Fundi!!

Ah the frustrations of dealing with jua kali/ fundis!

So I needed a tailor for my kitenge - I was referred to this guy and I thought, oh well...I can always try him with this piece and if he prooves to be any good, then he becomes my official tailor.

Well he seemed to understand the kind of design I wanted, a peplum top - simple enough- and yes, he confirmed the fabric I had was enough. He took measurements, we agreed on price...then he said...come for it after one week....my wife will be done...am like, eh?? he says, yes, my wife is the one who makes the clothes but at another site, I just sell them from this point. I was like, aiii.....isnt part of the process is to look at how the client actually looks like??

Sure enough when I came back for the top, the peplum part looks like a tutu...it doesn't lie flat....like the ones worn by traditional dancers.....am already plus size, dont need more plus!!!..

Reminds me of another tailor who slowly took measurements for my trouser and made a tiny one that could fit me probably when i was 10!!!! and he looked at me, looked at the trouser, shook his head (with hand on chin for effect) and said...kweli hii ni ndogo (for sure this one is small)!!!!!!! and he is the one who took the measurements!! aiiiiiii....back to my expensive tailor!!

Lesson: cheap is expensive :)

Ukereketwa aka Advocacy

Advocacy...I was introduced to this big word in 1998 when I joined COVAW ...the organisation worked on womens human rights and the basic assumption was that everyone in the office was an activist...even if you are the Adminstrator!!

So here I was, a young impressionable lady....and activists like Hon Millie Odhiambo, Hon Adelina Mwau, L. Muthoni Wanyeki, Atsango Chesoni, Anne Gathumbi, Jackline Anam, Antonina Njau were the board members and the kind of hands on people who  called often and asked for this and that to be done. First of all, since this was not my circle before joining COVAW, I really didnt consider them big wigs in advocacy!!

Years later, is when i came to realise that I was among greats!

My initial encounter with advocacy work was the 1998 16 Days campaign...that was in November and I had joined two months earlier. The work we had to do...goodness!! The press statements had to be done and words/ phrases like 'condemn in the strongest possible terms' ...'demand that'...were the order of the day. I used to wonder whether a small agency like this can make such demands to big government offices! Dont they risk arrest or something serious like that?

Now the landscape has changed. Human rights are being violated left right and center; the press statements we used to write could get to the concerned public officer but not always to the public. The best we got was a mention in an article in the newspaper...sometimes depending on the issue, the entire Media brief is published! we celebrate....but honestly nothing visible was seen after that..almost like a PR stunt....that we didnt keep quiet when the issue was 'hot'. Today we tweet and the issue can easily trend globally - concerned officers dont want their names splashed all over the internet as being unconcerned

Today I make a statement #IamWillie...I may not be able to go on the streets but am with the wakereketwa 150%. May Justice prevail

#JusticeforWillieMwendaMuiruri

Who is my neighbour??

Sunday reading was about the Good Samaritan

Gospel Lk 10:25-37

......
"And who is my neighbor?"
Jesus replied,
"A man fell victim to robbers
as he went down from Jerusalem to Jericho.
They stripped and beat him and went off leaving him half-dead.
A priest happened to be going down that road,
but when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
Likewise a Levite came to the place,
and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him
was moved with compassion at the sight.
He approached the victim,
poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.
Then he lifted him up on his own animal,
took him to an inn, and cared for him.
The next day he took out two silver coins
and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,
'Take care of him.
If you spend more than what I have given you,
I shall repay you on my way back.'
Which of these three, in your opinion,
was neighbor to the robbers' victim?"
He answered, "The one who treated him with mercy."
Jesus said to him, "Go and do likewise."

 

....and i loved that this message was also passed to the children in Sunday school - so I asked youngest one (3.5yrs)...so what did you learn?? '...mtu alimia...alikua chini...' and the rest was colouring...he didnt add that we need to help...to show extend Gods mercy to others......but thats ok for now, I guess??

 

 

 

Your Excellency!!

So I find myself in a non descript hotel in town waiting for an ICPAK talk on Excellency. Truth is, I have to do this since i need the CPD points...however, I have never been so glad to be in the forum!!

The speaker Rev Joseph Obwanda was simply excellent! I felt so re energised after the session - I knew the evening would be well spent when he mentioned that the late Mr Murimi was a personal friend (Mr Murimi was also an excellent speaker on finaance and economics)

Let me attempt to summarise

To begin with, the hindrances to excellence
 - False evidence appearing real (FEAR) - infact move towards the things you fear
 - Laziness - you need to put in honest effort
 - Procrastination - postponing critical tasks

In summary, excellence, he said means exceed what is expected, surpass what is expected and be outstanding

E-X-C-E-L-L-E-N-C-E

Exceptional - what is unique about you, find what it is and maximise on this
Xtra factor - do over and above what is expected
Character - integrity
Enthusiasm - your passion and attitude
Learning -the more you learn the more you earn; invest in yourself
Leverage - what are your result producers
Energy - put in honest effort
Newness - innovate
Completeness - how well and how fast your complete your work
Environment - internal (belief system) and external (needs to be empowering)

Loved it!!!

First Holy Communion with pomp....

So we are seated enjoying lunch by the ocean and notice two separate groups having parties

The girls are in lovely lovely white dresses and white stockings and the boys in black suits complete with bow ties (despite the swealtering Dar es salaam heat!!!). Its a party to celebrate their First Holy Communion - this apparently is a very big deal in this city and one person jokingly told us that waTanzania wanapenda sana sherehe!!

I guess for us a houseparty suffices - and mostly a few relations and thats it - one party even had a memory book complete with pictures where guests were signing!!!

Took me back to when I received my first Holy Communion - it was at the Holy Family Minor Basilica and I was in class two.  My sister and I wore long white dresses that had more net than material - which was the fashion then....I remember also that the lady who sewed them lived near Kongoni primary school, Nairobi West...used to have a photo of this day, but I have not seen it for a long long time. The church was packed that day since the ceremony was for a couple of schools and for some reason I vividly remember the entrance song was:-

'...Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
Enter his courts with praise,
Today will be, a Joyful day,
Enter his gates with.....

Well, all I can say, is that I wish them Gods blessings as they enter into this new phase of their Catholic Faith - its indeed a joyful day, and a moment to remember!

Happy Fathers day to all the dads out there!

Happy Fathers day to all the dads out there!

I was in a group once of amazing ladies and the conversation turned to who had the most influence over their lives. So many of them were my father this, my father that.......I realised that its very easy to underestimate the power of fathers over their children. Pope Francis is clear on his wish for the family, but we find ourselves in different types of families given various circumstances..

Either way, I read this poem years ago and loved it, so I share it each year

What Makes a Dad

God took the strength of a mountain,
The majesty of a tree,
The warmth of a summer sun,
The calm of a quiet sea,
The generous soul of nature,
The comforting arm of night,
The wisdom of the ages,
The power of the eagle's flight,
The joy of a morning in spring,
The faith of a mustard seed,
The patience of eternity,
The depth of a family need,
Then God combined these qualities,
When there was nothing more to add,
He knew His masterpiece was complete,
And so, He called it ... Dad
Author Unknown

So to all the fathers doing their best, in the midst of 'hunting' and the ever changing expectations of the world today, cheers to you all!!

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