BE INSPIRED
DECEMBER 2009
|
BE INFORMED
|
BE ENTERTAINED
Ksh 150
WHAT DOES
CHRISTMAS
MEAN TO YOU?
INSIDE
KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 1
EV ENT S • FASHION • RELATION SHIPS • ENTERTAINMEN T • LIFESTYLE • AND LOT S MORE
inside WHAT’S
10 in this issue
in every issue 2 Nerve Center
An African Christmas
Message from KWELI
Celebrating Christmas our way
10
3 In Their Own Words Your letters, excerpts from the blog
Best of 2009
4 Things You Don’t Know About
The Baobab Awards for music, movies, and literature
16
Get to know your church leaders
The Power of One
5 Preview
One woman’s sacrifice gives dozens of children a fighting chance.
What’s in store for the month ahead
6 Rear View
Top 5 Fashion Trends
What happened? Were you there?
A glimpse of what’s hot this season.
14 Church in Focus A look at how other churches do their thing
24 Family/Lifestyle Recipes, activities for the family
31 Hatua Pastor Linda’s column
34 Sports We kick off a three-part series on how to to get to the World Cup by road.
26
34
26 32
NERVE CENTER
Okwi
Wycliffe
Elsie
Mark
Mwangi
RING LEADER
SMOOTH OPERATOR
IRON LADY
ARTI SAN
SHARP SHOOTER
OKOH
AUGUSTINE
paces around the KWELI office looking for fixes to problem.
undertakes deep cover spy missions for KWELI on what other organizations are doing.
MWONGELI takes no nonsense unless you have a receipt for it and it must read “nonsense: paid for in full.”
MUCHURA
KIRUBI
has formed a creative alliance with Vikki, he also insists on being talked to nicely.
spends a lot of time fiddling with his camera, once in a while he actually gets around to taking a photo.
Ndanu
WAMBUA
FROM THE RING LEADER
What is this thing they call Christmas? I must admit that for most of my life, I’ve found it all too overwhelming. I’m meant to buy gifts for everyone right? But then I’m usually digging-for-coins-in-the-couch broke around this time, and honestly? I hate shopping. Meanwhile the songs and movies that are dusted off the shelves of radio and TV stations for their annual run are busy telling me how happy I should be, just because it’s Christmas. But I’m not happy, at least not ecstatically so. In fact, this season is usually accompanied by depression and loneliness for many people. Even as a child, it confused me completely. Our entire family would head off to church, in a cloud of perfume, talcum powder and dust. I am yet to come across a form of torture worse than the Christmas service, in a small-town church, for a young boy. It’s long; it’s hot and mysterious words like “swaddling clothes” are being bellowed from the pulpit. Meanwhile the boy knows that back home a small hill of “Christmas-only” food is waiting for him. It’s agonizing. It’s confusing…
WHEELER DEALER
helps businesses succeed by selling them empty spaces on paper that’s owned by KWELI.
Vikki
KEINGATI DESIGN JOCKEY
hoards photos, text and graphics in her computer and then refuses to give them back unless you talk to her nicely.
The meaning of Christmas is just one of the things we’ll be discussing in this edition. And just like we’ll be doing every month from now on, we’ll profile people living with purpose, passion and relevance and endeavor to also inform and entertain… As you read through the first issue of KWELI, it is our prayer that you will be even more blessed than we were while putting it together.
Models: Roy Gitonga & Grace Mungai Shot on location at Kona Baridi by Sharp Shooter For more behind the scenes pics visit KWELI Magazine on Facebook.
www.kwelimag.com KWELI is published and distributed by Under the Baobab Productions Limited. Printed by BlackRain Media. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. If you copy us or any of our ideas we’ll come for you.
on the cover
BAYO EMMANUEL DANES
their
in
OWN
EMILY MUTUA Corporate Mizizi Facilitator
Mizizi Kampala Graduate
One day I met a dear friend and he suggested I give Mizizi a try perhaps having discerned a void in me that could only be replete through divine intervention. I do not regret turning up for the class! Mizizi could not have come at a better time. Over the ten weeks, I incessantly sensed a need to plug into God’s promises and partake of His blessings. I could not wait any longer and during the retreat, Pastor S led me in a prayer of confession and I acknowledged Christ as the Lord of my life!
WORDS
When I joined Mavuno and signed up to take the Mizizi class I didn’t know it was going to completely change my life! After doing it, I became a Lifegroup (LG) leader and my life totally changed. I became accountable not only for my spiritual growth but also the group’s growth. As we continued sharing, I wondered, how I could share my new found joy with those I have called friends and colleagues, before I did Mizizi. I knew I was accountable to every person who had been a part of my life. I had a responsibility to them! It’s deep right? But I was convinced that I would be judged if I did not share with them my joy and that’s how Corporate Mizizi was started!
in
their
If there is a word I could use to describe my pre-mizizi lifestyle, it would undoubtedly be “directionless”. My self-worth was wrecked relegating me to a life of mediocrity utterly compromising God’s awesome plan for my life. This anti-fervent passionless attitude coupled with reluctance in amending my relationship with God was the perfect recipe for not only exasperation and failure in my life but a risk in eternal separation from God.
OWN
WORDS
I now know that I have a divine purpose, I have a contribution to make, it is no longer about me but about He that now lives in me! My flesh still constantly fights against my spirit but this time, the Lord is my refuge and strength! The battle is no longer mine.
