Nairobi City

[ . BACK to worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Nairobi City

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Earth

*****************************
Explanation




Nairobi
is the capital and largest city of Kenya. The city and its surrounding area also forms the Nairobi Province. The name "Nairobi" comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, which translates to "the place of cool waters".
However, it is popularly known as the "Green City in the Sun" and is surrounded by several expanding villa suburbs.

Founded in 1899 as a simple rail depot on the railway linking Mombasa to Uganda, the town quickly grew to become the capital of British East Africa in 1907 and eventually the capital of a free Kenyan republic in 1963. During Kenya's colonial period, the city became a centre for the colony's coffee, tea and sisal industry.
Nairobi is also the capital of the Nairobi Province and of the Nairobi District. The city lies on the Nairobi River, in the south of the nation, and has an elevation of 1795 m above sea-level.

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


From the Kenya Saijiki


***** . Nairobi Bomb Day (8 August 1998)


***** . Nairobi International Trade Fair


***** Jeevanjee Gardens and Alibhai Mulla Jeevanjee


***** . Kayole and Patanisho 　


***** . Marikiti Market
Wakulima Market (Farmers' Market)

***** . Mkokoteni hand cart .


***** . Hamza terminus


***** . Langata cemetery


***** . Nairobi Animal Orphanage 　


*****************************
Worldwide use



*****************************
Things found on the way



Kibera

Kibera is a division of Nairobi Area, Kenya, and a province and neighbourhood of the city of Nairobi, located 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and the second largest urban slum in Africa.

The neighbourhood is divided into a number of villages, including Kianda, Soweto East, Gatwekera, Kisumu Ndogo, Lindi, Laini Saba, Siranga, Makina and Mashimoni. Conditions in Kibera are extremely poor, and most of its residents lack access to basic services, including electricity and running water.

©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !


*****************************
HAIKU

Haiku from Patrick Wafula


Wakulima Market--
soiled porters offload mangoes
from lorries

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


.................................................................................


muddy pick-up trucks
queue to offload tomatoes--
Soweto Market

Soweto stage market --
women buy cabbages
vyondos are full

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


.................................................................................


even beggars
line up mangoes for sale--
Haile Selassie Avenue

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


.................................................................................


truants swimming
in a seasonal lake--
Jogoo Road

traffic lights
on Jogoo Road--
smell of hot tires

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


.................................................................................


Last week, some bulldozers and caterpillars cut down all the grevillea tress along Landhies Road in order to expand the road. My goodness, how naked or can I say bare, the road is now! Isabelle Sensei, you will never those beautiful trees again, they are gone forever.



saw-dust scented
air on Landhies road--
fallen grevilleas


a bulldozer bites log
after log to load the lorries--
sliced grevillea


Muthurwa food vendors
filling sacks with saw dust--
whirring power saw


The Muthurwa food vendors are collecting the saw dust to use it as fuel for cooking food on their braziers.


September 22, 2010


. . . CLICK here for Photos of grevillea flowers !

. . . CLICK here for Photos of the Muthurwa district !



. Landhies Road haiku
by Andrew Otinga


.................................................................................



Photo by Patrick Wafula


bare jacaranda branches
adorned in purple blossoms--
Moi Avenue

... CLICK HERE
for more photos of Moi Avenue from Patrick


.................................................................................


Patrick on January 2011, coming back from a trip


Nairobi sunset—
an orange sun sitting
on the Ngong Hills

Nairobi sunset—
flying crows littering
the orange dusk sky


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Doonholm road-
my tall shadow cast on
rusty mabati

Andrew Otinga

. . . CLICK here for Photos ! Donholm Nairobi


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Soweto market--
loud speakers advetise
Valentine products

Valentine morning--
vendors arrange flowers
in the wheelbarrow

Valentine day--
flower's hawker whistles
from door to door

Caleb Mutua, Kenya
Kenya Saijiki Forum February 2010



Muthurwa Market--
school girls gather around
success card vendors

Muthurwa Market--
the cabbage vendor juggles
a big one

Caleb Mutua, Kenya



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


soweto stage --
muddy water stuck on
displayed potatoes


muthurwa market --
a boy struggles to pull
a cart from mud


Sibiko Yamame Winslause

. . . CLICK here for Muthurwa Market Photos !




