
Enforcerights of women in health, education, access to capital and inheritance ofland.
Increaseagricultural productivity of food insecure farmers.
Promotethe use of locally produced food and exclusive breast-feeding to 6months.
Restore andconserve natural resources for food security.

RobertKennedy:

“Let noone be discouraged by the belief that there is nothing one man or woman can doabut the enormous array of the world's ills-against misery and ignorance,injustice and violence...Few will have the greatness to bend history itself;but each of us can change a small portion of events, and in the total of allthose acts will be written the history of this generation."

Prof. Sewpaul said something that really inspired me and it's one of the things I think I'll carry on in my life and work as a reminder of why we do what we do:

"We may not give houses or money as social workers but we can offer people the gift of validation, give them a sense of hope."

International Social Work Symposium

2011-06-30T12:30:00.002+03:00

Yesterday, 29th June, I had the opportunity of attendingan international social work symposium at my school, University of Nairobi. I wasn’tquite sure what to expect but at the end of it, I felt challenged. The theme ofthe symposium was recasting professionalsocial work for poverty reduction and realization of Millennium DevelopmentGoals in Africa.

There were five speakers and interactional discussions with participantswho comprised of staff members from University of Nairobi’s Department ofSociology and Social Work, practicing social workers, students from CatholicUniversity of East Africa, Daystar University as well as the host, Universityof Nairobi.

There were various members from the board of International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) among them were:

Prof. Helle Strauss -Copenhagen College of Social Work, Denmark
Prof. Jan Agten – Katholieke Hogeschool Kempen, Belgium
Prof. AntoinetteLombard – University of Pretoria, South Africa
Dr. Wassie Kebede – Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia
Dr. Gidraph Wairire – University of Nairobi, Kenya
Prof. Vishantie Sewpaul – University of Kwa Zulu Natal, SouthAfrica
Prof. Vimla Nadkarni – Tata Institute of Social Sciences,India

There were different papers that were presented and I will highlight on each of them in subsequent posts. Check out these related posts from last year:

First Blogiversary

2011-06-24T10:00:00.011+03:00

Today, I celebrate one year since I started the blog. It's not as easy as it seems to keep a blog up and running but I'm grateful for where I am with the blog.

I would like to thank God for the opportunity to reach far and wide through this blog. I would like to thank my family, my mother and my two sisters who have cheered me on. To my friends as well, thanks for continually reading and sharing posts from my blog. I would like to thank everyone, near and far, who read and follow the blog. To those who send in comments and questions that challenge me, thanks! I would also like to thanks all the 340 (and counting) fans of my Facebook page as well as my followers on Twitter.

My hope is that I am able to impact lives through what I do on my blog and beyond. Being a social worker is such a great joy in my life and I see it as one of the achievements of my life.

Career Mentorship

2011-06-22T10:00:00.002+03:00

When I was in my second year of my undergraduate degree, one of my lecturers expressed concern on the limited number of social work professionals in Kenya. Most students after graduation, seek opportunities for graduate studies or social work job opportunities that are more promising that what is present in Kenya and some change specializations.

I believe it is beneficial to further your studies as well as seek opportunities that are fulfilling. The downside of it all is that we leave a nation that has a great need for social work professionals with only a limited number of social workers left. This has led to some areas in society being neglected like the mental health sector.

The problem is there is there is no institution offering a social work graduate degree in Kenya which means if you'd like to pursue a master's or doctorate degree in social work, you have to do it abroad in more established programs. There is also a limited number of lecturers in the undergraduate programs available which means that the mentors in academic programs is a challenge.

You may wonder why I'm highlighting this, the reason is that as a student, so much is new to you, you may get your course work and practicums well but a model is required. It's great to have an experienced professional who can be able to mentor you as you start your social work practice. It is even more beneficial if you get a mentor who specializes in an area you are interested in.

Sadly, I haven't found a career mentor here but thanks to my blog, I have a couple of people I am able to share experiences with and they often advice me in various things. I may not necessarily be in the same geographical location as them but I am still able to learn from them.

Whichever field you are in, having a career mentor is a good step and I highly recommend it.

Grief Counselling

2011-06-21T10:00:00.015+03:00

Grief counseling is a form of psychotherapy that aims to help people cope with grief and mourning following the death of loved ones; or with major life changes that trigger feelings of grief like divorce. It facilitates the expression of emotion and thought about the loss, including sadness, anxiety, anger, loneliness, guilt, relief, isolation, confusion or numbness.

Over the last month or so, there has been about three or four tragic accidents that have been highlighted in the news. In those accidents, road and fire accidents claimed the lives of a number of people. There are two road accidents that came to my attention where casualties of the accidents were of the same family. In one, a man died with his four children aged between 8 and 15 and I couldn't possibly imagine what the wife and mother of those children had to deal with. In the other, a man lost his wife and two children and a friend who was with his son who left behind his wife and two other children.

Death of a loved one can be devastating even in situations when it is expected like in terminal illnesses. Family and friends are very supportive and are there for the bereaved especially before the burial. The hard part comes when life has to return to "normal". It becomes hard for the bereaved because the people they normally came home to and lived everyday life with are no longer there. They can go through depression because of the loss and/or the change that comes with the loss of a loved one.

Grief counselling is more of a trend in developed countries but it is slowly picking up in developing nations like Kenya. We all want to have our loved ones in our lives and when we can't, we want to always hold on to the warm memories. Grief counselling will allow you to remember your loved one and learn to deal with the pain of your loss. It will help you to want to continue living even when you feel like a part of you is dead or you want to die. Death is as real as life, that is the reality and we can never be ready for it but we can learn how to deal with the reality of death.

Definition obtained from en.wikipedia.org

PTSD and Career

2011-06-20T10:00:00.001+03:00

According to the AmericanPsychological Association, post traumatic stress disorder commonly referred toas PTSD is 'an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to a terrifyingevent or ordeal in which grave physical harm occurred or was threatened.Traumatic events that may trigger PTSD include violent personal assaults,natural or human-caused disasters, such as terrorist attacks, motor vehicleaccidents, rape, physical and sexual abuse, and other crimes, or militarycombat.'

Thefollowing three groups of symptom criteria are required to assign the diagnosisof PTSD:

Recurrent re-experiencing of the trauma(for example, troublesome memories, flashbacks that are usually caused byreminders of the traumatic events, recurring nightmares about thetrauma and/or dissociative reliving of the trauma).
Avoidance to thepoint of having a phobia of places, people, and experiences thatremind the sufferer of the trauma or a general numbing of emotionalresponsiveness.
Chronic physicalsigns of hyperarousal, including sleep problems, troubleconcentrating, irritability, anger, poor concentration, blackouts or difficultyremembering things, increased tendency and reaction to being startled, andhypervigilance (excessive watchfulness) to threat.

I want to look atPTSD in terms of its effect on individuals in their career and education. Mostof the time we don't get help after we've experienced a traumatic experience.It can greatly affect your performance at work and your productivity. It is especiallyworse if the experience was somehow related to your job, happened at yourworkplace or involved your colleagues.

There are differentapproaches to treatment of PTSD which would be determined afterseeking the counsel of a therapist who deals with PTSD cases. A therapisttrained to deal with individuals with PTSD will be able tointervene appropriately.

As a social worker,if a client may be showing signs of PTSD or presents with a different problemfor example trouble at work or home, it is crucial to ask if there has been atraumatic experience recently. Dealing with it doesn't necessarilymean that the experience will be completely wiped out of your memory,it means you will learn how to deal with it and the negative implications itbrought in.

Additional informationobtained from:

Safe Sex

2011-06-06T10:30:00.001+03:00

So I might get into trouble for writing this post but I've come to realize that being a social worker entails speaking up on those things that most people are too afraid or embarrassed to say. Well, I have to be real with my readers just as I am with my clients. Sometimes I shock some of my friends by how direct I am about their sex lives because I know how casual sex is especially when you are in campus. I ask because I am curious about how safe they are, if they have ever procured abortions or have one faithful partner or not.

I have had a few friends confide in me that they have had abortions after one-night stands and some after sex with their partners. Then there are those who are faithful to their boyfriends/girlfriends and of course those who choose not to be "tied down" and have sex with classmates or people they meet after a night of clubbing.

There are times when I want to yell, 'WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?' but of course, I don't. All I ask is, 'are you being safe?' For those who are naive, I mean having protected sex. Young women especially are not taking chances and are carrying condoms with them just in case the man doesn't have one which I understand sometimes happens.

Another common occurrence is where the man refuses to use a condom, some women give in but there are those whose motto is 'no glove, no love.' I agree with it all because in this day and age of high prevalence of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases, your safety comes first.

There's always a great emphasis on use of contraceptives especially now with the PSI campaign, C-Word that targets university students. As we do this, I believe that a great emphasis on the use of condoms is appropriate. Parents especially take it for granted and don't want to take to their children about sex. Wake up and smell the coffee mum and dad, if you don't give your son or daughter the right information, you are doing more harm than good.

Most parents feel like talking to their children about sex is encouraging them to engage in it. From an early age, speak to them about what is bad touch, how to behave with the opposite sex, the feelings they will experience as well as the physical urges they may experience. Having a candid conversation with them will ensure openness between you as well as help your son/daughter make informed choices when it comes to relationships and sex.

I believe that sex should be between a man and a woman in a committed relationship. The reality is that my views on casual and premarital sex can't come in the way of my role as a social worker to ensure that I keep people well informed. Regardless of your background, education, class, race, gender, age, you can get HIV/AIDS if you choose not to protect yourself. If you are sexually active, be smart and have safe sex whether you are in a dating relationship or otherwise.

