When community change bangs the back door

Communities have traditions that over generations have shaped world view and daily activities. These traditions have guidelines too, for smooth and collective working both in times of happiness and sadness. Often people vehemently refuse a change even when there is glaring evidence that a certain practice should be reevaluated to fit the needs and expectations of the current times. But what happens when the change sweeps in without notifying?

Kenya reported its first Corona Virus case on Friday March 13th 2020. It was followed by precautionary measures forbidding private and public social associations to limit contractions. Sooner, churches were seen as potential ‘harmful’ zones. Burials limited to an attendance of 15 people maximum. The scare rushed quick, morgues preferring not to take any deceased. The usual three traditional days cut to disposal within 24 hours. Not that anyone was dying of Corona Virus yet. Just to be cautious than to later regret. What was the reason then for communities as in Luhya who spent extra keeping a corpse at the morgue, calling for burial harambees and unnecessarily lengthening the mourning period?

The crisis is expected to ‘get worse’ in the month of April (No, no things should get better) as numbers of diagnosed cases rose to 122 on Saturday April 4th 2020. With counties as Vihiga having no ICU medicare, there is general fear as to the handling of the situation because day after day cases rise. The nation’s general disaster preparedness is known to be poor, courtesy of poor politics and leadership. With only 518 ICU beds nationwide, 439 are occupied. Not with Covid -19 patients yet.

Though declared pandemic and already caused thousands of deaths worldwide, many more others have successfully recovered, Kenya with 4 recoveries and 4 deaths as of today April 4th. If citizens keep social distance, stay at home, sanitize themselves and use masks, it is said that the cases shall reduce significantly. An ongoing night curfew that might precede a total lockdown are also options for the state to prevent more cases. The challenge is in quickly identifying a patient with Covid-19 for it is never until 14 days from the time of contraction that symptoms show. The reason as to why there is need for increased diagnosis.

The situation will get better. But how soon will we be back to normality?

Hand greeting, even before Corona was a skeptical mode of showing affection in several circles. The muslim culture for instance is keen to right hand greetings for the left is for washroom use. Gentlemen preferred fist touch, ladies a hi 5. Post corona will discourage more and more of hands greetings instances unless at sight are sanitizers. In offices, the officer would prefer Namaste positioning of hands hence against the traditional handshakes. The same way coughs will be repelled, normal as they are. 

Key sectors as education, manufacturing and transport are also obliged to rethink their processes. Of late, crowding in classes is the new normal. Student teacher ratio is high, population has over time grown fast, pressurizing the little efforts on development. Classes are smaller as prison cells are. Similar to vehicles and trains where if some people had the comfort of social distancing then it would mean others suffered not to travel. The solution is as in the ways the companies as manufacturers should think and fast enough, adopt. 

Technology will help reduce further the reasons for insecure mingling. Slowly being adopted now is the Televised education programs, similar to what went on before students broke for homes at the wake and fear of the spread of the virus. And interestingly a single tutorial and tutor can teach the whole nation! Kenya has teachers as the largest number of civil servants. A question will equally rise, where will the teachers get money? Now now now, that is when we realize that the society tried to add a weak beam to its next floor. It crambles soon enough. 

How does picking up a chalk, holding in another hand a pen and daily standing before a static class of bored teenagers amount to responsible work? Then at the end of the month, armed with a salary, go about buying the sweat of farmers and other slavers. This goes to lawyers, doctors, drivers, pilots, politicians, landlords and all other people who are not aware that professionalism is second, keeping your supply local, first. Instead of gardening, farming, improving lives in the localities where people come from, they have instead erected more stone walls, leisure is spent in the bars and if the farmer decided to strike they would sooner die of hunger. 

We have not had social workers and community change agents for long to inform us how communities changed and also quickly forgot to inform the coming communities to be aware to scenarios as when the spanish flu swept lives in Europe or the Black Death. Had communities had market stalls well spread apart, had ghettos been resisted for cleaner surroundings, had the governments then invested in medicare other than oversea conquests then the cases would have been lower - and of course a non crowded city! 

To avoid the likelihood to forget and have us bitten twice and severally, all people looking at the scenario can quickly adopt a few personal lessons and resolutions. Communities, in their efforts to change livelihoods and sustain their desired happiness, with nations being cautions not to find itself in economical crisis, policies informed by laws should be the way now. In moments as these weak governments are also endangered and its citizens suffer most and it were best to change on time than be forced to. 

Kurt Lewin's Model of Equilibrium