People I admire

Cess Mutungi

2010-03-14T01:26:00.000-08:00

She was down and out but now she is back. She has dusted herself off and is back on track ready to be more responsible with less controversies. She has great advise for anyone and everyone who may be listening. Yes she is, Nairobi's former bad gal, is back.
If you didn't know her then, here is a picture of her before the transformations.

Ability to Finish Last with Dignity

2010-01-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

This is a new year, almost a second chance to do to right what you did wrong last year. This year, I urge all of you to finish what you start. Many of us start soo many things but very few of use finish. I remember a sermon by T.D. Jakes about finishing. Most of us are obsessed with finishing first that if we don't finish first then we don't finish at all. How many times do we watch the Standard Chartered Marathon only to see people stop running because they saw someone else finish the race? Sometimes, when you reach the middle, you realize it's not as easy as you thought when you started so you give up but I tell you if you had the motivation to start, then you have the strength to finish. If you have listened to Betty Bayo's song 11th hour, you may have heard that it is darkest just before day break. Things are thickest before their break through. Don't give-up and please finish what you start, the satisfaction of finishing is the best. Have a motivated 2010 and continue doing the ordinary in the most extra-ordinary ways.

The year was 1968 and John Stevens Akhwari was his Tanzania’s Olympic hope at the 1968 games in Mexico City.

During the race, Akhwari fell and injured himself badly. Urged by medical personnel to quit the race and get attention, a bleeding and bandaged Akhwari refused. He continued to hobble down the path, invoking every last ounce of strength that remained in his injured body.

An hour after the race had ended, Akhwari finally made his way into the Olympic stadium limping and hobbling. The crowd stood to their feet, perhaps understanding that a great Olympic moment was unravelling. The injured athlete finally broke into a slight run, the grimace of pain on his face and the white bandages on his leg underscoring the effort each step required.

He eventually crossed the finish line to thunderous applause. When later asked why he did not quit the race, his response would find its way into the annals of history. “My country,” he said, “Did not send me to Mexico to start the race.

They sent me to finish it.” He didn’t know it then but Akhwari who finished last in 54th position (74 had begun the race) had become an Olympic legend.

Here is a video of the Olympic games of 1968

Chocolate Girl

2009-12-28T09:02:00.000-08:00

She is a 20 year old Chinese girl from Shanghai, she speaks fluent Mandarin and the only parent she knows in chinese while the only home she knows is China. This is Lou Jing, the Chinese girl that sparked debate on racism in China, attracting both sensational admiration and ignorant hate due to her skin colour. All this started after she joined an American like Idol competition- Let's Go! Oriental tv show.
She was a result of an illicit affair between a Shanghainese, Madam Lou and an African American. Just like in most other cases, the guy left and the mother was left to take care of her child alone. Madam Lou's husband at that time divorced her. All these family secrets were revealed on the tv show when Madam Lou was encouraged to make an appearance on the show.
Lou Jing may have not won the contest but she did hold up very well through it all. At the end of the show she was quoted saying, "I've always thought of myself as Shanghainese, but after the competition I started to have doubts about who I really am"
She hopes to study journalism at the University of Columbia....we wish her all the best.

A video of her story on CNN

We celebrate Kimani Maruge

2009-08-22T14:35:00.001-07:00

Kimani Murage was a true inspiration to most of the people who heard about him, knew him or even watched or read about him. Being the oldest school boy in the world is not an easy fit. When your agemates are busy taking care of their grandchildren, yet you are busy trying to go to school with even your own grandchildren, I doubt this would be a source of pride for most of us but it was for Maruge. He wanted to go to school so that he could read the Bible (he suspected a preacher of misinterpretation) and be able to count money. He was proud to be able to have a chance to go to school and "hung out" with the kids who he called his grandchildren (2 of them actually were biological) and he promised to tell them stories about our country's history. Sounds interesting having a classmate that actually experienced all that stuff you read during history class.

My admiration for this man is humongous. He went to school at 85yrs old and gave it his all, his "syke" and excitement of moving from unknown to the known was not derailed of even dampened after he go to school, it apparently increased. I admire him because he did with passion what I usually do complaining, going to school. He once said he wanted to be a doctor when he completed his studies.

