Alex Rose-Innes
In an interview with the prestigious German publication, Deutsche Welle, the older half-sister of the former US President, Barack Obama, made no bones about the fact that green solutions mean nothing to most slum dwellers on the African continent.
Auma, who had lived and studied in Germany for the past sixteen years, said that there were no immediate solutions and quick fixes for the millions of poverty-stricken Africans across the continent. In her expert opinion, sustainability and green economy have “nothing to do with the reality of African people.”
As a Kenyan sociologist, Auma started the aid organisation, Sauti Kuu. After the last conference in Rio de Janeiro about sustainability and environmental issues, which had been termed as a failure by African representatives, she made it clear that the western world’s view of green living meant nothing to people whose daily existence means just trying to stay alive. “These people face the challenge of how to overcome poverty. Air pollution and over-fertilisation mean nothing to them,” she said.
She rightfully asks who can afford to embark on a sustainable issue if their most pressing need is to meet basic needs. Sustainability endeavours take a long time to materialise and with poverty and social imbalance, the biggest challenge is still everyday survival.
Aura works largely with young people from extreme poor situations in Kenya, home to the world’s largest slum. According to her, the poor in these situations simply cannot comprehend what it entails not to be a victim. She says that in Kenyan’s slums people rely on the help of others and had never entertained an idea of being self-sufficient. “We try to explain to these people that they can help themselves by utilising the few resources they have.” But she maintains that changing a poverty mind-set is a massive hurdle to overcome and only with continued education could there be any hope for a better future. “A farmer who works only one acre of his land and leaves the other acre untouched has to learn that land is valuable. And that he is not as poor as he thinks,” Aura says.
With the majority of people struggling for survival every single day, they want to know what benefits a green economy could bring them and according to Aura, most of these questions have no answers and no immediate solutions. The poverty is of such magnitude that waiting could mean death.
She told the German newspaper that the economic and financial model of the northern hemisphere, with its high focus on consumption, appears to have lost credibility. Aura maintains that it only left the questions such as which lessons did the African countries learn from that?
“We tell our people that they have to be able to rely on themselves. These people know their own problems best and also know how it could be solved.” She agrees that while outside assistance is often necessary, the solutions to questions regarding poverty alleviation should come from the poor themselves. Aura believes that the only external help necessary would be assistance in implementing these solutions.
This feisty woman believes that every crisis offers a chance and that it is necessary to understand that governments and the upper class in Africa who wish to imitate the living conditions of Europeans are not the only people on the continent. She believes that the future of Africa lies in African innovation, suited for the need of the indigenous peoples.
Aura says when the western world talks about emerging nations or newly industrialised countries, success is measured by western standards and rules and not with the criteria of African countries. “Kenya is on its way to becoming an emerging country. But what does this category mean as long as there are children living on waste dumps? When I see so many poor people in the streets of Nairobi I wonder, who really thinks that Kenya is an emerging country?”
*Dr. Auma Obama had lived in Germany for 16 years and studied in Heidelberg and Bayreuth. She also coordinated the work of the aid organisation Care International in Kenya. In 2011, she started her own organisation, Sauti Kuu, which supports underprivileged children and youths. Auma Obama is Barack Obama’s older half-sister.
