WTO is having a new head
and its the indomitable Ngozi
Dr Okonjo-Iweala will become the first woman
and first African to be chosen as DG
Director General!!
She starts March 1
and people all around were wearing head gear like hers
in honour of this great milestone
Loved this pic from the internet
The future is indeed female!
so in 1998
i cleared campus
looked for a job
and got a marketing gig
now now
introvert me....this was such a wrong match
i walked up and down the city
looking for clients
nada!
while colleagues are thriving
payment was made in cash
every friday
round a table!
finally
one colleague took pity on me
told me to set up appointment
and he would close the deal
sure enough!
he did
even if it was for the smallest space in the magazine
i mentally checked out
they asked me for an article
and thats the second and final payment i got
and stepped out
Oakland Media!
waaaaaaaaaa
september 1998
i have arrived early
ngong road offices
coalition on violence against women
its 9am
i enter and am asked politely, who called you??
am in shock!
anyways, there was a small misunderstanding
and am ushered in and start
first assignment was an audit
my induction was an audit!
and the person was headed back to his station
in Iran or something like that
so he rushed through it
baptism by fire
i got the hang of it
and stayed for 6 years
covaw shaped my view on human rights
on women's rights
on volunteerism
on professionalism
am indebted!
year is 1989
i have been admitted to chox
the limuru girls high school
am excited
glad that am closer to the city
than in my primary school far away in western
everything needed is brown
even the underpants!!
LOL
we swing into school with my dad
in a london cab no less
its the black new taxis in town
we were shown the rooms
we are 8 in the room
and my roommates have all come
one is from turkana,
never seen someone from turkana before!
am excited
my dad leaves
and am left to face the next four years
am excited
so help me God!
year is 1982
i was just 8 years old
i remember the low tones
everything seemed darker
the word curfew was all over the news
something bad seemed to have happened
not sure if i saw or heard
that several people were told to lie
on the floor
near the junction of ministry of water
south c
fast forward
to years later
corona has us all curfewed
and its one year since
so help us God
so its 1981
probably january 1981
i join class one
with me twin sis
we are in our shiny new uniforms!
with bright red sweaters
my other sis is in class 3
and she is a ball of energy
she drags our reluctant hands
to the class
saying loudly
hello teacher!
here are my sisters!!
am scared
don't know what to expect
i remember the smell of freshly shaved pencils
and the smell of warm milk
in small colourful mugs
or was this a memory from kindergarten?
oh well
its a long time ago
:)
So...........
i was seated there
in the office
minding my own business
when an email from IEE came through
some forwarded email
for internship grants
am like...oh well....never hurts to try!
and that's how i found my self
in the Big Apple
year is 2001 (i think)
interning at Equality Now
for 6 weeks!
Imagine that!
and being summer, with the long days
i wondered around each corner of NYC
solo traveler
every evening!
not even scared!
took the bus
took the train
went to Staten Island
went to Brooklyn
went to Madison Square Garden
went to Times Square
Sat in central park
went for dinner at the Twin Towers
heck! i even joined a protest march!
Bliss!
i love the ocean
endless mass of water
merging with horizon
the calming feeling of just staring
at the wide unknown
first time i saw this wonder
was in dar es salaam
circa 1993
we had gone to visit dad
it was a public beach i think
and he said
wash your face with the water
as a way paying homage
and i looked at it
with utter amazement
and realised why
in olden days
people worshiped the ocean!
So this February, I start a short story series on my first
My first flight
This was incidentally on Christmas day
We had gone to Dar es salaam to visit my father and he surprised us with a flight back to Nairobi
I was beside myself
We all wore smart!! since it was Christmas + it was a big day for all of us using a flight for the first time
Cant even remember the logistics involved
All I can recall is being seated and staring around in wonderment!! (if that is a word!)
Wow...its so nice to enjoy that experience with family members
So a new term has gain traction this past year
WFH
Working from home!
I must say I enjoy it
I had a some 15months stint at WFH some time back and was BORED!
Main reason was because the work was limited and I had to be present and not go about doing my own thing
However, with this one for 2020/2021 I enjoy it immensely
But I always wonder whether a little distraction doesn't make me more effective
Whole of 2020 I was WFH at the same time being Assistant Teacher!
and I was more effective!
Now that the house is SILENT since kids are back in school
I tend to less efficient
whats that about!!
---
Its nearly one year
Since the world was put on hold
Now more than ever
Just live in the moment
