Book Review: No Hurry in Africa

No Hurry in Africa

by Theresa Munanga

The Premise

The book is a collection of Journal written by Theresa Munanga, who served as a Peace Corp Volunteer in Kenya from 2004 to 2007. The book was published via iUniverse, copyright dated 8/11/2010, so there was quite a few years in between experience and publication. It was a common story at the time where there was a Dot-Com meltdown, followed by a terrorist attack, followed by general recession. This is her story, about being a Peace Corp Volunteer.

The Beginning

Of course, there's a beginning. She detailed a short bio before going into the process of Peace Corp Application process. It was short on details, though, since by Chapter 1, the story starts in Kenya. This is also where August 2004 Newsletter, which is how she kept in touch with her friends and family, began. Pictures are small and rare. However, they are illustrative enough to hint the lifestyle in Kenya, which is primitive and frequently without electricity.

Chapter 2 involves a lot of observations regarding life in Kenya as she settles into the Peace Corp lifestyle. A lot of comments how without reliable electricity, there's no refrigeration, nor there is indoor plumbing, something Americans take for granted. Filthy roads, filthy house, filthy toilet; such is life without modern conveniences. 

The Culture

She wrote some cultural notes by the time of late November 2004, which was soon enough after her arrival. There was constant awareness of HIV/AIDS epidemic, made worse by cultural tradition of polygamy. How the culture also discriminate against women, treating them as second class citizen to have less rights and freedom than men. There are also some interesting tidbits, about how cell phones with text messages is the way to communicate since it's very cheap to text people, whereas voice communication is extremely expensive in comparison.

She didn't stay long in the assigned Catholic School teaching CISCO system. The way she wrote it, it seems like the nuns of the school is taking advantage of Peace Corps program to hire cheap teachers, instead of contributing to the community. Greed will result in nothingness, as she parted way with the school. That was in May 2005, or less than one year of serving.

The Rest of the Story

The rest of the book deals with comparatively pleasant activities: taking a vacation, going shopping, dealing with scorpions, frogs, and other bugs and creatures in the house. There's also a second location that was much better than the first. In fact, she loves it there that she decided to extend her service. Unfortunately, it was cut short due to medical issues. Still, except for occasional corruption and fighting, her later experience was relatively smooth in comparison with the earlier ones. This is a sign of growth.

The Conclusion

The author wrote well, and a great example of a brave, dedicated Peace Corp Volunteer. She wrote well, and the book reflects the written language the newsletters are written. The narrative style isn't of oral, but literary. A thing I notice about the newsletters is that they are heavy on impressions, but light on details. As someone who values detailed descriptions, that is somewhat disappointing for me. However, I understand that not everyone is as detail-oriented as me. I think that her primary intention is to convey emotional feelings, and in that endeavor, she succeeds very well. I can read the passages and feel as if I can feel her feelings. Highly recommended for good emotional content and lifestyle of a Peace Corp Volunteer.