Kenya

Overview Leanne- I have learned many things while doing this project, especially about Kenya's culture. I now understand why things are the way they are in this amazing country, and now I sort of want to go there. The next time I do something like this, I really want to add more imformation, and not wait until the last minute like I did this time. I also want to chat with people more often, to see how they felt about it. Kenya seems like a very hard place to live, what with all the problems going on in both socialism and the goverment.

Doing this project has been very interesting for me. I have learned about kenya's geography,culture, and other things. Kenya has many different kinds of animals. Kenyans have a very unique sense of fashion. They wear very bright and colorful clothing. Aids is a huge epidemic in kenya. Starvaton is also an problem too. Kenya has several different religions. I have learned so much from my report on kenya.

Nishtha- Doing this project made me learn lots of things. I learned that Kenya was named after Mt. Kenya. I also learned all the geography and climates in Kenya. I learned that Kenya has lots of problems with AIDS and money issues. I also learned lots of history like Kenya was inhabited about two million years ago. There were lots of really interesting things i learned while doing this project. I learned that Kenya is a really cool place and i hope i can visit it someday.

Statistics Population: 37,953,840 37,953,838 (growth rate: 2.7%); birth rate: 37.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 56.0/1000; life expectancy: 56.6; density per sq km: 66

Geography Kenya lies across the equator in east-central Africa, on the coast of the Indian Ocean. It is twice the size of Nevada. Kenya borders Somalia to the east, Ethiopia to the north, Tanzania to the south, Uganda to the west, and Sudan to the northwest. In the north, the land is arid; the southwest corner is in the fertile Lake Victoria Basin; and a length of the eastern depression of the Great Rift Valley separates western highlands from those that rise from the lowland coastal strip. There are numerous rivers going through it, most leading to the Indian ocean.

Mt. Kenya (17,042 ft) Kenya was named after the mountain.
 * Land area:** 219,788 sq mi (569,251 sq km); **total area:** 224,961 sq mi (582,650 sq km)
 * Population (2008 est.):** 37,953,838 (growth rate: 2.7%); birth rate: 37.8/1000; infant mortality rate: 56.0/1000; life expectancy: 56.6; density per sq km: 66

media type="googlemap" key="http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=kenya&ie=UTF8&ll=-0.023559,37.906193&spn=15.9226,19.6875&z=6&output=embed&s=AARTsJqJNUIXFrlvZ5SMvuRIrxGD7XqUew" width="425" height="350" 582, 646 sq. kilometers

Average annual temperatures ||||~ City ||~ Elevation (m) ||~ Max (°C) ||~ Min (°C) ||

The long rain season occurs from April to June. The short rain season occurs from October to December. The rainfall is sometimes heavy and often falls in the afternoons and evenings. The hottest period is from February to March and coldest in July to August. []

Natural Resources: limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower

Great Rift Valley

History The Portuguese were the first Europeans to explore the region of current-day Kenya, Vasco da Gama having visited Mombasa in 1498. In 1964, Kenyatta became Kenya's first president. At Kenyatta's death in 1978, Daniel arap Moi became President. Daniel arap Moi retained the Presidency, being unopposed in elections held in 1979, 1983 (snap elections) and 1988, all of which were held under the single party constitution. The 1983 elections were held a year early, and were a direct result of an abortive military coup attempt on 1 August 1982. The election held in 1988 saw the advent of the //mlolongo// (queuing) system, where voters were supposed to line up behind their favoured candidates instead of a secret ballot [//citation needed//]. This was seen as the climax of a very undemocratic regime and it led to widespread agitation for constitutional reform. Several contentious clauses, including one that allowed for only one political party were changed in the following years. In democratic, multiparty elections in 1992 and 1997, Daniel arap Moi won re-election. In 2002, Moi was constitutionally barred from running, and Mwai Kǐbakǐ, running for the opposition coalition "National Rainbow Coalition" — NARC, was elected President. The elections, judged free and fair by local and international observers, marked a turning point in Kenya's democratic evolution. Cushitic- speaking people moved into an area now called Kenya in 2000 BCE. Arab traders began frequenting the Kenya coast in 1st century. Arab and Persian settled on the coast in the 8th century.

