All About Kenya

Sharing Joy

2010-04-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

Those who bring sunshine to the lives of others

cannot

keep it from themselves.

Reminiscing

2009-10-12T04:12:00.000-07:00

I have not had the opportunity to return to Kenya in nearly two years. Organizational affairs here in the States have kept me from returning. I have often been sad to tears. Yet, there is a reason why I seem to be held here. After all, when I consider the volume of work and the opportunities I have had to spread words about the work there and raise funds for the work. I would not have been able to conduct as much business nor provide as much assistance had I been there instead of here.

In the aftermath of the election violence and the effects of the continuing drought, my associates have required much and I have done as much as I was able both personally and organizationally.

Some have commented to me over the years about the Kenyan politics, culture, and their elite. Yes, the Kenyan elite is probably no different from the elite everywhere. But, when I stayed in Kenya, it was my pleasure to have several different types of experiences over the months:

1 - the friend I knew before I came to Kenya, met me at the airport and we rode for 10 or so miles west of the airport. When I arrived it was evening and by the time we were in the surrounding areas to the house it was too dark to see very much. In the morning, I found that I was inside a small compound that was walled off. I could hear birds and other small animals outside my window but I could not see anyting but the birds. Near the front of the compound, there were all types of parked cars, car parts and even a cow, chickens, and other small animals. Additionally, there were people who lived in what appeared to be a small shack in that area. However, the area where my friend's home was very nice with a large back yard and very nice appointments within the house. I had noticed a fireplace, but I had yet to find out what it was for. Full kitchen (with no stove or refrig) but nicely appointed cabinets and several hot plate type of instruments. There were three bedrooms also nicely appointed with large closets. The bathroom was missing nothing and there was a separate "shower room" next to the bathroom. The living room was nice and cozy with rich rusty brown toned furniture.

The several days that I stayed there were very pleasant and always filled with people coming and going. I met many of my friend's family and friends and was taken to many places around Nairobi. I found that leaving the walled compound, we travelled down a very narrow back road where people were living and trading on both sides. It began raining on my second day there and the rich red dirt had turned to mud by the third day and that lovely red hue (common to the area) was reaching up everything that touched the ground.

My friend took me many places over the next several days -- office buildings, for walks downtown, to restaurants for cups of Kenyan coffee and some regional food, etc.

Riding in cars or Matatus (10-16 passenger vans used for public transport) was an adventure and the horn tooting was quite a part of the culture of driving. But, it was the experience of drivers not stopping for signal lights that made my heart pound! Signal lights were far and in between; however, they began to show up more the nearer one got to the city center area of downtown Nairobi. But the traffic lights were of little consequence to drivers or pedestrains and this is probably why the horn tooting was so pervasive. You could tell that when an accident occured, it would be a serious one. Oh, but the fumes emitting from all the cars and trucks took more getting used to. It really bothered me to see someone on a bike loaded down with products or even passengers and they would be just peddling along behind these big trucks and them having to inhale all of those fumes. I saw many people travelling on bikes and I was informed that bikes were a common mode of transportation because a purchasing a car was far beyond many people's reach.

I stayed with friend #1 for a little over a week. But I would return as it was with this friend that I had the "Rift Valley Experience", observing the sky in a village sugar cane farm and so much more. However, before all that could happen, two days into my stay, the rains came and with them, the cold. Yes, it gets very cold in Kenya during the rainy season. So cold that I texted and called back home for coats and sweaters to be sent (that's how I found out that it would cost around $600 to send them)! Remember that fireplace I mentioned earlier...yes, oh yes, bundle up and get your blanket and sit near the fire! So, each day I began to become more ill and another friend whom I had just been introduced to before leaving for Kenya, came by and insisted that I come stay with his family in Lavington and thus I entered a very different experience.

However, I will never forget my first week in Kenya and especially some of my favorite things which were the bread, butter, tea, and coffee. Thanks to my friend #1, it was only the rain that dampened my experience as the hospitality was manificant.

I know that I have written much so I will leave you at this time and will continue with the #2 experience at a later date.

