Tidbits about Africa

 

Some tidbits about Kenya.

To Get to Nairobi it should take about 19 hours and 45 minutes.

The official name is Republic of Kenya and has a population of approximately 48,397,527.  

The official languages are Swahili and English.

Currency is a Kenyan Shilling

The country is 224,081 square miles

There are 2 major mountain ranges - Aberdare Range and Mau Escarpment.

The major rivers are - Athi/Galana, Tana

Most Kenyans live in the highlands and Nairobi sits at an Altitude of 5,500 feet.  Around the coastline of the Indian Ocean on will find predominately Muslim Swahili cities.  Mombasa is one such city that has a rich history in musical and culinary heritages.  Go inland a bit and one will find tea plantations, a staple to the previously United Kingdom ties.  Some of the most documented people groups from Kenya include the Maasai, Luhya, Luo, Kalenjin and Kikuyu people groups.  

According to National Geographic West of Nairobi the land descents to the Great Rift Valley (a 4,000 mile tear in the Earth's crust).  This is where the jade-green waters of famous Lake Turkana are located.  Mount Kenya is the second highest mountain in Africa.  Kenya appears to be roughly the size of North & South Dakota combined.  

While the official languages are Swahili and English, there are actually 60 languages spoken with 40 ethnic groups.  Most Kenyan's will speak more than one language.  

Education is available, most children are working the land, tending cattle, cooking or fetching water so they are too busy to go to class.  The national education system is broken down into three categories: Primary (8 years); Secondary and Higher education each consisting of 4 years each.  Primary and secondary education are free, however secondary is contingent upon a national exam for certification of primary education.  Most children are not able to pass the exam the first go around and are essentially held back a year in order to be able to pass the exam.   

The history is taught thru music and storytelling where the tribes have used songs, stories and poems to pass on their beliefs, history and customs.

Animal inhabitants include elephants, lions, cheetahs, giraffes, zebras, hippos, rhinos and many more.  The government has set up a minimum of 50 reserves and parks protecting the animals.    While thinking about Kenya, most think of the animals, but Kenya boasts an ecosystem of deserts, swamps, mountains and forests.  

From 1920 - 1963 Kenya was a part of the United Kingdom and in 1964 became its own republic with a president, national assembly (Bunge) and a judiciary.

Interesting fact: Scientists think Northern Kenya and Tanzania could be the birthplace of humans because this is the location where one of the earliest human ancestors were discovered in Kenya's Turkana Basin. This area is known as the Human Fossil Hotbed and is referred to as "The Cradle of Humanity".   

Sadly during the 1600 - 1700's slavery was abounding to serve the for Arabs, Europeans and American's.  This displaced many Kenyan's around the world before slavery would be abolished in the mid 19th century.  

Religion is a guarantee of the constitution, more than four-fifths of the people are Christian attending Protestant or Roman Catholic churches. 

There are many different religious groups who have borrowed from the Christian traditions to create African religious practices, such as the Luo people.  Muslims have a sizable minority for the Sunnis and Shi'is.  Small pockets of Jews, Jains, Sikhs and Baha'is exist as well.

The vast majority of Kenyan's are under 15 years of age at 39% with an age range of 45-59 only being 8.9%.