Today, I pay tribute to a great man, though belatedly. Great not because he is in the Guiness Book of Records but because he taught me and many others, it's never too late to go after your dreams. He taught me that nothing is beyond my reach if I stretch out to reach for it. He also taught me that sometimes the hand that feeds you can also poison the food it feeds you.

Maruge loved Kibaki for introducing Free Education that helped him(Maruge) to go back to school after so many years, but come 2007 Maruge was displaced thanks to Kibaki and Raila's greed for power. Maruge couldn't go to school anymore, he had no home anymore. Come 14th August 2009 at 89yrs of age, he succumbed to Stomach Cancer at the Cheshire home where he had been relocated by well wishers.

Goodbye Kimani Maruge, you fought a good fight and had not only sight but also a vision.

Sharing the little we have

2009-08-05T10:06:00.000-07:00

Sometimes in life, things don't turn out us we had planned them, but what do we do? Do we sit and wallow in self pitty or flow with the events and make the best out of our misery? Here are 3 people sharing their stories

Acts of random kindness

2009-06-20T12:07:00.000-07:00

You may also remember the Sisters who donated land to the IDPs, I wrote about them under Land to the IDPs post Now a few months later after the donation, NTV went back to see, how the settlement was coming along.

The Red Cross

2009-06-07T11:35:00.000-07:00

I don't think I need to say more, the title says it all...They are all over the world, helped by the St. John's Ambulance.

Could she be the first black female president in Latin America?

2009-05-30T01:16:00.000-07:00

The effects of Barrack Obama's presidency are undeniable, more Africans across the globe have more confidence to run for office they previously thought unattainable to black people. One such person is Epsy Campbell, an African-Costa Rican, she is the definition of political stereotype, she is black and she is a woman. Her grandparents moved to Costa Rica from Jamaica to work on the country's railroads, she is an economist-turned activist-turned politician who came within 3,300 votes of becoming vice president of Costa Rica in the last election and is fighting for presidency in the next in 2010. She is the president of her party, Partido Acción Ciudadana.
"When a woman does not have power of her own, her post itself is merely coincidental."
She has been criticized, praised and condemned for fighting for what she believes in and what her constituents want, but to all this she says she will keep fighting because politics is her life and she lives to fight for change.

Her advice to women trying to join politics:
"First, I would offer some practical advice. Based on my own experience, I believe that a woman in politics has to ask herself is whether she is truly convinced of what she is doing. You shouldn’t get involved in politics unless you are truly convinced of the objective you are pursuing. And you have to have this conviction not only in your mind, but in your whole body.

Second, I would advise that you have to have the ability to dialogue with the people you want to represent. Your proposals don’t have to be spectacular and you don’t have to make them all by yourself: they should be discussed and debated, because this gives you more reliability. You have to be transparent in everything you do, without making any hidden deals with anyone. All pacts made in silence come out sooner or later, and then you have to offer an explanation for them. So transparency is fundamental.

Third, you must have the ability to work with other people. You must be able to create work networks, because these turn into support networks to get things started.

Finally, it is important to have personal support networks, because politics is a very contradictory thing. When it’s done right, you get hit hard, sometimes unfairly, and this can make you vulnerable."

Epsy is named after her grandmother (her father's mother), who migrated from Jamaica to the Costa Rican Caribbean coast with her husband. Epsy Campbell Barr was born in San Jose (in the Maternidad Carit) in 1963, whilst her parents Shirley Barr Aird and Luis Campbell Patterson were living in San Francisco de Dos Ríos. She is the fourth child of a family of five daughters and two sons. (Sisters: Doris, Narda, Shirley and Sasha, and brothers: Luis y Gustavo.) She married at a young age and became mother when she was just starting her University studies. (Daughters: Narda, 20 and Tanisha, 24)