Soweto stage--
she slices pineaples
into a white bowl

Andrew Otinga
September 2010




Soweto market-
greenish mould sprouts over
a decayed tomato

Asava Kelvin


Soweto market-
a naked madman eats
a rotten watermelon

muthoki

September 2010




. SOWETO VILLAGE - poetic haibun 　
free verse : Beryl Achieng
haiku : James Bundi

. . . . .


Soweto market--
she sprinkles water
on withered vegetable

Douglas Nugi
July 2011


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




an old man
repairs an old bicycle
along thika road

Antony Njoroge


The expansion of Thika Road, a ten lane highway, considered the busiest highway in East Africa.
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


. . . . .


Thika highway--
a boda boda motorbike
hit a truck

Thika highway--
the late schoolgirls are stuck
on the other side

Barrack Elungata


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Tom Mboya street--
city council officers chase
the mango hawkers

Caleb Mutua

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Muthurwa terminus--
a new peddler hawks
boiled maize

hussein haji


Muthurwa bus terminal
. . . CLICK here for Photos !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


sunny afternoon -
a coiled spider web sparkles
on a Kayaba fence

Sibiko Yamame Winslause

. . . CLICK here for Kayaba Photos !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


At Masimba I witnessed a thief who had stolen a mobile phone and he was in the hands ofthe public:


Masimba stage-
blood stuck on the
stumbled blocks

Masimba stage-
blood trickling on his
left shoulder

Sibiko Yamame Winslause


. . . CLICK here for Photos !


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Machakos Country Bus Station

. . . CLICK here for Photos !


Machakos terminus-
a short man advertising his
herbal merchandise

Andrew Otinga

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Donholm road-
my tall shadow cast on
rusty mabati

Andrew Otinga


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. Uhuru Park .
and a concert by Ricardo Muti
July 9, 2011


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::





the muddy path
coloured with flowers...
Kawangare

Anthony Njoroge

. . . CLICK here for Photos : Kawangware Slums!


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


. Ngong Road



*****************************
Related words


Life in Nairobi
. . . Weekly collection of Caleb . . .


Place Names used in Haiku


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Urban Haiku - Worldwide


BACK to the TOP of this BLOG

BACK to the Worldkigo ABC Index

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Pig, pigs

[ . BACK to TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Pig, pigs

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Topic
***** Category: Animal

*****************************
Explanation

Regarding the pig as a kigo, we cannot say for sure that it can be a kigo in Nairobi, since pigs roam freely on the streets and in the village of Soweto.
However, during the rain season, they are out there in plenty since there is plenty of stagnant water and mud for them to allow in.
In the dry season, pigs wallow in the open sewerage rivulets that flow freely from the pit latrines in the Soweto village.

Pigs are also present at the dump sites furrowing for food left-overs and worms.

My most horrifying experience with pigs in Soweto was last year 2009 one February morning when I came across a group of dumbfounded women looking wordlessly at a pig devouring a dead baby, which it had picked from a nearby dump site.

I am not going to eat pork in a long while!


More about the pigs in Soweto/Kayole Villages.

The roaming pigs are owned by some residents, and given that rearing them is an expensive affair, the pig farmers opt for the easier option: allowing the animals freedom to scavenger for food around the village. The pig food is plenty and freely available. At market stalls, vegetable remains and fruit peelings are readily available; in the leaking pit latrine trenches, maggots and earthworms are freely available.

Pigs are a lucrative business. One adult pig costs between 16,000/- to 20,000/- Kshs. almost the same price as a fully grown cow. Now the many pork kiosks in Kayole/Soweto get their pork supplies from these roaming pigs.

A word of caution to the fans of pork, though: roaming pigs act as pathogens to certain worms and we should ensure the meet is thoroughly boiled or fried. The best pork is one from confined pigs which are fed and cared for by a farmer himself.

And have you ever come across roaming goats that feed on mandazi?
It would be very interesting to pay a visit to our Soweto/Kayole Village. Our goats and pigs are so domesticated and pet that they feed not only on mandazi, but also cakes! That is not all: there are plenty of roaming dogs too who mingle freely with the above animals to form a very unique family. The only irony is that when pigs or goats are slaughtered, the dogs sit patiently outside the pork and bacon shops waiting for their share of their colleagues' left overs!

muddy road--
a black goat grabs mandazi
from a deserted stall

pork butchery--
a dog waits patiently
for the bones


Patrick Wafula
Kenya Saijiki Forum


mandazi
A traditional donut-like breakfast food also sold all over East Africa as a warm snack.


