TODAY

Today gave me a chance to explore

Today I am collecting tomorrow’s hay

On lands unmapped and unravelled before

For I want to narrow the gap by the day.

Today made me forget all the bygone years

When the drainage got all my strive

And I lost buckets of tears

Today I saw a chance to thrive.

Today compelled me to use my own

And live my life to the fullest

So as to transform my folks back home

This is my season to get blest.

Today fashioned me a purpose

To dare dream and do my own bidding

I added another brick I suppose

To the art of nation building.

from A Man Has One Mood collection of poems by James Ouma

Contain Your Salt

Contain Your Salt

Now that shooters have learnt to shoot

Without missing their target

The birds must learn how cool

It is flying without perching.

Young one rein your charging horses

Tame your longings and your revolt

For a man who can’t contain himself

Is certainly not worth his salt.

The virus has learnt its way around

Abstaining is the only way safe way

No mortal has fallen to the ground

Due to a deficiency of sexual activity.

Young one rein your charging horses within

Be worth your salt and surely you

Will notice that there is no ICU

For patients suffering a deficiency of sex.

* * *

WHY SHOULD I THROW THE ONLY TOWEL I GOT?

Pursuing life's goals calls for tonnes and ounces of patience, persistence and lots of practice (by this I mean trying, trying and trying). I am grateful for my work, relationships, my cell phone, Gloria - my PC and above else Jane, a girl I met last month. This is a girl I like with my whole heart and soul. In fact she is the only girl who doesn't make me check my balance every time I want to call her. By the way, my cell is on the Uwezo tarriff, which is a loose translation that means the ability to do something.

So today I have chosen to put away everything else that has been troubling me. I have chosen to ignore the fact that I still need money to go to college. I have chosen to ignore the fact that classes are already on and the best I have come to joining the class is peeping through the window as the lecturer walked from one end of the class to the other. 

I am celebrating life. I am celebrating knowing Jane. Which reminds me...

When you are pursuing a goal in life a lot happens that makes you want to give up. Of late I have felt like throwing in the towel. But I cannot just do that because I don't have another towel. And if I throw in the only towel I have what will I use to dry my body after taking a bath? In life a lot of things happen that make us want to give up. Fortunately we meet people who promise to help us (and even if they don’t give us the kind of help we are looking for it kind of help boost our self belief to achieve our goals).

I have met such people and I am happy, really grateful to have done so. I used to get angry, frustrated and disappointed after someone failed to deliver on their promise. Now I think I know why. Such people, and their promises are just to help keep the fire burning inside us. Its like you are a cow, chewing what you think is a-not-so-good chunk of grass. You look at the cows on the other side chewing away and you think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence! Its only when you are on that other side that you finally realize the grass on what used to be your side was better. 

The thing is, life is wonderful and beautiful. Forget what the naysayers say or do. Life is worth living. Those who promise to help and they don't, are there for a purpose. Theirs is to help us climb another step on the ladder. It is always about us, what we want and how badly we want that thing. So go on, live your life and have a song. It is good to keep yearning for better things. But be content with the grass that is on your side and stop thinking about the grass that looks greener on the other side. Above all, enjoy life and count your blessings. That is what I do everyday. 

I still need a lot of things in my life and there are still so many goals I would like to achieve. I am taking each day and goal in my stride - one at a time. Meanwhile I am grateful for my work, relationships, my cell phone, Gloria - my PC and above else Jane, a girl I met last month. Who knows, in Jane I may finally find the elusive girl I have been looking for. Being grateful is the reason why I can't throw in the only towel I have got.

HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

I recently caught up with Beatrice Adega who I have nominated to be my hero. She is a beneficiary of micro financing in Kibera Slums in Nairobi, Kenya. This is what she had to say about her business venture.

QUESTION: How do you raise money for your activities?

Beatrice Adega

BEATRICE: We meet and contribute and loan money to members so they can engage in business. Initially, I used to wash clothes for people from which I got the money I started the biz with. Now I am selling Sukuma Wiki (kales) and charcoal with the loan I got from the group. I have a lot to thank the group for since without it, I wouldn’t be working towards achieving my goals as a business person.

QUESTION: One of the challenges small scale business women face is defaulting once they get loans. How do you pay off the loans the group gives you?

BEATRICE: I use the money I receive from the merry go round carefully by sticking to the budget and plan for my business. I also have groups where I contribute money, about 200 Shillings daily and in a week I have a good amount. Apart from that I also keep and the money I keep in my money box at home. The money box is used in cases of emergencies only.

QUESTION: What do you do to ensure you don’t break the money box say if you get a visitor?

BEATRICE: I make sure I do all to stick to my budget and the intention I have for the money kept in the box. I don’t use it for my personal budgets. It is for the business and it is meant to pay off the loan owed to our group. 

QUESTION: Advice to other women in other merry go rounds?

BEATRICE: They have to work together to achieve their own individual goals and learn from others what work. There is truth in the say – united we stand, divided we fall.

QUESTION: What do you think of women leadership?

BEATRICE: I think anyone – be it a woman or a man can be a better leader. What’s important is that they come together to work towards peace, security and stability. 

QUESTION: What is your take about tribalism?

BEATRICE: People should respect others and give them the space to be who they are. We all come from somewhere and we should be proud of that fact.

QUESTION: As a woman how important is the Women’s International Day?

BEATRICE: It is a very important day to me since I am proud of being a woman. I am proud of what and who I am a as a woman. Women are also very special and should feel a part of the society just as men. 

QUESTION: If you were to talk to all Kibera women what would you tell them?

BEATRICE: Kibera women should not look down upon themselves. They should come out and help one another since the challenges facing them are the same. Women in Kibera lack money and they should come together to uplift their living standards. Donors should come up with training sessions to empower women to know how to manage their lives and affairs. Girls should also get involved so they don’t engage in anti-social behaviors like prostitution. 

QUESTION: A word to the Donors?

BEATRICE: I humbly request them to invite us for seminars that will help us improve our lives. We have so many NGOs around but some of them only benefit certain people which shouldn’t be the case. They should work across the board by targeting all tribes in the community.

QUESTION: Future business plans and vision?

BEATRICE: I am seeing myself growing from one business initiative to another. I hope to venture into other areas like importing clothes and taking them upcountry and bringing in farm produce from those areas to the city to sell. 

QUESTION: Advice to men who have women doing business?

BEATRICE: Men should give women the space they need to engage in financial activities since women supplement family incomes and at times contribute to the family’s finances.

WANTED: BARBED WIRED CLOTHES

They have two gates at our workplace where you have to pass under a security gadget that buzzes as you pass. While the security doesn’t caress your body in the name of searching for concealed weapons, I get pissed off at the way security guards are having a go at wanting to ransack my person for the hidden weapons they hope to find on my body. Nowadays I even dread going to a supermarket because they will be having these weird guys whose fingers itch to ransack a shopper.

What I don’t like most is having this tall guy towering over me, his breath rustling the few strands left on my head as he runs his rough hands over me. There is this one time I went to Tuskys and this security guy run his hand over my shirt it resulted into creases that I am unable to iron out. I kid not.

So I have been thinking about how to counter them and I have come to one conclusion. I need a clothe that has barbed wires all over. 

TO BE CONTINUEED….