take a soda.

tipping in kenya (like much of the world) is very uncommon outside of major resorts and hotels. i still choose to tip for two reasons: 1. i tip at home and it feels natural to do so here. 2. i'm compelled by the debate over whether just giving people money (vs. other services we deem as vital) is an effective way of helping people.

although this article alludes to cash transfers on a much larger scale (say oportunidades) i feel like my tips serve a similar (albeit dramatically smaller) purpose. many (maybe most) people in kisumu still earn between 1-2 dollars a day. a tip of a dollar or two may amount to a day's income. today i took a tuktuk home and because the driver told me (because i asked) that most days he struggles to take home any money at all (because of the rising price of gas) i paid him twice the rate we'd agreed on ($2 instead of $1). this is a tough moral debate. many people would probably criticize me for doing this -- they might call it patronizing or an artificial inflation of prices in a way that will affect other customers. for me, it's the most direct way i have to get money into the hands of those who need it.

silas and jennifer (head nurse) in front of rota dispensary building 1 (30 minutes nw of kisumu)

rota dispensary building 2, with rota village behind

over the past two days i visited three different health clinics, and sat down with a bunch of government officials, as part of my attempt to better understand the health care system in kenya. in a country in which a lack of significant development progress over the past few decades can be blamed as much on corruption of local government as on the (woefully inadequate) good intentions of the nonprofit industry, i take any opportunity i have to get small quantities of money into the hands of the 'right' people. i'd be curious to hear what others think on this. i could write for pages on kenya's healthcare system (in fact, i did, but am sparing you), so i will stop here!

the title of the post is a reference to what multiple people have said when i tip them. instead of saying thank you, they say 'oh, now i can take a soda!' silas, the kisumu local i've spent the last two days with, shared with me that because soda is considered a luxury item, when people come across extra money, they allude to the freedom they now have to buy something above and beyond basic necessities. this truth may also compromise my argument about giving people money -- many would worry (somewhat condescendingly in my opinion) that people will just take cash and spend it on frivolous goods -- but who am i to decide how it's spent?

more photos from kisumu to come.