Following the debate that has been here for the last few days about teenage Sex, I dug in my archives and found an article that I’d posted in May this year. Maybe we can borrow some ideas from this town to help keep our youngsters in check. Here it is:
The story of Kijabe Mission Station as reported in the Standard this week reads like a Utopian dream. The town has very high moral standards dating back to colonial times when severe punishments were meted on anyone indulging in vices. There's no loud music either from shops or matatus like is common in most other towns. Commotion and disorder are unheard of.
Shops in this place are not allowed to stock cigarettes and alcohol and any new investor has to sign a code of conduct prohibiting him from selling the same and any other immoral products. Any shop keeper found breaching these rules could earn himself an expulsion from the town but if he's remorseful and apologizes, then he may be allowed to continue operating. This was easier to implement in the past than it is now because most shops were owned by church leaders anyway. The church now employs guards who go round and conduct inspections in shops in an attempt to uphold this rule. But generally these standards are getting more and more difficult to maintain especially with modern life, and employment of professionals from other areas.
Cohabiting, unwanted pregnancies and children born out of wed-lock are unacceptable. Of course they're unacceptable everywhere but in Kijabe Mission Station it actually works. Men are not expected to laze around with young women – in fact unmarried women are not allowed to be in the company of men after 7.00 pm.
Life in Kijabe Mission Station is not easy for the youth although it works out well for them in the long run. Many are known to take a sabbatical from their constraining hometown to go to other areas and indulge. Others go to colleges in other urban areas and have their big break but when they go back home they have to follow the rules again. Others sneak into the forest to indulge in a puff here and there. Or maybe some other sins.
Now if only all urban centers could be like this place.
17 Comments:
well, i tend to believe that God created us with free will , religious coercion often tends towards fundamentalism and extremism...i.e talibanism..on the otherhand certainbasic tenets/codes of decency must be upheld! see my latest post:
Our Ref: http://siku-moja.blogspot.com/2008/09/swipe-at-nation-medias-ntv.html
Shiko No man is an island and the people at kijabe are no different. They can’t resist alone this wired wave of immorally. Soon or later kijabe will be more or less like any other town or worse when it comes to immorality.
Is all that constitutional, there is a difference between upholding collective morality codes and denial of basic constitutional rights. I can see some tenets of the Bill of Rights have been ignored by the good people of Kijabe.
Thanks Nairobian. Nice post you have on your side.
BP at least they've tried. But see the young there also take sabbaticals to go and indulge.
Kirima Lol. So they might be breaking the law after all with all their good work.
Shiko...Yes …you are correct they have tried, I for one, thou not a Christian, will be most disappointed to see Kijabe mission station fail. What really makes this religious institution fail is that they don’t have constitutional backing and when they ask for one they are called names and rejected . just like what happen during the last constitutional amendments in this country when our Muslim brothers and sisters demand a strong khadi court.
@karima…You are right the Good people of kijabe are breaking the man-made laws but up holding the laws of their creator. According to their Godly constitution, which I think is similar to the one we had in our village says “enjoin what is right and forbid the wrong”. I just hope they will not be brought to court for feeding the poor and caring for the old because those are some of the good things they do too.
BP I hear you.
To think of it when we were growing up things were pretty much the same. We were also not expected to be seen with boys not just after 7 but at all times. But my village is no longer like that unfortunately.
Nobody went round looking for cigarettes in shops but it was just sort of expected that you should not sell. At some point the church rejected a handsome harambee donation because the giver owned the local pub. But I don't see that happening now. some church have become something else.
BP I didn't understand why there was so much opposition on the Kadhi Courts honestly. As long as they wont round us up and take us all there I did not see any problem with it. But I'll confess I don't really understand the whole subject properly so that's just an opinion.
Shiko: Thanks for the excellent post! In the plans for the Nairobi Metropolitan Region, Kijabe is part of cluster which would be the main source of fresh produce such as fruit, veggies, eggs and milk for Nairobi residents.
Are there good schools around, I might consider taking my son there before he's corrupted, ama I just move completely. We'll be neighbours with BP One if she's relocated.
Rafiki so this place might be one of those little surrounding towns to be swallowed by the Nairobi that is coming soon? Then I don't think things will continue to be so magical any more.
Maua when I did the original article BP promised to relocate. That was in May. As far as I know he's still in Mombasa.
shiko: There is a nice map showing the vision for the Nairobi Met area with all those clusters. If well planned and followed, it could work. Unfortunately, I don't think I can paste the map in a comment form though, or maybe I just don't know how to do that.
Maua: There is an excellent school there: Rift Valley Academy. Have a look at http://www.rva.org and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHYmr3_qU5Y
You will have to become a missionary though...
haha kumbe the school comes with a catch! Maua are you a missionary by any chance?
Rafiki the map I don't think these comment windows can take anything other than text. Maybe a link if you have.
From now on I'm a missionary, Kijabe, here we come and RVA, I'm a promising parent on the board.
Wish you luck Maua. Come haraka before it's swallowed by Nairobi. After the swallowing it'll be just like any other immoral town.
Congratulations on your new assignment Maua! Just wondering what kind of messages you will bring to wananchi as a missionary? Lol!
Excellent blog..still touring the premises!
Thanks Nubian Queen. Welcome to my space.
the world is gonna be a better place.....maybe a heaven with no one thinking or doing evil
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