A Trip To Kajiado

Wednesday 7 July 2010

We had to take Esther, the girl we re-homed from Maasailand to Kisii, to court in Kajiado to give evidence in the case against her former employer for employment of a minor. As the trip is almost 400 km and there is no direct transport, we hired a car.

We left Kisii at about 6am and made good time to Narok, where we stopped for breakfast.

We sailed through Nairobi, comparatively speaking, hitting only minor jams and soon we were at Athi River. This is where the trip got complicated. The main road had been slightly re-routed, but the road to Kajiado only joined the old road, so we missed it – several times.

Eventually we found a road and we were on our way again, but we were too late for the court case, when was adjourned. Not wanting the trip to be totally wasted, we visited the Kajiado Children’s Home, where Esther had stayed for her time in Maasailand. It is a wonderful establishment, but all the children are Maasai and of course, Esther is Gusii.

I learned something during our visit, when greeting a Maasai child; you place your hand on their head. They even bow their heads forward so accept this greeting – cute.

Before leaving Kajiado town, we called in at a bank to pick up the money I had arranged to be sent to me from the UK to fund the trip and other things.

Outside Athi River, we found a good eating house and ate excellent nyama choma, chips and a coke. It was superb. Vincent was especially pleased as they played Kenny Rogers CDs while we were there.

On the road again and we hit Nairobi at rush hour – and got lost. WE went round and round and eventually found the Uhuru Highway that would lead us to the junction we wanted for Narok. As we climbed the escarpment, we ran into mist and rain, and we missed the turning we needed to go to Narok.

After a quick discussion, we decided to continue on to Nakuru, through Kericho and then to Kisii. It is a good road for most of the way and with the weather threatening to close in, it seemed a good option.

As it happened, as we descended into the Rift Valley, the weather cleared and we made good progress and soon reached Nakuru.

But about 30 km outside Nakuru, in a small village, as we approached the brow of a hill, two sets of headlights appeared in front of us two vehicles side by side.

There was nowhere to go to the left, just a steep embankment, nowhere to go straight ahead other than a head-on collision, so I veered to the right, hoping to find a way past the two oncoming vehicles. I didn’t.

When I came round, we were stationery, the windscreen was a mess and the airbags had deployed. But Vincent was not in the car next to me. There was a lot of shouting in Swahili and I saw that there were twenty or thirty men gathered round, some trying to get me out of the car. I could feel hands in my pockets. They were not my hands. When I stood up, my legs were not my own, I could barely think, but I was aware that my pockets were empty, my recently drawn money, passport, wallet, cell phone, even the loose change. But I wanted to find Vincent, and I remembered that there had been someone else in the car, but who?

Vincent was on the ground next to the car. He had a nasty gash on his forehead and he told me that his leg was broken – this was an understatement. Esther was, of course the other passenger and I found her being comforted by two women.

I went back to the car and borrowed a torch as mine was missing. The briefcase was not in the car, but this was of little consequence. The satnav was also missing. I looked for anything that belonged to any of us, but there was nothing as far as I could see.

We had been cleaned out.

A man who stated that he was a policeman kept telling me that this was a bad community, in other words, don’t make a fuss. He then handed me my video camera bag. I looked in it and the camera was still there, with all the DVDs. I was thankful for that.

A coach stopped and the three of us were bundled aboard and not too long after, we were at Nakuru hospital.

We were taken to casualty and Vincent was whisked off to x-ray. Esther was examined as was I. I was so lucky. I had nothing but cuts. Bruises and sprains as far as they could tell. I refused x-rays for my shoulder. I knew it wasn’t broken. It was painful but not painful enough, so I was discharged. ‘Where was I going to stay?’ I was asked. I explained that we were destitute, so they offered me a bed in an ante room, for which I was grateful.

I managed to borrow a phone and called Abigael, Vincent’s wife and she told me that she would come to Nakuru but the credit ran out before we could say more.

I slept and had nightmares. When I awoke, I went over and over the accident in my mind, but it did not become any clearer.

I must have slept some more because I was woken up by a member of staff, possibly a junior doctor. I was taken to see Vincent and then Esther. I went back to Vincent when Abigael walked into the ward. I was so relieved to see an able-bodied friendly face.

Power ... or the Lack of

It is difficult to blog when the power keeps cutting off, or the Internet connection fails ... or both.

