Power to Read

1998 was a year of many firsts

i graduated with my degree in december

and what a grand day it was!!

looking back at the photo

i looked so young

gosh

and to think that some classmates

were already mothers by then!!

i had also just landed my first real job

and getting into the thick of being

a

mukereketwa!! hehehehehehe

well

20 years later

am still reading

and doing all that pertains

to that degree

as I was ordered back then!!

cheers to many more

Face of hope....

Remember this one?????

HE IS GRADUATING FROM KENYATTA UNIVERSITY TOMORROW DEC 14!!!!

MAY GOD BE FOREVER PRAISED!!!

Face of hope...

February 3, 2010 at 7:10 AM

All the stories recently in the media about KCPE, bursaries, corruption, needy deserving bright Kenyan students reminded me of what happened last week

Last Friday morning I was seating in a colleagues office in Marsabit town just chatting on different things – the kind of peace work they are engaged in, the girls and boys that are involved in the peace soccer tournaments that they organise, the fact that there are numerous human rights issues that happen all the time within Marsabit but cant be spoken about etc etc….what was evident was that growing up in northern Kenya compared to the rest of Kenya are two very different realities that either side simply cannot appreciate unless they consciously make an effort, hence no wonder the policies are so biased when it comes to what is relevant to Northern Kenya…and so on.

Then we got round to speaking about education and she mentioned that the levels of poverty are so high just like many parts of Kenya and the children who manage to at least finish primary school, simply end up lazing about in the village – the girls will probably be married by then and the boys become local ‘soldiers’. And we spoke on the different possibilities of getting support for these children because for instance several members of the soccer team that they sponsor will probably not go ahead to secondary school because of school fees. So far most of the scholarships offered one has to have had 350 points and above out of the possible 500– we ranted over how such scholarships should consider how difficult it is even to get these grades in these parts of the country and you cant have the same marks applied to all.

However, there was one advert from Jomo Kenyatta Foundation (JKF) which she placed outside their office and a Board member from a certain village 20km away told her that there was a young man from her village who has the requisite qualifications and so she asked him to come and see her. He came (on foot) and together they tried to complete the forms and get the requisite documents for the application. She had made copies of the forms they had filled so that he sends the originals by post. And so since I was coming back to Nairobi she asked that I carry the copies to JKF since she was not sure if the boy managed to post them and even if he did it would probably not meet the today (3rd February) deadline.

Imagine when she opened her office door, there he was, with his father, they had come back to her office so that his father can see who is helping his son and also to show her the extra supporting documents that they had managed to gather…so now this means that I was given the originals to safely deliver at the JKF offices on Enterprise road in Nairobi – I mean the look of hope in both their faces was palatable…the numerous thank yous that they were giving us was heart rending – at that point I really wished I was a JKF person so that I could give the assurance that he had the scholarship!!! Despite my colleague saying that all we are doing was ensuring that the form gets delivered, we are in no way associated with JKF and when they get the scholarship is when they should really thank JKF….

I can only imagine what was going through the old mans head, here was a man who had two other children who had equally passed their KCPE despite the odds, had been called to good secondary schools but their hopes of joining secondary schools were dashed since the father could not raise the requisite fees…yes I know this happens all over Kenya as well, but my hearts strings were really pulled as I sat meekly in that office accepting the envelope that was given to me with both hands as if to say, it’s a done deal!

God please help this young man get this scholarship and give him a fighting chance to get his family out of the unending cycle of poverty.

UDHR@70

funny story

before joining COVAW in September1998

- cool 20 years ago,

I had never had of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights!!

so when there was all this hullaballoo around in in December 1998

and the celebrations to mark 50 years of the declaration,

i just went with the flow

now this year marks 70 years since the UDHR

and what really has changed??

one things for sure,

the fight goes on!!

welcome to the double digits!

so lil ms sunshine turns 10 today!!

imagine that!!

one day she was one

and now 10

how time flies

her name, means joy

am told it also means abundance

in amharic no less

some people have called her

rahab!

others

furaha....

its Raha, short & simple

and her name is my wish for her

everlasting joy in her life

may God always hold you

my raha

in the palm of his hand!!