Superintendent's words that calmed a storm

2009-05-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

After the 2007 election is when the Kenyans took machetes, guns and all forms of weapons and turned on their neighbours due to accidents of nature. I call it accident of nature because none of us chose to be born in Kenya let alone to our various tribes. For those who didn't know what happened let me recap it for you. 2007 saw the closest run for State House we have ever seen in Kenya, Mwai Kibaki against Raila Odinga, the 2 tricksters, did what they did and the bigger thief became president. Most Kenyans have never lived in a war torn country, so they thought they should experiment, by killing their neighbours who were not from their tribe. It took foreigners who had sought refuge in Kenya after their countries withered into battle grounds who stood up and said Kenya was their home, and they wouldn't allow us (Kenyans) to destroy it. If you were in Kenya during the post election chaos, you will definitely remember this policeman, he stood out because instead of shooting at the "raia" (citizens) like his colleagues did, he chose to speak and calm the crowd with reason. So here is a video about him.... Senior officer Joseph Musyoka Nthenge

Naomi Wanjiru's helping hand to violence victims

2009-05-05T10:53:00.000-07:00

You may remember Naomi Wanjiru Mwangi from my last post here. Here is a video to explain more on what she does. Unfortunately, Naomi speaks mostly in Kiswahili, the Kenyan National language, though the narrator tries to translate it to english.

Eric Wainaina

2009-04-28T11:29:00.000-07:00

His songs are the metaphorical voice in the dessert, they brought us through The Bomb Blast and through the 2007/2008 Chaos. He is one person I trully admire not only because he sings about what most Kenyans and Africans feel and in a language that we speak but because he speaks to us and not for us or at us. He has earned respect all over the world for his brave lyrics. He has bent rules and gone against the norm to learn other african languages to sing in. Him being a Kikuyu and singing in Luo is a step that many Kenyans should take ie to accept all other tribes, no tribe is better than the other. We have weaknesses as human beings and also as tribes due to different cultures, hence we need each and every tribe in Kenya to work together to overcome the weaknesses by pooling our strength together. The 42tribes are like body parts, without them the body is not whole and the body needs each part to function optimally.
Look out for Eric's new Album to be released soon. Enjoy the African Voices featuring Eric.

The unrecognized but outstanding achievements

2009-04-26T10:41:00.000-07:00

Celebral Palsy, autism and any other form of disability are usually frowned upon in Africa. When a child is born , the whole village celebrates until they discover that the child can't do normal stuff like other children eg crawling, sitting up, playing. In Kenya you can hear many people say "Walizaa kiwete" (they gave birth to a disabled child). What I believe is Disability is not inability and watching this video shows people who sacrifice their lives to prove that point.

Martha Koome

2009-04-17T07:43:00.000-07:00

Justice Martha Koome was appointed judge in 2003 after 15 years of private practice. Twice, she was elected as chairman of the Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) between 1999 and 2003. Koome says her guiding motto is service to the people.

A typical day for me begins with devotion before I leave for the office. I am keen to lead by example and so I ensure I am in the office by 8am. I meet with various departmental heads for a briefing since I am in charge of the Nakuru High Court before heading to the courts at 9am. We work according to a timetable in which the three judges at the station are allocated duties outlining who will handle which cases and when. We handle both civil and criminal cases.

After 5pm, I retire to my house to write judgment and rulings. This is the hardest part as lawyers cite many legal authorities and procedures and I have to decode each of them and rewrite them into simple, logical legal judgments or rulings. I have to research on all the cases, as judges do not have research assistants.

Being a judge is not easy as it is laden with its share of challenges. As a wife to Koome Kiragu and mother of three, I must strike a balance between my demanding job and family. My being posted to Nakuru complicated matters further as I was forced to leave my family in Nairobi.

However, I do my best to keep in touch and I travel to Nairobi every weekend to be with my family. I do not want to be a successful judge, yet fail as a mother and wife.

Another challenge is lack of staff in the judiciary, which leads to a backlog of cases. One of the reasons for this is that the judiciary is not computerized thus a lot of work is done manually. But each of us does our best to do what we humanly can.

Career women should know that as much as they delegate duties, it is not possible to get someone who will instil the same discipline and values to their children as a parent can.

You might hire a house help to stand in the gap while you are away but it is no guarantee that they will see things from your perspective — just the way you have set the standards and limits you want for your children — so you must try hard to be there for the children.

Even though the fact that the job is demanding, the passion to administer justice keeps me going. I like to see a just and better society, where equality for all is embraced and everyone is given space to realise their potential.