This visit seems to have been blighted with more than the usual number of power cuts and in the last two days, we have had no power at all during  the day.

On both days, the power came on at about 6pm, but yesterday, it went off again within 30 minutes and it took an age for the standby generator to kick in.

This evening, we have been lucky. The power came on and, apart from a slight glitch, has stayed on, meaning that I have been able to receive the 100 or so junk emails that have been waiting to fill my in box.

We at Twiga have been told that one of our children has to attend court in Kajiado tomorrow. This town is about 450 km from Kisii and there is no direct bus route, so we have been forced to hire a car, which means that both Vincent and I have to go as Vincent does not drive. Vincent has spent most of the afternoon haggling for the best price for a car and I think he has got a good deal, especially as I have had to send an email to the UK for funds to be sent out and with the lack of power (and therefore emails), this has been difficult. We should receive the funds tomorrow while we are en route.

Surprisingly, my Garmin satnav found Kajiado with no problem and even plotted a route although I know it is not the quickest or shortest. Still, it is quite something for a bottom-of-the-range satnav with no added maps to be able to plot anything in Kenya. I am impressed. We shall see just how good it is tomorrow!

It will be an early start tomorrow - 6am - and of course, the younger kids here are playing up and refusing to go to sleep tonight, which is keeping yours truly up.

Oh well, that's life.

Things That Go Bite In the Night ... and other observations

 Before my arrival, the rains were particularly hard and the bridge across the little river that separates the house from the road was washed away, apart from the two trunks that everything was attached to. So we have to use the alternative path, the path to the road is less steep, but it is a long trip to get to the road. Still, at least we can get to the road.

I am quite proud of myself, I have managed to get up the hill every time without stopping for breath. It is a very small victory and no one else has noticed, but that doesn't matter, I know my achievement.

I don't know if it was due to the heavy rains, but there seem to be more mosquitoes around and they seem to be fiercer than usual. I have been bitten many times before but the bites never itched much. This time around, I am feeling the need to scratch all day long.

Matatus seem to be more crowded these days. They are licenced to carry 14 passengers, but I was on one yesterday that was carrying 22, plus the tout. It was a bit crowded but I didn't have far to go so it wasn't too bad. It is all part of the African experience!

Back in the bedroom, I have some novel room mates - apart from the mosquitoes. I was woken up last night by a cockroach crossing  the floor. It sounded like it was wearing hobnailed boots. A gecko had also heard it but he (or she) was up by the ceiling and was not about to crawl all the way down to the floor. Lucky cockroach!

All in all, so far, the weather has not been too bad, although we have had a couple of really bad days. When it rains here, there is no doubting it. And to make things worse, the electricity invariably goes off.

We have been suffering a spate of power and broadband failures, making blogging, emailing and just about anything else technical very difficult - but, I say again, this is Kenya.

Back in Kenya

The journey was thankfully very uneventful, although Vincent and I managed to miss each other at the airport terminal, maybe because I was desperate to get out to my "private corner" to have a cigarette. It had been too long since my last one.

We soon met up and had a bite to eat before haggling with various taxi drivers and touts to get a good deal for the city centre.

Having sorted out a bit of business we were free to get the shuttle. We had reasonably good seats and a clear road once we cleared the city. Our first and only stop was at Narok, where we got food and drink and stretched our legs.

Not many wazungu pass through Narok so I was a bit of a curiosity, especially as I now speak a few words of Kiswahili.

A few hours later and we were at the bus station, swarming with passengers, touts, hawkers, just the way I remember it - noisy, chaotic, dusty, Kenya. I was home.

A short car journey and we arrived at my Nemesis, the dirt track down the hill that separates the road from the little houses perched on the other side of the valley. Simon, the deaf boy arrived at the top of the track at the same time as us, and his face split into his wide, open smile as I got out of the car. Little did he know what I had brought for him.

I negotiated muddy hill rather better than usual and I was soon in the living room with Vincent, Abigael and all the kids, including the latest addition, Esther, a poor girl who had been displaced after the post-election violence.

-oOo-

How things have changed in six months

The plot next to the house was rapier grass and cow pasture, where a little boy, Brian, would attempt to control the family cattle and be dragged along on his belly for his efforts, much to my amusement, if not his. But he would not give up and he would always manage to tether these beasts that weighed so much more than he did.

