Patriot's Diary # 40: Kenya; My Home, My Jewel

I have fumbled around trying to figure out whether to have number 40 as a summary of all the other 39 or look for an all new reason to express my undying love for Kenya. I chose the latter; which I must add is not the final reason for my love for Kenya; but to crown the Patriot’s Diary series.

My 40^th reason is what, in my books, makes Kenya iconic; we are a country strategically placed. Kenya may not be smack in the middle of the African continent but it is in such a central place on the coast of the East African coast and the equator perfect for business and travel.

Kenya has been a haven for all her neighbours in the midst of political turmoil. Our brothers and sisters from Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Rwanda and the DR Congo have sought refuge and established their communities and families in Kenya.

Kenya has brokered several peace deals. And is Africa’s UN home, with the headquarters of UN-Habitat based in our capital Nairobi.  Kenya is one of the few countries in the continent with an immense number of diplomatic missions from states across the globe.  And the US (as expected) leads the pack with the largest diplomatic Mission in Sub Saharan Africa based in my beautiful capital; Nairobi. States such as Russia, Britain, and the European Union (EU) as well as member nations of the EU have bases here. Pakistan, Indonesia, Lebanon, Korea, Israel, Thailand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Chile, Venezuela; the list is endless. I think nearly every state on the face of the earth may have a diplomatic mission in Nairobi.

Kenya is an economic hub for Eastern Africa. You may have heard the phrase; when Kenya sneezes East and central Africa get a cold.  28 of 50 East African companies are in Kenya. With the largest being Safaricom; Kenya’s leading telecommunications company.  

We have a NASA launch station in the town of Malindi. With our Kilindini harbor and Jomo Kenyatta international airports, both under expansion, serving as major entry and exit points for imports and exports for the East and Central African region.

Kenya’s strategic location is amazing. Kenya is a jewel! It isn’t just a blessing to be Kenyan it’s a privilege. And a privilege that I will continue to yell from the roof tops!  Not just for the conventional tourism, but for economic growth and cultural versatility. Kenya is a nation of endless potential that needs to be saved and protected from the demeaning political shenanigans. I can ramble on for ages because there is a lot to gloat over as a Kenyan. But it is my duty as well as yours, whatever country you hail from, to protect and nurture your nation’s destiny not for yourself or your children but your great great great grandchildren as well.

 My National Anthem

With this final entry into the Patriot’s diary I salute all my fellow countrymen. A salute of honour and respect! And a call to stand up and seize the moment NOW to restore the dignity of our beautiful land! Kenya Milele! (Kenya forever!)

Patriot's Diary # 39: There's room for Improvement

All the annoying and upsetting news on Africa is not worth your emotional overload. That’s just simply because it is not true. Kenya like most countries on this continent are a testimony that there is a second chance for everyone.

Media abroad and even at home are pretty harsh to downplay and justify our eternal dependency on everyone else BUT ourselves. I believe otherwise. There is always room for improvement and second chances for Kenya. We’ve begun a new phase in our tumultuous journey as a country, but that’s just it; it is a beginning. We cried at independence, babbled, learned how to say our first word and now we are crawling pretty fast and grabbing at anything and everything as we try to get our footing into this new life as a Nation. In Human years 46 years is a time of stability and the beginning of reaping heftily. In ‘Nation’ years we are barely close to walking. If you don’t believe me; look at your world history. Britain has been in existence as a state for 900 years, the United States 200 years and yet they still have many more milestones to achieve.

What we are going through now as Kenya is nothing outstandingly unique from what you read in your history book. It’s the initial stages of Nationhood. We’ll make our gains faster, as a nation in comparison to the UK and US did, I believe because I have Kenyan brothers and sisters who believe in their country like I do and see a future life that is richer in culture, pride and purpose than ever before.

That’s why being Kenyan is so awesome, ever so often I come across a like minded person who knows that the time to push for change and purpose begins now. But to effectively do so it needs to begin in the heart of each and every Kenyan. Take a look at your flag; look at it as a salute of honour and gratitude to you. Wake up in the morning and your still in Kenya; that’s a sign that you have something worth sharing with your country.

