You will agree with me that the goings on in Kenya in the last month or so have left many of us wondering where this society is going to.
I am not talking about how one Mutua is collecting nyonga points on behalf of the government or how it has become evident that KRA is pursuing a ponyoka na MP strategy when it comes to taxation.
I am not even talking about the raging debate on when elections will be held whether in 2012 or 2013.
Yes, it is easy to point out the peculiar Kenyan habits when it comes to national issues. Remember that the drought situation was predicted last year.
And yet this is not a reserve of government only.
All around us, we have situations that we need to respond to. We have situations that are clearly spiraling downhill.
Worst still, we have people that are spiraling downhill ….and fast.
You may all recall the tragic death of Samuel Wanjiru a couple of months ago.
A friend posted on face book that she had heard of the things that the athlete had been up to in the months before his death and she was concerned. He seemed to be out of control in many ways. She tried to speak to people who could reach out to him. Unfortunately, before her efforts could bear fruit, he jumped to his death. Many were quick to say that they saw it coming and so when he tragically died, it had simply been a matter of when and not if.
Wanjiru was buried after much drama and we swiftly moved on.
There has been new drama in the block starring Mike Sonko.
We are watching everything he is doing with disgust. We are complaining why the media is giving him coverage. We are wondering why the Madaraka residents elected him.
Well, I am from Madaraka. Hhmm, once Kalembe Ndile was my MP in shags ….oh dear, clearly I have the scourge of comical MPs but that is not my point.
You see whilst both men may have provided comic relief and disgust at the same measure, universal suffrage is to be blamed or thanked depending on which side you are on! Think about it, even as we have seen the antics of Sonko and thought he was the worst thing before the rebranding of Kenya Power, he actually has following. Recently, I took a walk and talked to some people in this constituency. Sonko is their hero. Sonko pays hospital bills. School fees. Burial expenses. Sonko touches their lives in a very real way.
Whilst to many of us he may not even be worthy of a second glance, there are people who are eternally grateful for the day their paths crossed his.
Yes, we may question the source of his money. Yes, we may not like his style. Yes, we may look at his followers with disdain. But would you look at a gift-horse in the nose? Is it possible that needs over-ride everything else?
God forbid that you may think I have been paid to hold brief for Sonko …but I am realizing that I need to look at him (and many other Sonkos out there) in new light.
I once saw on news that Sonko has a wife and a kid.
So everything he does affects them directly or indirectly.
Now, if I was going around doing foolish stuff, there are people who would stop me if nothing else, for the sake of my child and possibly even for the sake of my hubby.
So could we get off our pious pedestals and see that Sonko represents hope for a people so disillusioned by life? Unmet needs have a way of doing that.
Whilst you may not be able to reach out to Sonko or quite honestly, you may not even have any intention, inclination or persuasion to do so, you could reach out to someone else.
You may have a neighbor, a colleague, a relative, a family member who seems to be struggling with something. They may be dealing with it in a way that does not make sense. In fact, they may be behaving in a way that completely disgusts you.
Could you look beyond that and reach out?
Many times I have learnt to see myself in such a person. I am learning to think to myself …. There goes I save for the grace of God.
It is hard. It may even be unthinkable.
But it is doable.
Sonko may not be the one on your plate or your radar but there is someone you can reach out to.
We can make the difference. One person at a time.
I am talking about how as a society, it seems that we seem to have become masters at bolting the shed after the horse has fled.
Could you do something for someone who is heading for self-destruction before it is too late?
It is hard. It may even be unthinkable.
But it is doable.
We can make the difference.
Each One Reach One.