Mizizi is a 10 week transformational experience where you connect with God, your life purpose and form high impact Kingdom friendships.
words
I can’t tire of mentioning the priceless endowment of REAL FRIENDS I made at Mizizi. These guys have adorned my life in ways that I possibly may never be able to put in words. I will never manage to pay them back; all I can do is fervently pray for each one of them! Mizizi pointed me toward God who was patiently waiting for me to turn to Him. I am glad I recognized that. Thank you MAVUNO and MIZIZI, but thanks mostly to God for it is He who enacts the TRANSFORMATION from the inside out in each of our lives. I am so blessed!
The challenge however was knowing that some of my friends would not want to be in a church setting as they had been there before and felt they had been let down. I talked to a couple of trusted friends and they said they would take the class if just for the change they had seen in me. And the seed was planted. My senior pastor gave me blessings to structure the class to fit the group and we were shocked when 40 people signed up for the first class!
own
To date, facilitating the class has been the most fulfilling thing I have ever done in my life! I feel like it could be the first of the five big things that could be summed up as accomplishments in my life! I firmly believe that Corporate Mizizi was part of God’s plan in my life! I am persuaded that God has personally called, gifted, equipped and empowered each believer to serve one another in building up the body of Christ to the glory of God and He will use us if we let Him!
KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 3
7
Things you didn’t know about
1 2
How do you feel when people say Mavuno’s services are “too out there” or verging on compromise? Ha!! Firstly, we have only scratched the surface!! So what will happen then? Seriously, what I say is that we will do anything within God’s boundaries to reach those that we are passionate about reaching and note that God’s boundaries are not man’s laws!
3
Pastor
Wamai
What album, song is currently the ‘most played’ on your iPod? A song called ‘Jacket Town’ by the Yellowjackets. It calms my spirits; it represents me.
4 5
What’s your favorite way to spend a rainy, El Nino afternoon? Watching a flick, smsing my fiance, sipping some good ol’ tea.
When stuck in traffic on Mombasa Road what do you daydream about? Playing drums at a big live performance, or just how I would fix the drainage on the road coz there is so much debris and stuff clogging culverts and drains in our country. (I know this is random!)
6 7
4 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
Where do you go when you want to “get away from it all?” If I could all the time...Coasto! I love the water, the sun and the beach. But for now Naivasha is the place to be - the acacia trees and the lake do it for me.
What do you miss most about life before becoming a pastor? I’m a musician, a drummer to be specific, that’s what I miss the most, preparing long and hard for a concert or a show.
What parts of your wedding preparations were you in charge of? Well, the wedding preperations...ha! overall leadership first, bringing in the money... so I just make sure that we are headed in the same direction... planning the meetings, the classes we need to go for, organizing our meeting times with the mentor couple. anything that is not so detailed because my chile does justice to detail and she does it well.
this month’s sermon
pre
view
KWELI cornered Pastor M for a sneak preview of what’s in store for the month ahead… Here are some of the nuggets: Reason for the Season “The theme is Christmas. Christmas is central to who we are at Mavuno. At Christmas, our God left a place of privilege for our sake; He let go of His rights and then He spent time with the poor and the rich, He identified with everyone. We are called to go where people are, to speak their language. We go into the spaces where some people think the Church should not go, but that’s what Christmas is all about.”
Unusual Suspects “We’re inviting guest preachers, just like we did in December last year. This year we’re having Pastor Grace from Teenz Konnekt, Pastor Kyama from Mavuno Downtown (MDT) and Pastor Jackie from Kileleshwa Covenant Community Church (K3C). “
Stand and Deliver “We’ve got a very dynamic youth ministry yet many of us have no idea what they’re up to. Pastor Grace is in charge of Teenz Konnekt and having her lead one of our services will help us get to know ourselves better. Pastor Kyama’s MDT is our daughter church - many of us don’t know that. They’re reaching an even younger demographic than we are. Pastor Jackie is from K3C, which is one of the Nairobi Chapel churches. She’ll help us understand our family. They’ll all be talking about Christmas, that’s the general brief.”
Live and Direct “The fourth service will be our annual Testimony Sunday. There’s no sermon, we’re calling it Mavuno Live! We want to hear what God has done for people during the year.”
Making Waves “We’re going to baptize every week!”
KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 5
RE AR VI EW Nique
Album Launch
nov
7 Nov Mavuno Dome Nique launched his debut album ‘Maisha’ by treating the audience to a catchy fusion of benga, rock and jazz.
EVENTS
w th f s s m t w th f s s m t w th 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
Harvest
You Think You Can Dance?
31 Oct - 1 Nov Mavuno
13 Nov Mavuno
Business Fair
Entrepreneurs selling everything from car alarms to medical insurance gathered for some tips from business gurus and a chance to market directly to customers...
6 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
The Mist and Alabasta Crew, the Teenz Konnekt dance group, took to the stage on November 13th for an hourlong display of acrobatic maneuvers...
Ex Canz Leavers’ Bash 20 Nov Mavuno It was time for Form 4s and Standard 8s to celebrate the achievement of a major milestone...
26 Nov Mavuno
It’s the ‘end of an era’ and the short lull before the start of a whole new adventure, so former high schoolers got a chance to mingle and discuss their future...
f s s m t w th f s s m t w th 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Juliani Live!
5 Nov Carnivore Gospel hip-hop sensation Juliani held a live DVD recording session and listening party during which he discussed issues like politics, love and his walk with God...
