Journalists for passion, with a desire to tell and the need to do so freely.
Today it is more and more difficult, even if you decide to do it far from Europe and offering an important, useful and unparalleled service that can represent at the same time an added value for your country and your fellow countrymen who live there.
We are not talking about us and malindikenya.net, but about an English colleague based in Nairobi, Andrew Watt, who decided to close after almost five years his site punctual and professional for British citizens in Kenya and interested in what is happening here.
Britsinkenya.com, the name of the site that is no longer online, closed its doors a few days ago with a painful and hasty note in which Watt, former journalist of the London publishing group headed by Mirror, explained that after launching an appeal at the beginning of the year to encourage the 40,000 fellow countrymen, Scottish and Irish English living in Kenya to support his work, which was at the same time information and service, but also curiosity and attention to social issues. In ten months a few dozen euros have arrived and the site that, by decision of the creator and sole editor, has no direct publicity, can no longer support itself.
"The work takes me away a couple of hours a day," admits Watt in the last editorial of britsinkenya.com, but adds that he must also take care of other things to live and that despite the trust and clicks of many readers, the game is no longer worth the candle.
Knowing these issues, we can tell you that Kenya is a developing country where everything costs more today and where to do things properly, as we do and did the British colleague, you need to earn money, otherwise you just leave money in work permits, licenses and taxes. Sooner or later, a similar appeal from malindikenya.net will come to you too, so get ready. After 11 years of never having been asked for anything for this information service, it would also be normal.