Nairobi has been my home for the past 4.5 years. I never intended to stay this long but then one thing led to another and here I am 4.5 years later.

This past week I went to the US to reclaim my apartment in Washington DC and take a hard look at the facts in order to make my final decision on “What next?” Here are some of the facts I stumbled upon that make me rethink Kenya and Africa in general.

Health care: I was hoping that perhaps I would return to a more enlightened America, one that prioritized health care for all instead of only for those who can pay, which it seems are less and less as the economic recession takes its toll on more and more people. As a single parent who is considering moving back to the US, the possibility of either my child or myself getting sick in America is frightening to say the least. In Nairobi I know that no matter what, I have access to good health care for a moderate price at several top-notch hospitals (Nairobi Hospital and The Aga Khan Hospital). If one is lucky enough to have health insurance in America, there is still a high probability that a doctor’s patient list is already full and that he/she will not take new patients. I love my daughter’s pediatrician at Nairobi Hospital. He would never turn us away no matter how full his waiting room is.

Child care: I had originally planned to deal with this issue in May, thinking I would have plenty of time to look for a pre-school for my daughter starting in September… Little did I know that pre-schools in the US take “enrollment applications and enrollment application fees…” in February for securing a spot in September. Application fees range from US$ 40 to US$70 with no guarantee of a spot but just charging a fee for the “right to apply”. I can’t even tell you my shock in finding out what most early child care centers charge in the Washington DC area. There are only a few options that are below US$ 1000 per month and these are usually cooperatives where parents have to volunteer for at least one full day per week. What happens if you work full time?
Well, you can’t or you have the choice to pay more at the non-coop schools!

Another thing to consider are fees for dropping your child before 9am in the morning and fees for after care, which is usually from 3PM until 6PM. I am not aware of many jobs in the US where people work from 9am until 2.30pm (factor in 30 minutes to pick up your child) so I am assuming that everyone pays about US$1000 per month plus pre and post care fees, which probably comes to another US$500 per month.

By the way, there are public pre-schools but if your child turns 4 years AFTER September 1 (in Maryland, which is where I would live) then they are not allowed in and must go to a private child care center. Mine turns 4 on September 27 so she is already doomed to the private child care option for at least one year. In Nairobi my daughter goes to a good private Montessori school that costs less that US$ 1000 per term (three months). I never had to fill an application out, pay an application fee or schmooze my way into the principal’s office begging her to give my daughter’s application a chance.

The economy: A friend of mine who teaches in the public school system in the Washington DC area told me that she is afraid because she knows an additional 800 jobs will be cut between February and June of this year. A former boss of mine took a huge pay cut, despite her extensive professional experience and skills, because she could not afford to wait for a better job offer. She is obliged to take additional freelance jobs on the side to make ends meet. There are jobs out there but very little room to negotiate on salary and a high chance of a meager benefits package (read high health insurance premiums and low coverage). There are many unemployed people in Nairobi of course and life is extremely challenging for a great majority of the population, no doubt about that, but if you have a bit of higher education and you are willing to travel, you can find work or create work for yourself. Many services are still needed throughout Africa and there is no shortage of industry gaps.

Travel services: Why is it that at Jomo Kenyatta international airport in Nairobi I have access to a free baggage trolley and that at Dulles Airport in Washington DC I have to pay US$ 3 for a baggage trolley to help me carry luggage up to the check in area? I thought this was a basic courtesy service that most “civilized” countries offered to their passengers. I was wrong, and why is it that Rwanda, which remains a fairly poor country in sub-Saharan Africa, offers free wireless Internet service at its international airport in Kigali while in most American airports there is no internet access unless you pay? In Schippol airport in Amsterdam you pay 3 Euros for 15 minutes of Internet access.

One week has gone by and I still don’t know “What Next?” but I sure have a few more facts to think about. And by the way, Kenya may have corruption but let’s face it, America has a whole bunch of “fees” so at the end of the day, you always end up paying…