Everybody stay warm, healthy and safe.

Happy Holidays!

2008-12-08T19:37:00.001-08:00

Make a Smilebox greeting

What do you think?

2007-01-07T17:43:00.000-08:00

Twenty-five years ago, Professor Elise Boulding (Professor Emerita of Sociology of Dartmouth College) opened his article entitled The Family as a Small Soceity with these words:

Our major challenge as human beings in the ninth decade of the twentieth century is to overcome widespread feelings of helplessness and despair over our apparent inability to have any effect on the social processes that grind on around us. We approach the second millennium of the Christian era overwhelmed with problems of scale and complexity, unsure of the survival of the species itself.

My answer to that challenge is to call attention to the oldest of human groupings, the familial group; archaeologists have identified household sites for homo erectus and mulier erectus from two million years ago and more in the Rift Valley of Africa.

What do you think?

Kick-Off

2007-01-03T16:16:00.000-08:00

This article started off being about mining in Kenya. Then, after further research, the train of thought went to the placement of Kenya's colleges and universities in world ranking. And I find myself here directing you to several references that may be good information to begin 2007.

http://mitworld.mit.edu/video/266/ is the location of a great video lecture by Thomas L. Friedman summarizing his book “The World is Flat.”

ABOUT THE LECTURE:
In his latest book, The World is Flat, Friedman describes the unplanned cascade of technological and social shifts that effectively leveled the economic world, and “accidentally made Beijing, Bangalore and Bethesda next-door neighbors.”

Today, “individuals and small groups of every color of the rainbow will be able to plug and play.”

Friedman’s list of “flatteners” includes the fall of the Berlin Wall; the rise of Netscape and the dotcom boom that led to a trillion dollar investment in fiber optic cable; the emergence of common software platforms and open source code enabling global collaboration; and the rise of outsourcing, offshoring, supply chaining and insourcing. Friedman says these flatteners converged around the year 2000, and “created a flat world: a global, web-enabled platform for multiple forms of sharing knowledge and work, irrespective of time, distance, geography and increasingly, language.” At the very moment this platform emerged, three huge economies materialized -- those of India, China and the former Soviet Union --“and three billion people who were out of the game, walked onto the playing field.”

ABOUT THE SPEAKER:
Thomas L. Friedman won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for commentary, his third Pulitzer for The New York Times. He became the paper's foreign-affairs columnist in 1995. Previously, he served as chief economic correspondent in the Washington bureau and before that he was the chief White House correspondent.

HERE ARE TWO MORE BOOKS THAT WILL BE GOOD READING IN 2007:
'The End of Poverty' by Jeffrey Sachs
'The Mystery of Capital' by Hernando de Soto

Embrace

2006-12-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

Within the realms of all the super-universes,

let it be known that

Love holds all things together.

For Continuing to Visit

2006-08-23T01:31:00.000-07:00

For continuing to visit my All About Kenya blog.
I am going to be expanding the articles, information and products that are offered here over the coming months and into 2007.

I hope that you have enjoyed the entries so far and will visit more often as I increase input that is "All About Kenya."

Soul Profile

2006-07-16T22:12:00.000-07:00

What are the best qualities you display in your closest relationships?

Sincerity & Compassion

Devotion & Commitment

Beauty & Joy

Power Defined

2006-06-01T20:45:00.000-07:00

...Power doesn't have to show off.

Power is confident,

self-assuring,

self-starting and

self-stopping,

self-warming and

self-justifying.

When you have it, you know it.

(from The Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - pg 142)

Chief Sekoto Holds Court

2006-05-07T13:30:00.000-07:00

This is not a Kenyan story - but, I like it. So, I thought I would share it with you.

If any of you have personal stories from Kenya or folk tales from Kenya that you would like to see published here, please e-mail me about it.

The following is a story written by South African-born Bessie Head. 'Chief Sekoto Holds Court' is taken from Ms. Head's first novel, When the Rain Clouds Gather.

