Manderatings

So the other day as I was looking for honey in the supermarket I was reminded about this time when in rural Mandera checking out the work of some young and inspiring beehive farmers. One of them invited us to his 'simba' and proceeded to pull out a bucket that was full of honey combs....then with his bare (not-so-clean) hands, he tore for us pieces of the comb and, following what others were doing, we munched it like sugarcane!! I didn't even know that people do that!!! Cant really say no when someone offers you a meal, now can you?? Then, while chatting away enthusiatically, he squeezed the rest of the combs out and filled small containers for us to carry fresh honey to Nairobi....we took to our eager colleagues and carefully didn't mention the process that it had undergone ....LOL...knowing some of them, they would not have dared taken the honey!!

Flashback to the first time I went to Mandera...must have been 2005...waaaaaaa.......we drove for 2 days in brand new double cabin pickups that were blaring Somali music. Those days the flights from Nairobi were miraa flights and the miraa fetched more money than people...so ...road it was...We boarded the cars in Eastleigh and headed out after the boots were packed to the brim with supplies...makes the car more stable am told. The road ended in Garissa but we still made it to the next stop...spent the night in Wajir and next day drove to Mandera.....I was sandwiched between two hefty men...and they spoke above the loud music, I was new in the organisation so was as timid as they come...now of course, am not about to do that!!!!! + I have added 'a bit' of weight so cant fit anyways :)

Anyways, the ride was pretty uneventful....... but tiring ..waaaaaaaaaaaa.....mercifully...we reached in one piece...for some reason in my mind i assumed Mandera would look like Eastleigh....well...it didnt!!

Our host was gracious and treated us to meaty dishes from morning to evening...I commented, that I have taken enough meat to last me a lifetime...then i fell sick....ehhh...he said that i spoke mbaya about the meat so thats why i fell sick....(the extension of that story is a story for another day).

I have never been so happy that my colleague had to get back to Nairobi quickly so we both got bundled into the next miraa flight from Mandera (now that its empty, passengers are allowed) and sat opposite each other like in those matatu za kitambo and reached Nairobi safely!! I didnt even care for the discomfort....all I wanted was my Nairobi :) #citygal

Fast forward to more recent times and my other visits to Mandera is nothing compared to my initiation ride - what with using the comfortable ECHO flight...that takes about 2 hours and you  have landed.....immediately....heading off to Rhamu in an air conditioned 4x4 comfortable car....and being invited to very nice accommodation....not falling SICK...(I have never commented 'badly' on food ever again)...pity that insecuity and dengue fever made me not go back for a couple of years...

Our colleagues during the last visit insisted that we must visit the Governors offices....ehhh...you cant even imagine you are in Mandera!! See the luscious green grass in pic below....thats in Mandera!!

Mandera.....the place is interesting.....different, thats for sure!

#tembeaKenya

The sound of hope & possibility

At one point, I grew up in an estate in Langata and it was right next to Malezi School....In the early morning of a new term, you could hear the lil ones crying since they missed home...and this was a new place for them. With time they settled in and now all you could here was nursery rhymes being recited over and over and over again.

The one incident that makes me laugh till today is when they used to sing......Oh Mwana Mberi, Oh Mwana Mberi..... a popular Luhya song in praise of first borns...but they sang it so slowly that my mum was like...eish...these kids are singing the song as if they are drunkards!!! LOL

Now I stay near a school and I love the sound of children singing in the background and children laughing and screaming with glee during breaks...I really admire teachers and how they can mold children from blank slates to what we know them to be!!!

Am reminded of this today...coincidentally at work, am also next to a school and these sounds fill the air all the time....the sounds of hope & infinite possibilities...

God bless our lil children!

Mater Heart Run 2016...great cause of support!

May rolled in and of course we simply had to take part in the Mater Heart Run...this is a must for our house :) If there is one cause I support whole heartedly its this one....that a child can get a much needed asssistance so that they can enjoy their childhood even more and grow into healthy adulthood!

I have been taking part in this walk for a long time...but the earliest photo I could find was for 2009...in 2010, my nephew and son also took part for the first time and boy, weren't they tired!! in 2013, my daughter took part and I had to enlist help so that she can be carried should she give up...and for sure we took turns to carry her. In 2015, I didn't take part, but kids went for it (no photo :( ).

So in 2016, when the two days before the walk was raining like its been sent by sijui what,...I almost gave up on it, don't wish to be rained on with no place to shelter. By mid morning, the sun was out on the Friday before the walk/run so I dashed to Nakumatt Junction and got me 4 T-shirts. That evening, an idea hit me as I was looking at the route, that we can actually make it more fun, by taking part in the walk in Machakos instead....not far from Nairobi and not as hilly (that upper hill stretch kills me!!)

So early Saturday, off  we went to Machakos...we were there at 7.30am...kumbe the walk starts at 8am as per the program...so we took some snacks and waited patiently. Lots of school children!! and the Guest of Honour acknowledged that 50% of the contributions normally comes from school children..so nice!! Finally 10am we set off, and the looming dark clouds had cleared...the walked seemed so long,....but worth it

Finally we were done and off we went to Machakos Peoples park for some lunch...hubby even tried some zip lining (to the amazement of the kids!!)

Well done Mater!! May you always extend the heart of mercy to lil ones!!

Elephant in the area...

