Robert the Cow-herder

Here is Robert the cow-herder. He is 18 now and was born in Uganda, but came to Kenya the first time at age 11 to hire himself out as a cow/goat herder. He has been back and forth since then, usually handing over all his meagre earnings to his father. His father sounds like an unsavoury character. He has had five wives, but each has left in succession because he beat them. The dad now brews local beer and sells it. Robert himself aspires to earn enough money to buy a bicycle, be a boda-boda driver, and earn money to buy a farm at home in Uganda. He's a pretty cool guy who likes playing cards with me and the kids/ teenagers who come to visit.

Robert studied until grade two in school, but is totally illiterate and can barely recognise his own name. I gave him the book he is holding because the illustration on the front is of a cheerful guy with an old radio on his shoulder, leading some cows to pasture. This is exactly how Robert looks, so I decided, despite the fact he couldn't read a lick of it, that book should belong to him and no other. So, I sat down with him one morning and showed him the book, and we talked about education, and the importance of knowing how to read. I asked him to learn to read the book so that he could tell me what it says. I don't know what will happen with this guy, but I do know he was SO proud of the present, and wouldn't let anyone touch it without first washing their hands... quite an unusual thing since most things get dirty and wrecked pretty quick here... people don't have the same idea of keeping things neat (and dust & mud gets everywhere so it seems futile). Last I heard, he was getting reading lessons from one of his buddies who is in school now :)

On the topic of radios, it seems like guys and their radios here are like guys and their cars at home... Robert has an old beater that is barely held together- and no front panel. A cocky 15-year old named Abiud on the other hand was showing off a slick blue and silver model that looked like a cd player (but couldn't be, could it??). The men on staff have sturdy, sensible, low-cost models.