By: Aaron Green and Carl Mahler Kenya By: Aaron Green and Carl Mahler

Religion The Kenyan Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. Around half the population are Christians, 10% Muslim and there are small Hindu and Sikh minorities. The balance of the population follows traditional African, often animist, beliefs. Christians tend to be concentrated in the west and central sections of the country while Muslims cluster in the eastern coastal regions.

Facts A country in east Africa Is bordered by Ethiopia and Somalia, Tanzania, and Uganda The capital is Nairobi The population is 38 million The country is named after mount Kenya When Jomo Kenyatta was President English became a well known language in Kenya in the 1960’s. Official languages Swahili and English President now is Mwai Kibaki Prime minster now is Ralia Odinga  

Language Kenya is a multilingual country. Although the official languages are Swahili and English, there are actually a total of 62 languages spoken in the country. These mainly consist of tribal African languages as well as a minority of Middle-Eastern and Asian languages spoken by descendants of foreign settlers

Poverty The families under poverty in Kenya earn less than 1 dollar U.S money each day. About 9 million people earn this much in the outskirts of Kenya. This only affects one third of the population. There are more that 20,000 deaths in Africa alone within a week because of poverty. Kenya’s poverty has dropped 10 percent from 56 to 46. This is because of lack of job opportunities.  

Government Kenya's constitution was introduced at independence on 12 December 1963. It has been amended several times. The Republic of Kenya was a de facto one-party state between 1969 and June 1982, when it became a de jure one-party state, and reverted to a multi-party state in November 1991. Governed by a united central government, Kenya's central legislative authority is the National Assembly, consisting of a single house

Tribes Kikuyu People The Kikuyu are Bantu and actually came into Kenya during the Bantu migration. They include some families from all the surrounding people and can be identified with the Kamba, the Meru, the Embu and the Chuka. The Kikuyu tribe was originally founded by a man named Gikuyu. Maasai Tribe Found mainly in Southern Kenya, the Massai believed that their rain God Ngai granted all cattle to them for safe keeping when the earth and sky split. Since cattle was given to the Massai, they believe its okay to steal from other tribes. The Massai worship cattle because it is their main source of economic survival as opposed to education

Tribes Samburu Tribe The Samburu are related to the Masai although they live just above the equator where the foothills of Mount Kenya merge into the northern desert. They are semi-nomadic pastoralists whose lives revolve around their cows, sheep, goats, and camels. Milk is their main stay; sometimes it is mixed with blood. Meat is only eaten on special occasions. Generally they make soups from roots and barks and eat vegetables if living in an area where they can be grown. Turkana Tribe The Turkana are the second largest group of nomadic pastoralists in Kenya who live in northern Kenya - numbering over 200,000 they occupy a rectangular area bordered by Lake Turkana in northern Kenya and Ethiopia on the east, Uganda on the west, Sudan on the north

Food Potatoes and rice eaten with chicken or beef are staples at most meals. A typical festive meal includes large amounts of nyama choma, roasted meat. Vegetarians should be able to get by since fruit and vegetables are abundant at the quality hotels. Indian restaurants usually serve vegetable based meals as well. Bananas, pineapples, and papaya are available year round and citrus fruits seasonally. In some of the agricultural areas it’s not unusual to see corn being

Currency The unit of currency is the Kenya shilling (Ksh). Each shilling is divided into 100 cents. Notes come in denominations of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, and 500 Ksh. Coins are 5, 10, 50 cents and 1 Ksh. Foreign currency or travelers checks must be declared on a declaration form when entering the country. You are not allowed to take out more foreign currency than you bring in. Foreign currency can be exchanged at banks and many hotels. Exchanges should be noted on your declaration form. This form must be turned in when you leave the country.  

People Currently there are more than 40 different ethnic group in Kenya. The main groups of tribes are the Bantu who migrated from western Africa, the Nilotic people who originated from Sudan and the Hamitic group, who were mainly pastoral tribes from Ethiopia and Somalia. The main tribes are Kikuyu (21%), Meru (5%), Kalenjin, Luyha, Luo (14%), Kisii, Kamba, Swahili, Masai, Turkana The other large ethnic groups include the Luo, Luhya, Kamba and Kalenjin- There are also some groups of people who form a very small population. This includes the tribe of El Molo.

Animals Together with the national parks, Kenya's animals have earned the country the reputation of the world’s safari capital. Few countries have a bigger variety in wildlife than Kenya. Wild animals present in Kenya range from lions, cheetahs and leopards, to elephants, buffalos, giraffes, zebras, impala and many more. Many of them live in the well-managed national parks and reserves. Most famous among them are the “Big Five” However, Kenya is not only a classic “safari animal” paradise. It’s much less known that Kenya also offers some great opportunities for bird watching – over 1,000 bird species have been recorded and many tour operators offer special

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