On wearing sandals and purple lipstick to work

The question that taunts every traveller prior to departure is: what should I pack? Thankfully, FSD had thought about that too and in the pre-departure packet, that each intern receives, there was an entire page dedicated to clothing FAQs. Under the ‘what should I wear’ section for work, it read as follows:

“Bring neat, presentable clothes for your work at the host organization. For women, knee-length or longer skirts or dressy trousers are appropriate. Acceptable tops for an internship should be business- casual or collared, not skin-tight or low cut. For men, slacks and dress shirts (short- or long-sleeved) are the most suitable for wearing to a host organization. For both genders, comfortable, sturdy, closed-toe shoes or dress sandals are appropriate for work.”

Image credit: FSD international

This was the accompanying picture to the above text

Well, that made my job much easier. I threw in half a dozen shirts and blouses along with four skirts and some ballet flats into my suitcase and called it a day. It has been almost 2 months and it has been very interesting to note that even though I had packed according to the guide, my interpretation of ‘presentable clothing’ was markedly different from what people actually wore to work here.

Whereas, I would wear my black flats, blouse and pencil skirt combo religiously to work everyday, I would see that other women seemed to be more liberal with their interpretation of presentable clothing by wearing beaded sandals, flowing patterned sundresses. What struck me as odd one day was that these women were not in any way less ‘presentable’, but rather, what they wore did not ascribe to what is considered ‘presentable’ by Western standards. Therefore, these differences which I find intriguing says more about me, my background and my upbringing in Italy, than anything else.

After all, clothing like other aspects of a person’s physical appearance carries a social significance and different societies and cultures will have their own dress norms. The fact that I even had to come to this seemingly obvious realization perhaps indicates just how my worldview is steeped in that of a domineering Western perspective. This is also apparent on Wikipedia as it has a page for dress code and an entire separate page dedicated specifically for a Western dress code.  For those who think “shopping … or even putting together outfits is fluff” clinical psychologist Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner, author of ‘You are what you wear: what your clothes reveal about you’ replies that “any behavior is rooted in something deeper”.

That said, below I have complied a list of these differences. The observations below have been compiled through observing my colleagues and the people I see when walking to and from work. It must be noted that this obviously does not apply to all occupations and professions and may not be applicable for different parts of Kenya.

Women

• Colored suits are acceptable. Women are not restricted to the traditional black, blue or gray suits
• Flat sandals
• Open toed high heels
• Strappy high heeled sandals
• Colorful wedges
• Basically, any pair of shoes is considered acceptable, so long as they are not stilettoed, scruffy or extremely dirty
• Pencil skirts should fall below the knee, but if the hem hits just at the knee, that is alright
• Maxi skirts
• Maxi dresses
• Big costume jewelry; big and colorful earrings and necklaces
• Head scarves and head wraps
• Abayas - called buibuis in Kiswahili
• Dresses made from lessos*
• Bold makeup i.e. bright pink/ purple lipstick, colorful eye makeup

Men

• Black or brown leather shoes. In some cases, leather sandals are considered acceptable
• So long as you are wearing a collared, button-down shirt, anything goes. It doesn't matter whether the shirt has crazy patterns or is neon pink/lime green
• A tie can be forgone
• Same goes for a full suit

Other interesting observations

• Women generally don't wear trousers to work
• Almost all women belt their dresses, skirts and shirts at the waist, even if the belt is no more than a piece of fabric
• It is an unsaid rule that on Fridays it is acceptable to dress casually if one so wishes i.e. t-shirts, tops or jeans
• Very few people wear watches, and if they do, you turn the face of the watch to the inner side of the wrist

Like so

• Important documents are carried around in a brown paper bag that you walk around with in your hand - Or sometimes in a document file

*Lesso - pieces of colorful patterned fabric that you can find in the marketplace. They can be worn wrapped around the hips as a sarong, or they can be taken to the tailors and made into a dress. Here I’m referring to the latter case

Lessos in Kongowea

World Oceans Day - More than Just Festivities

       Sunday 8^th of June marked the celebration of World Oceans Day (WOD). Eco Ethics International Kenya – the NGO I’m currently interning for – have been planning for this day since early January. Although attendance was lower than previous years the level of participation remained high. I’m told that the decrease in turn out was due to the 8^th falling on a Sunday – a day that locals use to relax, go to church and spend time with their families. 

          The day began bright and early with a procession that was scheduled to begin at 8:30 (factoring in African time) from Makadara grounds across town and ending at Mama Ngina Drive. School children hailing from Mombasa county as well as those from neighboring counties of Kilifi and Kwale, marched enthusiastically through a quiet and still awakening Mombasa city, chanting and dancing to the rhythms of Mvita band who led the procession. I loved that they incorporated snippets from popular pop songs such as Shakira’s Waka Waka integrated in the chant of ‘Together we have the power to protect the ocean’ or in Kiswahili ‘pamoja tuna uwezo wa kulinda bahari yetu’, I was informed that this made it easier for the school children, particularly the younger one’s to remember the chant.

I was further pleasantly surprised that the female officers from the local police department, as well as those from the armed forces, who were requested to accompany the procession for security purposes, joined in the festivities in full spirit singing along with the children and dancing – which I was told by an intern from the Friends of Kenya that it was a very rare sight as they are usually dead serious.

            Once arrived at Mama Ngina there was a beach clean up scheduled, which turned out to actually be a park clean up. The clean up frenzy ensued for no more than 20 minutes and was over in little time, which I was a little disappointed by. Understandably we were late as the procession started late, but it still appeared that the whole clean up process was just superficially going through motions rather than actually cleaning up the park.

        Succeeding the clean up, we watched victors from the Inter schools competition – an even that occurred earlier in the month – perform skits and recite poetry that garnered applause and laughter from the audience. We also witnessed traditional dances performed by children from a primary school and a military-like performance by the scouts. This was followed by speeches from guest speakers including the Director of Eco Ethics, Dr. Okeyo and the Deputy Director of the National Environment Management Authorities (NEMA) – a close partner of Eco Ethics – Madam Betty Nzioki. An award giving ceremony accompanied by a local band (and a sudden downpour) officially marked the end of WOD 2014.

June 8th is more than just festivities. It is a strong message that is sent to the public and young school children promoting collaborative efforts in the quest of coastal resource conservation. Additionally, it expresses an optimism in the potential and capacity of youths (an often marginalized demographic) to be the agents of change. The objectives and purpose of the day is all part of a larger effort in the ongoing process of trying to instill principles and values of environmentalism into young Kenyans in order to create an environmentally conscious generation who will in turn ensure that the ocean will be utilized in a sustainable fashion.

However, this successful event has not come without challenges. The planning process for WOD (the little that I was able to witness) shed light on the benefits as well as the challenges of collaborating with governmental agencies such as NEMA, Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS), and Kenya Marine and Fisheries Research Institute (KMFRI). Whilst these aforementioned governmental agencies are crucial stakeholders, and provide funding for the event, there are many challenges, devolution being one of them. Instead of making these agencies more accessible and responsive to the citizenry, oftentimes, the devolved system appears to have just added unnecessary layers of bureaucracy (as one of my fellow Eco Ethics interns expressed) and confusion in the chain of command.

This made the planning process painstakingly slow and long, incurring a large opportunity cost as members from Eco Ethics dedicated large amounts of time, effort and resources that could have been spent elsewhere. In order for the WOD to achieve its full potential, the county authorities should truly prioritize the event, as the ocean is a resource that affects all its constituencies and its industries.