Go Black Stars, Go

These days everyone is talking of world cup. Even those who know nothing about the game football, still find something to say... even I, am not left out.
I love football. I love playing football. I don't like watching football.
But this world cup is different. I have watched most of the matches. Though my country isn't represented this year, I still identify with teams and take sides during the matches. I have been fully behind our brothers representing our beloved continent, all the way.  Watching giants being bundled out of the game so early has made me agree with the England Manager, Capello that "Football is a game of chances". 
This round chance was not on the side of France and Italy.
The matches that I have enjoyed most are those of Ghana. Most of us never expected  the Black Stars to go that far, especially in the presence of The Eagles and the Indomitable Lions. The boys have proved that they can play. Their games weren't a matter of 'chance'.  The agility and zeal displayed by the boys is unquestionable, and their determination and hard work has seen them to quarters. I  pray and hope that they reach the finals, they are the only team representing Africa now.
GO BLACK STARS, GO...

Eye Power

Did you know that your eye is  the most important organ in releaving nervous tension?
The great thing with being an avid reader is that you get to learn things, ideas and facts that you never knew about. I love reading and I read virtually anything and everything I come across.
According to Edmund Jacobson, your eye burns up a quarter of all the nervous energies consumed by the body; and if you can completely relax the eye muscles, you can forget all your fatigue problems.
So now you know. Next time you feel fatigued, just close your eyes and let the magic happen.
Have a great day

Referendum - The Race of Colors

This time the IIEC just got everything wrong. (Pardon me if you don't agree). The decision to use color symbols without consulting the public wasn't a good idea after all.
Green is good color; symbolizes life and growth; but dull and not appealing to the eye. Red on the other hand is very bright and attractive.
One thing the IIEC forgot is that Kenyans have different color preferences; and believe you me, this time it will be a race of colors on the 4th of August if the public is not well informed. Take for example, this lady who is convinced the proposed draft constitution is good for the country and plans to say 'YES' but has no idea about the colors. When asked about the color she'll choose she says "red". Reason? She likes red and hates anything green. What of this farmer who loves everything green but believes the draft constitution shouldn't go through, and plans to choose green because it's  his favourite color? That aside, there are those with vision complications who only see bright colors. They'll automatically go for what they see even if it's against their wishes.
The pro and anti teams beside drumming support using the proposed constitution content, MUST also emphasize on educating their flocks about the color symbols so that come referendum day their followers make the right choices. This might take time and in some cases they'll need devine intervention.
Wish the NO and YES camps all the best in their campaings.

Its Mothers' Day

A Happy mothers' day to all great and beautiful mothers out there

Celebrating a Special Lady: Life With Maa

...

Quote of The Day: Proverbs 31:31

Give her the reward she earned,

and let her works bring her

praise at the city gates

Though Maa was illitrate, she valued education just like any other dotcom grandma. She encouraged everyone of us to go to school; and often attended all functions that required the presence of parents/guardians.

She wasn't ignorant either. I remember this particular day when she came to pick me from school. We were outside writing on the ground using our fingers when my teacher asked me to stop everything I was doing and go with her.
Maa took me to a place full of screaming children. Things happened so fast; before I could ask why the children were wailing, crying etc, I had needle piercing my skin and nasty drops forced down my throat. I guess my scream was the loudest and I kept on all the way home. I hated her for taking me to such a horrible place. Whenever I see a person with deformed limbs as a result of polio today, I look back to that day and thank God I had Maa then.

She let us be the children we were. Whenever there was nothing to do in the house, she could encourage us to go out and play with our friends. There were times when we could go fishing or mud-sliding and come back home messed up, but Maa never scolded us, not even once. She considered play as very important part of learning and development for us children.

We also had cooking lessons in the kitchen when Maa could take us through the process of making common dishes. She was so good so that at age five, I surprised everyone including myself by preparing ugali big enough for a family of six. This is how it happened:

Lessons at school were so boring. I told my teacher I was sick and not knowing that I was pretending, she allowed me to go home. There was no one at home; Maa had gone to the shamba. looking at the shadow I could tell it was almost lunchtime, so as a responsible girl, I decided to light fire to make it easier for whoever could come home first (my older cousins or Maa). I placed  sufuria filled with water hoping that by the  time the water boiled  Maa or any of my cousins could be home. Having waited for what seemed like eternity, I saw it wise to apply the acquired knowledge. It wasn't easy, I had problems but I was determined to make the best. You can imagine what followed.

My time with Maa are some of the most cherished memories. We had great moments together - some were  emotional and some just too funny: like when we could tease her about her unique hearing ability - she could hear a whisper two rooms away and could not hear a bomb explode in the same room. There were also times when during church services Maa could sleep the entire service and only wake up to sing hymns and ask about what the preacher was talking about. She had a talent, she could sing all the songs in the adventist hymn book off head.

