UTU

History American stand-up comedian M. Che once had me in stitches when he spoke of his mother struggling financially. She didn’t tell them that she couldn’t afford stuff she’d say things like” What! You got a D? You aren’t getting anything for X mas”, this would be in March and the punishment would last several X mases. (I have of course noted the gist of the story not the exact words). Well my folks and his mum had that in common. Dad would rarely tell us about his financial situation. Once in a while he’d say stuff like “Tell your mother I don’t have any money”! But that, I assumed was him refusing to give her cash or telling us to go easy on the food. Usually it was food related. My father whom I love very much had an” intéressant ”  “ way of doing things especially when dealing with us. But like most kings/ authorities he had a weakness, an Achilles' heel, or a Magere’s shadow or a Samson’s hair. Same myth different cultures, Luanda Magere belongs to the Lu...

Pourquoi le nom " Utu ", " Utu " est un mot swahili qui signifie l'humanité et la compassion ... Utu renvoie à la solidarité, comme les philosophies Ubuntu et Harambee . Nous vivons dans un monde où l’injustice et les inégalités n’arrêtent pas de progresser et nous nous sentons démunis face à cette situation. Pourtant, des gestes simples et à notre portée peuvent avoir un impact au-delà de ce qu’on peut imaginer. C'est pourquoi je vous lance cet appel pour pouvoir changer la vie des gens notamment les femmes et enfants de mon village natal, Gem. Pour les Femmes. Il s’agit de leur donner la dignité, et surtout la liberté ! En leur fournissant quelque chose qui les aidera à y arriver au quotidien. La liberté, car elles n'auront pas à passer à côté de choses  ou d'événements importants comme l'école. La liberté car elles n'auront plus besoin de vivre dans la honte face à quelque chose qui échappe à leur c...

UTU . Why UTU ? Why now? Because there’s never a perfect time for such things, that’s why. Because it is the little things that matter. Because one needs to make their first step at some point. UTU begins in Gem, because Gem is my Genesis. Most Kenyans identify with their tribes and country side, in short where their paternal ancestors last settled. In my case, my parents are Luo/ Jokanyanam, and our roots are around Lake Victoria. No, we didn’t give it that name, a British explorer did. Our people called it Nam Lolwe. We use our region as an identity.  Example: my dad is Jagem (Yala /Uyonga) and my mum is Nyar Alego (Masumbi). Ja = man from. Nyar is the female version.  Gem and Alego are the “larger” areas. Consequently, I am Nyar Gem, Yala or Nyar  Uyonga. How I met your mother! In matters destiny, my granddad wasn’t dealt the best card as a kid. He was the second last born son, and was orphaned right after his fifth birthday. He was dr...

Le destin, les choix, les privilèges, et le droit! Des mots intimidants, des conversations difficiles à avoir, je semble prospérer dans de telles situations. Un ami m'a déjà demandé si j'aime provoquer les gens et si je ne crains pas les répercussions. Non ! Je ne cherche à provoquer personne en disant certaines choses, je le fais parce qu’elles me préoccupent beaucoup. Je suppose que je ne crains pas vraiment les répercussions car mon intention n’est pas d’énerver les gens mais ce que je recherche à faire c’est  vous pousser au-delà de votre zone de confort. Vous vous demandez sûrement pourquoi je suis si passionnée par ce sujet. J'ai une théorie, je ne sais pas à quel point elle est juste, mais la voici. Je crois que nous sommes et devrions rester fluides. De plus, la vie nous réserve des épreuves qui nous forcent à nous adapter   soit juste pour survivre soit pour nous permettre d’évoluer. Cela dit, il y a des facteurs sur lesquels nous   n’avons...

Destiny, choices, fate, privilege, entitlement! Intimidating words, conversations that are hard to have, I seem to thrive in such. A friend once asked me whether I like to provoke people and " Don’t I fear the repercussions? "  No, I don’t say, or in some cases post, these things to provoke people, I do because they are on my mind! I guess I don’t really fear the repercussions because my intentions are not to annoy people but to, you know, get us thinking and talking, preferably out of the box and our comfort zones. These are intertwined topics that I think and read about, and research on almost obsessively. Why you ask? I have a theory I don’t know how right it is but here goes! I don’t like to define myself or people. I believe we are and should remain fluid. Plus, we go through different things in order to survive or flourish we need to adapt and change. But having said that, there are boxes we can’t really change. My box I am a ...