Harambee: Pulling Together for Survival

Harambee is the official motto of Kenya in Kiswahili. It means "let us all pull together."

Even though I have traveled to this country, I had never heard this phrase. In doing some research for an unrelated story about Kenya, I came across this saying. It was startling, given the recent violence that has fractured beautiful country of Kenya.

As I dug deeper, I learned that harambee was the rallying cry of Kenya's late president Jommo Kenyatta at the moment of Kenya's birth as an independent country. Whether you love Kenyatta or hate him, this concept of harambee has a lot of merit and actually predates him. It was, and still is, the concept that the challenge of nation building was now in the hands of the Kenyan people.

It seems as though Kenya is at another key turning point in its history. Can the phrase harambee be resurrected to bring Kenya together again? Perhaps, as several readers of Africa Matters pointed out in their e-mails to me, the problem seems so insurmountable now. Even if everyone could join hands, they could not get their arms around the current crisis.  They tell me only everyone pulling together with the help of God Himself will save their country.

Here's an e-mail from Charity M. Reading it made me think of this concept of harambee...

"This is my take as a Kenyan and a born again Christian living and working in Kenya.

I believe God cares and he will redeem Kenya. And I also believe he is not only calling his Church and his people to get involved in working with politicians to see God's heart and mind in many governance issues but also to get involved at individual level in ensuring the poor in our country get a chance at life. Much like the policy of returning land to the poor at the year of Jubilee in the Jewish nation established under Moses. The Church has failed and needs to arise and take its place."

To read more about the harambee movement in Kenya, click here.

What do you think? Is harambee still possible in Kenya? Drop me an e-mail with your comments.