Maa touched my life in a special way; much of what I am today I owe to this great lady. Through her I learnt that I can conqure the world with the right mind set. I am stronger  both physically and  emotionally today than I was yesterday, thanks to her.

Happy Mothers' Day Maa, RIP.

Celebrating A Special Lady: Going To The Moon (!?)

Going to the moon? Wait a minute, I can't be left out! As a child I'd always imagined myself floating with the clouds around the sky and waving at my friends below. So when I heard Maa with her women friends discussing about 'the moon' and 'going to the moon', I told myself "This is It!" There was no way I was going to miss that lifetime opportunity.

I inched closer to get more details (like the daparture time, what was required etc), but the discussion was so coded. Nothing made any sense to my little 4 year old brain. One thing I was certain of though, one of them was 'going to the moon', and I had to go too.

Immediately the friends left, I went to Maa and told her I wanted to go too and she had to take me or let me go with her friend. She just laughed and told me not to be silly.
What was she thinking?!
"She isn't going to stop me," I told myself. I tried all sorts of blackmails which did not work with her. When I mentioned going to get information from someone else, she openned up and this is the conversation that followed:

Maa: You are serious about this, right?

Myself: Yes Maa.

Maa: Going to the moon is very easy. You don't have to climb any tree or ladder to get up there. Simply sit on a chair when the moon is up and it will come and rest on your chair. And voila! you are on the moon! The moon comes to you, you don't go to it.

Myself: Will it carry me up to the sky?

Maa: Yes, it will.

Myself: Just like that?

Maa: Yes, but you should also remember that there is only one moon and so many people waiting for it.

The nights that followed I was always on the lookout for the moon with my chair ready to be carried up the sky. You can imagine what happened. Night after night I kept hoping, hoping that the moon would come down and carry me.

Maa, having watched me for several nights, one day told me this:
"It will only visit you when you reach a certain age and will continue till you become like me."

I ignored her and continued my night watch praying that I be the youngest girl to be visited. Nothing happened. No moon came down.

I later learned that 'going to the moon', a direct translation from my mother tongue, simply meant the monthly menses women experience
Wonderful! Just too wonderful! Having waited all those nights!

Hedex For Sweet (!?)

Sharing is the spirit in our family. Everyone born in or who joins this humble family has to learn to share whatever little she or he has with others. This is a discipline passed down from our dear Maa.

Last night, Krys (my 4yr old niece) having learnt the importance of this virtue, saw it wise to share with me a tablet she picked from her mum’s table. She divided it into two and gave me the smaller piece. I, believing it was the tictac sweet tablet, took my portion with gratitude and encouraged her to continue with the same spirit.

 I know you’re wondering why am telling you this. No, am not promoting any product either.

The bitter bile taste when my tongue came into contact with it set me to act fast. The supposed tictac sweet turned out to be hedex tablet (pain killer) Krys’ mum left on the table as she went to the kitchen to get some water.

No one would have known what was happening till very late hadn’t she shared the tablet.

It’s therefore advisable for parents, guardians or caretakers to instill discipline that would make it easy for them to protect and keep safe their children.

Till next time

Celebrating A Special Lady

I previously promised to tell you more about this special lady in my life. This year marks her 15^th anniversary since she left for the world unknown and I’ve decided to celebrate her in my own special way. This great lady was a virtuous and gifted one, for this reason all those who knew her, I included, loved, admired and respected her a lot. 

She was born in the years when muddy houses with grass thatched roofs were the most decent of shelters; when messengers and signals were the only media of relaying messages; when grinding stones were for making flour; when herbs were the only remedy to ailments; and when barter trade was the order of the day.

She never had any formal education, but had all the necessary knowledge about the marriage institution. She got married to a man she had never met before and had to learn loving him in the marriage.

Want to know when this great lady got married? Well, it was immediately after the formation of what the scientists refer to as Crater Lake. The locals in the village call it simbi nyaima – ask my lady and she’d tell you all about it and how it came about (that’s story for another day). She got married when the locals had already started to embrace Christianity and she wasn’t left out either. She was the first wife of a civilized man. She happens to be the first lady in the entire village to live in a permanent stone house with iron sheet roof built by her loving husband.

This lady was warm and hospitable and welcomed anyone and everyone to her home. She was a great cook and people used to visit her just to taste her delicacies. She was a very good storyteller who could narrate a story as if she were part of it. She was full of wisdom so that villagers sought her advice whenever they had problems. She was generous and kind to all. To crown it all, she was gifted in using herbs to cure ailments.

I speak of this lady because she happens to be my maternal grandma. Maa, is how she was known by everyone including her nine children.

continues . . . read more about memorable moments with Maa right here on this page

Quote of the Day

All For The Wrong Reasons

Most men attract attention all for the wrong reasons.
Every time I sit down to watch news on tv, it's always one thing or the other:
Watching news in one of our local tv channels, I was surprised by what I saw and heard.