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



Photo Isabelle Prondzynski


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


a story from Malaba - Teso District, Kenya

James is thirty eight years old and is married to a business lady. Together they have three children: two are boys and one is a girl. The boys are big and in high school while the last born is in baby class. The wife’s business is a grocery with a specialty in selling ground nuts from Uganda.
James started his pig business three years ago . . .
Read the full story here:
source : www.kiva.org


*****************************
Worldwide use

Japan

. WASHOKU
Pig and Pork (buta, ton 豚　ぶた)


*****************************
Things found on the way


*****************************
HAIKU


children shout at a pig
creeping in stagnant muddy water-
sunny morning

yamame
Feb 2010


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


hot afternoon --
a pig eating crunched biscuits
on the road

Antony Mwangi
March 2010


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


hot afternoon--
lively piglets frisk in the
muddy water

Caleb Mutua
Kenya Saijiki Forum, Feb. 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


two pigs
lie in the mud . . .
become so dirty

Mourice Opondo
May 2007


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


two piglets eat
sweet potato peelings --
grey morning

Patrick Wafula
September 2010


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::




a pig
running down the sewage --
Kibera

Margreta Nzilili
Kenya Saijiki Forum, Aug. 2007


Kibera is one of the most pronounced slums within Kenya.

Kibera, Kenya is the largest slum in Kenya and is home to an estimate 1.2 million people. It is an illegal settlement with no government services including electricity, water, sewage and garbage pickup. When it rains all the garbage, sewage and dirt wash down the hills into the trench.
source : www.adventures.org


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


a piglet sheltering
under an old hand cart -
scorching sun

Andrew Otinga
January 2011


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


snorting pig
busy searching and searching--
garbage heap

Abraham Muuo


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


a pig's snout sinks
in a muddy dust bin--
evening snack

black mud
on a pig's snout--
stroll by the stream

Brian Etole


*****************************
Related words

***** Nairobi City


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Grasses and Weeds

[ . BACK to worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Grasses

***** Location: Kenya
***** Season: Various, see below
***** Category: Plant

*****************************
Explanation

Young grass that comes soon after the long rains, makes goats, cattle and sheep diarrhea because of its low roughage content. Weaver birds use fresh grass to build nests and certain birds only nest in grass such as papyrus, so they only come around when this grass has grown.

Patrick Wafula

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


topic for haiku


Napier grass
Pennisetum purpureum (Napier Grass, Elephant Grass or Uganda Grass)
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !
nappier grass

Napier grass is abundant during the long rain season, but it is also available in small quantities, having been spared to cater for the scarcity of fodder during the dry season.

Napier grass has a seasonality: in rural areas, it is inter-cropped with subsistence crops, but it is mostly planted on terraces where it also helps curb soil erosion.

In the urban centres, the grass grows spontaneously along riverbanks or unfarmed fields. It is available in Nairobi along the Ngong River bank that passes just outside Bahati Community Centre Secondary School.

Patrick Wafula



monday evening--
a cow browsing on
dry Nappier grass

Violet Wangira



napier grass-
the eaten portion of
a leaf

Elijah Juma

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


kigo for both rainy seasons

young grass
fresh grass
green grass


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


kigo for hot and dry season


couch grass
Elytrigia repens (Couch Grass; syn. Triticum repens L., Agropyron repens (L.) P. Beauv., Elymus repens (L.) Digitaria scalarum
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !



.................................................................................





papyrus
Cyperus papyrus (papyrus sedge or paper reed)
©　More in the WIKIPEDIA !

related kigo

Papyrus reeds being picked and used

I think that papyrus reeds are a perfect kigo for the rainy season. during this season the reeds flourish especially in stagnant pools and swampy zones.It is during this season that they emerge and when its hot they dry up to golden yellow colour and are plucked for different uses like basketry and making of chairs. Children also use them in their plays.
hussein haji


BUT

Papyrus reeds growing -- kigo for the rainy seasons



flowery papyrus grass —
the cracked soil of the burst
sewage path

January sun -
papyrus weed blooms
turning brown green

Patrick Wafula



shaking papyrus -
a little grebe dives
into the marsh

Andrew Otinga


.................................................................................


red oat grass or red grass
Themeda triandra
. . . More in the WIKIPEDIA !



star grass, African star grass
There are various kinds see
. . . More in the WIKIPEDIA !