Liberated

Liberated

there is something liberating

about finally making a decision

you know the thoughts

that have taken trips

round your head

for ages

and finally you have called

that important

'board' meeting with yourself?

you know

the one that has

me, myself and I present?

and you make THE DECISION

totally liberating

hashtag/ current situation

Quarter 4, lets do this

so september is over

we have 3 more months to end of year

what a year this has been

if stress had a year, then 2018 is the year for me

as i turn over a new year in my life

i pray that q4 brings with it

peace

traquility

rest

travel

and of course

new beginnings

...and then i received this encouragement as i was writing this note

Here is your word for today:

Verse:   Philippians 4:13

'For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.'

- His presence in our lives changes the dynamic of everything around us.
- It takes us from being overcome to becoming overcomers.
- It takes us from struggling and striving to flourishing and thriving.
- Let His strength invade your life, and you will do what seemed impossible.

PRAYER: Lord, I ask that You will give me Your strength right now. I don't want to operate under my own power, but I want to operate in Your strength and in Your enabling power. Amen.

Have a blessed final quarter of 2018!!

Day 1....20 years ago!

September 4th 1998

I reported to my first real job!!

anxious, excited, worried, anxious again

I walked into the offices on Ngong road, eager to start this brand new role....me, new and the first person to officially take up this task in this upcoming NGO. I had been told to report at 9am and there I was, I think earlier than 9am. I found this lady at the reception and she welcomed me and told me to wait for someone to come and talk to me. Another lady came, greeted me well, but wondered who had called and asked me to come that day! I told her the name of the person who had contacted me (mercifully I remembered the name) and she went back into the other room. My mind was racing....for all the celebration we had already done for this new job...how come there seems to be confusion as to whether I was to be here or not!! Anyways, said confusion ended and I started off!..with an audit no less!

I stayed in said organisation for a cool 6 years!! I would never have thought that I would be in this organisation for that long. I learnt so many new things and in hindsight, its best if your first job is in a small organisation since you do/learn  e v e r y t h i n g!! you can pick calls, do proposals, do budgets, heck even do radio talk shows when the station calls for that slot you have pushing for and none of the program staff are around and the Chair tells you...well by now you know the issues, go and talk about them!!!! That was COVAW for you - Coalition on Violence Against Women!

However, the downside of being at the frontline, or so I call it, is that you see all the bruises first hand. It gets to you at some point....thats all we talked about...everyday....whole day....the stories even at lunch revolved around violence against women..and children....sad, agonising, shocking, amusing tales of what women/children have gone through.....you can become cynic number ONE even with the group counselling sessions we had. I had to leave.....urgently......I looked for an exit earnestly and finally was got my next job.

But COVAW has a special part in my heart!

I made lifelong friends who I cherish to this day. I worked with interns who I relate to to this very day!! Some got bored cutting out newspapers and filing them in the scrap book.....got bored combing through the newspapers daily for advocacy issues that we must respond to, and faxing endless press statements to all newsrooms..........while others did this with so much enthusiasm! no wonder they are successful now....A T T I T U D E is everything I tell you!!

I worked with at that time young women with fire in their bellies....full of energy and zeal...thinking of new ways of doing things, of getting the message across! we celebrated when the messages got printed in papers! its easier now...all you have to do is tag all the relevant media! We did campaigns all year round....its all about having the conversation going..once we did a silent march in Nairobi - i dont where someone got the idea...but the essence was that we shall not be silenced like the silent women walking along the streets!!......we printed posters tshirts leaflets you name it!! once we did the tshirts late and when they go to Taita Taveta, they had the wrong message!!!! .......the climax of the campaigns was end of the year....the 16 days of activism campaign! that was something!!

In 1998...the year I joined COVAW we also marked 50yrs since the Universal Declaration of Human Rights - that was the first time I was hearing of the UDHR...and of course we marked it in a big way!!

such a roller coster of emotions working in the frontline! its intense...its sad....and there are numerous happy moments worth celebrating....

Cheers to all in the frontline!!

