MY LAND IS NGONG

                                                NGONG TOWN

Welcome to the land of the best place to go for a picnic in the whole world – welcome to Ngong.  Ngong town and area has seen unprecedented transformation over the past ten years. If you have a chat with those who were in this place in 2001, they will offer an insight into what the old Ngong was like. It was a land that lay fallow and had wild animals traversing its width and length. It was a bush, a wild to be civil. How time change.

The new Ngong is a place to behold. Tarmacked roads are a common feature. There are businesses sprouting all over its corners and its link with Nairobi is by good road network. There are public amenities and the skyline is clear and devoid of pollution. There is a football stadium that is close to District hospital in case of an emergency. The cost of living is not high but affordable as foodstuffs are readily available.

Ngong has a climate that is conducive for athletic training. It is cool and dry with cold mornings and evenings and warm mid days. You will bump into world renowned athletes stretching their muscles and going on with their training regimes. It takes most Kenyans until national and international competitions to watch their beloved athletes, but while at Ngong they are a common feature. We meet them every day and almost do our activities with them.

Security is tight in this town. There are camps for the entire forces- not air force, not navy, not armed force- just a kilometer away. Who can try to disrupt the big guys? Your guess is as good as mine-nobody. Houses are affordable and built in to the required standards.

Times we see people in other towns being caught unawares by sudden changes in weather. Consider that a past story, a cliché in Ngong town. There is a branch of Metrological Department in Ngong where you can make an inquiry if you doubt your instincts and if you have those synthetic things on your head.

The most striking feature of this place is the Ngong Hills tourist site. It is a place to behold and ranked first in the sexiest places to wind up with a date according to the latest statistics. It is cheap in entrance fee, cool weather the one that you will not lose your make up in and wild animals are there to sample.

That is not all. Most tourists have been duped into watching short ‘brown Maasai’s’ doing their famous jump, but here you will get to see the authentic Maasais: tall, dark and with white teeth. Lovers of the bottle have not been left behind there are bars and restaurants all over the place. Finally, to the lovers of football, this is the place to watch the game. Imagine watching your team being thrashed without breaking a sweat- at a cost of Kshs. 100 you are served a 500ml soda while at the same time watching your team play.  What a bargain!

Take your time and visit this place. You will not regret your money and time. It will be a time well spent.

DRUG ABUSE IN CAMPUS

Drug Abuse in Universities

What is a drug? A drug is a chemical substance that alters the normal function of the body. When a drug is used for a purpose that it was not meant for, we call that process drug abuse.

Drug abuse is rampant in universities in Kenya and this begs the question why is this so and who is to blame? Universities are not only institutions of higher learning, but also centers of academic excellence and those who reside there are expected to be role models in the society. They are at the zenith of learning and are opinion leaders in most discourse in the society. These are the people who are looked at when a society is going through problems which are beyond the ordinary villager.

Drugs abused in these institutions range from alcohol, bhang to even hard drugs like cocaine and heroin. Many explanations have been put forward about causes of such behavior among students, but none has had a conclusive insight into this phenomenon.

There are those who subscribe to the view that increased and uncontrolled freedom must be the cause of excessive drug abuse in universities. The proponents of this view posit that a human being is generally a freedom loving animal and when a chance presents itself, they try to use it to the maximum.

Most high schools in Kenya are strict and impose rules and regulations that make students feel like caged animals. They lack the freedom to do several things and when they join the university they find an environment that is free from constant surveillance. With this new found freedom, they go head first and sink deep into whatever they pick on. In a university there is a lot of freedom that if one is not disciplined then messing up is the order of the day.

There are those who blame drug abuse on peer pressure and influence. They say that the kind of friends one chooses in the university will determine the kind of life he will lead. If you have friends who do drugs you will definitely also engage in drugs. This is occasioned by the need to belong and pledge loyalty to the group.

The other school of thought attributes this behaviour to the amount of cash that students are exposed to in the university. In high school you are only given a small amount of money usually referred to as ‘pocket’ money for your use. This is not the case in the university. Students are given loans by the government through Higher Education Loans Board, HELB. This money is misused by students as they use it to live high life which involves abusing drugs.

Some also link drug abuse to stress of learning especially those taking technical courses such as Medicine, Engineering and science-related ones. They argue that when tough gets going in learning these students resort to drugs to blow away the pressures of deadlines. The fear of failure also makes some students engage in drugs in the hope that they will post good results doing drugs.

Students have succumbed to accidents; some have contracted diseases while others have dropped out of school due to the problem of drug abuse. Heavy penalties should be put in place for those found peddling drugs in schools so as to avert this looming crisis. The action starts with you and me. Let us be our brother’s keeper.

SAY YOUR NAME

WHAT IS IN A NAME?

What is in a name? This question has been asked several times that I think it is now a cliché unless you have just landed straight from Pluto, the furthest planet. It has always escaped my attention until lately when I was doing an introspection of my life that I gave it a serious consideration. I checked around me and I could help but share my little experience so that others can also do a check on their names.

Most African communities name newborns after those who had died, time one was born or the season one was born especially in my community. This has remarkably changed with the advent of civilization and modernization. Nowadays newborns are named after famous celebrities, nice named cities and capital cities, after countries or even coining a name out of nowhere. Alicia Keys’ son with Swizz Beats is named Egypt, head of EABL is called Charles Ireland, Shakira’s daughter with Barcelona star Gerard Pique is named Milan same as Shaffie Weru’s and Calvo Mistari’s daughters. Bobby Wine’s children are named after capital cities.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has named his son after the famous Cuban revolutionary leader, Fidel Castro. Former Anti-corruption boss, PLO Lumumba is also named after Patrice Lumumba, the former DRC leader and the list can go on and on.