Go to work; you’re the reason Kenya can still be in business with other nations. Take a road trip to Nairobi national Park; you’re privileged to live in the only country in the world that houses a National Park in its capital city. Open your mouth and speak; you’ve shown the world that you can effortlessly speak 3 languages. This is Kenya, this is our pride, and this is our reason to fight for who we are, trust and know. I understand this and I trust that my fellow brothers and sisters will see it to. Kenya is my inheritance. Kenya is my present. And Kenya is my legacy.

Patriot's Diary # 38: Signs in Kenya

I think Kenyan signs are the best; it’s sheer comic relief. My friend told me that he came across a salon called’ Bad Hairdo’. I laughed so hard. I am not quite sure whether the owner knew what that meant, or if it was meant to be some sort of joke. That was probably up until they realized that they weren’t making enough money so they changed the name of the salon to ‘Wonder touch salon’. Another really common sign is , ‘usikojoe hapa’ (do not urinate here).

It’s hard to miss that sign in any urban area in Kenya and the most hilarious and repulsive thing is that the individuals who shouldn’t be peeing still stand right next to the sign and urinate on the sign (the ultimate sign of defiance…not!) . What more can you say about signs, other than point, stare and laugh at them! I won’t take too much time telling you about the signs I’ll let you see them for yourself! Enjoy!

Africans; get off your REAR!

Where does the story of pain end and the story of glory begin? Is it a merger of the two that will continue as the typical ‘African story? I spent a good fraction of this afternoon making entries rebuking ignorance on Africa and the ‘Save Africa from itself’ notion. Till I watched a video that someone shared with me on Facebook that just changed my perspective on things.

For how long, we’ve asked on this continent, that the likes of BBC®, CNN®, Aljazeera® and Sky News® will continue to tell negative stories of Africa? Why are there so many stories of pain and desperation than of triumph and hope? I am not going to delve into that argument right now, I want to flip it back to you the observer; the African. What are you doing about that horrible story told of the suffering African in your part of the continent? Do you go out to see for yourself and see if you can make a difference in what is told? Turn that story of tragedy that you saw on the news to triumph through a joint effort to make it better.

However much we detest the reporting; I think that we have bought in to it more than the rest of the world has. The magnitude of seeing a story of a starving village in Uganda, Kenya or in Sierra Leone is just too much to bear. We look at it in pity and almost self loathe as to why this still happens in Africa. Well it still happens because we aren’t doing anything about it. It ‘s because we look at the larger picture and not see what little it is that we should do that will go a long way. I guess when we see and hear the statistics we get so scared by it that we feel helpless.

How long is it going to take for you to do something about the pain and plight that you see? How long are you going to want to run to a developed country to ‘save yourself’ from poverty and deal with the ignorance ‘out there?’ I have no problem with leaving the continent to resettle in another to help yourself out. I just have issue with the spirit of dependency that we breed by constantly sending money to relatives and family instead of showing them how to be independent and build an empire of their own ‘back home’. We (Africans) are the only plan ‘A’ to save ourselves from poverty and all the other evils that we face.

I go to a church in Nairobi called Mavuno Downtown. I have learnt and something that my church advocates for is Social justice. This is not the usual CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) nonsense that most people do, where we thrust buildings and equipment at people and give ourselves a round of applause for how much ‘our companies care about the environment and hungry children’. Social justice is pretty much going the Jesus way literally. You don’t just show up, give and leave. You visit, establish a relationship with that community, see what they lack see what you can do with THEM to help build a self sustaining community. A friend of mine told me today we (Africans) mistake Social Justice with Escapism.

It’s nice once in a while to feed a cute abandoned baby in children’s home once a year and feel all giddy inside. But how about going to the source of the increase in abandoned children and find out what you can do to help that community’s women. Help the women get an education or start up an institution and start up their own business. I know, that’s being a bit too out there…right? Wrong! See where the escapism comes in? To escape from the guilt of a bad situation and poor people, we do the easiest act of charity to appease our haunted consciences.

Forgive me for what I am about to say, this is for my African brothers and sisters. If you are fed up of missionary and charity work from Europeans and other Caucasians, then it’s time YOU got off of your middle class rear and did something. You don’t need to have a Beamer to make a difference. As long as you’re breathing, that is all you need. Go to a community build a relationship and work with them, to find THEIR solution. Don’t impose one, work with them. I am done talking. I am taking the challenge up myself, what are you doing about it?