ANSWER&
WIN
Answer these questions correctly and WIN. 1. Who is this? 2. Where was this? 3. What was she discussing? First email to hit the KWELI inbox with correct answers wins a hot KWELI T-shirt!
watscrackin@kwelimag.com
KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 7
CO MI NG SO ON
TEENZ KONNEKT MOTORCROSS CONCERTS
VILLAGE CHRISTMAS Don’t miss the sophmore
edition of the thrilling collaboration between Kijiji Records and Mavuno’s weekly entertainers - Sling and Stone. 20 DEC MAVUNO DOME | 500/= 21 - 24 DEC WESTGATE | 1000/=
Motorbikes, Playstation duels and mountain bikes take over the dome... 12 DEC MAVUNO
Talented teens perform in front of judges who will select the best of the best.
27 DEC MAVUNO 31 DEC
DANCE BENEFIT
MAVUNO
Dance group ‘Mist and Alabasta’ strut their stuff... 13 DEC MAVUNO
SYSTEMZ BACK
CHRISTMAS CONCERT
It’s time to head back to school, and there’s nothing better than a concert to end the holidays and the month of outreach.
20 DEC MAVUNO
3 JAN
Musician Affrizo releases a musical on the birth of Christ...
BASHES
TALENT SEARCH
MAVUNO
THE GROOVE PARTY East Africa’s finest performers usher in the New Year and launch the 2010 Groove Awards... 31 DEC KICC
SEND US YOUR EVENTS
watscrackin@kwelimag.com
8 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
CHRISTMAS
means many different things to many different people around the world. Just listen a little more closely to the songs that are probably already overwhelming the airwaves as you read this article:
“I warrnna weeiisshh you a Merrii Christmas from the bottom of my heerrraarrt…Feliz Navidad!”
“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose...”
As good Christians, we’re meant to be immune to the commercialism, Nakumattism, nyama chomatitis and excessive smiley-ness that infects the rest of the human race towards the end of the year, right? Unlike “the others”, we should be totally focused on the real message of Christmas – God taking on human flesh; the birth of hope, salvation and redemption…
“Dashing through the snow, on a one-horse open sleigh, over the hills we go, laughing all the way...”
At the risk of being excommunicated, I’d like to suggest that it’s time to embrace that Christmas is more...
“All I want for Christmas is you…”
It’s a celebration! It’s time for us to stop feeling guilty about celebrating the birth that helped bring humanity back into the light, the birth that changed the tide of a spiritual war that had engulfed the universe long before the earth was born.
“I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, just like the ones I used to know...”
“It’s the most wonderful time of the year...” “I’ll be home for Christmas, you can count on me...”
an
WORDS BY OKWI OKOH
African
PHOTOS BY MWANGI KIRUBI
If you’re dreaming of a white Christmas it’s time to wake up.
KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 11
No one does it like we do, and that’s with no snow, reindeer or the sort of chimneys in which a fat old man laden with gifts can slide down.
And until now, that celebration has been virtually owned by the West. Just reflect on some of the lyrics I just mentioned:
On December 25, I leave church filled with gratitude and awe at how deeply God loves us. And I also love the fact that all over Africa, people are celebrating those facts with color and custom that just can’t be found anywhere else in the world.
Chestnuts? What are those? Jack Frost? Who is that? “Dashing through the snow on a one-horse open sleigh?” Where, how and why? THIS IS AFRICA, so if “you’re dreaming of a white Christmas” it’s time to wake up and take a deep sniff of the kahawa dude. And yes, climate change may affect all that, but until then it’s time for us Africans to stake our claim on Christmas. No one does it like we do, and that’s with no snow, reindeer or the sort of chimneys in which a fat old man laden with gifts can slide down. 12 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
In Nigeria, people dress up, they cook up a storm of jollof rice, fried chicken and undergo marathon church services with more patience than they usually have on any given Sunday. In Kenya, it’s chapatis, chapatis and even more chapatis. Goats
up by aliens, and the CEOs of credit card companies rub their hands together in glee as shoppers besiege malls. And it’s with great pride that I’ve observed a sincere effort by many young Africans to turn this season into a time of sacrificial giving and outreach. Wherever you are on the continent, there’s something pretty cool about the way we celebrate the birth of our Savior. It could be an impromptu barbecue with a group
...there’s something pretty cool about the way we celebrate the birth of our Savior. and chickens are boiled, fried and grilled en masse as families reunite all over the nation. In South Africa, droves of Johannesburg residents migrate to Cape Town for some sun and sand, the smoke from all the braais (barbecues) can probably be picked
of friends out in the middle of nowhere, or an afternoon spent bonding with kids at a children’s home. Whatever it is, we want to know about it, so please become a fan of KWELI Magazine on Facebook and let’s share some culture this Christmas…
nyama choma grandparents
mutura
christmas movies
chapatis shags
carols
family
new clothes
decorating the tree
unwrapping gifts
things that make my christmas insights from KWELI readers
fresh kicks
fruit cake
friends
christmas plays
lotsa good food rice presents
beef stew
cookies
Kasr el-Dobara CHURCH IN FOCUS WORDS & PHOTOS BY MWANGI KIRUBI
The wing of the Kenya Airways plane carrying members of the Mavuno Worship Project slices through the air en route to Cairo.