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


kigo for the dry seasons

weeds

I have also observed that weeds grow along with the crops, and therefore the start of the dry season is also a good time for weeds to grow in the shambas.
So, I think that the weeds are kigo and can be used for the beginning of the two dry seasons.


Bidens pilosa, Couch grass, Star grass and Napier grass
all these grasses are kigo for the middle of the rainy seasons into the start of the dry seasons; then they dry up (unless watered) and do not grow again until there has been a period of rainfall.

source : Isabelle Prondzynski



Here are some of the most common weeds for both the dry and wet season:
by Patrick Wafula

.................................................................................


black jack: bidens pilosa
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidens_pilosa


Bidens pilosa is definitely a weed, and a very undesirable one. I believe it should be a kigo for the season when it produces its clingy seeds -- probably throughout the two dry seasons.
Isabelle Sensei


The common name for Biden's Pilosa is Black Jack.
I agree with Isabelle sensei about the undesirability of the weed and the season it is most rampant. It comes along with crops during both the short and long rain seasons and grows rapidly and in plenty such that if it is not weeded it chokes the crops such as maize, beans, potatoes, etc, of nutrients.

It is known as 'makowe' among the Luhya of western Kenya. When it is mature, its seeds have spikes that enable it to stick to clothes of anyone who comes in contact with them; this is the weed's natural way of spreading or dispersing its seeds!
Patrick Wafula


.................................................................................


couch grass
Couch grass is somewhere half-way between a weed and a useful plant.
Quecke in German



datura stramonium or chinese lantern

devil's horse whip
Achyranthes aspera


dayflower, weed of the rainy season
It is eaten as a vegetable in some parts of Kenya.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commelina




MacDonald's Eye Macdonald eye
gallant soldier
Gallinsoga parviflora



mexican marigold
It is locally known as 'begu rahisi' (Luhya) or 'maua madongo' (Luo). It has so many uses in the Kenyan community. One of its uses is the hedge; it is planted around gardens or shambas to enclose and mark bounderies. The other use is herbal; but it has one amazing using known to very few Africans: when mixed with sisal leaves juice and pepper and certain other locally known herbs, it is used to catch fish in shallow streams during the dry season. Boys in the rural do this by dipping large amounts of this concoction and squeezing its juice out upstream and then walking down stream for about 200 metres or so to catch very drunk, floating fish. But after about 2 hours, the fish becomes sober again and disappears under water! The most difficult fish to be 'drugged' is the eel. Even if it gets drugged, it remains very slippery and does not easily float downstream, but you can find it lying tipsily in mud close to the bank...
Read more here on the mexican marigold in the Wikipedia:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_marigold



nut grass
Cyperus rotundas


star grass
Star grass is also a useful plant, as it makes for good lawns and gardens in public parks.


wandering jew
Three species of the spiderwort
Commelina bengalensis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wandering_Jew_(disambiguation)



*****************************
Worldwide use

Japan

summer grass

natsukusa ya tsuwamano-domo ga yume no ato

summer grass -
all that remains of
brave warriors' dreams
Tr. Gabi Greve

Matsuo Basho

Warrior (tsuwamono) and haiku



.................................................................................



. Lawn (shiba) 　


. Pampas grass (susuki, obana) 　
Miscanthus species, usually M. sinensis



*****************************
Things found on the way

Black nightshade - Solanum nigrum
Double thorn - Oxygonum sinuatum
Oxalis/sorrel
Sodom apple - Solanum Incanum
Sow thistle - Sonchus oleraceus



WEEDS TO BE STUDIED
with illustrations
source : www.elimu.ne


*****************************
HAIKU


children chasing
grasshoppers on tall grasses --
rising sun

yamame



young grass --
two butterflies glide from
goalpost to goalpost

Caleb Mutua

Kenya Saijiki Forum

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


two barefooted ladies
pad on soft green grass --
cool highland breeze

Patrick Wafula

Rift Valley, Kenya


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::



napier grass dances
to the rhythm of the wind --
May rain

Jacinta Wanza

Long Rains Kukai 2009


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


dust
on the grass --
sports day

Sebastian Kimey

Dust and Haiku


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


going to the stream --
the dew on couch grasses
wets my feet

star grass----
my new white jumper
has stains!

