Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with kenya

Access to ADHD medication in east Africa?

Anonymous — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 08:02:02 -0800

Expat in Kenya looking for ADHD medication. American living in Kenya, working for an NGO. Diagnosed with ADHD six years ago, was on medication for a few years at my old job before going off it. It seems I need it at this job.

Do not have health insurance, although I could get it. Would have to be cheap, though.

I was on Adderall before but I'll take anything. (Haven't tried Strattera but willing to give it a shot - i.e., I'm not just looking for stimulants.)

Anyone know my options? Nairobi? Kampala? Shipping anything from the States can take months, so local is better.

What did we see in the Kenyan sky?

allkindsoftime — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 07:03:48 -0800

Did we see the International Space Station on Friday night from the beach in Malindi, Kenya? So my buddy and I were watching the stars come out at just around 7pm local time on the central coast of Kenya. We're sitting there on the beach and there are a few stars showing in the early evening but not many.

All of a sudden, bright and very hard to miss, we saw what we concluded most likely was a satellite - it was definitely far away enough and too small to be a plane (and it wasn't blinking). We were fascinated, however, because it was also extremely bright - 2 to 3 times as much as we've both seen in normal satellites - which made it seem either very close or very large. Also, it seemed to be moving very fast, but slowed as it passed towards the horizon over the Indian ocean.

If it helps, looking straight up while facing east, the object in question seemed to be on a orbit with earth about 2-3 degrees south of the equator (so that if we saw it on the other side of the planet, from near the equator, I suppose it would look about 2-3 degrees north). Also, we waited outside the next night for about an hour around the same time and never saw it come by.

Could it have been the ISS? Are satellites potentially more visible from the equator for some reason? Is there something else it could have been - maybe space junk burning up on re-entry? Ideas welcome.

Flowers we can believe in

slapshot57 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 23:22:11 -0800

KenyaFilter: The girlfriend will be in Kenya over her birthday next month and I would like to surprise her (more inside). Unfortunately I can't make the trip, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a international florist? I found Flora2000 and interflora online but have no idea as to their quality. Any insight would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Legality to mail US consumer vegetable seed packets to Kenya?

Quarter Pincher — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:36:32 -0800

Are there any export restrictions (or whatnot) regarding me (a US non-business entity) sending a bunch of packages of consumer vegetable-garden seeds to a foreign country (Kenya) as a gift? I'm sure there are some restrictions on receiving foreign seeds, but.. outgoing? A gentleman I met in Kenya last year (having been there myself) has requested a number of seed packets be sent to his rural/slum community. Would I be breaking some US export law (or Kenya import.. hmm) by sending them?

Yes, I googled

lbergstr — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 07:56:00 -0800

I'm a US citizen living in Kenya, bummed I missed the election party at the US ambassador's house (even though I live eight hours from Nairobi.) "Hundreds of people" makes it sound as if it was open to all US citizens. How can I find out about similar events in the future?

Conflict Journalist?

xanthippe — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 13:38:47 -0800

Help me find a job as a "conflict journalist" in Africa, the Middle East, or a war zone. Asking on behalf of a good friend: He has extensive experience and a very solid resume as a journalist, and is fluent in 3 languages (English, German, Hungarian). He is currently working as a correspondent from his home country, and has successfully completed professional assignments in "conflict zones" such as Sudan, Chad and Afghanistan. He is mainly a writer but also a decent photojournalist.

However, he would like to turn his interest in conflict journalism into a career and be based in such a location for the long term, preferably in Africa. I suggested Kenya, Somalia, or the Ivory Coast as well as places he has already traveled to; he would be thrilled to take a position in Iraq or Afghanistan. Ideally he could have a permanent base somewhere in the region (East or West Africa, ME or West Asia?) and optionally travel as a regional correspondent.

So how can he find his dream job as a conflict journalist? Where to start the job search? I assume the sorts of positions he's interested in haven't got much competition, as they are so dangerous, and he is definitely qualified but not so much networked in the region. Does he have a good chance of finding a posting, and what action can he take to start networking and finding media companies, agencies, NGOs etc. that might employ him?

What's this Obama song?

msittig — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 10:45:24 -0800

What is the "Obama-themed reggae song" referenced in this New York Times article? And where can I download it?

Simple French-language booklets for Kenyan French teacher of elementary students?

vanoakenfold — Fri, 23 May 2008 04:00:38 -0800

On a recent trip to Kenya, we visited a school who is in need of simple French language instruction booklets for elementary-age children. Most all of the language guides I've found are texts along the dense hardback or college variety, or come on DVD which wouldn't be at all feasible. Any ideas? They already know English. Just some simple, basic French core grammar structuring and lessons. They've recently been loaded up with young refugees fleeing from nearby French-speaking countries and are hoping to teach some to English-speaking kids. The teachers are very intelligent and college-educated but lack the resources I've got.