Challenges of Fistula Treatment in Kenya

2011-05-27T18:11:00.001+03:00

This is the article I was talking about in my previous post, Obstetric Fistula. I figured I should put it up here so that you may understand some of the challenges faced in this area. It basically covers everything to commentaries. Please follow this link to read the story - Medical students shun fistula surgery as mothers suffer courtesy of Daily Nation.

Obstetric Fistula

2011-05-27T12:53:00.001+03:00

This morning as I was going through the dailynewspaper, I saw a story on fistula and I realized that I haven’t covered it onthe blog. Many people are unaware of fistula while some have heard of it butare still unaware of the condition.

Medicsdefine a fistula as an abnormal connection between an organ, vessel orintestine and another structure. Fistulas are usually the result of injuryor surgery. It can also result from infection or inflammation. Thereare various types of fistula but I wish to discuss one that is a problem withwomen in Africa and Asia especially, the obstetric fistula.

Obstetric fistula isa hole in the birth canal caused by prolonged labor without prompt medicalintervention, usually a Caesarean section. The woman is left with chronicincontinence and, in most cases, a stillborn baby. Left untreated, fistula canlead to chronic medical problems, including ulcerations, kidney disease, andnerve damage in the legs.

Obstetricfistula is both preventable and curable. If a pregnant woman seeks obstetriccare such as a Caesarean section (commonly known a c-section), it may prevent thedevelopment of an obstetric fistula. It is also curable where the fistula is closedduring surgery by a skilled surgeon. If performed well, the patient is able tolead a normal life and control her bodily functions.

There aretwo different types of obstetric fistula, one is where the woman is left with ahole between her vagina and her bladder known as vesicovaginal fistula, VVF andthe other is the hole between her vagina and rectum known as rectovaginalfistula, RVF. This hole results in permanent incontinence of urine and/orfeces.

Both VVFand RVF affect women in developing countries and mostly those who live in ruralareas. Most women who develop obstetric fistula are ostracized by their familiesand communities because of their inability to have children and the foul smelldue to incontinence.

Mostcountries in Africa and Asia have addressed obstetric fistula by having specializedclinics and hospitals that are equipped with staff and medical care. In Kenya,together with specialized fistula units, there are medical camps organized bydifferent organizations that focus on fistula cases.

I applaud organizations, foundations, hospitals andprojects that are releasing women from suffering from fistula. It ispreventable so having community awareness programs on fistula and generalreproductive health is important. Making health care services more accessiblewould also play a part in ending fistula.

Additional information obtained from:

Message by George Carlin

2011-05-25T11:21:00.002+03:00

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider freeways, but narrower viewpoints. We spend more but have less, we buy more but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge but less judgment, more experts yet more problems, more medicine but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much and pray too seldom. We have multiplied our possessions but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom and hate too often.

We’ve learned how to make a living but not a life. We’ve added years to life, not life to years. We’ve been all the way to the moon and back but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We’ve done larger things but not better things.

We’ve cleaned up the air but polluted the soul. We’ve conquered the atom but not our prejudice. We write more but learn less. We plan more but accomplish less. We’ve learned to rush but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill.

It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete.

Remember, spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember to give a warm hug to the one next to you because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn’t cost a cent.

Remember to say, “I love you” to your partner and your loved ones but most of all, mean it. A kiss and an embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

Bridal Showers and Stag Parties

2011-05-23T09:21:00.002+03:00

Last week I had a similar discussion about bridal showers witha couple of friends that got me thinking. I will discuss this in my contexthere in Kenya as well as from my personal experience. I have often heard womencomplain that the men in their lives do not know that their role has changedfrom boyfriend to husband. They still live the same life they did when theywere unmarried yet the woman has settled down and assumed her role as a wife.

I take you back to the time when a couple announces theirengagement to their family and friends and the wedding plans are underway, bridalshowers and stag parties are planned for the bride and groom respectively. Duringbridal showers, the bride is given advice on what is expected of her as a wife.Her married friends would chip in here and there on various aspects. The bride’smother and her aunts usually also sit the bride down and advice her on how totake on the prospective roles of wife and mother. Throughout the marriage, shewill often get advice especially when it comes to the children. It is safe tosay that a woman enters a marriage union having an idea of what is expected ofher and what she needs to do to achieve the expectations.

On the other hand, we have the groom whose unmarried friendswant to show him all he will “miss” when he gets hitched. Most of these partieshave been said to be about alcohol and women. The said purpose of this is toshow the groom a good time before he gets married. Depending on the backgroundof the groom, his religion and the men (friends) he has, he may get intomarriage having not had some preparation on his new role as a husband.

Of course this is changing especially in Christian circleswhere the groom has a group of friends he can be accountable to or a ministerwho will take time with him. Most, if not all, churches require couples to alsogo through premarital counseling together which is a step in the rightdirection and a good start to laying a foundation for a marriage.

It is important for both the man and the woman to go througha few sit-downs to help them understand that now, it’s not just about them butalso the other person. They need to be equipped with skills in communication,dealing with conflict, intimacy among others. Having both of them go throughthis would help them be on the same page and have an idea of how they wouldwant their marriage to work.

I believe if both men and women are advised on their newroles and the expectations that come with these new roles, it would help thembuild a good foundation for their marriage. This can’t be done by just oneperson but by both in mutual trust and communication. I am hoping that peoplecan take more responsibility at building the much needed marriage foundationand strive to make their marriages work.

Message against Homophobia and Transphobia

2011-05-20T13:20:00.005+03:00

This past Tuesday, 17th May, the world marked International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia. Transphobia is the fear, dislike of or discrimination towards a person because that he/she is transgender. Transphobia is similar to homophobia which is unreasoning fear prejudice against someone who is gay, lesbian or bisexual. This video is a message from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay. She said homophobia and transphobia are no different to sexism, misogyny, racism or xenophobia. I do agree with her, it is time we act on eliminating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

video courtesy of youtube and United Nations

Recognizing Change Agents

2011-05-17T09:55:00.000+03:00

This CNN video feature byDavidMcKenzie caught my attention mostly because it was on a cause I ampassionate about - protecting women and girls. I am impressed by the impact ofchange agents in the community. I was inspired by Josephine Kulea, the womancarrying out the rescue missions in Samburu, she has the courage tospeak up on a practice that is culturally accepted. Such change agentsespecially in rural Kenya deserve the recognition and I applaud her for hercourageous work in Isiolo, Kenya.

video courtesy of CNN

Of the Thriving, Struggling and Suffering

2011-05-12T19:41:00.000+03:00

A Gallup poll last month ranked Kenyans among the saddestpeople in the world with many of them struggling to survive. Of course when youhear that as a Kenyan, the first reaction is to disagree with it. The Gallup poll classified respondents’wellbeing as thriving, struggling or suffering. Out of 124 countries in the world, Kenya ranks 13 amongthose with the largest number of people most dissatisfied with their lives.The survey showed that 6% are thriving, 78% struggling and 16% are suffering. Onthe other hand, the most satisfied people in the world are in Denmark, Swedenand Canada, in that order.

As Ireviewed the ratings and saw the standings of the different countries in thepoll, I was more drawn to the role of the social work profession in all this. Notonly in Kenya but in the countries that were at the bottom of the list whereits citizens are said to be unhappy. I have reviewed this since the pollresults were released and I’m still trying to find my stand.

Of course,the divide between the wealthy and the poor and the economic status has a greatimpact on the wellbeing of individuals as well as their feelings and attitudestowards how they live. I think as social workers we need to ensure that evenwith people struggling, we can help people deal with the emotional andpsychosocial impact on their lives. We can do something about the sadness inpeoples’ lives to enhance their social functioning, isn’t that part of ourpurpose?

Formore on this poll, click here. Additionalinformation obtained from Gallup and Daily Nation

Relationships and Marriage 911!

2011-05-12T17:18:00.000+03:00

If you tune into most radio breakfast shows, there is acommon subject on marriages and relationships. Normally I would be happy aboutthis because it is an area I am very interested in. The only thing is, theseshows are more about discussing dissatisfied sex lives and busting cheatingpartners. The media has found a way to captivate its listeners who are veryinterested and tune in for scandal that they can share with others over theday.

I think it is quite unhealthy for a society to want to focuson the negative side of marriages and relationships. I understand that theworld isn’t perfect and we are not as well. I am concerned for a generationthat is so quick to switch on their radios as they drive to school and work. I amconcerned for the child who listens to all the negativity behind it as he orshe is driven to school by their parent.

So many times we see marriages fall apart even before thehoneymoon phase is over. Young people are entering sexual relationships at amuch younger age of 12 or 13, even younger. There is a widespread casual attitudetowards sex with the whole idea of chipsfunga (one night stands) and mpangowa kando (extramarital affairs). With all this, of course children aregrowing up not knowing how to have healthy relationships and build strongmarriages.

Honestly, I think the marriage institution is in trouble. Wehave accepted way too much negativity around it and I think we all have a partto play in it. I strongly believe in the importance of healthy relationshipsand marriages. In the proper context, people should be allowed to talk abouttheir sex lives and those aspects in their relationships that they feel aredissatisfying so that they can be assisted to work on their issues.

We are human and can’t live without inter-personalrelationships and I would like it for parents especially to be an example totheir children. Children are impressionable and pick up a lot of what happensaround them, what they hear or what they see you do. Most of the time, it iswhat they carry with them for the rest of their lives. Encouraging theformation of healthy relationships starts in the family and I believe this iswhere the change must begin.

Live. Live and Love Life.

2011-04-18T09:50:00.001+03:00

Last Friday as I was going home in the evening after myclass, I was tired as usual and all I could think of was the many things I hadto do before the week ends. It was just after 8pm when I alighted from the bus and I had a five to ten minute walk to the house. It was obvious that there wasa blackout in the neighborhood which isn't uncommon.