Even those who did not like chiefs had to concede that Paramount Chief Sekoto was a very charming man. His charm lay not so much in his outer appearance as in his very cheerful outlook on life. In fact, so fond was he of the sunny side of life that he was inclined to regard any gloomy, pessimistic person as insane and make every effort to avoid his company. It was his belief that a witty answer turneth away wrath and that the oil of reason should always be poured on troubled waters.

Every weekday morning, Chief Sekoto listened to cases brought before his court, while the afternoons were spent at leisure unless there were people who had made appointments to interview him. This particular Monday morning, a lively and rowdy case was in session when, out of the corner of his eye, Chief Sekoto saw his brother Matenge drive up and park his car opposite the open clearning where court was held. Nothing upset Chief Sekoto more than a visit from his brother, whom he had long classified as belong to the insane part of mankind. He determined to dally over the proceedings for as long as possible in the hope that his brother would become bored and leave. Therefore he turned his full attention on the case at hand.

The case had been brought in from one of the outlying villages, called Bodibeng, and the cause of its rodiness was that the whole village of Bodibeng had turned up to witness the trial. A certain old woman of the village, named Mma-Baloi, was charged with allegedly practising witchcraft, and so certain were the villagers of her guilt, that they frequently forgot themselves and burst out into loud chatter and had to be brought to order by the president of the court with threats of fines.

...to be continued soon (be sure to check back before week's end)

One Fine Day

2006-05-01T13:47:00.000-07:00

Security

2006-04-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

Our greatest illusion is

reliance upon

the security and permanence of

material possessions.

We must search for some other coin.

-John Cudahy

Homesick - Missing Kenya

2006-03-15T13:11:00.000-08:00

Facing East?

Beauty Blossoms

We
are
Kenya's

Future!

Setting an Intention

2006-02-28T20:28:00.000-08:00

Let us be mindful that
children need love;
but
in the presence of peace
and justice
we can provide the tangibles
of food, shelter, clothing and
education.

Let us right the wrongs
for the sake of our children.

Beauty in the Midst

2006-02-03T11:14:00.000-08:00

Mwamini

Mungu

mtovu.

(He who trusts in God lacks nothing.)

Symptoms of Inner Peace

2006-02-02T21:22:00.000-08:00

Watch for signs of Peace. The hearts of a great many have already been exposed to it, and it seems likely that we could find our society experiencing it in epidemic proportions.

Some signs and symptoms of inner peace:

1. Tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than from fear-based on past experiences.

2. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

3. Loss of interest in judging other people.

4. Loss of interest in judging self.

5. Loss of interest in interpreting the action of others.

6. Loss of interest in conflict.

7. Loss of ability to worry (a very serious symptom).

8. Frequent, overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

9. Contented feelings of connectedness with others and nature.

10. Frequent attacks of smiling through the eyes from the heart.

11. Increasing tendency to let things happen rather than making them happen.

12. Increased suceptibility to Love extended by others as well as the uncontrollable urge to extend it.

If you have all or even most of the above symptoms, please be advised that your condition may be too far advanced to turn back. If you are exposed to anyone exhibiting several of these symptoms, remain exposed at your own risk. This condition of Inner Peace is likely well into its infectuous stage. Be forewarned.

(from the Olympia Fellowship of Reconciliation Newsletter, Issue 63, 1986 - it's still good)

Balance

2006-02-01T03:08:00.000-08:00

Hangin' out over the Rift Valley

Leopold Sedar Senghor

2006-02-01T03:06:00.000-08:00

Let us report present at the rebirth of the World
Like the yeast which white flour needs.

~
For who would teach rhythm to a dead world of machines and guns?

~
Who would give the cry of joy to wake the dead and the bereaved at dawn?

~
Say, who would give back the memory of life to the man whose hopes are smashed?

~
They call us men of coffee cotton oil...

~
We are the men of the dance, whose feet draw new strength pounding the hardened earth.

Morning

2006-02-01T03:04:00.000-08:00

Early in the

Morning...