Is it safe to go to Kenya?

KathyK — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 06:55:45 -0800

Should I go to Kenya next month? I've been invited to a festival in Kenya next month and am concerned about my level of safety given the current political unrest. I would be staying in Nairobi for one night before being driven 300 km north to the festival grounds. I'd stay there a week and then heading back to fly out of Nairobi. It's a great opportunity however my government's travel report for Kenya is pretty alarming. Any advice?

What to do with a couple free days in Kenya?

allkindsoftime — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 05:37:07 -0800

Africa filter: What to do in / near Nairobi for a couple of days? Will be flying into Nairobi for work for a Wednesday through a Friday a couple of weeks from now. May have some time on Friday to tour about, will have all day Saturday and the morning on Sunday. I've read about a little and I'm hoping to safari in Nairobi National Park, and perhaps try hiking Mt. Kenya, but that's about all I have planned at this point. I've heard there's good rafting but I have no idea where that is.

Kilimanjaro: is it worth going there just to see it? I'm a fairly adept hiker / climber, and would be interested in any do-able day hikes around the base, but I'd almost rather wait to go there until I know I'm going to have the time to climb it, though.

I'm particularly interested in first-hand accounts and/or good online resources to figure out the best way to fill our (myself and a consultant working for me) free time there. Also, any general advice (security, health, money, eat here, etc.) is welcome.

ADSL pricing soars in Kenya

davehat — Thu, 06 Jul 2006 06:07:54 -0800

Dear MeFites, please can you help me to challenge recent ADSL broadband price increases in Kenya. Having slashed ADSL costs significantly in February 2006, Telkom Kenya has hiked their entry level ADSL pricing by 64% after only 5 months.

The service in question is the 32/128kbps pre-paid unlimited ADSL bundle. This was revolutionary when it came out and uptake was good. New users parted with the KSh3800 ($51) connection fee, the KSh8500 ($115) modem fee and then committed themselves to a KSh5604 ($76) monthly fee with a belief that, as per broadband pricing across the rest of the known world, the price would either remain constant and the speeds increase, or the prices would come down over the course of the next 12 months or so. The really nice bit was the fact that access was via scratch cards that could be purchased as needed (no monthly bills). Though a bit fiddly for the first time user to set up each month, it provided flexibility to the consumer. It also gave users a neat way to sidestep Telkom’s notoriously erratic billing.

Seeing as I was on this tariff, I was mightily pissed off to pick up a letter in my post box today informing me of this (back dated a week, mind you). Not many people who parted with their KSh17904 ($242) first bill saw a 64% increase coming in as little as 5 months. The same service now costs an astonishing KSh9188 ($125) a month. That’s $25 more than the average monthly wage here.

At the same time, Telkom have introduced a new tariff for “home users”. The speed is 32/128kbps. The cost is KSh5604 ($76). The difference is the introduction of a 90hr monthly access limit. So that’s three hours access a day (or 6 hours if you’re a night owl and use the service between 8pm and 8am at half price). This means that KSh5604 ($76) now buys you 87.5% less time than it used to. This hourly limit means that access on the tariff is now a fraction over the cost of using an Internet café (average price of browsing in an urban Internet café is Ksh60 ($0.83) an hour).

I called Telkom and eventually a very helpful lady in the marketing department agreed to answer some questions about why the prices had gone up so sharply.

It turns out just about every Internet café owner within spitting distance of a digital exchange in Kenya has switched to 32/128kbps PAYG tariff since its launch. Businesses are supposed to use the 64/256kbps service which costs KSh16008 ($218) per month. By moving to the 32/128kbps tariff, they could slash their monthly overheads by as much as a half, what with competitor’s prices being either just as expensive as Telkom's 64/256kbps service or requiring higher initial capital outlay and additional licensing for VSAT or radio equipment. The lady in marketing revealed that the original 32/128kbps service was not for business use and that the changes in tariff were introduced to address this mass switch over.

I can see why Telkom wanted to take action against businesses using an inappropriate tariff, what I don’t see is why home users on the same tariff, who have invested a large amount of money to access a service, are being penalised so harshly; surely there must be ways or ensuring that businesses (for which read multiple users/Internet cafes in particular) are not able to use this tariff, but home users are?

Wherein lies my question:

How can Telkom offer this 32/128kbps service to home users on a pre-paid basis, whilst preventing businesses from taking advantage of a tariff they are not offered.

Any ideas are appreciated as I have been asked to forward my thoughts on the matter to Telkom. Unfortunately, I'm not very technically minded and I'm a bit jaundiced in view right now, what with being directly affected by the increase.