Now the plot has been turned over to maize, over six feet tall and waving gently in the breeze.

Brian is still around, of course. He is a friend of Simon, our deaf child, and he can sign and almost speak English.

-oOo-

How beautiful is the night when there is no light pollution (because there is a power cut). With a half moon, the whole valley is lit up. The insect life is in full voice and fire flies are darting around everywhere.

-oOo-

The rains were rather heavier than usual this year as I could see from the debris that had been washed onto what has returned to be the path used by us residents to get to town. And the rain is still heavy. I had just getting provisions at the local supermarket when the heavens opened - and stayed open. Not only that, but I would have said it was a bit chilly. I have never felt chilly here before.

Vincent was in the town centre and asked to procure a car and meet us at the shop, but this being market day, and with the torrential rain, finding a car with three empty places was not easy, but he succeeded eventually.

It had almost stopped raining by the time we got home.

Simon is becoming a permanent fixture at the house. He pops in on his way home from school (he goes to school every day now), just to tell us that he is going home to change but will soon be back. Cute kid. I am also learning Kenyan Sign Language and we can almost hold a conversation.

I have brought a selection of hearing aids and a small amplifier with ear pieces like an MP3 player. At first, Simon refused to try any of them, but after a lot of persuasion he tried the amplifier last Saturday. It was also his first visit to the Twiga Centre.

As soon as he saw the swing (now well worn), he was on it with a smile splitting his face, giving off grunts of satisfaction.

The other kids took to him and got used to his unorthodox ways very quickly.

They also got used to playing cricket with the set I had brought with me. OK, so their rules are not what you would see at Lords, but they were enjoying themselves. The girls joined in eventually and even Simon got off the swing to have a go. As it turned out, he makes a very good batsman, his hand-eye coordination being well developed.

Another big hit was the game of Connect Four, to the point that I think we will have to organise a league table!

Some of the girls are taught crochet at school, so when Abigael handed out crochet hooks and balls of thread, a variety of little works of art were being produced.

Abigael tried to show Rister how to crochet, but her deformed left hand was too much of a disability. It looks like we will have to get her a sewing machine as her only chance of earning an income when she leaves school.

On the Saturday, Rister had an epileptic fit. Apparently they are becoming more frequent as she does not have the drugs to control them. She really needs a sponsor to provide her with money for this much needed medication.

Rhino Charge etc

A photo gallery of the latest Rhino Charge, as well as the Hog Charge and Quattro Charge have been posted on the Rhino Ark website.

1. 2010 Rhino Charge
2. 2010 Hog Charge
3. 2009 Quattro Charge

Rhino Charge 2010

The results for the latest Kenyan Rhino Charge have been posted on their website, which can be accessed at http://www.rhinocharge.co.ke/event-info-a-raffle/results.html

A record 72.5 million shillings was raised at the event. Details at http://www.rhinoark.org/RC2010/rc2010.htm

Meet Simon ...

At the Twiga Children's Centre

Home Alone ...

of some of the kids in Kisii.

Rhino Charge 2010, Kenya

Just received this email, thought it could be useful

For the people intending to do attend the Rhino Charge - see notice from the organizers :

GARMIN/ TRACKS4AFRICA- SPECTATOR'S MAP

Rhino Charge, Garmin and Tracks4Africa have collaborated in producing a Spectator's Map which will give spectators all the information they need to navigate to and around the Rhino Charge this year.

Because the details of the Venue of the Charge are kept confidential, this information will be released in two stages.

You will need a Garmin "Nuvi" or any current Garmin map capable device that accepts a SD card in order to access this information. These are available from Titan Avionics at Wilson Airport, Robs Magic or Extreme Outdoors at Yaya Centre and Westgate Mall.

When you arrive at Check-In at Corner Baridi, you will be given a co-ordinate to put into your GPS. This will guide you to the Venue.

From 06:30hrs on Monday 31st May, you can obtain a memory card which will give spectators all the routes available to them at the Rhino Charge Venue including other information such as the position of the gauntlet, headquarters, medical facilities etc.

I will not be attending this year as I will be in the wrong country - again. However, I am trying to arrange my life around attending the UK event in October.

Malaria and the Senses

This blog is categorised as "Curiosity in a field I know nothing about"

As my regular readers will know, we have a deaf child at the Twiga Centre, Simon, who is around 8 years old. As a baby of about 5 months, he contracted malaria and as a result [?] became deaf. Consequently, he has never learned to talk.