Encounters, of a magical kind

So Obama was in town

briefly

and he went straight to rural Siaya to launch a centre that his sister Auma built

(photo credit Sauti Kuu facebook page)

for me, what was more amazing was the little children who got to meet him first hand, a man whose roots can undoubtedly be traced to the same rural village they call home and here he was, right in front of them, a testament that indeed anything is possible

i can only imagine their amazement

their curiosity

am sure, for many, they will never forget that day

and when the reporter interviewed some of them later, in their school compound

Senator Barack Obama Primary School, no less!

they narrated with childish innocence and wonder, at how he gave them tips on playing basketball etc

loved it!

there are many people, whom am sure, can narrate the details of such encounters in their lives, whether its a school mentorship function, etc....when a statement by one individual made a profound impact in their lives, lessons which they carry to this day!

may this be such a moment for these children

may they all soar higher than the skies

encounters

of a magical kind

are ....

magical!

Year of blessing

Saturday

Its June 23

I have like 3 conflicting events i need to attend to - how to split my self! decisions decisions!

and they are in different parts of this town

so decided early morning, will attend the Holy Communion mass for my lovely niece...and then head out to riruta area for baby shower and the third one, I give my apologies

the morning mass was lovely!! the children looked simply angelic! i loved it through and through! the sermon was on point and the prayer that that was said that 'may they always love Jesus in the Eucharist with the same innocence and eagerness of today..Lord here us!'....this touched my heart! Sad that we could not stay for lunch...next headed home to pick some things...then seat through the crazy Saturday Mombasa road jam.....and finally to naivasha road, again more jam...aii....by the time i reached second venue it was 4.30pm and i was like better late than never!

see this year has been grand in my view

i have attended more happy events than sad ones....and I thank God.....

so we are halfway through 2018 and heres to the rest of 2018

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. 
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? 
I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Is. 43:18-19

Fathers Day

Fathers day was great fun!!

especially in organising for it

youngest is 5 and they had a school trip to Stedmak gardens

all he kept saying was a I SAW A LLAMA!! and of course the rest of us were like, llama in Kenya???? are u sure it wasnt a small camel??? Noooo...I SAW LLAMA!! and there is also a floating restaurant he said!

so when we were deciding where the surprise lunch would be, it was unanimous, Stedmak it was

The lunch was great

the food delicious (though got cold quickly because of the open air)

the air was crispy, mercifully we had warm jackets

they have a heated pool, but still i was feeling too cold to even let the kids in

the guy has a couple of animals for viewing, quite a site

and of course

we saw the LLAMAS!!!!!

Happy Fathers day!!!

(and yes, the young one kept it all a secret until d day! proud of him)

We did it!

we have waited for this day

the day of his first ran....or walk

the other kids talk about it

so when the green t shirt finally came

it dawned on LO that its actually happening

he is 5.5 years and we thought this is a good age to start

he was up early and eager to go

we headed off to Machakos and

reached at 10am!! we thought the walk would have started

but we were just in time to listen to the

testimonies of the children who have benefited

Touching stories indeed!

God bless Little Sisters of Mercy, who ran Mater Hosp

So off we walked....this time armed with sweets and water (last year we forgot!)

and we walked

and walked

at 7.2km (as per the phone reader)

the tiredness set it

Daddy had to carry him.....if not the wailing might start

after a distance

he was game again to walk

we cleared the walk in 2hours

and of course went to Machakos peoples park for yummy lunch

Lovely day!!

THE WEDDING!!

Am sure I don't need to elaborate further

This past weekend was a grand one

it was all kinds of wowwwwwwwww

The wedding of charming Prince Harry and his beautiful american bride Megan

I love weddings

I love the hope in the air

I love the new love

I love the new beginnings it represents

I love the frills!!

...the anticipation, the photos!!

and of course all the analysis that comes

eh si UK media can chambua a story!!

I didn't watch it live, had errands to do (life of a mother, on a Saturday)

but as soon as i was back home, i was on youtube!

Loved it Loved it Loved it

and the memes!! oh my....people do have a funny bone

However,didn't like the constant reference to her having been divorced

her mum cut a lonesome figure being all alone, though resplendent in green

being an African, and the way we are many...curious that NO ONE accompanied her....

well maybe that's how she lived her life, alone, doing her thing, solo...

so take in all the GLORY Mama, you deserve it

plus this article said it so well!

https://www.the-pool.com/news-views/opinion/2018/21/marisa-bate-on-doria-ragland-royal-wedding-and-single-parents

anyways, here's to wishing them Gods blessings now and forever!!

