Sharing RC with Workers in the Jua Kali Industry
Often people in developed countries use an item until it breaks or looks worn. Then they throw it away instead of repairing it and using it much longer. In African countries many people cannot afford new clothes, shoes, smartphones, or electronics, or to take their cars to be repaired in formally established shops.
In Kenya, school dropouts can be trained in what is called the Jua Kali (“working under the heat of the sun”) industry. Workers in this industry both repair and manufacture items. For example, people have created solar-powered cars, and a man put together different parts of a pickup truck and created a big motorcycle that could be used like a pickup truck.
Jua Kali workers are not well respected in society. They are not well dressed; their working attires are dirty and full of oil. They work long days under the heat of the sun. They are often frustrated and tired. Many get hooked on alcohol or drugs. There is a lot of homicide, suicide, and violence among them.
Several RCers went to a meeting of a hundred men who work in the Jua Kali industry. We addressed the oppression of men. We talked about Co-Counselling and the importance of having another human listening to you as you tell your story. We introduced sharing equal time, respecting confidentiality, and having a safe space in which to discharge and heal from accumulated distresses. We guided the men to work on their early hurts to identify the genesis of their distresses and oppression.
We will meet once a month with this special group of men.
Nairobi, Kenya
Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders in the transformation of society
(Present Time 207, April 2022)