My street … has no name. It’s a dirt track in a remote, rural corner of Machakos district in eastern Kenya. Were it to have a name, it would be “kamulu”, the Kamba word describing the ash-like colour of the fine dust that clings to your feet as you walk. And walk we must. It is the only form of transportation here. The first and most important investment those of us who live here make is to buy a pair of good walking shoes. The second is...
My street … has no name. It...
Read MoreTRIBUTE TO CHINUA ACHEBE, FATHER OF AFRICAN LITERATURE In 1958, when a 28-year old Chinua Achebe penned the words “Okonkwo was known throughout the nine villages of Umuofia and even beyond,” little did he know that the book Things Fall Apart, would make him, Achebe, well known throughout the seven continents and even beyond. Soon afterwards, he became infamous during the acrimonious language debates of the 1960s and 1970s for going against the lofty ideals and intricate academic theories of those agitating for a change in the...
TRIBUTE TO CHINUA ACHEBE, FATH...
Read MoreWOW! SPACE! AND MORE SPACE! WELCOME to the KU Post Modern Library, the latest addition to KU’s infrastructural developments. If you’re an early riser, look to the East for sky blue glass through which the morning sun looks like a star from another galaxy. For the late night birds, it’s the only building this side of KICC that glitters with one-thousand-and-one lights – it may well be visible from space to the naked eye. But please, come closer. Don’t be intimidated by the shining tiles, or the fact...
WOW! SPACE! AND MORE SPACE! ...
Read MoreOne of these days I’m going to get myself a solar powered cooker. This is a promise I have made to myself every year for more than ten years now, usually during the month of August. The month of August holds a special place in the hearts of the Akamba people. The Akamba are long-distance traders who live in south eastern Kenya between Nairobi and Mombasa, more or less along the railway line that was built at the end of the nineteenth century and which is still...
One of these days I’m going ...
Read MoreFor as long as the majority of Kenyans alive today have been on planet earth, the name Wangari Maathai has been synonymous with the environment, trees to be precise. And yet it was not until 2004, when Prof. Wangari Maathai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, that we finally began to appreciate this humble woman. As fate would have it, electricity was being rationed, and the little that did come through was billed at what we considered exorbitant rates. We were lacking, and paying handsomely for...
For as long as the majority of...
Read MoreI can’t think of a better way to explain this than to give you the benefit of my personal experience. When I first went to Geneva, I was thinking the same thing that you’re probably thinking right now: that the whole world speaks English; and that Geneva, being home to so many international organisations, would be cosmopolitan to a fault. When you get to the ‘palais des expositions’, everyone does speak English. But the process of going from the airport to the ‘PALEXPO’ happens in French....
I can’t think of a better wa...
Read MoreIn my 10-plus years in the tourism industry, I travelled through Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Surprisingly enough, my most expensive stay was right here in Kenya, at the Mpata Safari Club in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve (costing approximately 1,000 USD per night). The Mpata Safari Club, like many other units in the Maasai Mara, provides accommodation to tourists who visit the ninth wonder of the world. In addition to the annual wildebeest migration, the Mara is also home to each of the “Big Five”...
In my 10-plus years in the tou...
Read MoreFor the majority of Kenyans the term “career” is just another word in the dictionary – it has little to do with life as we live it. When it does come up, however, it is usually in retrospect, referring to what someone has already achieved. While making our way through the formal education system, the concept of career is rarely the object of carefully sustained focus. In fact, the formal education system is to blame for this state of affairs. It is an efficient and ruthless process...
For the majority of Kenyans th...
Read MoreThe theme of the current issue takes me down memory lane, to those far-off days in the early nineties when I was an international student at Carleton, and to other distant memories, now generously coated with the gold and magic of nostalgia. The sound, and sight, of aircraft flying overhead is part of my earliest memories, and I had always known that one day I would get into one of them and jet off to the unknown. This may be why, during my school career, I paid...
The theme of the current issue...
Read MoreLisons la littérature ! En ce qui concerne l’éducation, ma mémoire la plus ancienne consiste d’une paire de chaussures. Flambant neuves, vertes comme des plantes, achetées exprès pour l’école, toutes les deux sont disparus dans la rivière qu’il fallait traversée. J’avais sept ans, et c’était le premier jour de l’école : une aventure magnifique pour moi qui n’a jamais cessé depuis ce jour-là. A cette époque-là, même la route à l’école c’était déjà un voyage épique. Il fallait tout d’abord réussir à l’examen d’entrée – touchée l’oreille gauche...
Lisons la littérature ! En...
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