In her free time, Justice Koome loves to jog. “It helps me clear my mind after a long day at work and also helps me keep fit.”
Courtesy The East African Standard.

Giving a second chance to the Street children

2009-04-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

As I was growing up in Nairobi, there were thousands of street children then, today they are fewer and I thank God for that. People like Daniel Nduati are also responsible for the fewer number of street children in Nairobi today. Having started a rehabilitation home for these children, they are now growing to be responsible members of society and not people we keep running away from. I remember a poem about street children, asked something about, "I'm I a street child? Was I borne of the street or I'm I just a child of the streets" Can't remember much about it, hope I could find it and post it later though...

A hope for Girls in Kenyan slums

2009-04-10T10:31:00.000-07:00

I just found a video from a Kenyan program "Heroes". The video is about girls in the Kenyan slums and the challenges they go through in life. One of them, Ruth, decided to change her whole life to help the others as a social worker. She declined an offer to work as a cabin crew member to focus on education and motivation of the girls in the slums. It's sad to hear about girls dropping out of school because of teenage pregnancies or because their fathers don't want to educate girls. Kudos to people like Ruth and all those girls in the slums who strive to make their lives better instead of giving up....Enjoy the video

Die Schöne in Sarkozys Kabinett

2009-04-04T03:29:00.000-07:00

As we cheered Barrack Obama, a great leader in his own right, and shouted from roof-tops about his achievements as a first generation migrate, we forgot to look at a great Lady who is a migrant leading the natives. Rama Yade, born in Dakar, Sénégal in 1976 and moved to France when she was only 11yrs old. Her mother was a professor of history and her father, also a professor, was the personal secretary of former President of Senegal Léopold Sédar Senghor. Rama Yade is the current Secretary of State for Human Rights under the Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Bernard Kouchner a post she has held since May 2007. She is the first African to hold that position in the French government. The Stern Magazine describes her as "an arrogant bitch"(sorry but the translation of the word Zicke from german gives you that in english...lol) for criticizing Gaddafi's 2007 trip to France. She openly condemns leaders who go against Human Richts. She refused to accompany Sarkozy on a high profile trip to China. She is a muslim by faith though she attended Catholic schools then at the Institut d'Études Politiques de Paris, where she graduated in 2000. She first grew up as a child of an affluent diplomat in a pleasant residential district, but later moved in with her mother when her parents separated. Yade is married to Joseph Zimet, an adviser to Secretary of State Jean-Marie Bockeland and son of the famous Yiddish singer Ben Zimet.
She has written a book Noirs de France (Africans in France) published by Editions Calmann-Lévy in 2007.
"There is no denying that Rama Yade is a beautiful symbol and a powerful promise. She carries the hope that France will finally acknowledge cultural harmony as the defining issue of its future, leaving aside the national obsession with generational conflict inherited from May 1968."
Source:Artgoldhammer

Baby Moshe's Hero

2009-03-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Sandra Samuels, the nanny who risked her life to save the orphaned Baby Moshe during the Mumbai attacks. Her story is one of bravery. She remains with Baby Moshe today in Israel months after the child's parents perished during the Mumbai Attacks. She took in the child with no hopes of support from anyone. Baby Moshe trusts her, and can't stay long away from her. Sandra moved from India to Israel for Baby Moshe, she promises to live with Moshe for as long as he needs her, something not many Nannys would do. Sandra is a herione, in her own right though she doesn't see any heriosm in her action.

Tetu Kenga

2009-03-23T07:24:00.000-07:00

This beautiful girl pictured captured my heart, at only 7years old, Tetu Kenga bore the burden of carrying a 20litre Jerrycan of water on her head. At that age, such a load is too much. I know I wouldn't handle it. Sometimes I have to go buy water at the supermarket and it's a real challenge for me to try and balance 9liters on each arm. Tetu Kenga is one of the millions of children in the Bottom Billion world who have to follow the grown ups to go search for water. Water remains a basic requirement in our lives that not everyone has access to. Access to clean water still remains a dream to many people around the world. As an Engineer, I hope and pray that I may help children like Tetu and their communities get access to clean drinking water.