Loading....a fitter me

my quest for fitness has been up and down

too many excuses along the way

i have maintained at 100kg for as long as i can remember

5.5yrs ago i was 80kg and i felt sick since i lost it suddenly...

so i know 80kg is not for me

but definitely i need to be lighter

i can feel the weight

in the panting after simple task like taking a flight of stairs

in the exhaustion when i take a brisk walk

this is not right

let me make things right

they say so long as you move

you are better

so i rejoice in the small steps am making

beware of the chair!

Its the little things

its in the smile when they see you

its the warmth in their eyes

its the warmth in their voice

its in the way they greet you

its in the way they help you

its in the way they always get you your fav chewing gum

its in the flowers they present to u

its in the walks they take with you

its in they way they truly LISTEN to you

its in the way they understand your brand of humour

its in the way they remember everything you said

...even years ago

its in the way they KNOW whats important to you

its in the way they call you out

....even when u dont wanna hear the truth

its in the little things

A story of why I should have stayed behind...

clouds have gathered

i have one more thing to do

then make a dash for it

Rain and Nairobi dont mix

45min later am stuck at an intersection

it starts to rain

i know this is gonna be a long ride

i inch forward

ONE hour later i have barely moved

a text message comes

Airtel - you have 7705MB data and

it expires 04/05/2018

i see it as a sign

i can watch youtube!!!!

silver lining i tell u

thank you JESUS!!

5 hours later

i limp into the house

i should have stayed behind

...the end

Sleeping like a baby

sleep

I envy people who can sleep

at the drop of a hat!

me

ehh

i need to be warm

not too warm

so most nights socks are a must

and then please please

no noise

no mosquito humming

no doors banging

just silence

no windows open so wind can blow in

and move stuff around

else

am those ones

who wake up 10 times

and find it hard to sleep again

trying hard not to check the time

else i will be more anxious

anxious that i will not get enough rest

and then next thing

alarm goes off

back to the grind

Get up, Show up

Every morning, I drive to work through the Southern by pass in Nairobi. This is a beautiful stretch that normally has no traffic so one can hit the 100km per hour allowed speed limit while listening to favourite tunes at high volume

But I digress

This stretch despite being mostly desolate, is full of people walking purposefully in all directions, come rain or sunshine. It even includes some joggers and I always wonder where they are coming from since i cant imagine jogging here and if i get tired?? you simply have to complete the stretch! yaikks

But I digress again

The point I wanted to make was that no matter what, better to show up for your hustle!

Someone else is wallowing in bed because there is nothing to do, but there IS ALOT that can be done if you just SHOW UP!

end of rant....

well, let me get back to my hustle

Rain and Showers

Its pouring outside

a little over 8pm

am tired, but a good tired

that was a great workout

am standing under a warm shower

and its raining outside

love the sound of rain as i shower

pure bliss

one, because am in a warm place

two, piping hot tea waiting for me

three, interesting book or TV show to watch

BUT'

tomorrow am in trouble

i think

no

i know

i overdid it on the squats!

oh well

will deal with that tomorrow

for now

let it rain!

Pre-teen!!!

My dearest boy!!

Today is a big day

you turn 12, one more year and you are a teenager

The expected date of your arrival was actually March 22nd and so since the office gives 10 days before expected date, I was done with work and now decided to tag along with your Aunty for a movie. But first, we had to pass through hospital for a 'quick check' and the doctor said, ok, go upstairs i need to admit you today!! and that day 5pm you came into this world, my small very brown bundle of joy :)

so you owe your Aunt a movie (as she always says)!

It has really rained today! and I remember the days before you were born, the rain was relentless and the house roof was leaking at every corner! and so we called Landlord and told him, now with the baby almost here, whats gonna happen? and just like that, he redid the whole roof so that we had a warm place to bring you to!

You are a loving, caring and obedient boy. May these values never fade

My prayer for you today is 2 Corinthians 9: 8 -  

And [may you always know that] God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work

Amen

Your loving Mum!