Economic times are hard, and the comrade has not been
spared. He is equally suffering like other Kenyan. Most campus students have to
part with one meal a day; getting two or three meals could make you a suspect
of 'dirty money,' and as they say, desperate times call for desperate measures,
and this are evidently desperate times.
With tomato and unga prices skyrocketing, having meals in
your local kibandaski could be the way to go now. A tomato right now averagely
costs Sh20, whose size is equal to an infant's fist, a two-kilogram packet of
unga, on the other hand, goes for about Sh130. Also, green vegetables and other
foods vary in prices in different areas. This means you need at least Sh150 per
day to prepare yourself a decent meal, an amount that will constantly leave
your pockets dry.
There are several ways to sail through these economic times.
For instance, opting to walk to your destinations instead of taking matatu,
using school wifi to save the coins spent on airtime, preparing meals in groups
instead of individually, etc. However, the best way is to take your meals in
your local hotels or as better known 'kibandaski.'
A decent meal in a kibandaski could go for about Sh40 to
Sh70, depending on what you are taking. The Sh150 you would otherwise spend in
a day could see you through for three days; the incorporation of other methods
such as trekking could ease life on campus.
Unnecessary spending on drinks and snacks could also save
you monies, which would see you comfortably sail through the semester, minus
such hunger tricks and suffering would make your days all through the semester.