Bungoma is obviously a poor place. The buildings are run down and poverty is apparent. But what’s amazing is that everyone has a cell phone. And it’s just like the U.S. where everyone checks their phone every 5 minutes. I got a cell phone from a stall in Nairobi airport immediately after I stepped off the plane. For 40 USD I got a sweet Nokia (the ones that were very, very cool when I was in high school in the U.S.) and a decent amount of minutes. To call the U.S. it is only about 0.02 cents a minute which is awesome. And what’s even more amazing are the USB sticks you can buy that connect to wireless phone signals and the internet wherever you are. Yesterday I was literally sitting in the middle of nowhere with chickens walking around and was online. In Nairobi, Kisumu, and Bungoma I saw Safaricom (a huge phone provider) stands everywhere where you can load up on pre-paid minutes.
It’s interesting to see a place that struggles with things we take for granted as basics in the U.S., like clean water, have this very modern technology. But it is doing good. People use phones to move money around in places where banking systems are undeveloped or receive information on crop prices so they can decide whether to sell their crop now or later.
Basically, the point of this post is a just a big hint to use your cell phone and call me because I already miss everyone J
Thanks for starting this Blog, Mara. It will be fun to follow your Summer adventure. Here, in San Jose de Gracia, Mexico, which is a fairly poor little village, the cell phones are ubiquitous. Love the part with the chickens and Internet. Another great juxtaposition.
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