In the Bible, Eve is referred to as a “helper” to Adam– KYM. Subsequent stories, however, portray “successful” marriages (read: love) as, more often than not, “PARTNERSHIP” in crime. The story of Adam and Eve n the fruit, Ananias and Sapphira, Ahab and Jezebel. May be marriage is, after all, partnership in crime!

Alice Muthoni, 119, our oldest registered voter, will not live long to reap the fruits of the proposed constitution. You’d expect a person of her age, in her sunset years, not to bother with the morass that is our politics. Yet on 4^th, she, like other Kenyans, will brave the cold and vote, because she believes that on 4^th August, Kenya will be reborn! Reminds me of Ann Nixon Cooper!

Forbes Richest list is out. Mexican honcho Carlos Slim is now the richest man in the world.  CNN, however, noted that were it not for Bill Gates’ extensive philanthropy, he would have overtaken Slim. how do people perceive philanthropy (giving)? Is it a subtraction of what they already have (wealth), or for lack of a better word, is it a waste of resources? Well…

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY

Women in Africa still have a blank cheque

The International Women’s Day was marked yesterday, with fanfare and you guessed it right, the usual platitudes: “a lot needs to be done, we want to give women a voice, we are making tangible steps, and “you name it.

While countries have made efforts to advance the cause of women, save for Rwanda, in most African countries, women occupy the lowest rungs of economic and political leadership. They remain disproportionately underrepresented in corporate board rooms.

I toast for the African women and urge them not to relent!

X years of experience, my foot!

The best Maths teacher in the country(Kenya), judging by performance of schools last year’s national exams, is a 25year old chap, a rookie to be precise, whose teaching experience span just over 2 years. So, and they keep telling you that you need 10 years experience, my foot! to perform?

Nelson Mandela – a priceless gift to humanity and a standard bearer of hope in a hurting world. Today, I am punching the air like you did, 20 years ago, when those nefarious Boers released you. Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika

Debt-ridden Dubai today unveiled the world’s tallest building – The Burj Khalifa. It is a symbol of architectural might, in a country sitting on a precipice, thanks to yawning debt levels. I wish them success, as I sure pray that they get their  priorities right. Talk of unbridled excess!

Old(er) people, my preacher told me, should be respected.  So, I got offended today, when I saw a young man, quarreling with an elderly lady in the streets of Nairobi. Within a short time, a kerfuffle ensued, attracting a crowd of curious onlookers. The old(er) woman looked helpless, as the boy’s age mates joined him to hurl unprintable epithets. It was unfortunate…May be we are dealing with a very angry generation.

THE BATED DREAMS OF A STREET KID AND THE CHRONICLES OF SUFFERING

Whenever I see a street child, like I did today, I see not the kid sniffing glue but the bated hopes, the dreams deferred by the ugly scars of poverty and pangs and scars of indifference, the opportunity to grow with dignity nipped in the bud. I hear the cries of a kid who clings to the frail hopes that her/his woes would prick the teats of our milk of human kindness.

Yet in our endless search of prosperity and the pleasures that excellence portend, we forget the downtrodden among us. We toss coins to massage our guilt and think that will be worth a meal for a kid who has not eaten for days.

A cold chill sweep over my body more so when I imagine the pain of realizing and knowing then that homes are closed to practically every one of these children just because they are poor.

In retrospect, I see a people who can give, and assuage the perils of indifference. I see people who like a waterfall emanate from drops can give and shatter and dissolve the shackles of neglect. I see a multitude of philanthropists who can rekindle the dwindling fortunes of these kids.

I juxtapose our dreams and the harsh reality of the revised aspirations of these kids, and the lowered bar and their unending hope that their suffering will speedily go away, my eyes turn teary.

I amass the comfort of this song:

“Open my minds eye so I may see and feel Your shinning light presence close to me. Give me inner strength for my stumbling feet as I battle the crowd on life’s busy street. And widen the vision of my unseeing minds eye so in passing faces I’ll recognize not just a stranger, unloved, and unknown, but a friend with a heart and soul that is much like my own.

Still my pain can’t subside, more so when I think of the grandeur and opulence that describes our sumptuous houses(or dreams of our houses) and think of a kid crying to have a roof on top of his head. I imagine this chilly weather, I cast my eyes to the threads of giving that dwells in the heart of every man. I cry for the street kid. Theirs is a page, an odyssey from the chronicles of pain and suffering.

Surely, humanity can be more humane, we can help these kids.

WACHIRA

Today is International Youth Day. We have for long been branded as a recalcitrant lot, hell bent on disturbance and impatience! This is wrong. We need the youth to be informed about the Youth Policy, The Kenya National Youth Bill. When minds are open, you will discover you have wings. Our minds,  like umbrellas work best when open. Participate. If we all swept in front of our own doors, the world will be clean.