The most amazing thing I noticed was the night sky. It wasso beautiful with the moon so bright and the few clouds glowing from thereflection of the moonlight and the stars twinkling in the sky. It was a sightto behold. It was windy and I chose to just breathe in and enjoy the moment.

It is then that I realized that sometimes something in mylife has to be lacking for me to realize the beauty of life. I have chosen totake time in life and enjoy the little beauties that I’ve been graciouslyblessed with. Live a little. Don’t live your life in such a hurry that youdon’t notice the simple things in life that can make you smile, re-energize youor even inspire you in some way. Enjoy life. Live life.

Letting Go

2011-04-11T18:16:00.001+03:00

I have often been told by people that one of my greatestqualities is that I can influence people. Well, this blog was meant to do justthat, influence people around Kenya and the whole world. This post is the mostpersonal I have ever been on this blog. I realize that if I share what I gothrough, it could possibly help someone out there who feels they are about togive up.

There is a friend I met about nine years ago and even thoughwe are not so close, we talk once in a while. We also happen to follow eachother’s blogs. I have to say that her latest blog post was the inspiration forthis one. She opened up about her life story and shared it with her readers andI was able to relate to her in some aspects. The only difference is that I have learnt to bury the badthings that happened in my life.

I can’t remember most of the things in mychildhood because I felt I had no control over much that happened so I chose to "erase" it. To behonest, there are so many things that happened that I hated so much and shouldn't have happened to me or anyone. There isonly one person I have opened my life to, cried and talked about everythingwith. I am grateful that I finally found a friend who could just take it all inand help me process things that I never thought I would ever re-visit.

The reality is that I was living a lie. If my life was thecase of a client who came to me for help, I would probably tell them to facetheir past head on, figure out what needs to be done, forgive themselves aswell as those around them who may have hurt them. Over the past few weeks, I havehad time to look at my life and I came to the conclusion that if I am going tobe a good social worker, I need to work on the issues in my life that may bringme down.

It is time for me to deal with those things in my past I detestso that I can have a better future, not only for my clients but for my family(even the future one), my friends and people I will meet in this amazing walkof life. If you are reading this, I want you to know that there is no good thatcan come out of running away from the problems in your life. You think you can suppressit but it ends up being just that – a suppressed emotion.

Some people may read this and think it is just emotional gibberish but ifI touch even one life, it means the world to me. I can’t change the whole worldand I accept that but if I can change the whole world of just one person, I willfeel more than grateful that I have achieved one of the goals in my life.

I am not saying that our lives will always be perfect but ifwe deal with the events in our lives as they happen, we are more likely toavoid pain and misery trying to deal with it later in life. This is somethingthat even I, personally, am trying to practice in my life. It is not theeasiest thing to do, especially if you are new at it but it will help you outin the long run.

I have chosen to live today with no regrets for the future.

I am learning to letting go.

I will let go.

Let's Talk Sex, Yeah?

2011-04-07T11:15:00.000+03:00

I have gotten in to trouble a couple of times because I have often told young women as well as young couples to be aware of themselves as well as not risk sexually transmitted infections as well as unplanned pregnancies. I am always there to offer them a listening ear. The reason I got into trouble with a few people is because they consider it "un-African" to openly speak about sex. I disagree with this because not talking about it never helps a society. Times are changing and if we don't give children proper information about sex and teach them about their sexuality, they will find the information elsewhere, right?

For me as a social worker, I would rather be the one who is not afraid to talk to people about sex, the risk of having unprotected sex especially in this day of HIV/AIDS. I am not promoting for people to go out and have sex. I am just informing them of the importance to be safe when they decide to be sexually active.

I liked it when PSI came up with the contraceptive use campaign that targeted mostly university and college students. I'm not sure about other campuses but on mine, one can get information through a booklet or brochure on the various methods of preventing unplanned pregnancies. I think it is the step in the right direction. Parents just hate to think their children may be having sex but honestly, you'd rather keep them informed.

It is about time we embraced openly talking about sex in an educational manner. It is time that children don't get misguided information from peers and the internet. Parents need to take that responsibility and also allow influential people like teachers and social workers do their part in the same. The age of sexual debut is going lower and lower as the years go by so start early by giving a little information at a time and slowly building up as children get older and are able to understand more.

I have taken up the challenge, will you?

Check out: PSI C-Word

April Update

2011-04-04T10:54:00.001+03:00

I hope that the month of March has treated you well. It was a really good one for me because of marking International Women's Day and World Social Work Day. It was wonderful to see stories, pictures and videos from all over the world on other blogs on how people marked these two days.

There was also a lot happening in the news, globally and in Kenya. I highlighted some of these things on the blog under the new tag 'In the News'.

I look forward to an amazing April with so much in store. It will be a bit busy because I'll be doing exams but I hope to still be active on the blog as well as respond to the mail you send in.

Thank you for the support and feedback.

Have a lovely April!

Shortage of Condoms

2011-03-24T11:36:00.000+03:00

Over the last couple of days, various media houses have highlighted on the shortage of condoms in the country especially in certain areas. Yesterday, the Ministry of Public Health announced that there was indeed a shortage and are hoping that it will be a short term problem.

Director of Public Health Shahnaaz Sharif said the stock of condoms in the country ran out because the demand exceeded supply. He said that the shortage had seen an average of eight million Kenyans lose access to the condoms. The last batch of 19 million condoms came in January and lasted for one and a half months. He added that the demand was eight million per month, then it went to 12 million and currently stands at around 20 million.

This came into the limelight when residents of Isiolo were found to be recycling condoms by washing them and drying them out in the sun. Some have even looked for alternatives. As much as they have the best intentions, they are still putting themselves at risk of HIV.

Medics are afraid that even a shortage of a few weeks to a month could lead to a surge in the spread of HIV. The government is however aware of the implications of the shortage and have asked for 45 million condoms from US President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) which are expected in the country on 10th April.

Peter Cherutich, the deputy director at National AIDS/STD Control Programme (NASCOP) said that poor infrastructure especially, in the grassroots, has been hindering the condom distribution forcing the government to partner with Community Based Organisations (CBOs) to facilitate the delivery. He added that they have procured vehicles that will transport condoms to the interior but they must also appreciate that their delivery requires proper road networks and that is one of the challenges that they face.

To view the news feature, watch the video below:

video courtesy of youtube and Citizen TV

Exposé on Adult Product on Sale

2011-03-22T13:24:00.003+03:00

Last week, KTN Kenya reported on a certain product known as‘silly willy’ being sold in a local supermarket that is quite disturbing. Theproduct in question is a lollipop candy that is shaped like male genitalia andit caused uproar when the reporters bought it to get the public’s opinion onthe streets. The product according to the reporting feature was intended for anadult shop in the UK but found its way into the Kenyan market.

Just like the public, what shocked me most was that thelocal supermarket put it on display for sale. This is a store where familiesshop and the product is in open view where children can see it and anyone whowants to purchase it can. I think that the shop was culturally and morallywrong to put the product on the shelf. What I am driving here is that there’sno place for such a product in a local supermarket where it is exposed toeveryone. It was intended for an adult shop and it should stick to just that.

To see the feature that aired on KTN news on Thursday 17^th,watch it below:

A follow-up was done the following day to express the reactions of the public and Kenya Bureau of Standards:

videos courtesy of youtube and Standard Group Kenya

A Lesson from Japan

2011-03-22T13:15:00.001+03:00

Japan was hit by an earthquake and a tsunami earlier thismonth and I watched the coverage on CNN within hours of the earthquake hitting.Different people in Japan were being interviewed on air via Skype and phonecalls. One of the phone interviews that caught my attention was of an Americanman married to a Japanese woman who highlighted that immediately the earthquakehit, his wife was fully aware of what to do. He went to say that the Japanesepeople are from an early age taught disaster preparedness because of thelikelihood of disasters occurring.

I was impressed by this and I thought that it is somethingthat other countries should learn from. I think it would be great for citizensto have an idea of what to do in case a disaster strikes. They should know whatto do, where to go, where to find resources among other things. This wouldgreatly assist in people’s responses to the disaster as well as assist inrescue efforts among others things.

The whole world stands with Japan at this very hard time andprayers and support are being sent their way in so many forms. I felt for Japanand I send condolences to the families of those who lost loved ones. We standwith them during this time and as they plan to start re-building the affectedareas of their nation.

Video Message from IFSW President

2011-03-15T10:00:00.022+03:00

Here is a message from the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) President Gary Bailey to mark World Social Work Day 2011.

video courtesy of youtube

I came across a few quotes that I think are appropriate especially because we are marking World Social Work Day.

"In the midst of global crises such as pollution, wars and famine, kindness may be too easily dismissed as a 'soft' issue, or a luxury to be addressed after the urgent problems are solved. But kindness is the greatest need in all those areas - kindness toward the environment, toward other nations, toward the needs of people who are suffering. Until we reflect basic kindness in everything we do, our political gestures will be fleeting and fragile. Simple kindness may be the vital key to the riddle of how human beings can live with each other in peace, and care properly for this planet we all share." - Bo Lozoff

"The unreal is more powerful than the real. Because nothing is as perfect as you can imagine it. Because it's only intangible ideas, concepts, beliefs, fantasies that last. Stone crumbles. Wood rots. People, well, they die. But things as fragile as a thought, a dream, a legend, they can go on and on. If you can change the way people think. The way they see themselves. The way they see the world. You can change the way people live their lives. That's the lasting thing you can create." - Chuck Palahniuk

HAPPY WORLD SOCIAL WORK DAY!

Proud to be Social Workers

2011-03-15T08:00:00.026+03:00

Happy World Social WorkDay to all social workers who follow and read the blog, I appreciate you! Forthose who are not social workers, make sure you appreciate one today and everyday!

