Unbowed

While I was in Kenya, I read Dr. Wangari Maathai's book, Unbowed. The book is a memoir, the story of her extraordinary life.

Inspired by her interactions with nature as a child, Dr. Maathai went on to become a leading environmentalist. She pioneered the Green Belt Movement, owing to which much of Kenya's forests have been restored, and kept it alive in the face of adversity. Protecting the ecosystem in this manner helped many rural communities fight poverty and become self sufficient. She fought long and hard for many noble causes including multi-party democracy in Kenya and saving the city's central green space, Uhuru (freedom) park. She helped bring out multiple instances of corrpution and the Government turned against her and all her initiatives. Yet, she remained committed to her goals and helped Kenya move forward in many ways, despite her personal struggles and setbacks.

I was inspired to read about her life and the results she brought about from her determination and sheer courage. It was thrilling just to walk around in Uhuru Park, knowing how much had gone into saving it. Through most of the book, I felt as if Dr. Maathai was sitting with me and telling me her heart-warming story. A beautiful read and a great way to learn about Kenya and the story of a phenomenal woman.

From Wikipedia: Wangari Muta Maathai (born April 1, 1940 in Ihithe village, Tetu division, Nyeri District of Kenya) is a Kenyan environmental and political activist. She was educated in the United States at Mount St. Scholastica and the University of Pittsburgh, as well as the University of Nairobi in Kenya. In the 1970s, Maathai founded the Green Belt Movement, an environmental non-governmental organization focused on the planting of trees, environmental conservation, and women's rights. In 1984, she was awarded the Right Livelihood Award, and in 2004, she became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for “her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.” Maathai was an elected member of Parliament and served as Assistant Minister for Environment and Natural Resources in the government of President Mwai Kibaki between January 2003 and November 2005.

Jambo from Nairobi!

And so it came to be that I first stepped onto the African continent in Nairobi and took a deep breath to breathe in the African air. The joy and excitement is indescribable!

After spending most of the day with friends, I visited the National Museum in Nairobi where the information overload about Kenya was overwhelming! My favourite exhibit was of Ahmed, the elephant.

Facing the Lion

Reading Facing the Lion: Growing Up Maasai on the African Savanna by Joseph Lekuton is an excellent way to understand the life of the nomadic Maasai tribes of East Africa. I really enjoyed learning about Joseph's childhood and the Ariaal way of life. Some incidents and customs are particularly fascinating, but best of all is Joseph's journey to where he is today. I only wish the book was a little longer. Written for young readers but an excellent read for adults too.

The Lazarus Effect

Stunning documentary about how $0.40 a day can bring one back to life. Must watch.

Kibera's Healers

A very interesting set of pictures about the slum healers in Kenya's Kibera slum.

The Information Blanket

The Information Blanket is a simple and novel idea to education parents of newborns in Uganda, where the infant mortality rate is disturbingly high.

Read more about Shanti Uganda and watch what they do for mothers and girls here.

Achebe on Nigeria

A short BBC interview with Achebe on Nigeria's first 50 years.

Baking Cakes in Kigali

Ah, the fascinating world of Angel Tungaraza, cake-maker extraordinaire! Although a tad like Mma Ramotswe's setting in the beginning, the book develops its individuality quickly and captures your attention. Interesting (and often funny) characters, mouth-watering cakes and stories (both happy and sad) will come your way as you read on about people and their situations and circumstances in current day Rwanda. I found the cross-cultural and language aspects particularly interesting. Angel is very endearing and Parkin shows her witty side often in this enjoyable book.

Burundi

NatGeo Picture: Burundi drummers perform during a tribal ceremony in Ninga.

From the NatGeo Guide:

Small, poor, densely populated, and landlocked, Burundi lies just south of the Equator in central Africa. From the capital, Bujumbura, on Lake Tanganyika, a great escarpment rises to fertile highlands. Agriculture employs 90 percent of the people, with most being subsistence farmers. Since independence in 1962, Burundi has been plagued by ethnic conflict between the majority Hutus and the Tutsis, who tend to dominate the government and army—but are only 14 percent of the population. A 2003 cease-fire and new government offer hope for peace.

I found this information from the World Factbook interesting:
Burundi's first democratically elected president was assassinated in October 1993 after only 100 days in office, triggering widespread ethnic violence between Hutu and Tutsi factions. More than 200,000 Burundians perished during the conflict that spanned almost a dozen years. Hundreds of thousands of Burundians were internally displaced or became refugees in neighboring countries. An internationally brokered power-sharing agreement between the Tutsi-dominated government and the Hutu rebels in 2003 paved the way for a transition process that led to an integrated defense force, established a new constitution in 2005, and elected a majority Hutu government in 2005. The new government, led by President Pierre Nkurunziza, signed a South African brokered ceasefire with the country's last rebel group in September of 2006 but still faces many challenges.

Mini Fact-File:

• Official Languages: Kirundi, French (and unofficial: Swahili)
• Independence: From Belgium in 1962
• Capital: Bujumbura
• Currency: Burundi franc

Madécasse

Malagasy chocolate maker Madécasse is transforming the chocolate business and improving communities in Madagascar. The historical practices of the global chocolate industry have negatively impacted developing countries. Currently, 85% of the world’s cocoa is grown in Africa, but less than 1% of the chocolate is made there. Madécasse is shifting chocolate production to the source in order to bridge the gap between poverty and potential in Madagascar.

Learn more about the story and watch the cool 2 min video at the bottom of the homepage.

Elephants Without Borders

That's right! Elephants sans frontières!

Picture from EWB website

I really enjoyed this BBC video about elephants thriving in Botswana. I learned about two interesting things - this wonderful organization EWB, and the existence of political refugee elephants!

EWB is gathering a lot of information and learning more and more about these majestic creatures. See this Animal Planet video that suggests that elephants have very complex intellectual processes. Founder Dr.Mike Chase has a doctorate in Elephant Ecology and loves these giants with a passion.

Rapper Museveni!

Yes, the President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni, after 24 years in office, is now a hip-hop star. Yes, Sevo!

1987 Archive Photo in which Rapper meets Actor

Charity: Water

A wonderful idea to donate your birthday and builds wells to provide clean drinking water to entire villages in Africa (and around the world). Watch the video here. Check out the Website.

Endangered White Rhino

"Only eight white rhinoceros are left in the world, and conservationists face a race against time to get the animals to breed in the wild again."

Here is a heartening video of Stephen Fry feeding a baby white Rhino in Kenya.

The True Size of Africa

Wow! Does this put Africa's true size in perspective or what?