FREEDOM of worship; we take
it for granted in Kenya. A preacher sharing the Word over lunch hour at Uhuru Park, moving freely around South B sharing the Four Spiritual Laws as part of Mizizi...these are activities that could easily land you behind bars in Egypt. This past November, members of the Mavuno Worship Project (MWP) were in Egypt for the Cairo Festival. Organized by Kasr el-Dobara, the largest evangelical church in the Middle East, the festival uses the inroads of sports and music to reach the youth with the Gospel. Out of a population of 80 million Egyptians, 86% are Muslims, 12% Christian. The other 2% belong to smaller faiths. If you are born a Muslim or Christian, you remain that way for the rest of your life. Conversion comes at the risk of your well-being. Access to the festival is therefore restricted. Everyone, including MWP, was forced to surrender their ID for scrutiny before entering. But despite the tight security, some Muslims have over the years managed to sneak into the festival and give their lives to Christ!
14 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
The festival, held in El Minya (southern Egypt) and Beit el-Wadi (northern Egypt), showcases wrestlers, power teams, skateboarders, zip liners, martial artists and musicians from Egypt and around the world. The headliners this year included Fortress Hill and Dunamis Power Team from USA alongside MWP. Language has never been a barrier to the spread of God’s Word. Even with the guest performers speaking only English in a country where everyone’s first, second and third language is Arabic, the Good News got across to those in attendance with the help of interpreters. There were celebrations at the festival and in heaven as people gave their lives to Christ in the hundreds.
...some Muslims have over the years managed to sneak into the festival and give their lives to Christ!
ADJACENT PAGE, CLOCKWISE Kasr el-Dobara Church is located in the heart of Cairo and has a regular attendance of 7,000 people In a country where clapping hands is the most rigorous movement one does in church, ‘Under the Rock’ choreography brought a lot of joy to those in attendance by removing superficial barriers to praise. When in El Minya, MWP learnt a few words of a song in Arabic, turned them into a chorus and fused it with Kenyan flava from Rigga and Astar. An altar call after this led to the most powerful experience MWP had at the festival. Singers like Ciiru here put their mics down and got off stage to pray with men, women and children who came forward to receive Christ. LEFT AND BELOW The rest of the year, Beit el-Wadi is used by companies for team building sessions. Before any song was performed, time was taken to explain what the song was about. Sally from the Kasr el-Dobara hospitality team was on hand to interpret into Arabic. Kanjii slam dunks over the pyramids. Before 1999, Beit el-Wadi was a harsh desert land. Kasr el-Dobara has since transformed it into a Christian Conference and Sports Centre that is a venue where the church’s larger vision for Egypt and the Middle East can be realised. Forget the Kenyan manly hug. In Egypt, a man freely gives another man a kiss on the cheek to express his gratitude, as Joe found out.
The Very Best of 2009
OF THE
Year
Song: Mteja Artists: Wahu, Juliani, Kanjii, Wenyeji, Lin, Roba (Kalamashaka) Executive Producers: International Commission of Jurists & Kijiji Records Producers: Kanjii Mbugua & Aaron “Krucial” Rimbui Date of Release: 29th June 2009
Man cannot live on club anthems alone! So we’ve reserved our applause for this joint effort that not only promotes accountability, justice and social responsibility but also had us nodding our heads and tapping our feet as well.
There were lots of great songs to pick from this year, but there was just something about this one...was it the music video? Or was it Juliani’s usual serving of biting political satire, or Wenyeji and Roba (Kalamashaka) delivering hard-hitting indictments on politicians...
If you haven’t heard or watched it yet, give it a listen, go check it out on YouTube and tell us if you agree with our ‘Baobab Award for Song of the Year’...
Year
OF THE
Album: Mtaa Mentality Artist: Juliani Executive Producer: Emmanuel Jal Producers: Kanjii Mbugua, Aaron “Krucial”, Musyoka, Jomino, Gitx, Jomino Date of Release: December 18, 2008
Honestly, we have nothing to say. ‘Mtaa Mentality’ speaks for itself. It speaks for anyone seeking God. It speaks for the hungry, angry masses. It speaks for men and women trying to find each other. It speaks for society, it speaks for the underdog, it speaks... to you.
KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 17
DADDY OWEN came into his own this year. The crossover appeal of his hit song “System ya Kapungala” not only won him “Best Male Artist” at the 2009 edition of the Groove Awards, it also entrenched him from months high up in various music charts across the country.
His trademark blonde Mohawk and deliberate fusion of the kapuka and lingala musical genres has sparked heated debate in some quarters.
He also worked hard to raise the profile of gospel music through collaborations with other gospel heavyweights like Danco, M.O.G, Ngashville and Gideon’s Army and others helped to raise his profile.
His real name is Owen Mwatia, he’s the younger brother of gospel ragga artist, Rufftone and he’s the winner of the KWELI ‘Baobab Award for Male Artist of the Year’ in 2009.
We suspect the controversy has also helped increase the popularity of his songs and music video.
Year
OF THE
KAMBUA
has also had a great year. She’s been studying and living in Canada for a couple of years but it was back home in Nairobi that her song ‘Ngoma Tucheze’ from the album Nishikilie - got the most love. Blessed with strong vocals, Kambua also picked up the very first KWELI ‘Baobab Award for Female Artist of the Year’ for her strong work ethic and disarming style. She’s studied music at Ambrose University in Canada and at the prestigious Berkley School of Music. She’s put in studio time with producers like Robert “R Kay”
Kamanzi, Lukas of Ogopa DJs, Chris Adwar (VUC), Gideon Kimanzi (Holy Battalion, Shtuko, Maximum Melodies) and at Johari Studios. Kambua has also tried her hand at acting. Before leaving for Canada in 2005, Kambua took part in productions like ‘Funny Business’ and ‘Something’s Burning’ as part of the Heartstrings Ensemble.
