An economy grows on the shoulders of thinkers and innovators. Look at the established as well as the emerging economies of the world and you'll not fail to notice the place of science and technology and research and development in their economic strides, poverty alleviation and elimination and improvement of the well-being of the citizens. Leading research-dependent economies like the USA, Japan and Germany put more effort as governments and from the private sector to support research at the centres of innovations. Thus, the emergence of universities as leading incubators of knowledge and generators of innovations is not without the deliberate governmental intervention. That is why China is emerging from the ashes of seclusion and exclusion to threaten the traditional balance of power. It is because the institutions in that massive land are doing nothing else, they are involved in cut-throat competition with each other to innovate, publish the innovations, patent the same and therefore exert influence in the scientific community.
Innovations are borne of a well-funded effort to utilise fully the human abilities to create. Science and Technology and specifically research in biotechnology and drug-innovations related areas are the main focus of research. These branches are the driving force of the developed world (USA, UK, Germany, Japan etc) and it's the reason behind the successes of third world economies like China and India as well as Korea and South Africa! The strength of any society is the wealth and experience of a well trained human resource. Training is a painstaking effort that requires inputs from several sectors of society. Kenya does not lack the capacity that is expressed in the well-trained and disciplined academia. What is lacking is the deliberate thinking by the government and subsidy by the private sector to oil the machinery involved in research. No wonder then that research in our universities is moribund, professors have no published scientific papers to show for their decorations while the government watches as we are tempted with opportunities to innovate and research in foreign lands at the expense of our motherland. It pains me to think that the money that the government of Kenya invested in educating me is not coming back back soon enough in terms of an immediate contribution to scientific development. Not that we're happy abroad, we all wish to live better lives. Yet the truth be told, successive governments have NEVER deemed it necessary to invest in research and development, not least science and technology.
A look around Kenya reveals a glaring need for a well co-ordinated effort by those of us who are blessed with opportunities of whatever kind to plough back to the society some of whatever we can lay our hands. I imagine the countless young men and women who are struggling to make it through our gruelling academic system and appreciate that there is a way we can localise and nationalise our collective and individual efforts towards helping them. I have benefitted from society's generosity and continued fight to help and alleviate poverty. As one great and revered neurosurgeon (Benny Carson) teaches in 'Gifted Hands', education is the only equaliser. We need to deliberately devise means and methods of bequeathing to our society a heritage that will not expire. By organising ourselves into viable units of support, we should be able to supplement the government in providing relevant support for our researchers and young-up-and-coming academics.
I'm calling upon the Kenyans in diaspora to move towards supporting our National academies of science and art. I do not speak for the Kenya National Academy of Science, but it would be important that we who are fairly well linked outside the country should think of how we can help co-ordinate funding to at least afford a scientific journal published by the academy. Obviously, I'm dreaming for this may not be a priority for the people in that body yet! But we cannot swing in our arm-chairs and enjoy the little comforts that we have and finally imagine to run home to retire into public service (read politics).
I have noticed an unproductive, if dangerous, trend whereby those of us who have lived out of our land for decades and neither interacted with anybody other than their family nor took part in improving the lives of their next-door neighbours are flocking back home to seek positions of leadership. Let me hasten to say that I hold no grudge against anybody seeking an elective office in our land. That's is your democratic right. However, Kenya needs partners for development. Obviously one need not be a politician to expound on those beautiful ideas of the tired lines of 'development consciousness'. Someone who was able to facilitate educational opportunities for his/her siblings has shown that he doesn't need to be an elected leader to 'air-lift' other members of the extended society. Indeed, gone are the days when the population was mesmerised by high-flying, twanging sons and daughters out to impress anybody with their fanciful 'whatevers'. I'd advise anybody who cares to make their contribution to the society as a partner of development irrespective of their positions inleadership. It would be foolhardy, wouldn't it, for somebody who has ONLY shipped abroad his siblings to imagine that the society would be over-awed to the extent of groveling before him. It is time to think of how to support those who can't make it without a helping hand. Those hands are yours and mine, not so much because we seek anything in return. More so because we aspire to say 'kongoi' to society for providing support when we needed most.
Help for the fellows back home may be done for example through localised effort where, for example, the proposed Nandi Academy of Science takes the lead in championing the promotion of science education the local schools in the Nandi country. A more networked system could evolve into the Kalenjin Academy of Science and eventually these may be affiliated to a reinvigorated Kenya National Academy of Science. In the same vein, an annual event may be promoted to honour 'scientist of the year' at regional and finally at national level so as to inspire competition and broad collaboration.
