Whenever it rains at Moi

One early morning of a normal campus day, I wake up. I do not expect anything new or better. As usual, every day begins on a morning of hardship that might subject anyone to mourning in hardship.

After making sure that electricity is still present in my room, I quickly get up and think about breakfast first! However, milk and bread or maandazi are not found within. You must walk a certain distance to get them. It rained at night and it is still very cold now, am a bit reluctant to go out. But my final decision is; I am going!

As I walk down slowly, I am joined by comrades from hostels D, G, J and those that reside with me in C. I usually admire their look, men and women of great ambitions, who managed to pass over all the previous academic bridges and finally landed on main campus. They too want to keep up their strength and energy in preparation for another busy day. They walk with me towards the selling points for different breakfast items.

Some of them divert into the SOWETO MESS. I look at them curiously, wanting to find out whether they have remembered to carry extra sugar from their rooms that would add taste to the light-white hot water in the name of tea. I also pray for them that once they consider coming back for lunch in the afternoon, they would arrive as early as possible. Get there behind the first twenty customers and you will be forced to wait for a spoon from the early comers as your rice-dengu gets cold.

Anyway, mine are just prayers and wishful thinking. I hope salvation will come from whoever was/were lucky enough to reap the highest number of votes for the catering docket in the recent September 13th MUSO elections. Rumors have it that the director(s) may go an extra mile to advocate for rescheduling of the MESS operating hours that will favor even those who may not be awake before 8am, whose lunch hours may fall beyond 2pm and those whose wish is to take supper after 7pm.

After the long time sympathy with the MESS users is when I remember that I have my own issues to accomplish, about 50 meters away from the maandazi baking centre and the milk vendors. Now getting to the place is not a big problem, how to get there is the real issue. Just a few strides off the MES building and I am welcomed by several pools of brown stagnant water! Between any two adjacent pools is clay soil soaked in rain water, hence sticky mud.

How do I walk past all these? I ask myself. I do not have the long black boots like most of this area’s residents. But as I stand here confused, several comrades pass, go and come back holding their favorite items for breakfast. They struggle to walk on the muddy path without even complaining. They seem to have adapted to the situation, but I am not. In fact, they too, are not supposed to – at least according to me.

I slowly bow down to fold up my pair of trousers to a level that I suspect will be free from the dirty water and mud. Like the rest, I also want to try walking past. I look around and spot a few ladies around their hostel J. they are busy washing their clothes between the two wings. Something comes to my mind. 'Once I lose stability, slide and probably fall off, these people might laugh at me. I do not want to take chances. So what do I do?'

I remember of another place where hot maandazi and fresh milk are also sold. It is behind hostel H. my watch tells me that I still have around 50 minutes before the morning lecture begins. I know I will not get late by running all the way to that alternative place, for fear of the slippery mud ahead of me. So I take a reverse and stroll on a concrete path between hostels J and G, towards the better place.

To my surprise, the same problem that I was trying to avoid is also here, so it is not better. I realize that as long as I want to take breakfast, I must walk on pools of brown water and mud! The only consolation I see here is that the distance of doing so is slightly shorter.

Due to lack of any other better alternative, I resolve to join yet another queue of comrades and walk on the hard way, the only way. I wonder whether there are any hostel residents around main campus who do not face such troubles whenever it rains at night or very early in the morning. What about those residing in K, L and M; do they also get frustrated at such times? One of my classmates lives there, I will ask her.

What plans do the security and accommodation elect(s) have in mind that would at least reduce such problems among others? I wish I asked the aspirants this question during the cross fires prior to the elections. But still, I will ask them some. I have no reason to blame the outgoing director. His term is over and is no longer concerned about this, although he would have done something little, only if he wanted to.