Year
OF THE
18 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
THE HITS of 2009
TOP TE N GOSPEL SO NGS
1 God in Me Mary Mary 2 Mteja Kanjii, Juliani, Wahu, Roba
(Kalamashaka),Wenyeji & Lin
3 Tazama Shem ft Danco, Alvo &
Christine Ndela
4 Just Wanna Say Isaac Houghton 5 Hela Juliani 6 Reason Eko Dida 7 Wimutheru Allan Aaron 8 Tempted Remix MOG ft Isaac Blackman 9 Kapungala Daddy Owen 10 Pamela Ringtone ft SK Blue
Promising
MOST
PRAISE AVENUE was founded by Kevin Oak and Sheila Otieno in January this year. They describe themselves as a “traveling worship team” that will bring back authentic worship into our Christian churches, one church at a time’. And if the concert they held in October is anything to go by, they’re pretty serious about getting it done. They’ve got great voices, awesome command of their instruments and tangible energy and passion on stage. Can you make a joyful noise?!
Mary Mary Eko
Year
OF THE
has received such critical acclaim. Even though the plot of ‘Cell One’ reads like a stereotypical bildungsroman or coming of age tale (scenes from boy’s childhood, boy has reckless adolescence, boy has traumatic experience, boy has epiphany and reforms) the characters are still compelling. The story commences by shattering the illusion of suburbia. Neighbours are stealing from each other and not because of cliche´ notions of hunger or intense poverty that forces ‘poor’ Africans into a moral conundrum.
AFTER some reservation, I have
finally jumped on the hail Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie band wagon. It’s taken me two novels and a short story collection to get here, but here I am. Her first novel Purple Hibiscus was released in 2003 and won her the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize and the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award. In 2007, she got the Orange Broadband Prize for Fiction for her second novel Half of a Yellow Sun. You only need to read the first story in her latest outing That Thing Around Your Neck, to understand why Adichie
THE OTHERS Other noteworthy releases in 2009 are Chika Unigwe’s On Black Sister’s Street, ‘Lawless and Other Stories’ published in the UK and US as News from Home by Sefi Atta, Zakes Mda’s Black Diamonds. Emmanuel Jal’s War Child: A Soldier’s Story and Mukoma wa Ngugi’s Nairobi Heat.
Adichie’s first tale thus explores issues of loss, alienation and a crisis of identity in a middle-class university town in Nigeria. Masculinity is at the fore of this story where the country’s youngest academics are toting guns and hacking each other in senseless gang violence. The police seem helpless to stop the fighting and are represented as corrupt, cruel fiends who are at once loathsome and pitiful. But where Adichie is strongest is in the careful illustration of the tenuous thread of emotion that is often repressed within and between her characters.
Not to give it away, if I haven’t done so already, but one of the most startling images is of the young narrator, the sister of the pleasure seeking protagonist, Nnamabia, throwing a rock at her parents’ car as she explodes with pent-up rage and frustration at her parents neglect and passivity: “I could sit there and do nothing while my innocent brother suffered,” she muses as her mother prepares to leave to visit Nnamabia in jail. “She was walking toward the car and I ran after her, and when I got outside I was not sure what to do, so I picked up a stone near the ixora bush and hurled it at the windshield of the Volvo. The windshield cracked. I heard the brittle glass sound before I turned and dashed upstairs and locked myself in my room to protect myself from my mother’s fury.” The twelve stories in the collection are illustrations of Adichie’s deftness as a writer. While she is clearly on a mission to contradict the perception that Africa is the “dark continent” her characters are neither victims nor victors. In her pieces there are no real innocents and every character is greatly influenced by their social background.
And just for fun, or if you’re curious, or if you are as big a lover of the short story as I am, sink your teeth into some of my top five classic short fiction cycles:
1 Where I’m Calling From Raymond Carver
2 In Our Time
Ernest Hemingway
3 Woman Hollering Creek Sandra Cisneros
4 You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town Zoe Wicomb You’re One of Them 5 Say Uwem Akpan
Reviewed and compiled by Mary Wambui Theru. Mary is a freelance television producer who writes and studies literature – especially of the African variety. She dabbles in theatre performance and fell in love with Bollywood movies sometime last year. She is a post-graduate student at Rhodes University, South Africa and a member of MDT (Mavuno Downtown).
20 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
Year
OF THE
MOVIES
these days rarely live up to their hype. There’s more marketing than material. It’s more about raking it in at the box office than helping people understand and cope with the world around them a little better. But every once in a while, a movie comes along… “Up” is the latest offering from animation giant Pixar. It’s the story of a man in his late seventies who has recently lost his wife and childhood sweetheart. His struggle to cope with her death puts him at odds with his neighbors and society at large.
A retired balloon salesman, he decides to hitch his house to thousands of heliumfilled balloons and head off in search of a final adventure. But soon after he breaks cloud cover, he discovers a young boy has come along for the ride – uninvited. The unlikely couple undergo a series of mishaps and defining moments that lead them to slowly but steadily grow fond of each other. “Up” gets KWELI’s ‘Baobab Award for Best Movie’ in 2009 for having a generous helping of everything we love: adventure, romance, life lessons, laughs, suspense, a chance to cheer for the underdog, plot twists and tons of creativity.
