On Kenya

I know I just wrote about the unrest in Pakistan, so it pains me to reach out to our community to write today about Kenya. As you know, there has been a great deal of violence and unrest since the recent election in Kenya. Much of the violence has occurred in the slums where I worked twenty years ago and where some of our investees are working hard to effect change today. Just so you know, our team and our Fellows are safe, and today in Nairobi, most offices, including ours, were open and functioning.  Tomorrow, a million-man march is expected, and we will be keeping close tabs on the situation. At the same time, some members of Acumen investee Jamii Bora have seen their businesses hurt or destroyed. These are people who have made great strides through their own efforts and hard work since I worked in those slums more than two decades ago, and so it is more important than ever to ensure that peace is restored so that people can be helped to recover their losses and get back on track.

An article in the New York Times today quoted individuals comparing the burning of innocent victims in a church to the Rwandan genocide. I don’t think this is a fair comparison. What happened in Rwanda was carefully planned and executed by a majority group against the country’s largest minority group. Kenya’s violence occurred spontaneously, and Kenya is also a country of great diversity with many different ethnic groups, speaking over sixty dialects, that comprise the country’s population.

The violence caused me to reflect on our hypothesis at Acumen Fund that the single biggest problem we face as a world is the rising gap between rich and poor. Kenya experienced unprecedented growth last year – an historic seven percent – and Pakistan, more than eight percent. At the same time, the situation of the very poor situation did not improve and they see that they are being left further behind. This can’t but contribute to creating a situation of instability.

The past week has enhanced our sense of urgency and commitment at Acumen Fund – urgency to contribute to a world in need, and commitment to our focus on creating a world where every human being has access to affordable water, healthcare, housing, energy and other basics so that they can solve their own problems and have a greater sense of freedom over their own lives. Only then will we build a world that is truly equitable, where all of us who share this earth can pursue lives of greater purpose and dignity.

It is so important at this time to look past simple headlines and try to understand the practical ways that people in Pakistan and Kenya are building towards this more equitable reality. We will try to keep our community abreast of what is happening with our team and investees, and appreciate your concern, comments and support.