Author Reference
Lango, B. (2016). Average Nairobians
Safety Tips When Travelling Upcountry. Intel Fire Group of Companies Blog.
Nairobi, Kenya. October 02, 2016.
Another Christmas celebration season
is here with us and not only does the Nairobians wake to the mood of
celebrations they also would love their folks in the village to know what they
have achieved in the year. And the achievements are numerous, from a new car,
new cloths, new jobs, new husbands, new sponsors, new wife, to new cadre of
urban music they have mastered. The list is endless and so to write, this period
is the only one where most individuals travel to their rural villages and at the
same time the more modern ones travel for holidays at secluded places outside
the city. Travelling is good for your health and therefore making sure the
house you will be leaving for a while is also safe. This Christmas season
therefore as you travel to your rural village or to a seclusion (read modern village) ensure you follow
simple safety tips below:
1. Locking all the doors
When travelling most people tend to
lock only the main door and leave the rest but unless you are staying in a
single room house ensure all the doors within the house are all locked. The
main aim is to limit the intrusion access once it occurs. Don’t let the intruder
have a field day celebration in your house because the only lock they had to
break was the one for the main door. Most studies show that intrusions are
usually done from the back door from which they have access to the main door
and the whole house. Your house have no idea that you are excited and
celebrating your life out so ensure the house feels safe as you will need it
when all are sound and you are back sanity.
2. Don’t Facebook Your Itinerary
One of the biggest sins of the 21st
century is the introduction of social media in the life of a young African Kenyan
plying his or her trade in Nairobi Kenya. Do not be excited or ached, these are
young and the old youthful working class who broadcast every happening of their
life and simple achievements to the whole world. Intruders have also
transformed with technology and will be watching you keenly as you Facebook,
tweet, instagram and the rest to have pure prior information on your
whereabouts. Forgetting that a while back you had broadcast to the world how
much you keep in the house and how your house looks like, you now tell the
world about your upcoming trip, the location, your mode of locomotion (read transport that’s the western in me), and
how long you will not be around. This places your house at risk of intrusion as
all the information the prospective intruder needs is already out there. When
you are back you give a statement of your lost items on the same social media
saying they had insider information as they knew exactly where you keep your
valuables. This is what is called unnecessary broadcast of your itinerary to
the world to satisfy your small ego at the expense of the house.
3. Let Someone Stay in the House
Most of the Nairobi houses do not
have an alarm system leave alone one that can be activated remotely by your
phone when travelling. If you have one then consider yourself an above average
Nairobian and this article is not for your consumption as it targets an average
one. For this kind of houses therefore, the best alarm system that you can
activate remotely by your phone is having somebody stay behind as you travel.
This person must be close or keenly known to you from a house help to a close
relative. Activate them by calling them every evening to give security action
briefing and you get the briefs of the day. This not only makes you a big person but also raises your level of
security keenness trust the writer.
4. Leave Lights ON
This is one of the worst measures
but when it comes to the end justifying the means then it is an option that has
been used by many and yielded success. This is achieved by ensuring that you
have eco-energy or light saving bulbs in major sections of the house and the
compound. Most probably at the living room (call
it sitting room as you are used to) and lights around the compound are left
ON during the entire period you will be away. The only problem is that the
holiday period lasting long also places the bulbs as security risks. Remember
this is not recommended but when bread and butter are not available then even
boiled beans can do the trick.
5. Keep your Close Neighbors Informed
Good neighborliness is the best
security standard practice in modern worlds and especially the not so learned
ones. The attitude that “Am staying
whether you are there or not” does not encourage a security culture that is
vested in good neighbors. How does one stay with a neighbor for close to 4
years and you have never known their names and even the kind of work they are
doing. Get close to one or more of your close neighbors and when travelling
alert them so that your house is not relocated in your absence. In most cases
the intruders are aware that most people do not communicate with their
neighbors and will inform them that you contracted them to relocate you as you
are moving houses. If you had informed a neighbor that you are travelling, they
will most probably call you to confirm.
In conclusion good people take not
that your house is not as excited as you are maybe a face-paint lift will make
them, neither are they aware that you are gone but keeping in check these 5
steps will. As you go for holiday it is a ladder you are climbing but remember EVERYONE
WHO CLIMBS UP THE LADDER MUST CLIMB DOWN AT ONE TIME just make sure
that down there the house is intact.
The writer is a PhD Generalist in
Service Delivery and Project Management.
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