The granny who fought for uhuru

2009-03-14T13:52:00.001-07:00

Her wrinkled face lights up at the prospect of taking us down memory lane and reliving rubbing shoulders with the mighty in her fight for uhuru.

Fifty years after she joined the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga and President Jomo Kenyatta in fighting for Kenya’s independence, 89-year-old Magdalene Aboge Alila remains stubborn and unapologetic about her years in opposition politics. Her admirers call her ‘Mama Uhuru’.more

Bridge Painters

2009-03-08T05:31:00.000-07:00

Do you look at pictures of bridges and wonder who ensures these bridges look beautiful perenially? I had wondered about the same until I watched a documentary that featured Bridge painters. These people actually go up the bridge and try to balance themeselves, a painting brush and a bucket of paint at hundreds of meters above the ground. These are people that should be getting a higher pay than most of us. With my fear for heights, I can definitely not imagine being on top of a bridge let alone painting it. I'm not talking about tiny bridges like those crossing a stream, I mean the kind that cross Lakes or very wide rivers. These men and women get hats off applaud from me...it takes more courage than painting ability to do thise job.

Who is a Leader?

2009-03-06T05:22:00.000-08:00

A reader sends me a questionnaire in which he presents the profile of three world leaders who lived in the same period of history, and asks if it is possible to choose the best one using the following data:

Candidate A was associated with witchdoctors and often consulted astrologists. He had two mistresses. His wife was a Lesbian. He smoked a lot. He drank eight to ten martinis a day.

Candidate B never managed to hold down a job because of his arrogance. He slept the whole morning. He used opium at school, and was always considered a bad student. He drank a glass of brandy every morning.

Candidate C was decorated a hero. A vegetarian, he did not smoke. His discipline was exemplary. He occasionally drank a beer. He stayed with the same woman during his moments of glory and defeat.

And what was the answer?

A] Franklin Delano Roosevelt. B] Winston Churchill. C] Adolf Hitler.

So what then is leadership? The encyclopedia defines it as an individual’s capacity to motivate others to seek the same objective. The bookstores are full of texts on this theme, and the leaders are normally portrayed in brilliant colors, with enviable qualities and supreme ideals. The leader is to society as the “master” is to spirituality. This, however, is not absolutely true (in either case).

Our big problem, especially in a world that is growing more and more fundamentalist, is not allowing people in prominent positions to commit human mistakes. We are always in search of the perfect ruler. We are always looking for a pastor to guide and help us find our way. The truth is that the great revolutions and the progress made by humanity were brought about by people just like us – the only difference being that they had the courage to make a key decision at a crucial moment.

THE WISDOM OF WARREN BUFFET

2009-02-25T12:40:00.000-08:00

A relative of mine posted this and I thought I should share. A true representation of humility and being "down to earth"

The second-richest man has donated $31 billion to charity. Here are some very interesting aspects of his life.

He bought his first stock share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!

He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.

He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.

He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.

He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world's largest private jet company.

Buffett's company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEO's of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO's only two rules.

Rule number 1: do not lose any of your shareholders' money.

Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.

He does not socialize with the high-society crowd.

His pastime after he gets home is to make himself some popcorn and watch television.

Bill Gates, the world's richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours, and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.

Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, and he doesn't have a computer on his desk.

His advice to young people: Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and remember:

A. Money doesn't create man but it is the man who created money.

B. Live your life as simple as you are.

C. Don't do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel is good.

D. Don't go on brand names; just wear those things in which you feel comfortable.

E. Don't waste your money on unnecessary things; rather, spend on those people who are really in need.

F. After all it's your life, then why give chance to others to rule your life?

Auma Obama

2009-02-23T06:38:00.000-08:00

She is a very beautiful lady, I don't know if it's the way she carries herself, the way she talks or the way she answers questions during interviews with the foreign media, but there is something about her that is captivating.
Many came to know of her existence due to her relationship with the present US president Obama, but she has a lot going on for her. She is a Germanistic Doctor, having studied in Germany during the great attack on blacks, yet she remains to say that Germans are not bad people, it's only that a few have wierd characteristics. She speaks beautiful fluent german and I guess that's why the German media love her. She is a lady that is against stereotyping. In a recent interview with Michael Reinisch, she talked passionately about her job with organizations that help children in Kenya. You could feel the passion in the words, she loves working for the future. When she was asked about Africans not always thinking about the future, she asked How can you plan for a future when you don't even know whether you will make it through today? She urged those who read the interview not to think of Africa as one great country with only wild animals and sandy beaches, but 53 different countries, different cultures with people who can do more than just sing and dance but also Academicians like herself. She encourages hard work regardless of race and financial status and a fight against clichéés.
She uses Obama's slogan, but not for political reasons. She wants all young people to have hope for a better tomorrow, to believe in themselves and to work hard to attain what they want in life. She works with CARE International and a multitude of other organizations that aim to help the less priviledged children in Kibera and other slums in Kenya through sports. She has started a program that encourages muslim girls to play football, something quite unheard off. Two quotes from the interview
"Was man in Sport kann, kann man auch im Leben" (What you can do in sports, you can also do it in life)
"Wer spielt, kann nicht wirklich unglücklich sein" (Anyone who plays cannot be unhappy)
"Was man im Spiel lernt, vergisst man nicht." (You can never forget what you learn during playing.)

Hellen Mtawalii

2009-02-16T07:58:00.000-08:00

Many of us remember her as Hellen Akoth on Joy Bringers on KBC, with her beautiful grey eyes, wonderful smile, beautiful voice and joyful personality, she is not someone you can easily forget. If there is one thing she can truly do and does well is sing. She performed at our high school ones, and man, the lady can sing. She sings in so many african languages, she is inspiring. She speaks more than 5 african languages, I insist on the African because, most of us shun away from learning our own mother tongue, yet she has beaten all odds to learn other languages that are not necesarrily her "mother-tongues".
She is a lecturer at Daystar University and is the leader of the Afrizo group, the put on wonderful performances during the graduation ceremonies, super! But the reason why I put her on my admiration list is not because of the music and the languages but because of her giving heart. She uses her talent, music, to help educate hundreds of students at Daystar every year. She organizes concerts in the US where she raises funds for the needy students furthermore, she doesn't even try to find out who benefits from her goodwill. She raises the money and gives it to the Uni to decide. She remains humble and very down to earth despite her good works hence a recipient of my admiration. People like her give me hope in the goodness of humanity.

Controversial admiration

2009-02-08T08:05:00.000-08:00

I know the world or anyone who follows American politics already has issues with the former president George W. Bush 2. Personally, I admire this man's self confidence. This is a man that recked havoc in the world during his tenure and still during his farewell speeches stood to say History will one day appreciate what I did. When asked any mistakes he made during his presidency, he named matters no one even noticed he had done wrong and left out the major issues like the war in Iraq. This is a man who is so sure of himself that even when the whole world was against him, he still thought he was doing the right thing. How many of us can stand for what we believe in when others openly criticize us? He made mistakes not a few but he was still very very self confident. It was wrong for him not to admit his mistakes but maybe he didn|t even realiye he had made mistakes.

Let's save the Children

2009-02-01T09:31:00.000-08:00

Naomi Wanjiru Mwangi, a woman with a heart for children. She is neither rich nor highly educated, but that does not stop her from giving the little she has to help molested children in Korogocho. This has gained her friends and foes in equal measure, some even going as far as threatening to kill her for a good service to the children. She provides food, takes them to hospital and even houses some of the molested children. She was recently awarded the 2008 Champion of Justice Award by the International Justice Mission. May she continue with the wonderful job, giving more children hope in a better tomorrow

Another chance at Life

2009-01-31T00:46:00.000-08:00

I remember watching club kiboko every Saturday morning and wishing I could be on that screen with Lorna Irungu and Jimmi Gathu. Lorna was always a sunny face brightening the screen, I know many girls would have loved to trade places with her.