My born of contention rests on the traditional names that carried with them potency and could if not, shape the life of the person being named. I was named after a close clan member who committed suicide. My mother was not happy about the name but the spirit of the dead man kept on disturbing her in her dreams and it was also making me cry endlessly. She had to give in and call me Nick, as that was the name of that man.

I was told the man was a friend to my father and so wanted to be named after one of his children and I happened to be born just after he died. In my culture, they believe that if you are named after a person who committed suicide you will also commit suicide. It was a taboo. Those who committed suicide were seen as cowards. Who would want their children to grow up to be cowards?

The once bubbly me, strong and healthy became a sickling shadow of myself. I was shunned by those around me. My fellow children could not carry or even play with me. My mother tried her best. People mocked her for naming me after a person who had committed suicide. They said I will not live for long. I had grown into a thin, emaciated child. She prayed constantly as doctors had given up after jabs dotted every part of my thin body. My mother used to tell me that every time I went quiet she would come to check if I was finally dead.

I made it through after almost a year of agony, pain and desperation. I left my mother worn out and dejected in and with life. My schooling life started when I followed my older brother to school and direct into his class and the rest is now history. I was five at the time and in class two.

My official name at that time was Nicholas Ogola. This was until class four when my mother decided enough was enough. I was ushered into class five the following year with a brand new name, Collins Ogola. I think she imagined now that the spirit was now calm and had forgotten about me. My life has been good ever since.

I have later come to realize that Nicholas is an Irish name with its short form being Collins. Is it a coincidence that I cannot escape the name Nicholas completely? I am still known by the name Nick in the village and nobody knows Collins that is now a grown up man waiting to marry. Am I going to end up as the late Nick? Only time will tell.

So, does a name really determine who you will be or is it just a baseless belief? I have named my niece Maya after the famous American civil rights activist and poet, Maya Angelou. I hope she does take after her or even go on to achieve just a quarter of the late Maya Angelou’s achievements.

Take a look around you and even on yourself and see if a name shapes one’s future life.

CRAZY WORLD

ALIVE TODAY, GONE TOMORROW

My favourite musician of all time, the late Lucky Philip Dube once sang “so far so good still leaving today but you do not know what tomorrow brings in this crazy world. People dying like flies everyday you read about it in the news but you do not believe it, you will only know about it when the man in a long black coat knocks on your door, because you are his next victim.” This legend was talking about death. Most people do not give death a damn until it sweeps so close to them.

Saturday, August 9, 2014 was the day I came to terms with what the late Dube was singing about. Those who believe in traditions say that number nine is full of bad luck. I do not believe in superstitions but the day made me doubt myself a bit.

I woke up as usual at the milk boys knock on the door.  I emptied the milk into our sufuria and delivered back the container back to the boy. I was feeling dizzy but I wished it away as I made my way to the latrine to relieve my tract.

It seemed like eternity to walk the eighty meters from the house to the latrine. I felt like I was in a whirlwind and my senses had abandoned me. I opened the latrine door and leaned against the wall not even stepping on the inside of the latrine. Half way through, I could not hold it anymore.

I could feel my world spinning rapidly and so I decided to rush back to the house and lie on my torso to regain my senses. But that was not going to be. I lost balance and collapsed after just ten meters from the latrine and lay down lifeless. In that moment, death flashed across my eyes, but God was not asleep.

A rush to the hospital by two neighbours who saw me fall came quickly. Results for my tests declared me safe and sound. In such situations you come to appreciate the value of life. I cannot imagine it was only yester night I was chatting with friends trying to create awareness about this same blog. Time really flies and every second and minute should be lived at the feet of Jesus.

Psalms 23 aptly summarizes everything by saying “yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me…”  Surely, nobody knows the hour nor the day of departure, as we are only visitors in this world. You are alive today, gone tomorrow.

I FOUND YOU

I FOUND YOU

How do you feel when you see me around?

Do you feel like your heart skipping a beat,

Losing its pulsating rhythmic symphony pulse?

Or is it hard to tell and nostalgic to describe?

I wish I could, but it is hard to guess heart ways.

How do you feel when you see my lips dry?

Longing for that indescribable antidote on you

Do you feel like jumping right to my rescue?

Planting your warm kisses on my scaling lips

Or does my turmoil not bother you in any way?

How do you feel when you see me wipe my sweat?

After a day’s long work fending for me and you.

Do you see me as a potential husband material?

A father to your daughters and sons in future

Please do not hide the feeling you feel inside.

How do you feel when you see me smartly dressed?

My sharp khaki suits accentuating my dark complexion.

Do you see me as worthy of walking you down the aisle?

Holding hands together akin to leaders in show of solidarity

Or does it just pass you on as something in the ordinary?

Say something please; my heart is aching for a response.

I feel my heart palpable whenever you utter a word.

Wishing them as sweet soft whispers in mine ears,

Not ready to share the sonorous voice with any one

Jealousy creeps in when you ignore my presence

The ball is in your court to fill this gapping void in me

And save me from this loneliness that is killing me inside.