On Strength & Weakness

2006-01-30T02:33:00.000-08:00

A sapling
*
whose roots have not struck deep into the earth
*
can be easily pulled up;
*
but
*
If it be allowed to become a tree
*
that is when it will be necessary to use an axe to bring it down.

Close

2006-01-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

I'm Ready

2006-01-29T21:26:00.000-08:00

Bomas of Kenya

2006-01-29T21:23:00.000-08:00

The people of Kenya hail from different ethnic groups. Bomas of Kenya offers you “Kenya in a miniature.” It lets you see the wonderful diversity of cultures that make up Kenya.
It is reported that, the Government in 1971 at the Langata Forest started the Bomas of Kenya Limited. The Company was established to preserve and promote Kenyan Culture and to do this through cultural entertainments programmes for Tourists visiting Kenya and residents including school children.

The word “bomas,” meaning “homestead,” are displayed on your tour of the grounds, each represents one of Kenya’s major ethnic groups, and is built to the original traditional specifications as built by the ancestors. You can view traditional villages representing the lifestyle of ethnic groups such as Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Luhya, Taita, Embu, Maasai, Kamba, Kisii, Kuria, Mijikenda, and Luo. You experience different aspects of Kenyan culture. Displays include living styles, crafts, music and dancing.

Performances Dancing, drumming, singing, storytelling and other folk arts are presented in an amphitheatre in the afternoon. The Bomas world famous Harambee Dancers who have been trained and choreographed to perform a cross - section of all the authentic traditional dance songs of Kenya perform daily in a unique spectacular theater which seats 3,500 spectators. You will have the opportunity of seeing a colorful cross- section of the people of Kenya dancing to the pulsating beat of Coastal drums and other traditional instruments. Dancers from all the tribes in Kenya move across the stage in a vibrant kaleidoscope of rhythm and the hue. Proud Maasai warriors vault skywards as they woo their maidens with chanting and twirling spears. Having experienced it myself, I can tell you that the experience is thrilling.

Some Other Facilities In addition to the traditional dances and the villages, Bomas of Kenya offers the following:

Two separate halls and a large amphitheatre with a sitting of 4,000 persons

An enclosed open space with amenities ideal for picnic functions

A large and well equipped children's playground

A car park for over 3,000 cars
Equipped kitchen and manned bar with trained cooks, waiters, & barmen
Traditional African dishes can also be ordered

Some tourist excursion companies charge as much as US $40 per person for a 3-hour tour. But, from my experience, you are going to need a longer stay than that if you are to experience everything.

How to get to Bomas:

Bomas of Kenya is a centre of Kenyan cultural activities situated 10 km from the city centre on the LANGATA / FOREST EDGE ROAD. It is about 1 km past the main entrance to the Animal Orphanage and Nairobi National Park. Bomas of Kenya is adequately served by public transport i.e. Kenya Bus Services and Matatus Services. The Public can board the buses at the Central Bus Station. Bomas is open daily but for more accurate and up-to-date information contact them directly: The General Manager, Bomas of Kenya Limited.

A Point of Reference
A site called Twilight Bridge offers marvelous experiences through his “African Dance” section that the Bomas Harambee Dancers are featured through his numerous albums of exquisite photos.

The webpage designer is Dr. Manaan Kar Ray who professes to be a Psychiatrist from India currently in Oxford, U.K. At his site, it is written:

“To him every photograph is a challenge, a challenge to immortalize a moment in time, not just what the eyes see but also the unspoken emotion that goes into the CLICK as the shutter falls. In his won words: In a world full of chaos, photography is the recess of peace and sanity.”

Here at All About Kenya we thank him for following that Still Small Voice and sharing the fruit of its leadings.

Walk this Way

2006-01-29T21:21:00.000-08:00

Wait and see

we will be

back

next winter.

A Requirement for Self-Discovery

2006-01-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

You need silence for this conversation with nature so that you can hear this nameless part of yourself, that deepest part of yourself...

(David Whyte)

SunFlowering

2006-01-27T22:16:00.000-08:00

Wait! Don't take my picture yet!