While I am wasting away in the UK, I am looking for ways that we may be able to help Simon; top of the list is to see if he responds to hearing aids, and I have received several from well-wishers.

But, my curiosity is asking me questions that I cannot answer. Why does malaria affect hearing (or sight, come to that)? Does it attack the mechanical bits in the ear itself, does it damage the nerves between the ear and the brain, or dies it damage the brain itself? Or, is there no one cause of deafness after malaria?

Having no knowledge of medical matters, tropical diseases and their effects, or the workings of the brain, I set about trying to work this out logically.

I only know of two people who have had adverse effects to their senses after contracting malaria, Simon, who has lost his hearing, and a Twitter friend, whose sight was severely affected after contracting the disease.

As far as I know, sight and hearing are not connected, so it would seem logical that it is a part of the brain that is affected by the illness rather than the primary organs themselves.

If this is the case, will a hearing aid help Simon? Is there any treatment, however intrusive, that could restore his hearing? I need to know.

So, I put out a plea to the doctors and hearing specialists who read blogs, who Tweet, or who stumble over this blog by other means Please can you satisfy my curiosity and possibly help this boy to regain some form of hearing, and eventually the ability to talk.

I've got a GPS!

I acquired a satnav or GPS at Christmas. I wanted a particular make, apparently the only make that is compatible with a South African digital map organisation, T4A, which is steadily mapping the whole of Africa, but this make is more expensive than the others, so I was forced to get the base model – no matter.

So I happily played around with it, pressing the various touch-screen buttons, and then eventually read some of the user manual. This is my usual practice, reading the manual after playing with a gadget. That is, if I ever read the manual at all.

Anyway, this satnav has a facility to enter a place by its longitude and latitude coordinates.

‘Oh what fun,’ I thought, being a bit of a nerd when it comes to playing with gadgets.

I opened up GoogleEarth on my computer and found the coordinates for the main junction in Kisii, called, funnily enough, the Junction.

I pumped the coordinates into the satnav. It thought for a while and then invited me to either look at the map or start my journey. I was a little surprised.

I elected to look at the map and, to my astonishment, it showed the confluence of the A1 and B3 roads in Kisii.

‘OK,’ I thought, if you are so clever, plan me the route!

The savnav thought for quite a long time before announcing that the route was 6,392 miles and would take 127 hours and 44 minutes. It displayed a map comprising Europe and most of Africa with a magenta line wiggling across it. I was astounded. I checked the system set-up which confirmed that the only maps loaded were for UK and Northern Ireland.

The next thing for a nerd to do would be to check the route. It took me through Europe to Istanbul, Turkey, on to Ankara, then Damascus. This is where it got a bit fuzzy, through Jordan and into Israel.

From there it took me down the west bank of the Red Sea, traversing Egypt north-south, into Sudan, Ethiopia, and then Kenya, where I started to recognise town names, Marsabit, Isiolo, Nanyuki, Nakuru, Kericho and finally, Kisii.

To me, this was impressive. I saved the coordinates for Kisii Junction and wondered what other places I should put in.

I eventually decided to enter the salient points of the route from Nairobi to Kisii, there are a couple of junctions I always nearly miss when I am driving, particularly onto the B3 from the A104, and a little later where the B3 hangs a left off the Old Naivasha Road at Mai Mahiu. From there on, it is plain sailing all the way to the junction with the C23, near Sotik.

I put in Keroka, as I have a friend who lives there. I entered the coordinates for Kisumu, Kakamega and Bungoma, all places I have driven through or to, and probably will again.

Now all I have to do is to find out if it actually works in Kenya. There is not reason why it shouldn’t. The satellites are up there, just looking for my little satnav to talk to.

I will have a chance next month, when I go to Kenya to continue working on my anaerobic digester, drum up some more business and “network” with organisations in the field.

My original intention, when choosing this particular make of satnav was to also buy the CD of East African maps from Tracks4Africa and load it. But will I need to?

OK, I don’t have all the off-road tracks and minor roads on my gadget, but do I really need them? I am not going on safari. If I do hire a car to go somewhere, I will want to get there quickly and safely – and not get lost like I did on my last trip.

I expect that I will eventually get the CD and all the software that comes with it. After all, I am a bit of a nerd, but I will take my satnav with me to Kenya and see just what it has to offer me in the meantime.