To celebrate World Social Work Day (WSWD) 2011, Iasked my fellow social workers from around the world to write in and comment onwhy they are proud to be social workers and/or what social work as a professionmeans to them. I must say it was quite interesting to note that whether inAmerica, Europe or Africa, social workers have a passion for people. I feltinspired by those who wrote in and it challenged me to become better as anindividual in society and as a social worker.

TheodosiosPilisis, Clinical Social Worker in Greece:

Social Workis not only a profession or a science, it is a passion! Social Work is notsimply a psychological matter of dealing with individuals, but a psychosocialmatter with many political parameters. Social Workers have made a moral choiceof career and fighting for social justice and social change! Proud to be aSocial Worker!

Andries Nkuna from Cape Town,South Africa:

I am proud to be a social workerbecause I possess a drive to empower my community and be an advocate forchange and betterment of people. I bring a smile to people's lives.

Doris Alvarado from El Salvador,Central America:

I am so proud of be social workerbecause it is an opportunity to be with people working together and showingthem how they can be part of the solution to their problems. I love seeingpeople develop their skills and work in their own places to be better. Also forme, being a social worker means to improve the situation of the people,including them wherever you go or where you are, using different tools andresources, but the most important is "the person".

Brenda Oginda in Nairobi, Kenya:

Being a social work student, I am now keen in understanding the law and more dedicated to the welfare and self-realization of human beings. Through working with communities: I have learned that 'people will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, But people will never forget how you made them feel.' (Source unknown) The best quote I have come across this year, 'I don't believe people die from hard work. They die from stress and worry and fear - the negative emotions. Those are the killers, not hard work. The fact is, in our society today, most people don't understand what hard work is all about.' - A.L. Williams

If you have read this andwould like to also send in your message, you still can, send it to socialworkersblog@gmail.com or use the contact form on the blog and Iwill include it in this or a later post. Please include your full name andlocation.

Thank you to those whowrote in.

Phenomenal Woman by Maya Angelou

2011-03-08T06:00:00.009+03:00

This is one of my favorite poems and today I dedicate to women everywhere wishing you a happy International Women's Day!!

Pretty women wonder where my secret lies

I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size

But when I start to tell them,

They think I'm telling lies.

I say,

It's in the reach of my arms

The span of my hips,

The stride of my step,

The curl of my lips.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

I walk into a room

Just as cool as you please,

And to a man,

The fellows stand or

Fall down on their knees.

Then they swarm around me,

A hive of honey bees.

I say,

It's the fire in my eyes,

And the flash of my teeth,

The swing in my waist,

And the joy in my feet.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Men themselves have wondered

What they see in me.

They try so much

But they can't touch

My inner mystery.

When I try to show them

They say they still can't see.

I say,

It's in the arch of my back,

The sun of my smile,

The ride of my breasts,

The grace of my style.

I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

Now you understand

Just why my head's not bowed.

I don't shout or jump about

Or have to talk real loud.

When you see me passing

It ought to make you proud.

I say,

It's in the click of my heels,

The bend of my hair,

the palm of my hand,

The need of my care,

'Cause I'm a woman

Phenomenally.

Phenomenal woman,

That's me.

The History of International Women's Day

2011-03-08T04:00:00.012+03:00

International Women's Day (IWD), originally called International Working Women’s Day is marked on the 8th of March every year. It is a major day of global celebration of women. In different regions the focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women's economic, political and social achievements.

International Women's Day has been observed since in the early 1900's, a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialized world that saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies.

1908
Great unrest and critical debate was occurring amongst women. Women's oppression and inequality was spurring women to become more vocal and active in campaigning for change. Then in 1908, 15,000 women marched through New York City demanding shorter hours, better pay and voting rights.

1909
In accordance with a declaration by the Socialist Party of America, the first National Woman's Day (NWD) was observed across the United States on 28 February. Women continued to celebrate NWD on the last Sunday of February until 1913.

1910
In 1910 a second International Conference of Working Women was held in Copenhagen. A woman named a Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) tabled the idea of an International Women's Day. She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result.

1911
Following the decision agreed at Copenhagen in 1911, International Women's Day (IWD) was honored the first time in Austria, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland on 19 March. More than one million women and men attended IWD rallies campaigning for women's rights to work, vote, be trained, to hold public office and end discrimination. However less than a week later on 25 March, the tragic 'Triangle Fire' in New York City took the lives of more than 140 working women, most of them Italian and Jewish immigrants. This disastrous event drew significant attention to working conditions and labor legislation in the United States that became a focus of subsequent International Women's Day events. 1911 also saw women's 'Bread and Roses' campaign.

1913-1914
On the eve of World War I campaigning for peace, Russian women observed their first International Women's Day on the last Sunday in February 1913. In 1913 following discussions, International Women's Day was transferred to 8 March and this day has remained the global date for International Women's Day ever since. In 1914, further women across Europe held rallies to campaign against the war and to express women's solidarity.

1917
On the last Sunday of February, Russian women began a strike for "bread and peace" in response to the death over 2 million Russian soldiers in war. Opposed by political leaders the women continued to strike until four days later the Czar was forced to abdicate and the provisional Government granted women the right to vote. The date the women's strike commenced was Sunday 23 February on the Julian calendar then in use in Russia. This day on the Gregorian calendar in use elsewhere was 8 March.

1918 - 1999
Since its birth in the socialist movement, International Women's Day has grown to become a global day of recognition and celebration across developed and developing countries alike. For decades, IWD has grown from strength to strength annually. For many years the United Nations has held an annual IWD conference to coordinate international efforts for women's rights and participation in social, political and economic processes. 1975 was designated as 'International Women's Year' by the United Nations. Women's organizations and governments around the world have also observed IWD annually on 8 March by holding large-scale events that honor women's advancement and while diligently reminding of the continued vigilance and action required to ensure that women's equality is gained and maintained in all aspects of life.

2000 and beyond
IWD is now an official holiday in Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam and Zambia. The tradition sees men honoring their mothers, wives, girlfriends, colleagues, etc with flowers and small gifts. In some countries IWD has the equivalent status of Mother's Day where children give small presents to their mothers and grandmothers.

The new millennium has witnessed a significant change and attitudinal shift in both women's and society's thoughts about women's equality and emancipation. Many from a younger generation feel that 'all the battles have been won for women' while many feminists from the 1970's know only too well the longevity and ingrained complexity of patriarchy. With more women in the boardroom, greater equality in legislative rights, and an increased critical mass of women's visibility as impressive role models in every aspect of life, one could think that women have gained true equality. The unfortunate fact is that women are still not paid equally to that of their male counterparts, women still are not present in equal numbers in business or politics, and globally women's education, health and the violence against them is worse than that of men.

However, great improvements have been made. We do have female astronauts and prime ministers, school girls are welcomed into university, women can work and have a family, women have real choices. And so the tone and nature of IWD has, for the past few years, moved from being a reminder about the negatives to a celebration of the positives.

Annually on 8 March, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. A global web of rich and diverse local activity connects women from all around the world ranging from political rallies, business conferences, and government activities and networking events through to local women's craft markets, theatric performances, fashion parades and more.

Many global corporations have also started to more actively support IWD by running their own internal events and through supporting external ones. For example, on 8 March search engine and media giant Google some years even changes its logo on its global search pages. Year on year IWD is certainly increasing in status. The United States even designates the whole month of March as 'Women's History Month'.

So make a difference, think globally and act locally!! Make everyday International Women's Day. Do your bit to ensure that the future for girls is bright, equal, safe and rewarding.

Article derived from International Women's Day 2011.

Medical and End-Life Decisions

2011-03-04T10:31:00.000+03:00

The last two to three weeks has made me think about medical and end-life decisions probably because of the experiences of family and friends. It struck me that there is so much that needs to be dealt with in the Kenyan medical profession as far as social workers are concerned.

Decisions that families have to make can be very tough and emotional and I believe the support of a social worker can help in such times. Decisions such as consent for surgery, signing on a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate), consent on removal of life support machines, organ donation are some of the decisions I am talking about here.

It struck me that some of these things are so hard to decide on because, there are no structures in place to know what the patient may have wanted, for example, in the case of life support and organ donation. There is no system in place where people can clearly state that they would like to donate their organs when they die or other wishes they may have.

During the decision making, the doctor gives the family of the patient all the information they require but I strongly feel that social workers should be present to give psychosocial support. I believe it would assist in answering whatever questions the family may be having as well as allowing them to have someone to talk to and share what they are going through.

Hospitals and medical centers need to embrace the idea of having social workers as part of their staff to assist medical staff with such situations and more.

March Update

2011-03-04T08:18:00.001+03:00

Hi,

I can't believe it is March already! This month has exciting things in store. Next week, Tuesday the 8th, the world will be celebrating 100 years of women's achievements on International Women's Day (IWD). I will highlight more in a post that should be up in a couple of days.

Another exciting thing happening is celebrating social workers all around the world. For the US and a few other countries, they celebrate the whole of March as Social Work Month. The rest of us mark World Social Work Day which is on Tuesday the 15th. I will also highlight more on this later.

As always, it is nice hearing from you whether it is positive or negative feedback. Thank you so much and keep them coming.

Have a great month!

Your Turn to Celebrate Women

2011-02-23T10:55:00.000+03:00

I would like to give readers and followers of the blog an opportunity to send in their stories, comments, pictures, videos and anything else you'd like. Share what being a woman means to you, what International Women's Day is to you and anything else you'd like to share that celebrates womanhood. I will post them on the blog to mark International Women's Day in March.

Use the Contact form on the blog or send them to the e-mail address socialworkersblog@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

I am a Social Advocate

2011-02-21T12:57:00.000+03:00

Recently I realized that it was time I tackle issues thatpeople brush off and may think go against religion and culture. I understandwho I am and deciding to be a social worker meant that I was taking theresponsibility to be a voice for people in society who are unable to speak forthemselves.