The sun is in my eyes!

Good News

2006-01-27T22:15:00.000-08:00

East Africa to get sea cable for telecom services
(from UN ECA update newsletter, vol. 2, issue 1, January 2006, page 2)

More than 27 African corporations have agreed to fund a sea cable system which will increase access to Internet and telecommunications services in 15 East African countries by 2007. The 8,000 km East African Sea cable System (EASS) initiated by public and private corporations in Kenya, Uganda, Botswana, Madagascar Sudan, Tanzania, South Africa and Burundi will bring about a major improvement in the speed, cost and efficiency of Internet access, compared to the current system based on access via satellite. The project requires a U.S. $200 million investment

Good Sunday Afternoon

2006-01-27T22:13:00.000-08:00

Countless Ways

2006-01-27T22:05:00.000-08:00

There is no numbering of the avenues through which supply may come to
you... Your resource is as far-reaching as the universe... You are
to expect your supply through all avenues of contact with life. Not from
one specified point, not from two or more specified points; but from all points
of the universe your good is crowding toward you.
(from Imelda Shanklin)

Nature's Carpet

2006-01-27T21:36:00.000-08:00

Oh,

Just Stop

and Smell us.

Limo-Seeing

2006-01-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

A Reminder

2006-01-24T17:34:00.000-08:00

Usisahau ubaharia kwa sababu ya unahodha.

(Don't forget what it was like to be a sailor just because you are a captain.)

Alarm Clock

2006-01-24T17:32:00.000-08:00

2006-01-24T17:30:00.000-08:00

Natuone ndipo twambe,

kusikia si kuona.

(Let us see then tell.)

It Must Be Eden

2006-01-24T17:28:00.000-08:00

Observation

2006-01-17T01:46:00.000-08:00

If you see good in people,
you radiate a harmonious loving energy
which uplifts those who are around you.

If you can maintain this habit,
this energy will turn ito a steady flow of love.
-Annamalai Swami

Nairobi Rotary Club Luncheon

2006-01-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

And the food!

Ohhhhh was it every good!

Power

2006-01-15T16:25:00.000-08:00

There is nothing more potent than thought.
Deed follows word and word follows thought.
And where the thought is mighty and pure,
The result is might and pure.
-Gandhi

Cloudy Day above the Rift Valley

2006-01-15T16:20:00.001-08:00

Kenya a Living Karibu Center

2006-01-10T23:42:00.000-08:00

Kenya hosts 154,272 refugees from Somalia and 11,139 refugees from Ethiopia and 63,197 refugees from the Sudan. There were in July, 2005 and estimated 33,829,590 people in Kenya with a life expentancy of 47.99 years.

(statistical data from The World Fact Book)

Kenya is said to be slightly more than twice the size of Nevada whose population (according to the 2000 Census) was 1,998,257.

Send your thoughts and ideas on how you would respond to constant visitors in your house.

Nairobi - Down Town on a Sunny Afternoon

2006-01-10T15:05:00.000-08:00

Keekorok Lodge in Masai Mara has Reopened

2006-01-09T23:15:00.000-08:00

Masai Mara has been the greatest show on earth. A company of three millions animals migrating over a year, every year, for the past two millions years. Keekorok Lodge is Masai Mara's first lodge, and it has retained its charm and hospitality throughout the years.
Following extensive renovations and improvements, Keekorok Lodge is once again fully open. Keekorok was the first lodge to be built in the Masaai Mara National Reserve, opening for business in 1965 and since then it has attracted a long line of celebrities including Kenya’s First President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, the Prince of Wales, Pope John Paul II and many others. Particularly well-situated is a base from which to observe the famous migration of wildebeest and zebra across the grassland that accounts for most of the reserve, Keekorok now offers even higher standards of comfort and dining. There is a raised 300m long walkway linking the main veranda with a thatched sundowner bar that overlooks the plains and a natural pool home to a variety of water birds and family hippo.