I saw an elephant for the first time in Marsabit

This was just outside my room at the Marsabit lodge....early 2005!! thats a long time ago...but the sight was one to behold...my mouth was just open...I couldnt even move....the elephant was so close...it was a young one and soon the older ones came closer as well...you see there was a salt pit (i think that's what its called) and it attracts them closer to the rooms and you can then marvel at them, up close and ...well, up close!!...and i took a picture of the two of them!!

After that, I have seen several of them, several times.....mostly on the way to Maralal...that park seems to have many walking around. There was one time we met a lone elephant...that thing was massive!! and right in the middle of the road....my colleagues told the driver, flash lights at it...am like....nooooooooooo.....i think i read somewhere that a lone elephant is not a happy elephant!! i was so scared....and luckily the elephant calmly walked away before the lights were flashed!!...and i took a picture of it as it sauntered away...

I have touched one in Tsavo East ama West, i forget which one....but for that one we had to wake up early in the morning so that we can get to the place where they are taken care of!! took a photo too (looking shocked at the proximity)!!

And the one that crowns it is David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust, right here in Nairobi. Everytime we had colleagues come into Kenya, this was a must stop for them, but I had never been. So one morning we trooped there, my sisters and kids, even the neighbours kids!! That was mad fun! and i loved the way the kids marvelled at the baby elephants being given milk in massive bottles....loved that visit!!

#whyiloveKenya #worthmorealive #tembekenya

May peace prevail!!

Am seating here taking a break from work, by glancing at Facebook

Then I see all these images of the guy in green being mercilessly beaten by security agents...the agents seems angry...they seem to have a task to complete....they seem to have been very ready to mete out all their anger on whoever they can tackle to the ground

Am getting scared of what this means….

The guy was already down….why beat him some more and stamp him with heavy boots!!

Someone mentions that the guy passed away!!! (later...on 19th May, he was interviewed, he had survived!)

Makes me even more scared!

Means if you can cornered in whichever place, they can actually beat you up that you are a protestor….waaa

and this is more than 1 year to elections - itakuaje from now?? does it mean its one way or the highway....

God help us!

Surely, dialogue is not a sign of weakness!

Car trouble..

One of the things I fear most is car trouble!!

From the simple one of early morning, when you are ready to go and boom, flat tyre ....to the more complex problems where the dash board has turned red because everything seems to be wrong!!

I once packed my sisters and their kids into the car and we were to head off to see Giraffes and of course having this loud conversations as we usually do, so am not really noticing that something is a miss with the car. Shortly, the car just stops!! It agrees to start and i move it to the side of the road and by this time we are already in Karen.....seems to be smoking from the front and so we agree, lets go to Hardy police area since there is a petrol station there.....by the time we got to Hardy the car swayed and for sure stopped. When the mechanic opened the bonnet, one pipe was off....yaani the car was thirsty like a nonsense! silly me had totally forgotten to check coolant!! and that's where the problem with that car started!! it became so sensitive, I would rather use public means!!

Another time, am driving calmly along statehouse rd, and the front park starts smoking!! clear smoke....surely the car has just come from the garage!! and so i call the mechanic and he says,  if the indicator for engine heating up is not on, then ni sawa tuu, hiyo gari can still move...am like, ehh? me, still drive a smoking car, ebu come and pick it! i slowly drove it to the nearest petrol station and he sent his mechanic....and the guy is like hii gari iko sawa....told him chukua tuu...mm nimeenda home...leta kesho kama haina moshi!!

ION - don't you just appreciate those mechanics who come and pick the car from you, change what needs to be done and bring back with invoice....I had one like that for a couple of months until funny dude conned me by not replacing a part and invoicing me for it!! The car had the same problem and I sort second opinion and the guy tells me you need to replace XYZ and I say, I did that last week...and he tells me nope, its an old one!!

If only mechanics knew that honesty is the best policy, hiyo biashara can boom esp with ladies, who am sure, many are like me, who would rather do something else, than watch a car being repaired!!!

About last nite...BAKE awards

Ever since I decided to start my blog, I knew I had to get into groups that would give me the psyche to blog continously...so BAKE was the most relevant...so I joined them

Was a nice surprise to receive an email, that as a member of BAKE, welcome to the 5th BAKE awards at the Radisson Blu (no less!!)...I quickly hunted for a plus one and got my younger sis to tag along

So thats how we found ourselves all decked up and ready to roll on Saturday evening...it was great fun and a new experience and my oh my, we took loads of pics....hehehehe was imagining if hubby agreed to come, that could have been less than 5 shots to sum up the evening!!!

Anyhooo...there were various awards and of course a big CONGRATULATIONS to all the nominees and the winners....some blogs i have never had of, and others am a fan like no one else

It was interesting the way the speakers kept saying that they were told its difficult to speak to bloggers and that they should not give long accounts of whatever it is they were talking about...mmmhhh that sounds like a rumour

The winners were varied, but most seemed to be petite young women....mm....researchable topic that one!

and finally the big award of the night went to non other than Chocolate man himself BIKOZULU....alililili....but he was missing in action....though i have a feeling that he was in the audience but hates attention and keeps saying in his blogs that he wouldnt want his identity revealed...so that summed up the night, after the heavy snacks we left...for more music elsewhere!! but not before taking a selfie at the dropdown banner :) :)

http://www.blogawards.co.ke/2016/05/14/and-the-winners-are/