As a social advocate, I am choosing to be fully aware ofdifferent people in society and the social problems they face. Despite myreligion and culture, I need to look at every individual as a human being whohas rights like any other regardless of their ethnicity, age, sex, race, sexualorientation or background.

I understand that there are readers who may not fully acceptwhat I do and the posts that may come up on the blog. My role is to upholdhuman dignity and treat all with respect by being nonjudgmental. Even with thechallenges I face, I still want to be the voice and I hope that more peoplewill come up and choose to fight for those who are unable to fight forthemselves.

I am proud to be a social advocate!

February Update

2011-02-10T16:49:00.002+03:00

It’s amazing how January flew by or is it just me? Anyway, Iam happy it is a whole new month with a whole load of great new things. Theblog has a whole new look as well as an added feature for interaction betweenmyself and readers. The ‘Contact Us’ feature is now improved and easy to use. Iwould love to hear what you think of various posts as well as the blog.

I am opening my blog to new ideas especially from avidreaders and followers. Please feel free to send us any questions, suggestionsor even complaints you may be having and I’ll try and write back. If you wouldlike to see certain issues covered on the blog that are related to social workor any social problem in Kenya or globally, send it in.

Have a fabulous February!

International Women's Day 2011 Theme

2011-01-27T18:29:00.001+03:00

Each year, globally, International Women's day (IWD) is marked on March 8th. The UN global theme for this year is Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women. I will highlight more on the day as it approaches.

IWD logo

For more information, check out the website International Women's Day

Debriefing After Casework

2011-01-27T11:54:00.001+03:00

The first question you may be having is 'what is debriefing?' Debriefing in this case is to simply report after a case. As a social worker especially those in case management, it is important to have a person who you are able to talk to after a case. This should probably be someone who is a colleague and/or understands social work, the helping process and relationship.

I say this out of experience because when you don't have a confidant who you can regularly share the cases you undertake, it could easily lead to burn out and you'll end up exhausted and ineffective as a case worker/social worker. You need to always ensure that you are in the best of conditions to deal with clients. I believe that it should be your responsibility as a social worker to offer the most effective assistance to clients.

It can be beneficial to get a partner who is a fellow social worker who you can share your experiences with as well your feelings towards certain cases. Be careful not to violate the confidentiality of the client and the case. This can also be done in a group of like-minded professional social workers. This relationship, however, is meant to be professional and confidential. The relationship can be defined and the purpose well known between the parties involved. It can be former classmates, colleagues or a career mentor.

I hope that as a social worker, you'll take all the necessary steps to work on yourself so as to offer the most effective services to clients.

Dealing with Me

2011-01-17T19:32:00.001+03:00

At the beginning of this month, I highlighted in the monthlyupdate as well as on our Facebook page that there will be a few changes on theblog. Well, here it is, I wanted to give my blog a personal touch and so I willonce in a while share my personal reflections.

I have started the year quite busy doing exams and I haven’thad much time to even look at the blog save for the first week of the month. NowI want to share my thoughts inspired by an experience I went through when doingmy field work late last year.

There was a time when I was going through a really toughtime in my life psychologically and emotionally and only my mother and bestfriend knew what was going on with me. It was around November and it was thesecond month of my field work attachment. I was really stressed out because I was dealing with my ownpersonal issues but still had to be there for clients where I was placed andalso others I’ve interacted with outside the organization I was in. At onepoint I was emotionally drained and didn’t leave my room for a whole daybecause of how down I was feeling.

I realized I can’t be a social worker and help people out inthe kind of state I was in so decided to see a counselor my mum recommended. Anyway,I ended up sorting out my issues and I am still working on them. I am muchbetter than I was a couple of months ago and I can now do my work efficiently.

Social workers are human too and they tend to also haveproblems of their own. My advice is to be self aware as an individual and gethelp when you are going through a rough patch. Don’t let your personal problemsget in the way of the helping relationship you have with your clients.

It may sound selfish but deal with yourself first and whatever problems you may be having in your life. If you care for your clients and the success of the helping relationship, you'll assess yourself first. Live by example.

We've done it again!

2011-01-11T10:06:00.002+03:00

The blog was mentioned in yet another list - Top 50 Blogs by Social Work Professionals on Masters of Social Work under the category Health Care, Public Health, Policy and Clinical.

As creator of the blog, I feel very honoured and would like to thank the guys at Masters of Social Work for the recognition and support.

I would also like to thank all the fans of our Facebook page, friends, contributors and readers for the continued support. I appreciate it. Keep it here for more on social work, problems in society, personal experiences and so much more...

Blotted Ballot

2011-01-07T15:36:00.003+03:00

On the 27th of August 2010 Kenyans made a loud and unequivocal declaration. That day the so called New Kenya was born. A new constitution was jubilantly given unto Kenyans by themselves. Consequently, with new things come changes which have to be made and one among those is the ballot paper, or should I say booklet?

The new constitution of Kenya creates more representative seats as the tiers of government have been expanded. Arguably, Kenya has three tiers of government. The first and most conspicuous is the central government led by the President and his/her cabinet. County governments take the second tier of government while the local authorities take the third.

Local authorities still exist under the new dispensation? As declared by section 18 of the Transitional and Consequential provisions of the new constitution, they still do. This means the Mayor and his/her councillors still have jobs unless the law is changed to remove them. This, in my view, is quite unlikely!

So now there you have it, the three tiers of government and as a democratic society Kenyans must exercise the right to universal suffrage. Every fifth year Kenyans go to the ballot box and decide the next character of leaders to entertain them on the news every evening via their cheap theatrics! In 2012, the election will be held on the second Tuesday of August (9th) as mandated by article 101(1). But just how will the ballot look like with the creation of new government levels?

There are 8 spaces up for grabs to whoever ingratiates the hearts of Kenyans the best. These posts are spread out neatly according to which level the candidate prefers. Here is a list of these posts and where in the constitution they are created:
1. President and deputy president (elected as a team- art 148(3))- art 136(1)
2. Member of National Assembly (one among the 290)- art 97(1)(a)
3. One of the 47 women National Assembly member- art 97(1)(b)
4. One of the 47 Senate members- art 98(1)(a)
5. County Governor and deputy (elected as a team- art 180(6))- art 180(1)
6. County Assembly members- art 177 (1)(a)
7. Councillors by virtue of the Local Government Act
8. The mayor by dint of art 184(1)(c)

I want to make an assumption that will drive the point home. Let us assume that each post is contested by five people. That would put the total number of people vying for the various posts at 40. Be that as it may, if my history serves me right, there are places we are going to expect more than just five candidates.

If the ballot paper will include the party symbol for those in parties or a photograph of the candidate for those independent ones, I foresee a booklet as opposed to a ballot paper being presented to the people to choose their preferred man and/or woman. My advice to every Kenyan (who is of age) is to make up your mind while at home before going to the box otherwise; the 9th of August 2012 will be one long day! Or maybe the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) would not mind giving us a take away ballot the day before to give us sufficient time to make up our minds.

All of the above should not be construed to mean I am against the new changes. To the contrary, I am elated that more offices have been created and the once marginalised groups have been constitutionally recognized. My prayer is that these new offices would be used for the good of the people and not to front a new club of fat cats who oppress and continue to oppress the masses.
MAY GOD BLESS KENYA!

Women Speak Out on "Corrective" Rape Ordeals

2011-01-03T13:00:00.001+03:00

As I was doing my research on "corrective rape" for the previous post, I came across this video of women speaking out on their ordeals and opinions of men about lesbians and rape. I must warn you that the contents of the video might be disturbing and unsuitable for children.

video courtesy of youtube

"Corrective Rape"

2011-01-03T11:53:00.003+03:00

In December, I came across a petition that I highlighted on our Facebook page. I decided to just go deeper and really find out what this term "corrective rape" is all about, when and where it really started. For a while, I have been meaning to write something about homosexuality because of the rising number of injustices I've been hearing and reading from the news.

This particular one I am about to share broke my heart and brought me to tears because it is devastating to even know that such crimes against humanity exist. I came across this on change.org thanks to Luleki Sizwe. "Corrective rape" is a criminal practice where men rape lesbians purportedly as a means of "curing" the woman of her sexual orientation. The term "corrective rape" was first used to describe rapes committed against South African lesbians. A notable attack came in 2008 when Eudy Simelane, a member of the South African women's national football team and a vocal LGBT-rights activist in South Africa, was gang raped and murdered.

A report by the international NGO ActionAid, backed by the South African Human Rights Commission, said the horrific crimes against lesbians were going unrecognized by the state and unpunished by the legal system. The report called for South Africa's criminal justice system to recognize the rapes as hate crimes in an attempt to force police to take action over the rising tide of violence.

In 2010, Millicent Gaika, a 30-year-old South African woman, was tied up, beaten, strangled, tortured and raped for five hours by a man as he screamed that he would "cure" Millicent of her lesbianism. To read her story and see photos, click here.

There has never been or never will be a just cause for rape. Women in South Africa and globally need to be protected regardless of their sexual orientation or any other factor. I’m glad that the world can now hear the stories of these women who have been assaulted and those who live in fear of being assaulted. I believe it is high time that measures are put in place to protect all women and also punish the perpetrators of such hate crimes.

To assist, please sign the petition because every time a new person signs the petition, the Justice Minister's office automatically gets an email. A recent update confirmed that the office has been receiving the e-mails but is yet to take any action. To sign the petition to declare "corrective rape" a hate crime in South Africa, click here.

LGBT (or GLBT) is an initial referring collectively to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people.
Additional information obtained from Change.org.

January Update

2011-01-03T10:13:00.000+03:00

Happy New Year!!