Catch Africa Journal every Thursday at 10:05PM and repeats every Saturday 12:35PM only on KTN.
something for the KIDS
Incas
VANILLA CAKE Set Oven at 180° C Grease 8” cake baking tin 20 mins to make 1 hour to bake Serves 6-8
Make your own wrapping paper for Christmas gifts!
Ingredients
Required Materials
4 eggs
Plain Paper Paints / Colours / Crayons / Marking pens etc. Glitters Glue Newspapers to lay on the work space Ribbon / coloured string
½ cup sugar 1½ cup margarine 3 tsps vanilla essence 2 cups Incas whole wheat flour fortified with amaranth (sieved) 2 tsps baking powder
Instructions
Method
1. Put all the things you need in one place.
1. Place margarine and sugar in bowl and mix to creamy texture.
2. Get some old newspapers. Spread them over the area where you’ll be working just incase you spill some paint or glue.
2. Add eggs & vanilla essence to the mixture and continue beating.
3. Put the plain paper on top of the old newspaper and let’s get it started!
3. Add the sieved flour & baking powder & mix to a creamy texture.
4. After you’re all done coloring or painting, why not spread some glue over what you’ve colored. Sprinkle some glitter on the glue before it dries.
4. Pour into the greased baking tin, place into the oven to bake until ready (fork comes out clean). 5. Remove from the oven and place on the rack to cool. 6. Optional: Spread icing over the cake.
Serve and enjoy!
24 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
5. Ask your parents to help you get glue into places that are hard for you to reach. Let the paper dry. 6. When it’s dry, you can use your new wrapping paper to wrap a gift. 7. Use the coloured string to tie up the gifts and make bows. With this craft, you can substitute the paper for old paper from newspapers, magazines, paper towels, kids old homework, calendars etc.
PO
The
ne O of
This is
the story of how
one woman’s willingness
to obey, love and sacrifice
has made all the difference for children without homes or hope.
It’s estimated that about 800,000 people live in Soweto, which is about 25 kilometers east of Nairobi city centre. 26 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | NOV 09
WER WORDS BY OKWI OKOH
TWO members of a drunken trio are spoiling for a fight. The customary insults have been hurled, and the threats that so often hold the egos of men hostage have been made.
But before any blows can explode from raised fists, Damaris Abonyo steps in. “This is a children’s home,” she tells the men quietly but firmly. “Please don’t behave like this in front of them.”
PHOTOS BY MWANGI KIRUBI
Damaris has been working since 2001 to make it that way. That was the year the 50-yearold began a relationship with God just after opting for early retirement from the catering department of the National Airport Services (NAS). Her husband had left years ago because she couldn’t have any more children after the birth of her daughter Emily Amondi.
She started “having regard for the weak” by cooking for any of her neighbors who was ill - free of charge. The demand for her services was so great that her savings soon vanished. She managed to keep going with support from the local government, horticulture company Homegrown and a team of doctors from Aga Khan Hospital who ran free clinics.
“I asked God to give me something to do for Him…I prayed and fasted to be shown a way to serve the community,” she recalls. “Soon after, I opened my Bible to Psalm 41…”
But it wasn’t long before Damaris discovered that some people were selling the food and
The would-be fighters shower her with apologies, wave at the dozens of children clutching at her skirt, and stumble down the street in search of the next watering hole. Damaris steps back into a nearby compound and immediately returns to wiping noses and overseeing preparations for lunch at the Good Samaritan Children’s Home deep in the Soweto slums of Nairobi. The home is sandwiched between a video hall offering live English Premier League matches at Kshs 30 a pop, and a busaa (traditional beer) den.
“I asked God to give me something to do for Him… I prayed and fasted to be shown a way to serve the community.” Both places bear witness to the urgent desire for an escape from reality that many of the slum’s residents hunger for... But for the 50 children that call Good Samaritan home and Damaris “Mom”, this little strip of Soweto is where they have found peace, acceptance and love.
“In the daytime I’m a mother, at night, I’m a watchman.” - Damaris Abonyo
using the cash to buy cheap booze. She asked God to give her something else to do. One day, Damaris was called to the local police station. The officers asked her to take in two children whose mother had abandoned them years before. They were living with their father, but he had recently been convicted of rape. Damaris saw the officer’s request as an answer from God and took the children home with her.
According to the Nyumbani Children’s Home in Nairobi, a child is orphaned every 14 seconds in Africa. Over the next three years, children with similarly tragic stories were brought by the police and churches to Damaris’s mud house. Some had been abandoned, others had been found working illegally on construction sites, many were living on the streets…
28 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
According to the Nyumbani Children’s Home in Nairobi, a child is orphaned every 14 seconds in Africa. Damaris and Emily decided to just take it a day at a time and put the kids wherever they could find space – on the floors, on their bed… Every day was a fresh struggle to find food and deal with issues like an overflowing pit latrine. Damaris recalls offloading 200 50kilogramme sacks of grain at the DC’s (District Commissioner’s) office just so she could get two sacks to feed her children. Damaris also remembers walking for hours to reach the office of someone who had promised them food after several days of hunger, only to be told the person was too busy to see her. But those are not the stories that Damaris likes to dwell on. Instead there’s a twinkle in her eye and even more sparkle to her smile as she speaks of her children’s stellar performance in school, or of the liquid-soap making business they’ve started to bring in extra funds. She also prefers to tell us of the Christian fellowships at Kenya Pipeline Company Ltd. and Unilever Kenya Ltd. that kept them alive by donating food and money. The current two-storey building where the children sleep
ABOVE The children welcome KWELI with a song. Vegetables are grown in sacks due to lack of space.