Great Mosque of Gedi Kenya-Uganda railroad in 1899

Paleontologists believe that Kenya was inhabited over two million years ago. In the 700's Arab seafrars established settlements along the coast. In the early 1500's the Portugues took of the settlements. More than 40 ethnic groups reside in Kenya. Its largest group, the Kikuyu, migrated to the region at the beginning of the 18th century.

The land became a British protectorate in 1890 and a Crown colony in 1920, when it went by the name British East Africa. Nationalist stirrings began in the 1940s, and in 1952 the Mau Mau movement, made up of Kikuyu militants, rebelled against the government. The fighting lasted until 1956.

Giant crocodile fossils have been found in Kenya, from the era known as Mesozoic era. They are still in the National Museums of Kenya today, and are studied by experts. Many other fossils have been found there, including the homo erectus, homo habilis, and more prehistoric creatures.

Economy Agricultural Products: Tea, Coffee, Corn, Wheat, Sugarcane, Fruit, Vegetables, Dairy Products, Beef, Pork, Poultry, Eggs Industries: Plastic, Furniture, Batteries, Textiles, Clothing, Soap, Cigarettes, Flour, Agricultural Products, Horticulture, Oil Refining, Aluminum, Steel, Lead, Cement, Commercial Ship Repair, Tourism Export Commodities: Machinery and Transportation Equipment, Petroleum Products, Motor Vehicles, Iron and Steel, Resin and Plastic Currency: Kenyan Shillings (68.358 KES per US dollar) There are many suffering individuals and families, because of their low income. Some families only get 2-4 dollars per day, yet they manage to stay alive.
 * Economic summary:** **GDP/PPP** (2007 est.): $58.88 billion; per capita $1,700. **Real growth rate:** 7%. **Inflation:** 9.8%. **Unemployment:** 40% (2001 est.). **Arable land**: 8%. **Agriculture:** tea, coffee, corn, wheat, sugarcane, fruit, vegetables; dairy products, beef, pork, poultry, eggs. **Labor force:** 11.85 million; agriculture 75%, industry and services 25% (2003 est.). **Industries:** small-scale consumer goods (plastic, furniture, batteries, textiles, soap, cigarettes, flour), agricultural products, oil refining; aluminum, steel, lead; cement, commercial ship repair, tourism. **Natural resources:** limestone, soda ash, salt, gemstones, fluorspar, zinc, diatomite, gypsum, wildlife, hydropower. **Exports:** $3.76 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): tea, horticultural products, coffee, petroleum products, fish, cement. **Imports:** $7.602 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.): machinery and transportation equipment, petroleum products, motor vehicles, iron and steel, resins and plastics. **Major trading partners:** Uganda, UK, U.S., Netherlands, Egypt, Tanzania, Pakistan, UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, India, China, Japan (2004).

Government Country Name: Kenya Long Name: Republic of Kenya Former Name: British East Africa Government Type: Republic Capital: Nairobi Independence: December 12th 1963 Legal System: Kenya and English common law, tribal law, Islamic law President: Mwai Kibaki Prime Minister: Raila Odinga

Kenya is a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President was both the head of state and head of governmet, and of a multi-party system Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the National Assembly The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. However, there was growing concern especially during former president Daniel arap Moi's tenure that the executive was increasingly meddling with the affairs of the judiciar Until the unrest occasioned by the disputed election results of December 2007, Kenya had hitherto maintained remarkable stability despite changes in its political system and crises in neighbooring countries. A cross-party parliamentary reform initiative in the fall of 1997 revised some oppressive laws inherited from the colonial era that had been used to limit freedom of speech and assembly. This improved public freedoms and contributed to generally credible national elections in December 1997.

Coat of Arms

Motto- Harambee ("Let us all pull together")

Religion 45% Protestant, 33% Roman Catholic, 10% Muslim, 10% Indigenous Beliefs, 2% Other

TThe vast majority of Kenyans are Christian with 45% regarding themselves as Protestant and 33% as Roman Catholic Sizeable minorities of other faiths do exist (Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%he vast majority of Kenyans are Christian with 45% regarding themselves as Protestant and 33% as Roman Catholic. Sizeable minorities of other faiths do exist (Muslim 10%, indigenous beliefs 10%) English, Kiswahili, Swahili, numerous indigenous languages
 * Language **

Christianity was first brought to Kenya in the fifteenth century by the Portuguese and spread rapidly during the nineteenth century, when it experienced a revival. Today, the main Christian denominations in Kenya are Protestant confessions, which make up 38% of the country's religious composition. They include the Anglican Church of Kenya, and the Presbyterian, Reformed, Baptist, and Pentecostal churches. The Roman Catholic Church represents 28% of the population.