To all the readers, friends and supporters of the blog, I hope you had a lovely holiday and that the year has started on a good note. It has been 7 months since the blog started. I'd like to thank all the people who have liked our Facebook page and invited their friends.

I look forward to a lovely year and of course a few changes on the blog which you'll see with time. I have joined a website - change.org that show cases different petitions and you can check out the preview on the top right corner of the blog page. Once in a while, I will be highlighting some petitions that I feel strongly about and have signed.

Thank you so much for the support and feedback. It is highly appreciated.

Have a lovely January and 2011.

After the first 72: The Trial Process

2010-12-26T16:12:00.002+03:00

In rape cases, the first 72 hours are the most important. Crucial evidence which can tie the assailant to the crime or prove that the crime has been committed all together is gotten at this stage. However, not much is documented of what happens after these crucial hours, more so about the trial process in such cases. Below is a brief description of what takes place in the magistrates’ courts in Kenya.

As a constitutional right, the accused person is brought into open court to take his/her plea. Here the accused person is read out the charges that face him/her in the language he/she understands after which they say whether the allegations are true or false. If they say it is false then a plea of not guilty is entered and the trial begins.

Witnesses by the prosecution are called to call evidence. The first usually is the victim of the alleged offence (usually called the complainant). During these proceedings, the court room is cleared and only the interested parties are left within. The parties are the witness, the accused person and/or his/her advocate, the court clerk and the prison guards and police officers that act as officers of the court.

In dispensing with the public hearing, the interests of the complainant are being looked at. Such cases may prove embarrassing on the part of the complainant such as to influence the way he/she gives their evidence. Moreover, the court will require details and specifics of the rape which will ordinarily have the complainant mentioning content which in common parlance would be considered x-rated. When there are fewer people in the court room, who necessarily have to be there, the complainant is spared from curious looks after her/his testimony by members of the public.

After the complainant gives their side of the story, the accused person, personally or via his/her advocate-will pose questions to the complainant. At this point it will be prudent to note that if the complainant has had past sexual indiscretions, they will be used to put up a defence for the accused person. This is usually the hardest of times for the complainant especially at the hands of advocates who are ambitiously defending their clients as most of them will want to impeach the complainant’s credibility or character.

Since the complainant’s main task as the prosecution witness is to identify the assailant as the person who did the crime and that he/she did not consent, the defence will want to attack this part of the testimony. They do this by alleging that the complainant consented to the act hence including the past sexual conduct. They would also want to attack the visual conditions in which the complainant claims to have seen the accused person and so on. I am in no way saying that complainants are expected to vividly remember the face of their assailants in the depth of trauma, but such questions create doubt in favour of the accused person under the law.

Other than the complainant, another crucial witness is usually called to take the stand: a medical doctor who examined the complainant. The 72 hours become very crucial at this point since most accused persons walk due to doubt as the whether the complainant was actually raped. The doctor exposes the injuries that he/she has examined and provides expert opinion as to whether rape is a possibility. Remember if a doctor cannot nail it on this one owing to lack of physical evidence, reasonable doubt will already be brooding therein.

After all the witnesses for the prosecution have been exhausted, the court makes a ruling as to whether the accused person has a case to answer. This decision will be based on whether the prosecution has made out a case against the accused person who without his explanation would lead to a direct conviction. The accused person can give his testimony on oath, or without taking the oath. He/she can also decide to remain silent which is lethal to him/her.

Thereupon, the court will gauge the evidence as adduced by the prosecution and the accused person. If the weight of the borne by the prosecution is effectively executed and there is found guilty beyond reasonable doubt, the accused person is convicted the sentenced in accordance with the law. However if there is any doubt as to his/her guilt, well we all know how the system works!

Role of a Social Worker in the Criminal Justice System

2010-12-14T18:55:00.003+03:00

This brief article is a follow up on a question asked by an avid reader of the blog. It explores the nexus point between social work and the criminal justice system (CJS). This article is based on the Kenyan CJS; therefore I am appealing to other social workers who follow this blog to post roles of social workers in their respective jurisdictions to compare notes.

Social workers play different but significant roles within the CJS. The roles include: expert witness, probation officers and intermediaries between the court and victims. I will look into these roles one at a time.

As an expert witness, the social worker is called to give evidence that is within the purview of his/her profession. Some matters are not within the ordinary understanding of the court and it needs the assistance of experts. For instance, a case that involves fraud will most definitely call on the expertise of a forensic accountant who will testify on that account. Likewise, some matters involving social welfare of people will need the expertise of a social worker to untie some baffling knots for the court and make the case clearer.

In the second capacity, they affect the sentence of a convicted person. Under Kenyan law, some minor offences such as disturbing the peace can attract a probation sentence in the alternative of a custodial one that is, the convict goes to jail. Here, the probation officer, usually someone proficient in social work, talks to all the parties involved (the victim, the family of the victim, the family of the convicted person, friends and neighbours as well as the convicted person) to determine whether the person is or is not a threat to society once released.

I am pressed to give a real life example of such a case I have come across. In a decided case at the Kibera Law Courts in Nairobi, the accused person was charged with creating disturbance in a manner likely to breach the peace by threatening to cut is mother with a panga (machete). Since this offence is a minor one (as per the law) the accused person could have been let out on probation to serve a non custodial sentence. This was not the case as the probation officer found damaging reports of the accused person and his report on the accused was not favourable.

The mother had refused him to be given a probation sentence preferring a custodial one instead. She described her son as a drug addict and trouble maker and if released is likely to be a danger to society and to himself. The social worker cum probation officer also examined the convicted person and found that he was not fit for the probation sentence and consequently he is a guest of the state for the next 6 months.

Thirdly, a social worker can act as an intermediary between the court and the witnesses of a case of a sexual nature. However the witness must fit the definition of a vulnerable witness which is described by section 31 of the Sexual Offences Act 3 of 2006. A vulnerable witness is a child, (under the age of 18), a mentally incapacitated person and an elderly person. The witness must be the alleged victim of the offence.

Duties of the intermediary are to convey the general purport of any question to the vulnerable witness. Also, he/she is to inform the court if the witness is tired or stressed at any time during the proceedings. Finally, the intermediary may request the court for a recess because of the aforementioned or other reasonable grounds.

All in all, the CJS cannot run without our social workers. They provide the grease that eases the work of the axles that turn the wheels of justice.

Q & A: Social questions

2010-12-14T12:48:00.002+03:00

1. Why do I have to seek medical attention within 72 hours of being raped?

Post-exposure prophylaxis commonly known as PEP and a set of other drugs are administered to reduce the likelihood of HIV infection, sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Examinations are also carried out to collect evidence after an incident of sexual assault.

2. What areas of social work can one specialize in?

Social work is a profession for those with a strong desire to help improve people’s lives. Specialization areas include clinical social work, mental health, child welfare, school social work, family services, occupational social work, gerontology (senior citizens) social work, substance abuse rehabilitation, health care, social justice, social service administration and advocacy. This list is not exhaustive.

3.Who is eligible for adoption in Kenya?

An adoption order may be made upon the application of a sole applicant or jointly by two spouses where the applicant or at least one of the joint applicants -

(a) has attained the age of twenty-five years and is at least twenty-one years older than the child but has not attained the age of sixty-five years; or

(b) is a relative of the child; or

(c) is the mother or father of the child.

4. Who can I report to if I suspect child abuse?

You can report to the nearest police station or call help lines like Child line Kenya helpline 116 which is a national and emergency helpline for children in different circumstances.

5.What are the requirements to be a foster parent in Kenya?

You have to be a Kenyan resident, spouses of a marriage, a single woman or man over the age of 25.

6. Are there retirement/senior citizens’ homes in Kenya?

Yes, there are a few homes although mostly in Nairobi. The need for such homes is slowly growing and there are a few non-governmental organizations and churches that have started running the homes.

7. Are there rehabilitative programs for drugs and substance abuse?

Yes, the need for such programs has grown over the years and a few hospitals run rehabilitation programs. Private centers are also available to give the services both residential and non-residential.

8. Can a HIV infected woman have a baby?

Yes but under the guidance of a trained medical doctor. Seek medical advice before getting pregnant so that you are guided on how to handle the pregnancy.

9. I followed your 16 days of activism campaign. Are there programs that support men who are victims of gender based violence?

Men are also victims of abuse but stay silent because of the social stigma attached to it. Men can seek help from health facilities as well as organizations that deal with gender violence. A lot of emphasis is put on help for women and children but you can be referred to the appropriate places.

10. I am a single woman who would like to foster a young boy. Is it legally acceptable?

No. As a single woman you can only foster a female child as a single man can only foster a male child. This also applies to adoption.

11. Adoption and fostering applies to children of what age?

According to Kenyan law, a child is anyone under the age of 18. Therefore adoption and fostering laws applies to individuals under the age of 18.

For more on adoption, check out these older posts:

Q & A: Legal questions

2010-12-03T18:43:00.006+03:00

1. Can I sue my leaders? [political]

Yes but not for being bad leaders as there are no laws against bad leadership.

2. Does the Kenyan law allow a minor to emancipate themselves from their parents? Does emancipation exist under Kenyan law?

No. Kenyan law has no provisions of minors emancipating themselves from adult supervision.

3. Is a social worker allowed to testify in court?

Yes. As long as the testimony is both relevant and admissible under the Kenyan Evidence Act.

4. What are the legal implications of re-marrying with children?

You will have to share responsibilities with the birth parent if he/she is alive. The 'new' spouse also takes up parental responsibilities as expected by law.

5. Can a Kenyan citizen adopt from another country?

Yes. Just like foreigners adopt babies from Kenya. But it will be subject to the adoption laws of the country the Kenyan is adopting from.

6. Can I sue my employer, current or former, anonymously for sexual harassment?

Not only can you sue, but press charges in criminal courts. However you will be required to give your testimony in open court which will not be anonymous as preferred.

