@ric dees, To answer your question i would want to meet bill gates. He would be more interesting n world issues and not on newtonian or einsten issues. 2 I would probably understand him better. (That is irrelevant though because they are both from wealthy backgrounds)

I am from a poor background but thankfully i dont have a sob story to tell because all my siblings are doing well and most without a university education. Let me bring to your attention the rhodes scholarship. Rhodes scholars are chosen for their all roundedness and intelligence. Not because they are poor.
Extrapolating gathinga's logic. Educate a rich bill clinton who later creates clinton foundation ignoring his impact as president which helps hundreds of thousands to millions get out of poverty.
I am not advocating that poverty shouldn't be included but when deciding who to give a scholarship to merit, which is demonstrated by intelligence and well roundedness, i more important.
@Gathinga to extrapolate on your statement sponsor 1 rich person help a community.

@ first body to you they are sob stories, for me its real coz i experienced it.its like a white guy in America trying to tell a black guy that he understands what its like to be black but has never been in a black skin.

[quote=. Educate a rich bill clinton who later creates clinton foundation ignoring his impact as president which helps hundreds of thousands to millions get out of poverty.
[/quote]
Please read Bill Clinton's story and choose someone else as a poster boy for rich kids. I guess they are many.Quickest guide may be got from Wikipedia.

@Mukiha..I'd like your input on this, though on a slightly different topic.

Why do you think Kenya is unable to tap the huge qualified, Kenyan human resource in the West?

Me and some professors from KeMU are coming up with some seminars in US and UK to address this issue and enlighten East Africans on the huge opportunities back in the region, and would be interested in your views and indeed the wider Wazua forum.

Do you think it's Investment based?
A disconnect of sorts??
Political etc.

Your thoughts would be much appreciated!

I think it has to do with economics: Kenyans (professionals and others) living abroad can get much more return from their daily activities than they would from the same work here.

On the other hand, when they send their savings back home, the returns on investment are much greater than what they can get in the developed economies. No wonder there is greater human flight out of the country and huge capital inflow from the diaspora.

If you want to Kenyans to come back and use their skills in building the nation, then two conditions must be met:

1. Work that challenges their skills must be made available. A former colleague went to the US to do a PhD in electronics. His research was on integrated circuit packaging. He got a job with an IC manufacturer on compeletion of studies. It's not a "high-flying" job in terms of pay (even though he earns much more than his previous job in Kenya), but the work is challenging and full-filling. He never feels that the 4 yrs of the PhD were "wasted".

2. The earning potential must be good enough to provide similar level of living as they had in the developed world.

These two are closely related.

Here is a personal experience that might shed some light:

I went for university studies (under- & post-graduate) in UK in the mid-1980s. Came back in 1990. Then I stayed jobless for a good six months. Eventually I did get employment in an area that I really felt challenged. The pay wasn't the greatest [many former school-mates with first degrees from local universities were earning several times my pay!!], but full-filled by the fact that I was making a positive contribution to the lives of very many people - to date, I think my work over the 12 years that I stayed in that job has touched several hundred thousand lives.

Interesting issue on brain drain. Professor Calestous Juma from Harvard University shed some light on this during one of his lectures at the mindspeak club.

The good thing about his take on the issue was it came from him as part of his lecture and was not an answer to some question. So its likely to be from the heart.

Apparently, the biggest reason why brainy and 'thomed' chaps refuse to come home has nothing to do with money, pay, its all bout respect.

He gave an example of himself. He is doing stuff with KCA University and Multimedia University in Kisumu. Since they are involving him at a fairly high level, he feels they respect him, even though they dont pay, and therefore is more committed. He therefore splits his time between KCA and the paying harvard job.

Another example he gave was Ngugi Wathiongo. The guy came home as promised after Kanu was removed from power. He intended to start projects in literature and thespian education. The humiliation he underwent put paid to those dreams. He was more humiliated by the rape of his wife than by being detained by Moi...

I think respect is an issue.