Mosque in Narobi Republic of Kenya. Jamhuriya Ya Kenya. 32,021,856. National or official languages: Swahili, English. Literacy rate: 45% (1987 official government figure). Also includes Hadrami Spoken Arabic (10,000), Hindi, Ta'izzi-Adeni Spoken Arabic (10,000). Information mainly from W. Whiteley 1969, 1974; Heine and Möhlig 1980; J. Bendor-Samuel 1989; BTL 1983–1999. Blind population: 70,000. Deaf institutions: 25. The number of languages listed for Kenya is 61. Of those, all are living languages

Culture Kenyans love music and the style known as benga is the contemporary dance music that rules. It originated among the Luo people in western Kenya and became popular in kenya in the 1950s. Some well-known exponents of benga include Shirati Jazz, Victoria Kings, Globestyle and the Ambira Boys
 * Music**

A maasi man dressed in formal attire. They are known for elaborate body adornment and jewelery.

Notable cultures include the Swahili on the coast, pastoralist communities in the north, and several different communities in the central and western regions.

Kenya has a extensive music, television, and theatre scene. Some have their own radios to listen to these things. Kenya is a diverse country, with many different cultures represented. Notable cultures include the Swahili on the coast, pastoralist communities in the north, and several different communities in the central and western regions. Today, the Maasai culture is well known, due to its heavy exposure from tourism, however, Maasai make up a relatively minor percentage of the Kenyan population. The Maasai are known for their elaborate upper body adornment and jewelry.Kenya has an extensive music, television and theatre scene

Social Problems Around Feb., 2006, two corruption scandals had removed of four cabinet members, including the finance minister, and accusations of corruption had also been leveled at the vice president, who denied the charges. Police found all the news papers from this incodent and burned them. When someone dies of Aids, too often they accept such a sad event as being either an act of witchcraft or an act of God. And Aids prevention is a foreign language to young women and men in some parts of Kenya. According to a recent study conducted 33.3% of girls ages between 15 and 19 years in the western city of Kisumu were HIV positive. //degree of risk:// high //food or waterborne diseases:// bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever //vectorborne disease:// malaria //water contact disease:// schistosomiasis (2008)
 * Kenya** have **problems** in their **social** field that is in most cases associated with **health problems** as well. Two of the most pressing **problems** that **Kenya** is passing through are the AIDS and the **problems** regarding the reproduction among the adolescent group of **Kenya** citizens. AIDS is spreading in **Kenya** in an alarming rate due to many **social problems**.

Kenya has more than one million people estimated to be living with HIV/AIDS (1.2 million as of the end of 2003).That's about 1/3 of Kenya's total population. 1 Kenya’s HIV/AIDS prevalence rate (the percent of people living with the disease) is just below that of the sub-Saharan African region overall (6.7% compared to 7.5%).1 Recent data indicate that the country’s HIV prevalence rate may be on the decline in some areas.2,,34 However, the HIV/AIDS epidemic poses significant challenges to this low-income country Most problems in Kenya are having to do with HIV/AIDS. This epidemic challenges Kenya a lot especially since its more of a poor country.

Other Animals- there are alot of diferent animals in kenya. From tall giraffes to small savana cats.Many prehistoric fossils have been discovered throughout this African country. Sports: Kenya is active in many sports such as cricket, rallying, soccer, rugby union, and boxing. Kenya has regularly produced Olympic and Commonwealth Games champions in various distance events, especially in 800 m, 1,500 m, 3,000 m steeplechase, 5,000 m, 10,000 m and the marathons. Kenyan athletes (particularly Kalenjin) continue to dominate the world of distance running, although competition from Morocco and Ethiopia has reduced this supremacy. Kenya's best-known athletes included the four-time women's Boston Marathon winner and two-time world champion Catherine Ndereba, former Marathon world record-holder Paul Tergat, and John Ngugi. Lately, there has been controversy in Kenyan athletics circles, with the defection of a number of Kenyan athletes to represent other countries. Kenya citizens also participate in the Olympics, as seen below.

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