And I also hope that GoogleEarth will reinstate the Tracks4Africa overlay that used to be available.

Freecycle & Freegle

What a wonderful scheme Freecycle is!

For those who have not seen it, it is a way of getting rid of stuff you no longer want, but which still has life left in it, so someone else might like to use it - anything from furniture to odds & sods.

I use it regularly to get things for the kids at the Twiga Children's Centre in Kisii, Kenya.

The last time I was  there, all the kids wanted to listen to the two or three music tracks on my cell phone, so the battery was often discharged by the time I wanted to use it. So I asked the Freecyclers if they had any walkmans they no longer wanted.

I have so far received a walkman, and two portable CDs, loads of music CDs and some tapes.

Having a deaf child on the Twiga register, I also asked for people's old hearing aids, and have received six! Obviously, I don't know if they will be any good for Simon, but if we don't try, we will never know.

In the past, we have received toys and clothes from Freecyclers, all of which have given a lot of joy to the children.

So, I give A** 10/10 to the Freecycle scheme (I include Newbury Freegle in this - it started out in the Freecycle scheme, but broke away, but is still going strong).

Thank you to all who have donated stuff for the kids.

A Popular Kenyan Song - Malaika

Malaika, nakupenda Malaika.             Angel, I love you Angel.
Malaika, nakupenda Malaika.
Nami nifanyeje, kijana mwenzio,         What should I do, your lover?
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,               I don't have any money
                                                          (LITERALLY:  I'm defeated by wealth, I don't have any.)
Ningekuoa Malaika.                           I would marry you, Angel.
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa Malaika.

Pesa zasumbua roho yangu                 Money is troubling my soul
Pesa zasumbua roho yangu
Nami nifanyeje, kijana mwenzio,
Ningekuoa Malaika.
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa Malaika.

Kidege, hukuwaza kidege.                  Little bird, I always dream of you, little bird,
Kidege, hukuwaza kidege.
Nami nifanyeje, kijana mwenzio,
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa kidege.
Nashindwa na mali sina, we,
Ningekuoa kidege.

Plans Afoot ... or Just Dreams?

What am I going to do when I next get out to Kenya? What dreams and plans are buzzing through my head?

With difficulty, I have to sort all that I want to do into an order of importance, so I suppose the top of the list (and potentially the most expensive) project is to complete and improve (or improve and complete?) the anaerobic digester so that we have a storage tank of methane that can be used for cooking. As the present anaerobic digester works well enough, it only needs a pressure regulated, safe storage tank to complete it.

When it works well, we can go commercial. I am sure that hotels and restaurants would welcome free cooking gas.

Next, I am in the process of designing a see-saw that will also act as a water pump. Why shouldn't kids have fun while they are pumping water up from the borehole?

I would like to build a barbecue at the Twiga Centre - I can smell the nyama choma already!

Other projects? Well, I want to try making a clay food cooler and a clay oven. All I need is a source for the clay.

Then, large scale organic waste recycling is on the list. The idea is to make compost from all the waste found at the markets and along the roadside where hawkers sell their wares. This can be sold to raise funds for other projects - well, that's the idea, anyway. The logistics are a little more complicated than with other projects, but it can be done, with a little help from my friends.

I think a month in Kenya is not going to be long enough ...

The Sound Of Silence

Simon is about eight years old. He is a stocky, healthy-looking child with an open face and ready smile, but he is deaf. I don’t know quite how deaf he is. If I clap my hands loudly enough, he will sometimes hear it (or sense the air pressure?), and if I make a loud, high-pitched sound with a reed, he will hear that. In fact, he gets quite excited when he hears it, which leads me to believe that he doesn’t hear much else.

When Simon was a baby, about five months old, he contracted malaria. As far as I know, he was taken to hospital and treated, but then lost his hearing. I don’t know if this loss was as a result of the malaria, the treatment or coincidence – I am not a doctor.

So, Simon is deaf. As he lost his hearing at such an early age, he has never learned to talk. He makes sounds, but I don’t know if he can hear them. He knows that when he makes a sound, people will look at him and he can then sign to them, or use facial expressions to convey something.

As is common in Africa, Simon appears to be left to his own devices by his family. Children with “disabilities” are not useful. In fact, some can be considered a burden on the family, something that depletes already scarce resources such as food. I am not saying that Simon is treated as a burden, but he is often seen wandering around when other children are at school.

