Picking up the pieces amid pandemic

When the first coronavirus case was detected in Kenya in March, Kennedy Odhiambo was serving the last five months of his prison sentence at Kenya's Jamhuri Prison in Nairobi. Kennedy remembers the fear that spread among prisoners since the cells were crowded and maintaining social distancing was a challenge.

"We had been following the news on the pandemic because inmates are allowed to watch news on television once a day. With the information we were getting about the virus, we were worried about what our fate would be especially if the infection managed to get within the prison walls," Odhiambo said.

However, the prison department took all the necessary measures to ensure the safety of the inmates and as time progressed they realized that they could fight the virus if they followed the laid down instructions.

"Once the virus was detected in Kenya, the prison authorities put in place measures to ensure we do not get infected. The masks we used were made within the prison and sanitization points were erected. We also received regular supplies of soap and tissue paper and no one was allowed visitors," Odhiambo said.

"In addition, the government decided to release some inmates to reduce the congestion within the prison. As a result, old prisoners, those arrested for petty crime and those with small fines were released early," he added.

Once his prison sentence ended in August, Odhiambo walked free but into a totally different world. With the coronavirus restrictions announced by the government in full force, Odhiambo had to adjust in order to fit into the new reality.

"The biggest impact I noticed and which soon became my biggest worry was the number of job losses that had resulted from the virus. Having left prison, my priority was to turn my life around, get a job and start picking the pieces but I was walking into a world where people were losing their jobs," Odhiambo said.

He added that the people he was hoping would help him get back to his feet had either lost their jobs or relocated from the city due to the tough times. That is why when he got an opportunity to work with a garbage collection company he could not let the opportunity pass.

"Garbage collection is not what I had in mind when I was thinking about getting a job but I had little or no choice but to take up the job. The government has tried several initiatives to employ the youth like the Kazi Mtaani program but I could not qualify, that is why I had to work with what I have," Odhiambo said.

In April, the Kenyan government revived its National Hygiene Program popularly known as Kazi Mtaani which was re-designed to cushion the most vulnerable but able-bodied citizens living in informal settlements from the effects and response strategies of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite being hopeful that things will eventually turn around, Odhiambo does not want to maintain false hopes and says that people should be ready to undergo the difficulties for a little longer.

"I would like to be hopeful and say that things will be better next year but I know it will not be that simple. The number of people who have lost their jobs is so huge that it will take time to get things back to normal. That is why I currently have to work with what I have despite being hopeful," Odhiambo said.

He plans to get into farming and rear pigs once he manages to secure some funding. This is because he believes that going forward the youth need to think about creating employment for themselves because opportunities for being employed are getting thinner.