POINTING YOUR FINGER AT THE GOVERNMENT? FOUR FINGERS POINT AT YOU!

The site of news papers, the internet images is appalling! It shocks my eyes and causes my heart to freeze. The images of lifeless bodies, badly mutilated, some lying in pools of blood, others lying on the soil without any cover; in their birth-suits, which reveal deep and gaping cuts, some on the head, the neck, and God knows where else. I take a look at one lifeless body in the foreground and all I can see are holes…big holes on a human body! Two of the bullet holes are on the stomach and they seem to gaze at me, probably they are seeking permission from me to spill off the contents of this victim’s belly! The more I continue staring at the holes, the more they threaten to spill off the beans and ugali that this victim had just eaten, yesterday, before the cruel attackers came baying for his blood. By now, my heart is angrily racing and I can hear the sounds of thump! Thump! Thump! It’s hard to believe that these despicable acts happened somewhere in Kenya, my beloved motherland, my haven, the place where I fondly call home; where even as I travel to other countries in our continent, I will always remind my friends that I am from Kenya, the land that I have always sworn to love and protect.

For a second, the memories of the love I have for my motherland, the memories of the many occasions during which I have declared that Najivunia Kuwa Mkenya, flood my thoughts. It escapes my mind that these brutal attacks happened in Mpeketoni Kenya, to be specific. This town is almost 700 kilometres from the capital city of our nation. However, the newspaper seems to have brought the Mpeketoni town to the city; thanks to the cameraman because I feel like the incidents happened at my doorstep! I now realize how wrong I am when it dawns on me that Mpeketoni is actually a town in Lamu, one of Kenya’s Islands. My realization is worsened by the fact that I have relatives (blood or not), from my mother’s home, who went to live in Lamu, Mpeketoni, over twenty years ago. Twenty years ago, Lamu had vast and unoccupied lands; hence, due to congestion of the land at home, my relatives, led by my aunt who fondly called me ‘mum’, vacated our land in Meru and went to live in Mpeketoni. It’s so difficult for me to come into terms with the fact that my relatives could actually be victims, maybe the lifeless body lying in a pool of blood in the back ground is that of my cousin Mugendi (translated to mean traveller). A cloud of anger and sadness engulfs me, drops of tears escape my eyes; immediately, I close the newspaper and throw it away into the dustbin, I bite my lower lip and swear that I will never want to see such sites as long as I live.

I have become sick and tired of this bloodshed! The other day, we experienced an attack on the Westgate Mall, which lies at the heart of our country’s capital; despite the fear and heartbreak it caused me after realizing that I only escaped death by a whisker, I penned down a request to all of us, proudly Kenyan, to unite, pray, and protect our country. I did not know, then, that calm would only last for a few months. In just so few a month, it seems that something happened to Nchi yetu ya Kenya, Tunayo ipenda, Tuwe Tayari kuilinda…What happened to the declarations that we always made since our baby school days, those that we recited with the help of our national anthem, to love and protect our motherland? Somebody please tell me, has it just become another line in the most common song in Kenya? Probably, we should amend it, accept and move on…like we all seem to agree! Imagine if you woke up and found that 50 people; your friends, neighbours and their friends, all from one locality have been slain in cold blood. How about if you woke up to go to the nearby kiosk and found 50 bodies lying on the road, lifeless and bearing deep cuts, with dried blood on their foreheads, probably with their tongues stuck out …ouch! Would you ever sit down to eat or would you always be reminded of the incident? The sound of it is unbearable; yet, this is a real experience for someone sitting in Mpeketoni. The mothers have to figure out a whole new way of life, how to feed and educate their children. Their peaceful and calm lives have changed, just like that!  

What happened to the quiet country that I once knew? Are we back to the nchi ya kitu kidogo days? Haven’t we lost our patriotism? Did I hear them say that someone slept on their job? Couldn’t something have been done to save us from the ugly incident? Dialogue we sang and forgot that there was an enemy staring at us; the monster grasped the chance and hit us right below the belt, where it hurts most! We failed to guard our borders and let the enemy in with a smile. We watched the World Cup and forgot that a dirty game was playing right outside our doorsteps. Our hunting game almost failed and for a moment we became the hunted! Our country’s security is not negotiable. We are gambling with it and woe unto us because we are losing big time. I pen down this with bitterness because I believe that neither the President nor the security Minister failed us...rather, we failed ourselves! We kept complaining and forgot that guarding the nation is a collective responsibility. Do not be quick to judge me; I have not lifted the blame off our government.  However, remember that as they travel in hammered vehicles, we walk by faith; as they shield themselves with electric fences; we shield our vulnerable selves with walls that are so weak that even jackals can bring them down!

            So what now my fellow countrymen; the time is now for us to take the bull by its horns; a time to play our part by guarding our souls and beautiful motherland; a time to stop the blame game, the finger-pointing yet criminals remain at large. Haven’t we shed enough blood and tears already? Now I say to us countrymen, go ye forth in peace and prayer…love, shield, and protect your brother and nation. Ulinzi unaanza na mimi, ulinzi unaanza na wewe!