We believe that Simon is bright. He shows an aptitude for photography. For a child of his age, he takes well-framed, in-focus photos. He is fascinated with photography and understands how to use the different functions of the camera when shown.

We would love to help Simon, but we do not have medical people on our staff, and we don’t have the financial resources to have his hearing (or lack of) tested.

• Would Simon benefit from a hearing aid? 
• Is his condition reversible? 
• If I take an old, discarded hearing aid to Kenya, will it do any good? 

We don’t know. I don’t suppose any doctor would like to hazard a guess without examining the child, but that is what I want you to do, hazard a guess as to why Simon is deaf and whether there is anything that can be done for him.

It is a shame; Kisii has an excellent school for the deaf, run by the deaf. But we cannot afford to send Simon there, and his family certainly can’t, so we will try to glean some authoritative guesses from the medical profession and work from there.

Abused Kisii Girl Needs Urgent Sponsorship

Originally posted on KCIS blog

The Twiga Children's Centre has  today been informed that if Esther (13), a Gusii girl who is lodged at an orphanage in Kajiado is not taken in by Twiga Children's Centre very soon, she will be taken back to her parents.

This is not good news. Esther's parents sent her out to work as a house girl, where she suffered beatings and other cruelty in the hands of her employer. This will happen again if we do not offer Esther accommodation.

We need a sponsor who can help this girl to lead a normal life, attend school and regain the right to be a child.

3,000 Kenyan shillings (about UK£26.00 or US$40.00) a month will ensure that Esther is placed with a caring family, is fed, clothed and attends school.

Please, is there someone who will help us to rescue this girl from a life of abuse by donating 3,000/- a month?

You can donate through PayPal, or you can contact Vincent at the Twiga Centre in Kisii.

Previous Post:

Twiga Children's Centre has been contacted by an orphanage in Kajiado, asking if we can take one of their children, a girl called Esther.

Esther (13) was transferred to the Kajiado Children's Home from another orphanage, but she is of the Gusii tribe and there is no one in Kajiado who speaks the Abagusii language, and she does not speak the Maasai language. Naturally, Esther is very unhappy and wants to return to her traditional homeland of Kisii.

We would be happy to help and to make this child happy, but we really are stretched financially.

If anyone reading this can help by sponsoring Esther so that she can return to her people, please do not hesitate to contact us at Twiga Children's Centre through our website.

Cattle Feed

This article was sent to me:

Studies have shown that the nutrients in water hyacinth are available to ruminants. In Southeast Asia some nonruminant animals are fed rations containing water hyacinth. In China pig farmers boil chopped water hyacinth with vegetable waste, rice bran, copra cake and salt to make a suitable feed. In Malaysia fresh water hyacinth is cooked with rice bran and fishmeal and mixed with copra meal as feed for pigs, ducks and pond fish. Similar practices are much used in Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand (National Academy of Sciences, 1976). The high water and mineral content mean that it is not suited to all animals.

The use of water hyacinth for animal feed in developing countries could help solve some of the nutritional problems that exist in these countries. Animal feed is often in short supply and although humans cannot eat water hyacinth directly, [although it can be cooked and eaten - ed] they can feed it to cattle and other animals which can convert the nutrient into useful food products for human consumption.

Feed the Cattle

I was reading a back issue of the Standard the other day, where it was describing how cattle in the Isiolo region were dying because there was no cattle feed.

Regular readers know that Baba Mzungu, with Kenyan community Initiative Support has met up with Salim Shaban of the African Christian Organnization Network, who are researching ways of using harvested water hyacinth taken from Lake Victoria at Kisumu.

I have also read that water hyacinth is fine as cattle feed, so I put the two together and wondered why the weed was not transported to areas where cattle are suffering due to lack of grazing or silage.

If the KWS can transport 1,000 zebra half-way across the country to feed starving lions, I am sure that someone, somewhere can shift a few tons of dried water hyacinth from Kisumu to Isiolo or other areas where it is needed.

Well, can't they?

Change the Name!

A friend of mine in Kisii would like to buy up a recently closed business close to her home. But she needs to borrow the money to get started.

I think that a change of name would be the first step - but that's just me. What do you think?

Does Shabby have a different meaning in Kenya?