Introduction
Individuals have been given the natural capacity to deal with social issues that affect them by the day. Micro-sociologists have admitted that there is creativeness and active response to the social world. People have the traits mentioned above due to the cultural, societal, and technical structures that influence them to act the right way. The emergence of the coronavirus in 2019 served as a litmus test on how human beings can respond to social attacks, which might appear to be significantly heavy to bear. African countries have shown their power to intervene in hard situations such as drought, climate change, and diseases. The climax of Covid-19 exposed the countries to risks of economic degradation because they depend on developed countries in Europe, Asia, and America to sustain their social and economic issues.
Kenya responded to Covid-19 by imposing restrictions on movement and exercising knowledge to handle the spread of the virus by undertaking public health campaigns. Although the move was hard economically, the government under then-president Uhuru Kenyatta released stimulus funds to support low-income households and local businesses. The initiative’s effectiveness raised concerns over transparency, but it opened the eyes of many Kenyans to how to be self-independent. Kenya managed to cope with social changes brought about by Covid-19 lockdowns and other related measures by adhering to personal protective methods, adapting to the digital new normal, and adjusting to fit the new way of living.
Kenya’s Response to Corona Virus Was Drastic Capability of Human Nature
The country was woken by the growing spread of the coronavirus worldwide. Confirming its first case on March 13, 2020, Kenya, through the Ministry of Health, set various rules to be followed to curl the rampant spread that was foreseen. The first creative bit enabled the country to mass produce local face masks that would be used to supplement the clinical ones on the spread of the virus. Many local producers started making the masks and sold them at affordable prices, which maximized their sales volume hence, benefiting from the enterprise that a social change has brought. To show the capability, the minister of health, then Mutahi Kagwe, started a move to trace all the contact of the first patient who had traveled from the US via London (Atieno, 2021). That was followed by a prohibition from traveling to high-risk countries with numerous disease cases.
Public gatherings, religious crusades, and events characterized by huge public nature were banned. The people of Kenya took the warnings and avoided crowded places while wearing protective masks whenever they were out of their houses. The unexpected change of life seen in the citizens symbolizes the individual’s activeness in responding to social changes. Life became a twist as many people developed a habit of staying indoors to prevent the further spread of the disease (Banerjee, 2020). One of the recognizable changes was working from home, where employees working in offices were recommended to do their formal duties while at home to discourage social contact outside. Within a short period, many Kenyans would come to terms with working from home, and transactions became cashless, even when paying bus fare or purchasing groceries.
In response to coronavirus, a social change, digital platforms gave a lifeline to Kenya’s creatives when the disease had significantly spread. Live shows had been paused due to the pandemic, and the Kenyan creative industry strategized new revenue streams on digital platforms that built resilience and changed the audience’s perception. Those in music, comedy, motivational speaking, and others started streaming their content live on social media channels such as Facebook. Instagram and YouTube (Chau, 2022). The users who felt the impact of banned shows would invest time to follow their favorite artists online and get the type of content they wanted. That was a significant change that Kenyans portrayed, that it is possible to get entertainment without getting out of the house.
The e-commerce policy solution was another turn that showed the Kenyan government’s activeness and capability in responding to the pandemic. The 2019 Digital Economy Blueprint for Kenya would be executed through a commitment to the use of technology to help the thriving of businesses and control social factors that challenge society (Pinchoff et al., 2021). Through collaboration with international observers, the government of Kenya rapidly implemented protection of personal data and counterfeiting meant to control cybercrime. Many people became aware that online scamming was evident due to the loss of jobs and desperation to get money for personal upkeep (Obahor, S., & Dunning, 2021). Therefore, Kenyan people were more aware of the critical care to be taken to avoid being robbed virtually.
With lockdowns, Kenyans use alternative options to sustain their economy, which is getting worse by the day. Leveraging the economy was possible by making people adapt to green energy from an agricultural perspective. With the imposed lockdown, many Kenyans got the information and tools required to adopt sustainable water conservation practices and green energy execution (“Kenyan communities taking the lead in curbing Covid-19 spread, 2022”). Many industries started being powered by green energy and agricultural activities. More than 90% of the country’s power comes from green sources, with its increase being lessons learned from the coronavirus (Chau, 2022). Lockdowns and cessation of movement meant limited access to commodities; thus, looking for other options was necessary. The institutionalization of change in terms of thinking and acting based on the Kenyan perspective shows how an individual’s creativity and capability can combat the social world.
Due to the presence of measures laid down to protect the community against the spread of the virus, Kenyans found themselves in contentious situations over household and energy decisions. Many families in the capital city, Nairobi, live in informal settlements, which translates to about 56% of the total population in the urban area (Solymári et al., 2022). The government’s measures to curb the pandemic made people lose their jobs, which changed their livelihood. As a result, it was hard to afford clean cooking fuels which do not have high levels of harmful emissions into the air. Due to the people’s capability, they shifted to cheaper cooking methods, such as wood and kerosene, which posed a risk to the environment. Failure to access modern energy forced many Kenyans in Nairobi to make difficult financial decisions when the lockdown was enforced (Gikandi, 2020). Therefore, the pandemic gave people a different perception of life regarding economic provision. Out of the lockdowns, individuals found skills in budgeting to sustain life. That said, micro-sociologists are right when they assert that individuals are capable and active in responding to the social world.