7. Are there laws on wrongful termination of employment?

Yes. In the law of contracts as well as Employment Act in Kenya.

8. Does a person have the right to decline medical treatment against the wishes of his/her family? This is in the case of terminal illnesses such as cancer.

Yes but only if you are an adult.

9. Is surrogacy legal or not?

There is no law as regards this so the legal assumption is that it is permissible under Kenyan law.

10. Is it true that if someone is knowingly HIV+ and has unprotected sexual contact with another person, without their knowledge of his/her status, can be held liable? Can he/she be sued and on what grounds?

It is a criminal offence under the Sexual Offences Act to intentionally infect another person with HIV. One can also sue under the law of torts.

11. My father is living on and off with another woman but they don't have children and neither are they legally married. He is still married to my mother. What would happen in terms of inheritance between the two women?

As long as your father is not married to this person and cannot be presumed to married to her as he does not continuously live with her, then she can't inherit anything. After the death of a spouse, the surviving spouse inherits from the deceased.

12. Can I claim paternal responsibility for my child who was born out of wedlock yet I am married to a person who is not the biological father of the child?

Yes because Article 53 (1) (e) as well as the Children's Act (Kenyan law) provide that the child has the right to parental care regardless of whether the parents are married or not.

December Update!

2010-12-01T11:25:00.000+03:00

Hi,

It is finally December! I can't believe how fast the year has gone. Time seems to be flying by and the blog is doing great!

We are currently marking 16 days of Activism against Gender Violence which runs till the 10th of December. Check November archives for posts on it as well as check out the Facebook page for daily status updates.

Today, the world is marking World AIDS day with the theme 'Universal access and human rights.' I posted photos on the Facebook page to commemorate the day.

The blog design has changed just a bit. If you have any suggestions, complaints or comments, feel free to contact us.

Thank you for the continuous support and feedback.

Have a lovely December!

Sign a Rose Petal: Action against FGM

2010-11-30T14:43:00.002+03:00

After the previous post that I published just a few hours ago, another cause was shared by one of the blog's readers. This one is by Amnesty International who are seeking to get 16,000 signatures to demand the end of female genital mutilation (FGM). Female genital mutilation (FGM) is a form of violence against women and children that can amount to torture.

END FGM European Campaign is run by Amnesty International Ireland, in partnership with non-governmental organisations across the European Union. The campaign is launching a strategy with concrete recommendations for the EU Member States and the EU institutions.

To sign the petition as well as get more information on this, use the badge on the right column of the blog or go to End FGM European Campaign.

Say No to Sexual Violence in Conflict

2010-11-30T09:18:00.003+03:00

In light of the 16 days of Activism against Gender Based Violence (GBV), I thought I should share this great initiative I came across and I hope you will take action and say no to violence like I just have.

Women and girls hardly ever fight the world's wars, but they often suffer the most. Increasingly, they are the direct targets of fighting, when sexual violence is deliberately used as a tactic of warfare.

And yet fewer than 8 percent of the people who negotiate peace deals are women, and only about three dozen individuals have been convicted and jailed by international war crimes tribunals for committing or commanding widespread sexual violence.

Sexual violence in conflict is NOT inevitable. It can be stopped.

Ten years ago, in its landmark resolution 1325, the United Nations Security Council called for women's full and equal participation in all elements of peacemaking, and for prevention of this kind of violence. But implementation of this historic resolution has been too slow.

Make women count for peace.

Add your name to the petition and ask your government to support three steps to implement Security Council resolution 1325:

Prosecute those who command and/or commit sexual violence and exclude them from armies and police forces after conflict.
Ensure that women participate in peace negotiations and all post-conflict decision-making institutions.
Increase the number of women in troops, police forces and civilians within international peacekeeping efforts.

To sign the petition and check out more information on this go to Say No - Unite

*Information and banner obtained from Say No - Unite

Wangari Maathai and the Nobel Women's Initiative

2010-11-18T20:39:00.003+03:00

In this video, Nobel Laureate from Kenya, Wangari Maathai shares about the Nobel Women's Initiative web site highlighting extraordinary women activists during 16 Days of Activism.

video courtesy of youtube

The website is Nobel Women's Initiative

16 Days of Activism to End Gender Based Violence

2010-11-16T10:09:00.001+03:00

The 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence is an international campaign held annually between 25 November and 10 December that symbolically links violence against women and human rights emphasizing that such violence is a human rights violation.

The 2010 theme is Break the Silence, End the Violence!

Gender Based Violence (GBV) is any act of violence perpetrated against any person by virtue of their vulnerability as a member of a certain gender. Gender based violence results in or is likely to result in physical, sexual or psychological suffering to the survivor. It includes threats of sexual violence, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or private life.

Personally, I think we all have a role to play in ending gender based violence especially towards women and children because they are the ones who are usually affected. During these 16 days, I would like all people around the world especially readers and followers of this blog to stand for peace and speak out on all forms of gender based discrimination and violence. It doesn't end with these 16 days, let it become an all year round lifestyle that we choose to uphold.

This year, let us break the silence and help victims of gender based violence to come out and speak about their experiences and get help. Let us support them in the best way we know how, whether you are a social worker or not. If you happen to witness any form of violence, don't keep quiet and let other people suffer in silence.

We can end gender based violence and it starts with you. Let us unite and present positive images of both men and women and partnering with men to end violence against women. We should also actively generate empowering conversations about violence and also encourage couples to respect each other and offer them with conflict resolution skills so as to prevent couple violence.

I am marking this year's 16 days by putting a status update on Facebook each day that relates to gender based violence and what can be done. Please take the challenge and do something to join the awareness campaign over the 16 days. Let us not tolerate gender based violence but end it!

New found impetus or political intrigue?

2010-11-15T15:57:00.003+03:00

Recent developments must have caught the attention of every concerned Kenyan. I am talking about the grand war on corruption and the seemingly invigorated fight against it. Over the past two or so months Ministers, and their Permanent Secretaries among other Government dignitaries who have been implicated in the vice have not been left unscathed. Many have fallen under the axe or have opted to resign pending investigation( the all so common word for 'not much can be done').

The fray to rein back corruption and eliminate it all together has had its share of drama. Many times when a prominent political figure is caught with his or her hand in the cookie jar, the story turns tribal or political. I very often find it ridiculous, if not downright shameful, when I listen to some of these tired lines from such individuals: "My community is being targeted…" "This is a political witch hunt…" "My enemies are out to malign me…" and the list is endless.

My lack of veneration for such fellows notwithstanding, the law considers them innocent until proven guilty. This is why they have the time to ingratiate themselves to unsuspecting Kenyans during their harambees or meetings as they host delegations. In fact it is at such functions that they set the stage for the lines mentioned above. Some do it in other languages hoping that the public will never get wind of what they say which -unfortunately for them- they end up doing.

Faced with such spectacles I cannot gainsay that political machinations are at work. It would be politically prudent to take a swipe at someone politically if it will give you millage. As odd as that statement sounds, it might come down to just that: political jostling. It must not be lost to Kenyans that not long ago, right after the NARC government came in, corruption was a menace that could be dealt with. That was before other grand scandals within the 'yote yawezekana' band wagon were unearthed.

Corruption has since then been used as a campaigning platform. The order of the day has become ' he who exposes must be the clean one and should be trusted'. Many politicians have made names as whistle blowers and endeared themselves to the hearts of Kenyans. This happens only until something else of astronomical proportions and more shocking comes up and the all too familiar Kenyan Short Memory Syndrome (KSMS) kicks in.

As skeptical as I sound, I firmly believe that all is not lost. Regardless of what motives whistle blowers bring corruption accusations into the limelight, they still bring it out into the limelight. It is then the responsibility of the stakeholders to do their job. One of the stakeholders is you and I, also commonly known as the public.

Holding your bellwether accountable is the best way to do this. Choosing agenda oriented leaders rather than ethnicity perpetuating quacks would be a good move. The honeymoon after the new constitution endorsement is over. Implementation is the daunting but doable task with which every Kenyan must indulge in. Like John F. Kennedy once said: "ask not what your country can do for you (read "tunaomba serikali ije itusaidie"), but rather what you can do for your country!

Q&A: We want to hear from you

2010-11-15T15:03:00.001+03:00

An avid reader of the blog gave me the suggestion of having a Q&A on the blog where we can answer questions sent in by readers of the blog. Please send any social or legal questions that you would like answered. Feel free to also send in comments and suggestions that you may be having on social or legal issues.

You can either comment below on this post, write on the wall of our Facebook page or send to the e-mail socialworkersblog@gmail.com. I look forward to hearing from you.

Thank you!!

Kenya Vision 2030

2010-11-08T16:13:00.002+03:00

It is funny how we live in Kenya and we constantly hear about Vision 2030 but if you get down to asking someone what exactly it is, you won’t get a concrete answer. To be honest, I never bothered with the whole thing until I started reading on the Millennium Development Goals which I covered earlier in the blog.

I sought to explore what this development plan is all about and I thought I should share it with fellow Kenyans who read my blog as well as other people from around the world who would be interested to know – so what exactly is Vision 2030?

Kenya Vision 2030 is the country’s new development blueprint covering the period 2008 to 2030. It aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, “middle-income country providing a high quality life to all its citizens by the year 2030”.

The Vision is based on three pillars: the economic, the social and the political. The adoption of the Vision by Kenya comes after the successful implementation of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation which has seen the country’s economy back on the path to rapid growth since 2002, when GDP grew from a low of 0.6% and rising gradually to 6.1% in 2006.

The economic pillar aims to improve the prosperity of all Kenyans through an economic development programme covering all the regions of Kenya and aiming to achieve an average GDP growth rate of 10% per annum beginning in 2012. The social pillar seeks to build a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean and secure environment. The political pillar aims to realize a democratic system founded on issue-based politics that respects the rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual in the Kenyan Society.

