When I left home for Nairobi as a newly minted engineer ready to play my role in building the nation, I was repeatedly reminded by my elders “kukaighe wandunyi, (be seen among your people)’. In my community this is no casual advice. It is a serious social expectation with serious consequences. It means showing up […]
This morning I noticed the fruit trees in the picture for the first time ( an apple tree in flower and a citrus fruit tree, I figured it is a lime tree). I had never seen these trees before, yet I walk here almost every day. It is not the first time I am noticing […]
Rereading Genesis chapter 1 Leadership, Maintenance, and Genesis: Lessons from an Engineer’s Lens Every system be it a machine, a nation, or a soul requires maintenance. When we ignore that truth, things fall apart. Recent events in our region remind us that no society is immune and if Tanzanians have been under any illusions about […]
As I contemplate the challenges one faces in any Bounce Back today, there is a Taita expression that keeps on coming to my mind; sekensigha (do not leave me). It is a special expression because it reminds me of my mother. I remember it because it intrigued me when I first heard her and a […]
Walking About: The Heroism Beneath Our Feet I have been thinking a lot about the power of walking in the recent past and that’s because I made a delightful discovery; walking about to meet, greet, and sample my neighbours’ cooking for brunch or breakfast. Previously, I had known two other useful reasons for walking, not […]
I thought I was being smart and put this peace lily (Spathiphyllum) out in the porch to get some good sun. It did not take long for it to start looking sad. The leaves were dull and it was not flowering. I watered it, put some manure and generally did all that I could to […]
Ladies and gentlemen, I submit that our society has normalized stealing, we no longer have any qualms taking what does not belong to us. And its not only in high places as we love to complain loudly, it is a devolved habit to the very heart of our society. In the early 1990s, as a […]
Recently, I spent a Saturday afternoon with a group of Pontifical Missionary Childhood (PMC) role models, a mix of preteens and teenagers. Our conversation focused on identity starting with the importance of appreciating the meaning of both our baptismal and cultural names in revealing something of who we are. As our conversation progressed we navigated […]
My struggling anthurium also known as the flamingo flower is almost being swallowed by a New Guinea impatiens. Honestly, I should never have planted them together. Now I face the delicate task of separating them without killing one or both. But their coexistence has a story. When my friend Naomi gave me a small cutting […]
In the sun-baked lowlands of the Taita Hills, where rains are unpredictable and traditional farming barely sustains life, a quiet revolution is unfolding—led not by government programs or large NGOs, but by an elderly woman with no formal education and a passion for a dying craft. These lowlands, once used seasonally for grazing and the […]