Poverty is the norm, not the exception. A hot bath is virtually unknown. Indeed, bathing is rare. Clean water does not flow freely. The water is tainted with animal feces.
Children go hungry.
When presented with a piece of candy by Fawcett, a Kikuyu child clutched the small gift as if it were a treasured nugget of gold. The Kikuyus, Fawcett said, are a gentle, uncomplaining people who accepted their missionary visitors with open arms and gratitude. They had no anesthetics for surgery. A Kikuyu would be operated on, with no anesthesia and would remain silent. These people accept pain and move on.