Damaris spends about Kshs 65,000 every month on food alone. Over 95% of the children at Good Samaritan are in primary school.
CLOCKWISE Jomba Moses (in blue sweater) was abandoned in a matatu, then spent three weeks in a police cell before Damaris was asked to take him in. John Oriwo, one of the home’s 23 boys, preparing liquid soap for sale at Kshs 250 for 5 litres. Emily Amondi, Damaris’s daughter quit her job with a leading hotel chain to help her mother care for the children. Damaris and Emily are constantly pushing the children to read since most of them got a late start in school. Baby Sam is as cute as it gets. Damaris insists Good Samaritan is a family, not a children’s home.
There is no electricity or independent, regular access to running water. The children all share one latrine and shower.
KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 29
“it is not about your ability but your availability.” and study was built through funds raised by the two groups. Damaris also speaks with fondness of people like Joel Kamau who works at Unilever and attends Nairobi Chapel. Joel’s impact on the home has been so deep, that Damaris’s pet, a bubbly boy who was abandoned at four months, insists on being called Joel Kamau. Damaris also asks after Eileen Agwata, who’s Lifegroup* ‘Go Getters’, was the catalyst for KWELI’s journey to Soweto ahead of our debut Christmas issue. “Honestly we haven’t done much as a Lifegroup materially as compared to prayers and fasting. Damaris has been an inspiration to the Lifegroup. She is an example of waiting on God, she opened her heart to the kids with nothing except her trust in God,“ says Eileen. “She proves that ‘it is not about your ability but your availability‘. She positioned herself to be a channel of God’s love. “
Not much will change come December 25th at Good Samaritan. Donations will probably increase as binge-spending across Nairobi leads to pangs of conscience which in turn loosen the purse strings of those making merry, for ‘tis the season to be jolly’! 23 boys will still sleep in one of the rooms downstairs, while 27 girls sleep in the other. Their parents will still be dead, dying or too high to care. Soweto will still be the forgotten cousin of suburbs like Lavington and Runda. The music from the night-spots that pop up like geysers around the slum will probably be several decibels higher, while hopes that change will come will grow dimmer as another year prepares to pass... Damaris Abonyo will also probably be doing the same thing she does every night: praying for help, praying for food, praying for each child and praying that the rest of us can also find our place in this world one day...
HOW YOU CAN HELP Email soweorphan@yahoo.com Call Damaris Abonyo on 0720 Call Emily Amondi 0720
387663
387663
Or liaise with the ‘Go Getters’ Lifegroup, contact Eileen Agwata at
eileen.agwata@brandsavvy.co.ke
CLOCKWISE: People donate old uniforms and writing materials for the children to use; Nancy Okola – one of the older girls – regularly cooks for over 50 hungry mouths; Nine-year-old ‘Pastor’ Evans Oluoch often leads his mates in prayer, fasting and worship; Joel Kamau is Damaris’s constant companion; Jane Anyango and her lovely smile. * Lifegroups are Mavuno’s network of home-based fellowships.
30 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
A FRIEND of mine who heads
a large Christian organization recently attended a big strategy meeting on outreach in the region. To his surprise the take out from the meeting was relatively simple. The many important leaders gathered together were convinced that in many instances for people to come to faith, they must see the relevance of God demonstrated in their immediate, often physical situations and needs.
Christmas is here and many of us will make time to visit a children’s home or to donate some food items to needy children. As we distribute good cheer to the many needy people in our society, we need to stop and ask, where can we do the most good? We can’t do everything, but we can prioritize the resources at our disposal in order to maximize the impact of our giving.
... add fruits and vegetables or meat products to your gifts that they could not otherwise afford. age children, and providing maize or wheat flour fortified with iron and other nutrients.
vegetables or meat products to your gifts that they could not otherwise afford. In addition consider making a regular contribution of the fortified food items that will take them some distance through the year and enhance their ability to play and learn better.
This Christmas rather than just provide a sumptuous meal for one day out of the 365, why not commit to provide a children’s home with flour that is fortified with additional nutrients like zinc and folic acid? These products have been demonstrated to have a high impact on the health of children despite their relatively low costs. Make your Christmas visit to a children’s home this year a visit with a difference by adding fruits and
Did you know that 177 million children in Africa are stunted from chronic under nutrition? Deficiency in vitamin A, found in fruits and vegetable makes children vulnerable to infections like measles. Anaemic children, caused by a deficiency in iron, play less and learn less at school. Not surprisingly children from poorer homes that are less able to afford these items are more prone to be lacking in iron and vitamin A. In addition much of the continent has a high worm count due to poor sanitation. The result is that children absorb less nutrients and lose nutrients directly. Surprisingly, the solutions are not hard to come by. These three conditions can be addressed by de-worming school
HEALTHY giving WORDS BY PASTOR LINDA OCHOLA
KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 31
Something from the 80s
Style magnet
Skinny jeans, harem pants, ballerina flats, poofy poofy sleeves; loads of color! Whatever works - you can even just adapt one piece and intergrate with the rest of your non 80s clothes.
