Ushujaa Mashinani (Heroism in the Grassroots)

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 malingering: the management principle of MBWA (Management by Walking About), and the health mantra of “walk, walk, walk” at least 10,000 steps a day. Now, I had stumbled upon a third kind of walking, the heroic walk of building community.

These are the three walks to heroism we will talk about today.

Walk One: The Block Party

We christened it The Block Party — a walking, talking, eating get-together where neighbours meet, eat, and share stories. Some prepare their signature dishes; others dash to the supermarket in mild panic when they realise their neighbours have already set up.

We usually take advantage of a long weekend, and this year it was Mashujaa Day, Kenya’s Heroes Day. Fitting, because what better way to celebrate heroism than through community?

Our heroic block party was a feast of Kenya’s diversity: mahamri (not mandazi or madazi – go figure the difference!) na chai ya iliki (“it isn’t tea unless it’s spiced with cardamom,” as any coastal Kenyan will tell you), crispy fried termites (the now famous insect protein), and kamalwa – semi-fermented maize meal porridge from Western Kenya. There was also the most divine coconut–pineapple smoothie, strawberry pancakes, cheese displayed like art, and a curious discovery: Kefir, which we at first mixed up with Bulgarian yoghurt.

That mix-up led to an unexpected story.

To my surprise, Bulgarian yoghurt owes its fame to Élie Metchnikoff, a Russian Nobel laureate who studied the longevity of Bulgarian peasants. He found their secret lay in their daily yoghurt — fermented milk teeming with Lactobacillus bulgaricus. His research sparked the global yoghurt craze as a health food.

So, there we were, unknowingly sipping on a legacy of science, culture, and long life, A toast to the heroism of curiosity and discovery.

And I couldn’t help thinking of the older folk back home who made the Taita version of yoghurt, fermented with a shrub called chariso, known for its sweet, heavenly aroma. Surely, there’s wisdom in those quiet village practices and I am, now more than ever intent on figuring out how to make that Taita yoghurt.

Oh, heroism at our doorsteps, and yet how often we go far and wide seeking it!

Walk Two: The Management Stride

Of course, walking can endanger heroism in other ways as I learnt earlier in my career.

When I was a young engineer cutting my teeth in management, meaning I had finally graduated from climbing tanks to service level switches and could now sit in an office, MBWA was all the rage.

Management By Walking About.

The power of acronyms! They’re unforgettable, especially when they spark wild associations. “MBWA” always reminded me of Mbwa Kali (ferocious dog) and that mental leap made it even more memorable.

We were taught that if you sat in your office waiting for reports, you’d only get the reports you wanted, rarely the truth. You had to walk about, to see what was really happening on the ground.

But some of those “walkabouts” turned into full-blown mbwa kali raids. Word would go round fast, “boss on the prowl!”. Anyone who could disappear, did. That was not what the management gurus intended. It’s one thing to follow advice; another to embody its purpose.

The true spirit of MBWA is curiosity, humility, and presence. Walking not to police, but to see, listen, and understand.

Walk Three: The Walk That Unites Them All

And that’s the thread, isn’t it?

Whether walking through the shop floor, your neighbourhood, or for your morning exercise routine, the act of walking connects us to people, to purpose and to places. It clears the mind, strengthens limbs, humbles the heart and even sparks creativity.

They say old age creeps from the feet upwards, so if you want to stay young, legendary, and alive to life’s movement — walk. Walk to lead. Walk to live. Walk to belong.

Heroism isn’t found in battlefields or boardrooms only. It is found beneath our feet as well: in the steady rhythm of those who show up, step out, and keep walking toward understanding, community, and care.

Sometimes the heroism we need isn’t grand. It’s right on our doorstep waiting to be rekindled, one step at a time.