I was just about to complete my book on Urafiki, Friendship for Prosperity then I found myself wandering away to the political and economic environment most Kenyans find themselves experiencing in current times.

This article is an attempt to refocus on youth, hope and social change as I explore two distinct yet related concepts: Waithood and Wintering.

Waithood is an African social science concept rooted in sociology as it is based on extensive empirical research work in Africa. It is well documented by authors such as Prof. Alcinda Honwana and Marc Sommers.

Waithood is a period of suspense, stagnation and a delay of the financial and social independence that is supposed to accompany adulthood. A period where you are not here nor are you there as you cannot fully participate in the activities of adulthood due to unstable political, economic and social life. Some of the challenges of waithood are “unemployment, the difficulty of finding sustainable livelihoods, and the absence of civil liberties. Political instability, bad governance, and failed neo-liberal social and economic policies have exacerbated long standing societal problems and diminished young people’s ability to support themselves and their families.”

Depending on who you speak to in Kenya, the above is also very present here. I say depending because some people I speak to are very adamant they have the social and economic means to fully participate and indulge in the joys of adulthood as they perceive their station to be prosperous. I have wide and varied friendships with young people of Kenya as they occupy a special place in my heart so I am always very keen to discuss whatever is trending in their lives. What is evident is that a growing number of young people have found subversive ways to participate in the economic benefits of adulthood. They got so tired of being trapped in an endless state of powerless youth so they adapted to their ruthless context through cunning ways of crime, extortion and economic manipulation of older romantic partners. They also adopted abdication and surrendered their lives to other people to control and manage them.

In contrast to African waithood, wintering is a phrase popularized by British author Katherine Hay. As evidence of how Western contexts differ in their contextualisation of challenges, the latter word implies a state of rest, retreat, rejuvenation and meditation after major traumatic or life changing events. The impression is that the wintering phase can give you a complete and necessary shift of perspective; a chance to emerge a better, renewed and healed person. The author and many readers like me love the phrase because it normalizes, retreat and hibernation in workaholic, hyper productive cultures. It would be amazing to use the word wintering in a CV or LinkedIn profile and not face endless indirect criticism from people.

I suggest a radical departure from hopeless African waithood and I desire to convert the waithood years to wintering. Most young Kenyans are socialized to believe any delay and failure is catastrophic and unnatural. Recently, I heard a psychologist on a radio station suggest that young Kenyans are not being raised to appreciate humble beginnings so they are more likely to get depressed and quit faster than his older generation of Kenyans.

I wonder if we can foster an active acceptance of stagnation even as we look at the strategic way to change the context forever. Can we accept a season of failure and stagnation without transforming into permanently passive, apathetic and broken people? Can we reclaim systemic and relentless failures? Even those that are intentionally manufactured by the political class?

I want to encourage any person who feels that they have stagnated too long in one position, one station and one space to realise they are important even if they are stuck. Sometimes being alive means more than being what you perceive as  successful.

Many African people (both young and old) find themselves having to collect themselves, their lives and their countries after a prolonged season of loss, trauma, hardship or struggle. For now, our contexts are more unpredictable and unstable. Perhaps it is not such a catastrophe if you wait, winter and eventually emerge stronger, better and resilient.

Meanwhile, are there actions that we can make to ease waithood? Long term actions like an active participation in political and social life. What about internal philosophical shifts? What about embarking on a cause?

Let us create personal life strategies for making waithood and wintering count.

Sources:

Honwana, A. (2013). Youth and revolution in Tunisia. Bloomsbury Publishing.

May, K. (2020). Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times. Random House.