Years later and she is very quiet and most have even forgotten her existence, even I after admiring her as a child (I guess she was over shadowed by others), until, I saw her on CNN last week. It made me cry seeing a Kenyan explain how kenyan doctors refused to operate on her and thought it would be better if she just accepted her fate. Lorna was diagnosised with Lupus a few years back. This is a rare disease and many of us had never heard about it before her case. Lupus is a disease where the immune system attacks body tissues, cells and organs. For Lorna her kidneys failed resulting in two transplants in 1998 and 2001, both of the transplants were not successful, and she needed another transplant. When she couldn't find a Kenyan doctor who would agree to do it, she started shopping for hospital. She compared prices in the neighbouring countries and she just couldn't afford any of the other hospitals till she found India. The Indian doctors did it so well that she confesses she feels better than she did after her first transplant.
She has struggled with bad health for over 10yrs, she says she was even sick and tired of fighting and struggling and was ready to give up. Considering, she found out her father had HIV and later lost him to HIV complications, I would believe to her there was no light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Her family donated all 3 kidneys she needed, first her father, then her sister and brother. She hopes in the future she only needs to ask for a shoulder and no more kidneys.
As she recovers and gets ready to make a come back, we all pray that she will continue to fight the good fight. She has shown us, you maybe down but not out.

Get well soon Lorna!!!!!!

NEVER GIVE UP AND ALWAYS KEEP YOUR HEAD UP.

Teachers

2009-01-26T11:58:00.000-08:00

Teachers all over the world are amazing. As students we do not share these sentiments but later we appreciate what they have done. From the Kindergarten teachers to the professors, they all help shape the life of all the amazing people in this world.
The Kindergarten teacher meets you when you can't even construct a sentence yet when you leave to join the primary school you can count and write.
You meet the Primary school teacher when you can only count to 50 and construct 5word sentences. The different teachers teach you everyday the new stuff, taking you from the known to the unknown and back again to the known. It's an adventure, it doesn't feel so exciting when you have to wake up early in the morning to go meet the teacher who will punish you, yet you could have stayed home the whole day watching TV and sleeping or even just playing. At the end of high school you could write a book and even count to a trillion, you look at what you have learnt and you appreciate every teacher that made it possible.
Teachers are not only the ones in schools, colleges and universities. A teacher is anyone who teaches. From your friends, parents to even the strangers.

Appreciate your teachers while you can.

Tribute to Ms. Odhiambo ("OD") Former Headmistress (1980-1992) Limuru Girls' School

Disability is not Inability

2009-01-23T13:18:00.000-08:00

"Disability is not Inability" this would be the first lesson I learnt from reading about Hellen Keller during my schooling years. She was left deaf and blind by a disease when she was 19months old. Born in the 19th Century, it was difficult to communicate or try to use technology to easen the disabilities, but she went on to become the first deaf/blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts Degree. She learnt English, French, Latin, Greek and German using braille. She wrote 12books. She was an activist for the rights of the Blind and deaf. She was widely travelled and even an acclaimed favourite of the Japanese. Her disabilities earned her some ridicule especially when she aired her political views, some claiming her stand was due to her "limited development" but such words did not make her lose hope in her fight. Some of her famous quotes:
"While they were saying among themselves it cannot be done, it was done"
"We could never learn to be brave and patient, if there were only joy in the world"
"Unless we form the habit of going to the Bible in bright moments as well as in trouble, we cannot fully respond to its consolations because we lack equilibrium between light and darkness"
"People do not like to think. If one thinks, one must reach conclusions. Conclusions are not always pleasant"

Land to the IDPs

2009-01-13T09:57:00.001-08:00

After writing about the whole drama that was in Kenya beginning of 2008, I together with very many Kenyans have blamed the power greedy politicians, not enough, but hey, positive thinking, let me now focus on the nobility of Kenyans.

I start with the sisters who donated their land-inheritance to the IDPs. One of the Sisters is Ms Salome Lenana Wambugu(pictured in yellow). They donated 12 acres in Nyeri to 40 families.

The other would be the couple Reverend Christopher Gichuhi and his wife, Mary (pictured with President Kibaki) who donated 23 acres of land in the outskirts of Nakuru to 39 displaced families.
These two groups admit that they did not donate because they have large chunks of land, but because they wanted to share the little they had with those who had nothing. Wish people like the Moi, Kenyatta and Oginga families would borrow a leaf from such people.