Objectives for the Nandi Academy of Science may include but are not limited to:
'Nge roobchin nyiritook koegu ndaara'
Innovations are borne of a well-funded effort to utilise fully the human abilities to create. Science and Technology and specifically research in biotechnology and drug-innovations related areas are the main focus of research. These branches are the driving force of the developed world (USA, UK, Germany, Japan etc) and it's the reason behind the successes of third world economies like China and India as well as Korea and South Africa! The strength of any society is the wealth and experience of a well trained human resource. Training is a painstaking effort that requires inputs from several sectors of society. Kenya does not lack the capacity that is expressed in the well-trained and disciplined academia. What is lacking is the deliberate thinking by the government and subsidy by the private sector to oil the machinery involved in research. No wonder then that research in our universities is moribund, professors have no published scientific papers to show for their decorations while the government watches as we are tempted with opportunities to innovate and research in foreign lands at the expense of our motherland. It pains me to think that the money that the government of Kenya invested in educating me is not coming back back soon enough in terms of an immediate contribution to scientific development. Not that we're happy abroad, we all wish to live better lives. Yet the truth be told, successive governments have NEVER deemed it necessary to invest in research and development, not least science and technology.
A look around Kenya reveals a glaring need for a well co-ordinated effort by those of us who are blessed with opportunities of whatever kind to plough back to the society some of whatever we can lay our hands. I imagine the countless young men and women who are struggling to make it through our gruelling academic system and appreciate that there is a way we can localise and nationalise our collective and individual efforts towards helping them. I have benefitted from society's generosity and continued fight to help and alleviate poverty. As one great and revered neurosurgeon (Benny Carson) teaches in 'Gifted Hands', education is the only equaliser. We need to deliberately devise means and methods of bequeathing to our society a heritage that will not expire. By organising ourselves into viable units of support, we should be able to supplement the government in providing relevant support for our researchers and young-up-and-coming academics.
I'm calling upon the Kenyans in diaspora to move towards supporting our National academies of science and art. I do not speak for the Kenya National Academy of Science, but it would be important that we who are fairly well linked outside the country should think of how we can help co-ordinate funding to at least afford a scientific journal published by the academy. Obviously, I'm dreaming for this may not be a priority for the people in that body yet! But we cannot swing in our arm-chairs and enjoy the little comforts that we have and finally imagine to run home to retire into public service (read politics).
I have noticed an unproductive, if dangerous, trend whereby those of us who have lived out of our land for decades and neither interacted with anybody other than their family nor took part in improving the lives of their next-door neighbours are flocking back home to seek positions of leadership. Let me hasten to say that I hold no grudge against anybody seeking an elective office in our land. That's is your democratic right. However, Kenya needs partners for development. Obviously one need not be a politician to expound on those beautiful ideas of the tired lines of 'development consciousness'. Someone who was able to facilitate educational opportunities for his/her siblings has shown that he doesn't need to be an elected leader to 'air-lift' other members of the extended society. Indeed, gone are the days when the population was mesmerised by high-flying, twanging sons and daughters out to impress anybody with their fanciful 'whatevers'. I'd advise anybody who cares to make their contribution to the society as a partner of development irrespective of their positions inleadership. It would be foolhardy, wouldn't it, for somebody who has ONLY shipped abroad his siblings to imagine that the society would be over-awed to the extent of groveling before him. It is time to think of how to support those who can't make it without a helping hand. Those hands are yours and mine, not so much because we seek anything in return. More so because we aspire to say 'kongoi' to society for providing support when we needed most.
Help for the fellows back home may be done for example through localised effort where, for example, the proposed Nandi Academy of Science takes the lead in championing the promotion of science education the local schools in the Nandi country. A more networked system could evolve into the Kalenjin Academy of Science and eventually these may be affiliated to a reinvigorated Kenya National Academy of Science. In the same vein, an annual event may be promoted to honour 'scientist of the year' at regional and finally at national level so as to inspire competition and broad collaboration.
Objectives for the Nandi Academy of Science may include but are not limited to:
- Sponsorship of a scientific competition (say an annual Maths, Physics or Chemistry test) which will be administered, say, at Kapsabet Boys High School. The top three candidates (separate for male and female in order to get the top three in each category) may be given token cash prizes as inducements and incentives to encourage competition.
- Support of science learning in schools that are underdeveloped by organising donation of computers and other learning materials.
- When enough strength and wherewithal will have been accumulated, the members may deem it necessary to run a sponsorship to support brilliant children who can't afford fees.
- In league with the major research institutions of the West where we are priviledged to work, deliberate encouragement to invest in local research initiatives to tap into the cheap but well trained human resource as well as the immense natural resources (I'm talking about our plants such as Aloe vera which has huge potentials in the cosmetics and functional foods industry!) that are being spirited away to their well equipped labs may be explored. An obvious method could be to study possibilities of sandwich research arrangements for our postgraduates in order to afford the excellent research environments for those who get these opportunities.
- These ideas are submitted as working challenges only and I hope to provoke some thinking in order to re-examine their merits and demerits. Therefore, other additions are welcome.
'Nge roobchin nyiritook koegu ndaara'
