Browsing by Author "Wabwire, Audrey, Kawire"

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    Radio Drama in Poverty Alleviation
    (Tangaza University College, 2009) Wabwire, Audrey, Kawire
    Kericho is a rich agricultural area. The whole district is fertile with rains and intermittent sunshine throughout the year. The red volcanic soil is perfect for the growth of tea, maize, beans, potatoes and so many other food crops. However, it is the tea that is the main cash crop of the area and it is so valuable that it has come to be known as 'green gold'. Tea grown in the vast fields of Kericho is exported worldwide and is a major source of foreign income for Kenya. It is ironical, therefore, that many of the people in Kericho live in abject poverty considering the 'green gold' that this land offers the world at large. Due to the agricultural activity in Kericho, many foreign companies have invested in tea farming since colonial times. General stores and supermarkets have sprung up to supply the laborers of the tea farms with food and other essentials. The problem arises when these shops overprice most of their wares so as to maximize profits. These traders capitalize on the high spending ability of the foreigners and management staff of the town. This drives prices of basic requirements high, thus making life for the poor in this town almost impossible. Poverty in the area can be attributed to unemployment, lack of adequate education and ignorance. If one is not employed, it becomes difficult to make ends meet. With little education, it is next to impossible to seek employment due to lack of basic know-how in any particular trade. Ignorance also causes people not to make use of available resources to improve their living standards. Lack of adequate and consistent 6 information makes it difficult to empower the larger population which is living in bad conditions. Living in poverty makes it difficult for one to access basic needs such as education, healthcare and even proper nutrition. Such deplorable conditions make a society desperate and hopeless, and this cripples any form of development. A poor person may opt to live in this hopelessness and it is almost impossible to inspire a person who does not have a reason to improve his or her own life. For example, a child born to poor peasants may have to drop out of school after primary level. This happens because secondary education is still quite expensive because only a limited number of students receive government sponsorship. Since living conditions in the home are poor, he may try to seek a future elsewhere but with limited education this hope is also crushed.