内罗毕交通成为无数小学生梦魇

Nairobi Traffic Nightmare Causes Sleepless¹ Nights to Pupils 内罗毕交通成为无数小学生梦魇

Editor's note: James G. Mwangi, English teacher, aspiring² journalist and Director of Mavens Education Centre in Kenya, wrote this story after taking the VOA Learning English online course, "Writing for the Internet" at the American Resource Center of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. His story is the first place winner of the contest sponsored by the embassy and VOA Learning English.

As the traffic in Nairobi worsens, primary school pupils who depend on public transportation seem to be suffering the most as they try to keep up with the demands of school.

Some private and public primary school pupils wake up as early as 4:00 am to beat the traffic and be in class on time. In the evening, the pupils are also caught up in traffic. They may arrive home as late as 6:30 to 7:30 pm.

“My mother wakes me up at 4:30 am, and by 5:00 am we are at the bus stop waiting for the school van,” confirms Joy Wandia, a 12-year-old in class six at a private school.

The current floods in the city have not made life easier for the pupils. Last week, 11 pupils from Makini Schools waited for 10 hours to be rescued when their school bus was nearly covered in water during a traffic jam.

The students were rescued and taken to Boma Hotel. It was almost dawn when their parents came to pick them up. The parents were also caught up in the traffic mess.

“Our timetable has been greatly affected³ by the traffic, especially on rainy days, as we try to ensure the students and the teachers get home and to school on time,” says James Mwangi, the school principal for Mavens Education Centre. He says the problem is even worse for public school pupils who use the ‘matatus’- a public taxi van that provides transport across the city.

“Public school pupils, who mainly use the matatus, are exposed to greater risks as they board and alight from these matatus," he says. Unlike their private counterparts, the matatus don’t take them directly to the school and no one is responsible for their safety.”

A few years ago, the IBM Commuter⁴ Pain Index Report listed Nairobi among cities with the world’s longest traffic jams. 

The report concluded that traffic jams increase the level of stress and anger. It noted⁵ this can create negative attitudes for commuters and affect their performance at work or school. The long-term effect is that traffic problems can create a negative attitude in the pupils towards school. 

“By midday [the] majority of the students are already tired and sleepy, and they find it difficult to concentrate in class,” says John Wanyama, a primary school teacher. He adds that the pupils do not finish up their homework properly, as many of them do it without the supervision⁶ of their parents. Some of the children may instead be doing homework on the bus. 

Susan Wairimu is a mother of two pupils and a businesswoman. “We don’t make it home early to spend enough time with our children," she says. "The school also makes it stressful for the pupils as they are given tons of homework in at least three subjects every day.” 

She notes that many children lack playing time, which can be important for their physical growth. In many schools, the Physical Education (P.E.) and Games lessons have been reduced or even cancelled to cover for the time lost sitting in traffic. 

For the past few years, Nairobi County’s performance in the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) has met criticism from various stakeholders. Even though traffic congestion⁷ is not the only major cause of the poor performance, it highly contributes to it. 

Nairobi Governor Dr. Evans Kidero finds it ironic⁸ that Nairobi County, which includes the capital, was lagging behind six other counties in 2013 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations. 

“The six counties that outperformed Nairobi don’t have the resources cited above," he says. "They have to travel to Nairobi to access them. All of us in Nairobi City and County must take matters of education in our own hands to ensure that the performance upholds the status of the county as the capital.” 

Some estimates say the city of Nairobi loses approximately $1 billion due to traffic delays annually⁹. The cost might be even higher if one considers the burden placed on school children, the nation's future leaders.

1 sleepless   

adj.不睡眠的，睡不著的，不休息的

参考例句：

• The situation gave her many sleepless nights.这种情况害她一连好多天睡不好觉。
• One evening I heard a tale that rendered me sleepless for nights.一天晚上，我听说了一个传闻，把我搞得一连几夜都不能入睡。

2 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 commuter   

n.(尤指市郊之间)乘公交车辆上下班者

参考例句：

• Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic. 警察封锁了道路并分流交通。
• She accidentally stepped on his foot on a crowded commuter train. 她在拥挤的通勤列车上不小心踩到了他的脚。

5 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

6 supervision   

n.监督，管理

参考例句：

• The work was done under my supervision.这项工作是在我的监督之下完成的。
• The old man's will was executed under the personal supervision of the lawyer.老人的遗嘱是在律师的亲自监督下执行的。

7 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

8 ironic   

adj.讽刺的，有讽刺意味的，出乎意料的

参考例句：

• That is a summary and ironic end.那是一个具有概括性和讽刺意味的结局。
• People used to call me Mr Popularity at high school,but they were being ironic.人们中学时常把我称作“万人迷先生”，但他们是在挖苦我。

9 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。