(In case it passed you by), There was this man from Kiambu who had been sexually molesting his three children for years. This he did in the absence of their mother, all the while threatening to deal with them if they told her of his diabolic acts. The children, 2 boys and a girl aged between 4 and 9 years were so scared to tell anybody of what they were going through.


After years of continuous abuse, the man's fourtieth day finally came. Though am happy he was eventually caught, I feel for the innocent kids. They didn't have to go through all that, especially in the hands of their biological father. They suffered injuries that will stick with them for the rest of their lives - both physical and psychological. I wonder what reason the man will give for his actions...

Parents (I mean responsible, loving and caring parents) should therefore, ensure there is proper communication between them and their children.Besides, you should track your children's whereabouts just to ensure they are safe and with dependable persons. I believe if these children's mother spared time to communicate with them or even cared to know where they were at certain points in time, this could have been avoided.

Thanks to modern technology it is now very possible to keep track of your child using your web anabled phone.


Safety of our children is our responsibility , let's protect them now.

Lesson From A Special Lady

I happened to be in a cyber cafe yesterday afternoon when I noticed this young man struggling to type some document on a computer next to the one I was using. As everyone else present, I ignored him and continued with my work; afterall everyone knows and understands the rules in such areas.

The cyber assistants could offer him no help as that was a sign of good business for the day - the longer time you spend on a computer the higher you pay.
The young man tried to draw my attention by all means but I snubbed all his attempts. Behind my mind I kept asking myself "Hasla, are you doing the right thing?"

His desperation grew to a point where he had to shake me to draw my attention! I pretended I'd just noticed him and asked how I could be of help.
He said he had been given some work to type and to send back the typed work via email within a specified time. Worse still he had less money with him. The man had no typing skills and at the rate he was going, he was going to spend the whole day and end up not finishing the work. He asked me if I could help. I told him I was too busy. That hit him like a hundred ton load on the head.

I resumed my typing. All of a sudden I remembered these words from a special lady in my life,
"Put others' needs before your own. Help those who need help and ask nothing in return; for you do not know what tomorrow brings."
I logged off immediately and told the man to show me what exactly he needed help with. I typed his work within twenty minutes. The happiness on his face was a sure enough compensation for my time.

I later learned the man's name was Erick.

The act just added one more person to my list of friends!

A show of Kindness doesn't hurt; help those in need

Check this page out for more about this lady and who she is (She is not who you think she is!) ...

Mother's Special

“A tree is judged by its fruits and not by its roots” This is a wise African saying
that I like so much. As mother’s day approaches, I’d like to ask everyone out there,

"Do you think you've done your part as a mother figure to deserve recognition this mother's day?"

The past doesn’t matter; what matters is the future. As Randy Travis clearly puts it in his song ‘Three Wooden Crosses” – ‘it’s not what you take when you leave this world, but what you leave behind you when you go’ that matters.'

Kudos to all great mothers figures out there who despite life’s odds; have managed to bring up responsible personalities in our society.

Fruits, let's celebrate our mothers.

Where have they gone to?

the reason why am not yet married is because i am yet to find a real man. those who come my way don't even come close to my ideal man. Is it that all the ideal men have gone back to Mars?

Marriage = Job

Marriage is like a job and these are reasons why:

a) In both papers have to be signed

b) one partner gets more than he/she gives

c) one can decide to stay in it forever/opt out at some point

d) both must have some products

Children are funny and the most brilliant lot. Two days ago my nephew picked a one shilling coin. He was so excited and came running to me to show what he got. I shared in his excitement and immediately asked him if he wanted to have more money for himself; he said yes and started burbling about what he would buy with the money. In his mind he thought I was going to give him some more and take him out to buy whatever he wanted.
I suggested a piggy bank for him. The next thing he did was to run out of the room and I feared I had disappointed him. After some seconds he came running back with a tin.
"Here's my bank and by christmas am going to buy you and all my friends presents!" he said beaming with more excitement.
I pulled out two shillings i had in my pocket and gave them to him. he immediately put them in his bank and left.
When the parents came he told them about his bank and asked them not to buy him anything; instead, they should put all the money in his bank.
How about that! I believe that's the spirit every child out there should have, don't you think?

When is 'The Seventh Day?'

I was arguing with a friend the other day about the seventh day. she was saying that modern christians are lost coz they nolonger set a side a whole day for God refering mostly to those who attend church services on Sunday. The reasoning was: those people only spare like 2 to 5hours to God then go ahead with their businesses as usual. She maintained only those who worship on the seventh day (Saturday) and do not do any work on that day are on the right track track. According to her on the said day (which should the the seventh day of the week) one should only dedicate him/herself to worshipping, reading the bible and praying the whole day. So I asked her this question
"Suposing man was only to live for six days, when does he worship God?"
To this, she did not have an answer.
According to me there's nothing like seventh day and if there is, it is that time that you spare for God (be it a minute, an hour etc); I don't know about you.