Kisumu - Culture

The town of Kisumu has a population of around 100,000 people. A further 150,000 live in the surrounding district. Lying on the equator, Kisumu’s climate is hot all year (83°F). There are rainy seasons between March and June and in November. Kisumu is a railway terminal and lake port. Boat rides on Lake Victoria are fun and widely available, and you can either find one yourself or you can go through one of the hotels. There are also some bird sanctuaries in the area, which are worth visiting, including a heronry, a pelicanry, and a sacred ibis colony.

It has a full range of educational, industrial, agricultural, medical and social facilities. All education in Kenya has to be paid for; consequently children from poor families get little or no education. Kisumu is multi-ethnic with the Luo tribe predominating. Although Luo is the local language, Swahili is spoken throughout Kenya and English is also widely understood.

Local industries in Kisumu include the Kenya Match Company and the Coke Bottling Factory. The town is also famous for designing and making school and church uniforms. Fishing is a major industry. Tea, coffee, cotton and sugar cane are produced for export. Maize is grown for local consumption.

An ethanol plant was built in the 1980's. The city is developing a tourist industry with the attractions of Lake Victoria and nearby wildlife.

Farmers in Nyanza Province also grow millet, cassava and bananas as basic foods. They use the millet to brew local beer commonly called Busaa. Bananas are usually steamed or boiled and eaten as they are or at times mashed and served with a stew comprising of meat or fish. Cassava is a root crop that comes in handy during the dry seasons because it is one of the few edible plants that can withstand long periods without adequate rain.

Ndere Island National Park is one of Kenya's newest, gazetted in 1986 as a sancturay for Lake Victoria bird species. Ndere lays some 30 kms from Kisumu. Very few visitors make it to Ndere Island, due to its small size and lack of terrestrial wildlife. Bird watchers and enthusiasts, however, would find a visit to Ndere Island very rewarding. Not far from Kisumu is Hippo Point, but it apparently is not what it used to be except for the beautiful sunsets.

The museum in Kisumu serves not only an educational and recreational centre for visitors, but also as an educational channel on the maintenance and sustainability of the biodiversity of Lake Victoria. Its small yet comprehensive exhibit gallery focuses on displays of material culture of the peoples of the Western Rift valley and Nyanza Province. This includes traditional clothing and adornment, basketry, fishing gear, agricultural tools and hunting weaponry. Also on display are several dioramas, including a lion, De Brazza monkey, and the largest Nile Perch ever caught in Kenya.

Unique to the Kisumu Museum are its natural history exhibits in the form of a fresh-water aquarium, and outdoor snake park and tortoise pens. A visit to the museum is not complete without viewing the 300-year-old giant tortoise, imported to Kenya from the Seychelles in 1930.

In Kenya many boys are sent away when they get too big to feed and end up on the streets, involved in begging, crime and glue sniffing. Glue sniffing is one of the biggest problems. Girls will often be sold for marriage at the age of 14 for a few cows.