The Kenya Vision 2030 is to be implemented in successive five-year Medium-Term Plans, with the first such plan covering the period 2008-2012. At an appropriate stage, another five-year plan will be produced covering the period 2012 to 2017, and so on until 2030.

As the country makes progress to middle-income status through these development plans, it is expected to have met its Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) whose deadline is 2015. The MDGs are eight internationally agreed goals for socio-economic development that emphasize the following: elimination of extreme poverty and hunger; universal primary education, gender equality; reduction in child mortality; improvement in maternal health, lower HIV/AIDS and major disease incidence; environmental sustainability; and better partnerships with international development partners. Some of the goals have already been met. The Vision 2030 spells out action that will be taken to achieve the rest.

You can download a copy of the document in both English and Kiswahili from the Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 website.

Information obtained from Ministry of State for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030

Images courtesy of Google

Teenagers and Web Sex Predators

2010-11-08T14:01:00.002+03:00

Recently when I was reading the newspaper, the magazine feature was about a girl who was lured through a social networking site, kidnapped, raped and murdered by an older man posing to be a teenager. It made me curious about the safety of internet use for children and teenagers who have access to it. Sites tend to have restrictions but can’t be rightfully enforced because an individual can lie about their age and access the site.

My question is who is to blame for teenagers having access to age restricted sites like social networking sites, online chatting and dating sites and even pornographic sites? Should these sites have stricter regulations or should parents and guardians find a way of supervising internet use?

I’m still trying to figure it all out but I think that the sites have done their part by placing warnings and disclaimers on their sites. I don’t think they can be entirely blamed for their audience. Parents and guardians need to foster responsibility and regularly check on security settings on laptops and computers by enabling parental control which most systems have nowadays. This will prohibit certain sites, images and search results from being displayed when the user is under-age.

Another thing is to continually speak to your child and have an open relationship where the child can tell you anything that happens with and to them. Explain to your child that if a person wants to meet or see them, is asking for personal information, wants to video chat or wants explicit photos of them, he or she should let you know immediately. If you are unavailable for whatever reason, they should find a trusted adult they can confide in who will assist them. The child should also not disclose any personal information over the internet like area of residence, school, and telephone numbers among others.

Continually monitor any profiles or mail boxes that your child has. Caution them on chatting and exchanging information with unknown people. Web sex predators are good at impersonation and will have a great profile that will resemble that of a teenager complete with photos. It will look like a genuine profile and the predator will talk to the teen as if they are a teen also.

Once your child has access to internet through cell phones or laptops, it would be best to lay down some ground rules as well as talk to them about the dangers of getting personal with people they do not know. The rules also apply to people they meet at social gatherings, malls and other hang out joints when they are with their friends.

Article from Daily Nation: My girl was lured over Facebook, raped and murdered

Curbing the Rising Cases of Teenage Pregnancy

2010-11-06T15:39:00.009+03:00

Teenage pregnancies have become the cause of much apprehension in modern day life. This is partly due to the fact that adolescent marriages are frowned upon these days and associated with a return to the darkness of centuries past. Why then, you might ask, do teenage girls still fall pregnant, knowing that they are well aware of the risks of pregnancy at search early ages?

First of all, it has been brought to the attention of those concerned with the educational welfare of children that teenagers who fall pregnant have often not been educated on issues of sexuality. They are completely ignorant on issues related to sex, risks of having pre-marital and unprotected sex, and the risks of involving in sexual intercourse at such early ages. However, for those who have been educated in sexuality, the leading cause for falling pregnant is often peer pressure around them.

In a Kaiser Family Foundation study of US teenagers, it was found that 29% of teens reported feeling pressure to have sex, 33% of sexually active teens reported “being in a relationship where they felt things were moving to fast sexually”, and 24% had “done something sexual they didn’t really want to do.” No doubt that this information can apply to teenagers anywhere in the world.

In fact, if you observe teenagers today, you might find that most of their conversations have underlying sexual meanings, and their vocabulary, though used in an easy and often joking manner, often points to things related to sex. For example, a girl who is known to be overly promiscuous is nicknamed in her circles as a ‘whore’, and one who is known to be too inhibited is ‘holy’, a ‘prude’, or a ‘virgin’. Those who have been openly assigned these nicknames, especially the said ‘whores’, tend to embrace them, and even accept them as a kind of compliment.

Going on their Facebook pages, you will find provocative images of them in all kinds of weird, bizarre, and erotic positions. To add onto that, their many friends will post comments on how they look ‘sexy’ and ‘mind-blowing’. Of course, when people compliment someone like that, it comes to be acceptable and seen as not being immoral at all, but completely normal. Such subtlety eventually builds up to higher levels of curiosity about sex, and before you know it, Jane who sits by the window has popped out a healthy baby boy. It may seem funny, but it is a really serious matter because our mistakes might lead us to bringing new beings into this world where we are totally unprepared and unstable to properly cater for their needs.

Peer pressure also influences many teenagers to do things that might lead to intercourse, and for girls, pregnancy. The like are alcohol consumption and drug use. These might be abused within a small group of people or at large social gatherings or at parties. Some people become so drunk or high that they end up blacking out, only to wake up to find that they have been victims of multiple rapes during their spell of unconsciousness. It sounds gory, even a tad unreal; but the truth of the matter is that these things really do happen, almost on an every day basis.

So how then do I expect teenagers to enjoy life if I keep pointing out that most of the things they enjoy might also lead to their downfall? That’s a fairly easy question to answer, but the answers might not be entirely that easy to follow. The following are points on how to avoid pregnancy; STI’s and even heartache during teen years.

Remember the ABC’s we used to be taught about in the HIV\AIDS class? Well, believe it or not, they actually do work. ‘A’ means abstinence, that is, you are not having sex till marriage; ‘B’ stands for being faithful to your boyfriend and girlfriend; and ‘C’ means that you should use a condom. Personally, I am a great advocate for ‘A’ because ‘B’ and ‘C’ are much riskier, since your partner might very well make you pregnant, as another man can, and a condom has a chance to break. Better safe than sorry.
Have a strong inner will. Nobody likes a pushover, and as soon you show yourself to be one, they will walk all over you. Before you know it, you’ll be missing out on all the cool events because you’ll be too busy at home taking care of your newborn baby, or visiting the doctor to get treatment for the STI of which you have no idea from whom you got it. It might be hard, but not bowing down to peer pressure will make you a person of your own right; someone who people see as a source of strength, and not a coward.
Get educated. This might be harder than it sounds. The funny thing about ignorance is that you might not know that you even had ANYTHING to be educated about. It’s up to the rest of us who actually know about these issues to reach out to people who haven’t got a clue. Secondly, for those of us who do know about sex and its results, it would be much better to seek advice from someone if you’re thinking about having it. Most people just go ahead and do it, forgetting that condoms exist, and birth control pills, and the whatnot. I am not advocating having premarital sex, as I said, prevention is the best cure, but seriously, you never know what wise advice will save you from; be it pregnancy, an STI, or even a broken heart. You might even change your mind about having it after talking to someone, and by someone I don’t mean your drugged-up best friend who doesn’t know anything about anything, but someone older like a big sister, your mother, an aunt, the school counselor, or even your pastor.
Be simply dressed. Don’t wear things that might draw attention to all the wrong places. By saying this, I don’t mean you should be boring in a jeans and t-shirt, but that you should have a little class in your choice of apparel. I don’t think going around wearing a tight shirt that has ‘Queen of Sluts’ imprinted on it sends the right message to any boy. You might not have wanted to be branded the ‘whore’, but if you clothe like one, you can be sure to expect anything from the opposite sex, even rape. You have been warned.
Be safe. Always have someone on your speed dial. Don’t try going to new, isolated places alone, or meeting new people that you’ve never seen in a private place. If you really want to meet this person who you talk to on the internet, do it in a crowded place which has some security around, and tell someone where you’re going before you leave. All these measures can help prevent rape, and I think that falling pregnant because of rape is the worst thing that can happen. We all know what a treacherous place this world can be. Who can you trust when you are daily reading stories of children being raped by their fathers and preachers? Naivety is not becoming, it’s a danger. Don’t be too trusting, and your senses should always be on high alert, especially around strangers.
Have respect for yourself. If you think of yourself as being a ‘whore’, or a ‘slut’, then that is exactly how other people will view you. On the other hand, if you treat yourself like a lady, then that is exactly how other people will treat you.

There are many other precautionary measures you can take, but these are the main points. Follow them, and you will avoid the hassle of taking care of your two-year old son while trying to study for high school exams. Of course, this advice can apply for any woman out of wedlock, but it is mainly directed to teenagers from the age of thirteen to nineteen. Hope I helped someone, but again, you have been warned.

Survey information gotten from http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/teenage_pregnancy.

November Update

2010-11-05T11:33:00.003+03:00

Happy November!

I am glad to say that the blog has been up for 6 months now with over 3,000 page views so far from over 40 countries worldwide. I am grateful for the support and feedback about contributors, posts and the blog.

I am looking forward to having a greater impact as time goes on. Be sure to look out for new contributors in the coming months who I am hoping will bring a new insight into social problems and social work.

Thank you to all the readers, followers, friends, fans of the Facebook page and contributors.

Have a lovely month!

20 Most Famous Social Workers

2010-11-04T11:31:00.003+03:00

The website MSWprograms.com has supported us and named us in the Top 50 Blogs a couple of months ago. I decided to continually check on the various updates on the website and another social work blog I follow - Social Work World Blog highlighted this specific article.

This post is about the 20 most famous social workers of our time and it is just great to read up on their training and achievements in the profession.

To read the article, the link is 20 Most Famous Social Workers of our time