At the southern end of 1,510 sq km Mara paradise, and right in the path of the annual migration of wildebeest and zebra, lies Keekorok Lodge. There is always plenty of activity around the waterhole but during the migration, the lodge is enveloped by the swarming mass of animals. One need hardly venture from ground to game view. From the verandah and from Kiboko Bar, there is plenty to see. One unfortunate zebra met its end right in front of the dinning room, providing supper for a pride of hungry lions, and 'live' entertainment for enthralled guests at Keekorok.

Accommodation at Keekorok Lodge is in bungalows, single story blocks, and in comfortable shaded chalets. The liberal use of cedar wood, pink and gray sand river stone, and other indigenous building materials offset the green lawns and colorful bougainvillea. After a day in the fresh air, the excitement of game spotting, a refreshing dip in the swimming pool, and the ritual of sundowners by the roaring log fire in the lounge heralds an evening full of traditional Maasai dancing, cultural or wildlife lectures and videos with yet another of those remarkable Keekorok dinners.

Nairobi Cultural Center - Downtown June 2005

2006-01-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

Jumba La Mtwana, Kenya

2006-01-01T15:25:00.000-08:00

A huge baobab tree dominates the ruins of the village known as Jumba la Mtwana, its branches reaching out for the sky. Judging by the girth of the tree trunk, it could easily be a thousand years old. The name Jumba la Mtwana means 'the large house of the slave' but, in the absence of written records, it is impossible to tell whether this was the village's rightful name seven centuries ago. The excavation of the site by James Kirkman in 1972 yielded that Jumba La Mtwana was built c.1350 and abandoned about a century later. There are more questions than answers about life in this picturesque little village by the ocean. It must have been a beautiful village in its time.

The main mosque stands by a white crystal beach against which light turquoise waters dance and ripple, catching the brilliance of the golden sun. The mosque is large with a beautiful mihrab (a niche showing the direction of Mecca) in the north wall. There are no roofs on of the buildings - only the old coral stone walls are left standing. For the past 2,000 years people from as far away as the Arabian Peninsula, Persia and even India have sailed down the East African coast. The earliest documented proof is in the 'Periplus of the Erythrean Sea', a guide to trade and navigation written by a Greek traveller in the year 2 AD. At the time, travel was determined by seasonal winds. If sailors failed to set sail on time, they would have to wait at least six months for the next window of opportunity. As a result, many settlements like Jumba la Mtwana sprang up along the coast. Many an Arab sailor found the new land good and settled down, marrying a local Bantu woman and introducing his faith here. The Jumba la Mtwana ruins are situated near Mombasa-Mtwapa on Kenya's North coast.

In addition to the ruins, you may see many interesting species of birds, butterflies and other insects.

Kenya, June 2005

2005-12-25T20:14:00.000-08:00

The Village Market, Nairobi Launches The African Tourist Fair 2006

2005-12-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

The Village market has been at the forefront in promoting Tourism in the past few years having embarked on tourism related activities. Recently the African Conferencing & Holiday Fair – an expo scheduled to take place in February/March 2006 was launched. This exciting project is aimed at bringing the whole of Africa to The Village Market to showcase what Africa can offer to the International Markets with an aim of promoting Kenya and Africa as a Conference and Holiday Destination.

Kenya, June 2005

2005-12-25T19:30:00.000-08:00

One

2005-12-14T00:15:00.000-08:00

Kenya straddles the equator. The Republic of Kenya, or Kenya, is a country in East Africa. It borders Ethiopia on the north, Somalia on the east, Tanzania on the south, Uganda on the west, and Sudan on the northwest, with the Indian Ocean on the southeast.

The Jade Sea - Lake Turkana is a must-see described by one travel writer as remote, mystical, bleak, forbidding and one of the most breathtakingly beautiful destinations on the continent of Africa.

Several locations that detailed maps of Kenya can be found at Embassy World and go2africa.com.

And that is how we will begin. I will be posting photos of some of the beauty I saw while in Kenya. Please feel free to share your thoughts, comments, experiences, and photos as well. We are working on the site to make safe sharing possible.

In Joy