The pandemic brought many changes in social aspects, such as learning that shifted online. It was a new concept for Kenyans to adhere to virtual learning as most of them had been used to physical classes. The cessation of movement meant that learning would not be vigorous, which changed how students were taught before the pandemic (Obahor, S., & Dunning, 2021). Many parents were convinced that distance learning was required to save time and money paid as fees for their children. Thus, they encouraged their children to participate in online learning programs to save resources. Losing an academic year was painful to many Kenyans since the schools were closed for more than nine months. It allowed teachers and learners in North Eastern Kenya to avoid terrorist attacks, as going virtual presents a secure environment (Stefano Petti, 2020). It is true that, academically, society embraced a new way of studying, which is a major transition coming from the existence of the pandemic.
When Covid-19 struck the world, many countries, including Kenya, quickly closed their borders to protect their citizens. Additionally, the guidance to avoid walking around aimlessly meant a change in food supply and diet. There developed a new foundation for consuming food that is less likely to pass through many processes for fear of getting infected (Solymári et al., 2022). Kenya experienced a tough journey as many relied on common vegetables and locally produced food to sustain their lives. People did not want to indulge in comprehensive processes such as going to the market to buy bulk vegetables.
Many buys would embrace the notion of long-term meal planning with careful consideration. For example, it was hard for portable vendors to get customers as many buyers feared massive exposure to diseases while one was doing business. That gradually killed the available snacks sold alongside busy highways (Pinchoff et al., 2021). As a way of responding to the social world, Kenyans did not want to carelessly expose themselves to dangerous zones that had a high likelihood of getting the disease (Ratner, 2021). When a community faces a social problem, some traits come along and spread to the general public on how to solve the matter. That seemed to be the matter in Kenya as many people have been victims of influence to behaviors that are centered towards a particular outcome. Therefore, that type of social transformation was brought about by the pandemic.
Humans know how to cope with the social world whenever the need arises. The introduction of vaccines made people change their minds about the uncertainty of the jabs since they needed to be safe from the disease. The Kenyan culture is highly influenced by traditional heritages where a new matter is taken with the required attention. In 2021, the government of Kenya ordered all Kenyans to be vaccinated to get services in public offices (Pinch off et al., 2021). However, the High Court in the country objected to the matter and suspended the mandatory vaccination. In terms of the capacity to respond to social changes, it can be put that many Kenyans were optimistic that the vaccination would assist in preventing the spread of the disease. However, the policy that had compulsory directives paused various social concerns regarding the freedom to get services delivered to the public. Many people felt that there was intimidation, which is why through the Human Rights Watch (HRW), individuals could get relief as far as the plan is concerned (Pinch off et al., 2021). From the above information, one can obtain a unique way society changes toward a given subject. The government’s implementation of the vaccine plan was seen as a competent way of slowing the spread. However, the civilization people have given them the liberty to read between the line, which is why it was hard for the guideline to work. The incentive to vaccinate was left at the citizens’ discretion, which was a drastic change.
The lockdowns and imposed measures such as social distancing made people realize various issues. The first aspect is a social investment where people are required to connect with others as one way of interacting for various reasons. During the closure, people missed physical interactions but developed habits of reaching out to one another through phone calls and social media engagements. Before the pandemic, it was hard for someone to skip a month without going to a social function (Tubadji et al., 2021). However, with the new normal brought by the pandemic, Kenyan social investment grew by far, which might remain permanently (Ratner, 2021). Secondly, Kenyans realized the importance of living a sparing life, whereby indulging in matters that are not beneficial was limited due to the coronavirus pandemic. For example, luxury from alcoholism reduced significantly because people had other issues to attend to rather than tertiary calls. As one way of relieving oneself, individuals started learning agribusiness, which enabled them to pass the time while on their farms, resulting in a positive response to the pandemic.
In general, the Kenyan community supported curbing the pandemic’s spread through a series of activities. For example, World Health Organization (WHO) says the farmers around the Nairobi metropolitan who had been used to moving cattle around for grazing had to curtail their movement in new grazing zones (“Kenyan communities taking the lead in curbing COVID-19 spread”, 2022). The Maasai community, who form a reasonable portion of herders in the country, took precautions by making a unique makeshift village for grazing their animals. Only herdsmen were allowed to access the area equipped with handwashing points to ensure that people fight the virus by all means. The other social response was the new normal of relying on media to get ways one can undertake as far as covid 19 is concerned (Wangari et al., 2021). Many families followed live updates on Covid-19 by keeping tuned to their radios and televisions, which were only used for entertainment. Thus, there was a quick response to the disease’s new protocols to ensure normal life.
Conclusion
Covid-19 brought new life to many, including African countries. The lockdowns, wearing masks, and keeping social distance were taken as the new normal in Kenya. People started relying on online media for their feeds, such as entertainment. The government of Kenya was steadfast in responding to the pandemic by having set a budget to take care of those adversely affected by the disease. People started adopting green energy to power their industrial functions. Learning, which was considered to be a physical occasion, went virtual as a result of the lockdown. Closing borders meant less importing, opening the minds of local entrepreneurs who started forming massive production of local goods that the Kenyans embraced. Diet changed, but that did not significantly affect the nutritional value of the food intake. Farmers had different ways of getting their animals’ food, and the formation of herding fields with restrictions was rampant. Therefore, from all the highlighted points in the paper, it is right to support that individuals have the capacity, creativity, and activeness to respond to the social world, as many micro-sociologists argue.
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