A Poverty Stricken Paradise - Original Writing
On arrival in a small village called Wamba in Northern Kenya, the
first thought that struck me as I stepped out of the Land Rover was
the intensity of the midday sun blazing down upon me. As I took in the
sights around me, a huge crowd of inquisitive children appeared from
their huts and flocked towards the vehicle. So many happy faces in
such a deprived village. This image will stay in my mind forever.
To experience what life was really like in this small, but highly
populated village, I stayed in a basic hotel among the villagers. The
hotel was not a five star, luxury hotel, but was simply a bed and an
integrated shower and squat toilet. For the villagers this would have
been luxurious, as they lived in mud huts using whatever discarded
plastic materials they could find to act as a roof. For me, this was
like taking a trip back to the Stone Age. Everything was so basic. The
most extraordinary view was one child's favourite toy. This was not
some computer game, but an old car tyre. The poverty that these people
were enduring was overwhelming, yet they were so happy with what
little they had. The smiles on their faces were there constantly, even
though they may not have eaten for many days due to the continuing
drought that was affecting the area. When I asked one woman how she
coped with not eating for so long, she replied, "When I feel hungry, I
tighten my belt." This was horrific to hear, but for her it was a way
of life.
Because of the ongoing drought, water was becoming very scarce. To
such an extent that their beloved cows and goats, which were their
sign of wealth, were starting to die, leaving their owners with no
food and no milk to drink. This leaves the people frail, but they are
still both physically and mentally strong. The best example that
showed this was one small boy, around twelve years old, carrying a
and fiction. Born October 3, 1885 in Stockton California, Sophie Anita Treadwell's ancestry was a mixture of Mexican, English, German, and Scot. The daughter of a judge, she described herself as "a Californian, a mixture of the old 49er and the original Mexican"(Wynn 1). Her family life was marred by the marked absence of her father, of whom she said; "The first thing I remember of my father is that he wasn't there" (Wynn 4). Despite this, it was her father, a theater fan, who introduced Sophie