Teresa Cheptoo

2009-01-13T04:22:00.000-08:00

Another person to be saluted is Teresa Cheptoo a 16 year old,who won Sh.1 million after being crowned the Nobel Peace prize winner in the children's category in New York for her fight against Female Genital Mutilation. She opted to donate the money to Kipkomoa Advocacy Workshop for Girl Child in West Pokot District that fights againt FGM. FGM is a practise that has seen many girls in this area drop out of school as they are usually married off immediately they heal from the cut.
I admire this young lady for what she did. She doesn't come from a rich family yet she prefered to donate the money to help better the life of other girls rather than take the money and lavish herself and family with. She is worthy of our admiration.

Wangari Muta Maathai

2009-01-13T04:16:00.001-08:00

This is a blog on the many ordinary people in the world who do extra ordinary things everyday, however insignificant their contributions look, I would like to salute their nobel gestatures. This comes especially because I read an article where Wangari Maathai lamented of how we forget to honour our locals in Kenya. She has won sooo many awards but sadly few or none are from the Kenyans or the Kenyan goverment. Many Kenyans recognized her existence when she won the Nobel Peace prize, yet she has been trying to change the mindset of her fellow Kenyans to save the environment. It's sad that as Kenyans and "global residences" we only think of today forgeting that we borrow the earth from our children. We forget that if we destroy the environment now, our children will be the ones to suffer.
With that I will start with Wangari Muta Maathai as the person I truly admire. I admire her courage, passion and strength. She has shown that with passion, we can achieve more than even what we dream of. I learn from her that life is what you make it. If you encounter problems, you can either run and hide or face them and make the best out of them. Your obstacles may either be stepping stones to better things or just hinderances to your success.
She challenged and fought a goverment that most people at the time would have deemed unbeatable. A regime that did what they wanted, how they wanted and when they wanted without opposition. She opposed their move to build skyscrapers in the famous Uhuru Park and this saw her making many enemies in parliament and even losing some of her hair as she was attacked by the GSU.
Here is her brief biography courtesy of greenbeltmovement.org, for more please do read her book. I'm yet to read it though.

Wangari Muta Maathai was born in Nyeri, Kenya (Africa) in 1940. The first woman in East and Central Africa to earn a doctorate degree, Professor Maathai obtained a degree in Biological Sciences from Mount St. Scholastica College in Atchison, Kansas (1964). She subsequently earned a Master of Science degree from the University of Pittsburgh (1966). Professor Maathai pursued doctoral studies in Germany and the University of Nairobi, obtaining a Ph.D. (1971) from the University of Nairobi where she also taught veterinary anatomy. She became chair of the Department of Veterinary Anatomy and an associate professor in 1976 and 1977 respectively. In both cases, she was the first woman to attain those positions in the region.

Professor Maathai was active in the National Council of Women of Kenya in 1976-87 and was its chairman from 1981-87. In 1976, while she was serving the National Council of Women, Professor Maathai introduced the idea of community-based tree planting. She continued to develop this idea into a broad-based grassroots organization whose main focus is poverty reduction and environmental conservation through tree planting. With the organization which became known as the Green Belt Movement Professor Maathai has assisted women in planting more than 40 million trees on community lands including farms, schools and church compounds.

In 1986 the Green Belt Movement (GBM) established a Pan African Green Belt Network that has exposed many leaders of other African countries to its unique approach. Some of these individuals have established similar tree planting initiatives in their own countries using the methods taught to improve their efforts. Countries that have successfully launched such initiatives in Africa include Tanzania, Uganda, Malawi, Lesotho, Ethiopia, Zimbabwe and others.

In September 1998, Professor Maathai became co-chair of the Jubilee 2000 Africa Campaign, which seeks debt cancellation for African countries. Her campaign against land grabbing and rapacious allocation of forest lands has gained international attention in recent years.

Professor Maathai is internationally recognized for her persistent struggle for democracy, human rights and environmental conservation. She has addressed the UN on several occasions and spoke on behalf of women at special sessions of the General Assembly during the five-year review of the Earth Summit. She served on the commission for Global Governance and the Commission on the Future. She and the Green Belt Movement have received numerous awards, most notably the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize.

Biography courtesy of greenbeltmovement.org