BY Sarah Makena,

Co-founder Ukabila ZI

IN THE ‘MOONLIGHT’ AT MOONLIGHT CENTER

 It is one of those Mondays full of blues, when opening your eyes and waking up takes ages, when you curse being an employee and wish you listened to the entrepreneurship lecturer at the University, who always reminded you to aspire being self-employed! Today, I would rather be in bed than work. That must have been a very long weekend, in fact I am still hanging-over from the intense activities and experiences of the weekend; it was one full of emotions and now I realize how it took a toll on me. I need to slow down!

A glimpse in to what happened over the weekend at Moonlight Center. This is an academic center located in one of Kenya’s slums; at Dagorreti to be specific. The Center is named ‘Moonlight’ because, like the moon, it is actually a source of hope and light to the slum’s children, who have been deprived off access to education by the cruel fate of poverty. It is at the center that these boys’ and girls’ hope for a better tomorrow, which can only be shaped through education, is restored. Indeed it is a real ‘moonlight’ since the girls not only get access to education but also get solutions to some of the shameful ‘periods’ of their life that diminish their hope of ever becoming women of substance in our societies. Indeed, periods of  shame threaten the girl education in other schools within Kenya’s slums; however, through the partnership of Moonlight Center and Ukabila Zi Society, in a project dubbed My Sisters’ Keeper, the girls at Moonlight center can comfortably stay and concentrate in class all year round without missing classes due to ‘periods of shame’! 

On this Saturday, Moonlight Center was holding a prayer retreat session. It was a time to reflect on the favors that God has done for me, a time to count my blessings one by one; initially they appeared trivial to me, but when I started comparing the privileges I have had in life with what those students at Moonlight Center and its environs lack, it dawned on me just how mega the blessings were. If you have been to a slum, then you know too well how to appreciate the things that seem rather trivial to us; in fact, you appreciate what many ignore and assume it is normal. I immediately sank in to a thankful mood; I held a moment with my heart to give gratitude to God for His abundant grace and blessings in my life. I had time to thank God for my life and reflect on the favour of God. Later, a time came when we were allowed to mingle and share with the students in an attempt to offer them inspiration and hope that says “The circumstances of our past and of our parents do not determine our future!” I took time to hang out with people who should may be just sit and feel sorry for themselves; but no they smile and have fun, they live as a community with love, peace, and unity. 

These young people would make even the greatest of humans to sit and think about their lives a little more seriously. Probably I do not make sense to you, but relax, by the time you read this to the end; I will definitely have made sense to you! Imagine spending time with a people that have literally nothing to their names, but guess what? These same humans hunger and thirst for education. They are early in the classroom and leave at dusk; as darkness sets in, they have no option but to carry their tattered school bags home since the lanterns only make their eyes to strain the more. Their hope is that they will be able to compete with Starehe and Alliance; despite the fact that the lack of science laboratories seems to dwindle their hopes, they remain tenacious that some day it shall be true. They dare to dream that someday, just maybe, they will surmount their current adversaries to compete with the rest of their peers in the country, the continent, and the world at large. 

My interaction with these secondary school students made me to realize just how much we have been focusing on issues of lesser necessity, forgetting the basics that would otherwise go a long way in solving the bigger issues at hand. We rush to fight insecurity by putting in place extravagant measures yet forgetting to solve the cause…we are keen on curing the disease before diagnosing it and coming up with preventive measures. When shall we ever focus on the cause and symptoms? Many children in the slums do not go to high school. The fee is out of their reach and for many; it is what can last them for a lifetime.  You may wonder, then, where such children go to after primary school. Sadly the statistics of child prostitution, drug abuse, and robbery with violence, among other evils, hold the answer. Kid you not be, that these evils do not happen in Kenya; a visit to Kibera, Kenya’s largest slum says it all, I dare you to collect the statistics! 

He, who robs you of your handbag, robs of your money and car at gun-point, your expensive phone, may be just one of those children who we have chosen to ignore. The seemingly unending struggles of the day, with not a streak of light at the end of the tunnel, make them to succumb to the crimes; they have no food on the table but they have to eat! The “srikal saidia” and “Tunaomba srikal aingilie kati” phrases no longer appeal to me. I have a brain and two hands; don’t get me wrong, everyone does, but the difference is how we utilize these vital organs. In the same society, there are those who would really want to utilize their vital organs but need someone to hold their hand, someone to show them how to fish, someone to give them the fishing line…after which, they will go to the waters and fish. This is the case for most of the people in our slums. It is upon us, the haves, to take up collective responsibility as “wenye nchi”. Handouts will just be good for the day; otherwise, the generic problems will keep on growing. Education is a crucial fishing line in life, that’s why I am part of something big!

I am part of #15000KENYANSFORMOONLIGHT.

An Article by Sarah Makena,

Co-founder Ukabila Zi Society,

Champion of My Sister’s Keeper Project.