Thanks to R&B singer Neyo, Trilbys are hot again. It’s about being debonair and quirky or for our nononsense readers: a great way to keep your brains from being fried in the sun!
Golden oldie Never say die! This wardrobe classic is still going strong. Its versatility is the polo’s best attribute: throw on a blazer for a touch of seriousness or pull on some shorts and lay back…
The statement heels Gladiator sandals still cross-breeding with the platform; whether it’s pointy or round, fronts are chunkier and heels more tapered. Again colour is an added plus... grey, black and navy are just OUT!
Thin layers The jury is still out as to whether or not men have any business wearing skinny jeans! In the meantime, there’s no denying their growing popularity with the fashion-conscious dudes amongst us. The black sneakers pictured here are pretty hot at the moment too.
The midi Hem lines are just below the knees in the fashion capitals of the world for dresses and skirts.
Smaller bags Ditch the back-breakingcarry-all-tote for something smaller. The clutch bag is stilll going strong and there’s one for every occassion EVEN the office.
Get the message Messenger bags are cool and functional – just the way we like our stuff.
Basket-weave earrings
A perfect example of ‘East African cooperation’ - The Rwandans claim they were first with the design though they are being made in Kampala and Nairobi now and beaded variations are also available. They’re great for daytime wear but can also work for a night out on the town. 32 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
See it my way Just like the polo shirt, these style icons have stood the test of time. Maybe it’s because they also keep the sun out of your eyes? Who knows…
Reviewed and compiled by Rey Haema and Kwiyo Okoth.
Rey Haema is a fashionista and avid people-watcher based in Nairobi. Her understated glamour, keen eye for emerging trends and unique awareness of ‘what’s hot or not’, made her the natural choice to compile the ‘5 Must Haves’ for KWELI’s inaugural issue. Kwiyo Okoth , a retired media executive, says he has launched a personal crusade to help men pay attention to their appearance while dressing simply and affordably..
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ROAD TO
SOCCER CITY
If you haven’t applied for your annual leave, submit your request now.
34 KWELI | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09
EVERY four years the world shifts
its focus from global issues like nuclear proliferation, global warming and the dropping quality and quantity of fries on Moi Avenue to the World Cup. This time round, the focus will be even sharper with the Cup coming home to Africa. For one month from June 11 2010, SA will definitely be the place to be. If you haven’t booked a ticket to watch a game by now, getting one might be hard. But as anyone who’s attended any World Cup will tell you, the atmosphere on the lawns outside the stadium where you can watch the games live on giant screens rivals the one inside. There’s no better place to experience the world’s cultures and meet people with a passion for football that transcends cultural and language barriers. This month, KWELI brings you the first of a 3-part series on how to get to Soccer City Johannesburg by road via Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and finally South Africa. It’s a trip that can be done in two weeks but you’ll need to take some days of rest and take in the sights along the way. You can check out a tentative road map by searching ‘road to soccer city’ under related maps on maps.google.co.ke.
and Zimbabwe. For Botswana and SA, you can get third-party insurance at border control. There are many travel insurance packages available and all you’ll have to do is pick one that matches your pocket. KRA need to be sure that you’re not taking your car out of Kenya to sell it. And the respective authorities in each of the countries you’re driving through need to ascertain it isn’t your intention to dispose of your car when in their country. So talk to AA Kenya and get a ‘Carnet de Passage’. This gem is a 25-page booklet that is recognized in all the countries en route to Soccer City. A page will be retrieved at
It’s at times like these that you appreciate unions like the Commonwealth. Since Kenya is a member, just like Tanzania, Malawi and Botswana, you won’t need visas to get past their borders. You’ll however need to apply for visas to Zambia, Zimbabwe and South Africa from their High Commissions in Nairobi. Companions that will really help on this trip are www.essentialafrica.com, www. lonelyplanet.com and maps.google.co.ke. An in-car GPS navigator offers friendlier technology, you’ll be able to put aside the wide opening paper maps for. Don’t leave your reliable maps behind though. They
This isn’t the time to talk to someone who knows someone who sells insurance from a briefcase and a flash disk. each border crossing and this will act as a guarantee you won’t sell your vehicle. The Carnet will set you back Kshs 34,000/- and takes two days to process at AA Embakasi. You’ll also need to deposit a bond equal to your car’s value. You can get this from your preferred insurance company or bank.
always come in handy when the GPS gets arrested by Murphy’s Law. Next month, we look at places to stay, things to eat and stops you must make on the road to Soccer City.
If you haven’t applied for your annual leave, submit your request now. You might need to take extra days unpaid if you intend to stay for the entire duration of the tournament. You’re traveling by car so you’ll first need to get your car in its best working condition. If there are any leaks or weird noises coming from the engine compartment, seal and silence them way in advance. Don’t wait for the last minute. Your car manufacturer’s local dealer or any reputable garage will be the best place to do this. Next, you need car and travel insurance. This isn’t the time to talk to someone who knows someone who sells insurance from a briefcase and a flash disk. Talk to the more established firms. For your car, you can get a COMESA Card that covers entry into Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia
TOP LEFT The magnificent FIFA World Cup Trophy. BOTTOM FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Soccer madness... ABOVE The Soccer City Stadium, Johannesburg. RIGHT President Mwai Kibaki holds up the World Cup Trophy. KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 35
KWELIMAG.COM | ISSUE 1 | DEC 09 37