Catherine Njeri


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


July 2010

. MORE
haiku on grass


. MORE
haiku on grass from Khadijah



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Patrick Wafula writes in April, 2010:

I took a stroll around Kayole. Then I met a hawker peddling grass brooms! The brooms were made of tall grass still fresh and green but dry. I wish I could know the name of this particular grass, but I do know its appearance and characteristics.


shouting conductors--
a grass-broom hawker
adds to the din

It was red oat grass, as I found out later.





:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::





jua kali artisan
harvesting papyrus--
bird song

Jua kali artisans use mature papyrus to make baskets and beautiful sofa set tapestry.

Patrick Wafula, May 2010




end of July --
Sudan Grass flowers
turning into seeds


an old woman
talks to her goat --
roadside grasses

Patrick Wafula


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Shiki Monthly Kukai
July 2010 Kukai / First Place — 18 Points

leaning papyrus --
the weight of a green
chameleon

~ Parkeenka Ntato

source : Shiki Monthly Kukai


.................................................................................



cold July --
a white golf ball rolls on
the turf grass

~ Duncan Omoto


. More Results of the Shiki July competition
-- GRASSES 　
by members of the Kenya Saijiki Forum


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


cold breeze-
a papyrus waves its
green leaves

Mercy Nzoki


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


sewer line--
I pluck macdonald's eye
for my rabbits

Douglas Nugi





*****************************
Related words

*****Bog grasses
Ireland

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Kenya Haiku Clubs

[ . BACK to Worldkigo TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

At the beginning of 2006, Nairobi saw the creation of a number of haiku clubs in secondary schools, starting in Kayole housing estate.

The very first meeting, which started it all off, can be read up here :

Bahati Club

.................................................................................

And later, in 2012

. When did Kenya Saijiki start? .

.................................................................................


Please enjoy the introductory pages of each club and browse the Kenya Saijiki Database to find the students’ haiku under a growing range of kigo.


Bahati Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- BAMBOOCHAS

Lorna Waddington Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- FALCONS

Embakasi Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- OAKS

St Mathew Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- PEACOCKS

Brookfield Haiku Poetry Club, Kayole -- SPIDERS


As the students’ activities made an impact on teachers, past pupils and other adults, the end of 2006 saw the founding of the first adult haiku club in Nairobi :


Butterflies Haiku Club, Nairobi -- BUTTERFLIES


Cocks Haiku Club


Adults are also involved in the school clubs as teachers and Patrons, and have become individual members of the Kenya Saijiki discussion forum.

New members are welcome!


ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo ooo


Club Activities


The Clubs have already organised a number of joint activities, which have been lively and inspired. There were two main events in 2006, involving all the haiku clubs together :


Bahati Ginkoo, 27 May 2006

Meeting of the Haiku Clubs in Tujisaidie, 4 November 2006


Stars and the Night Sky in Kenya, 2007 A Challenge !

Alan Summers, the originator of the Stars and Night Sky Challenge, also published our results in his own Blog, Area 17, thus opening them to a new readership :
http://area17.blogspot.com/2007/06/kenya-africa-stars-night-sky-challenge.html



St Patrick’s Outing, April 2007


Kigo and haiku topics in Kenya --
a discussion in the Haiku Clubs of Nairob


One of the principal and regular activities is to contribute haiku and kigo information to the Kenya Saijiki Database and to discuss Kenya kigo in the Kenya Saijiki Discussion Forum.


Japanese Culture Week, 2008


Arboretum Kukai, 29 March 2008


Long Rains Kukai 2009


All Saints Kukai, November 2009


Tumaini Kukai April 2010


NAIROBI HAIKU CLUBS JUNE MINI-GINKOO 2010


Kenya Railway Museum Kukai August 2010


Traffic Park Kukai October 30, 2010


Carlile Kukai, June 11, 2011


Eleventh Kukai, St Mathew’s Secondary School
November 5, 2011


COCKS’ HAIKU CLUB OUTING
City Park, Nairobi, January 2012


. Nairobi Digest News .
Africa’s best haiku writers meet in Nairobi
about the Haiku Meeting in October 2012


Kukai at Kenya National Archives
14th Kukai - May 18, 2013


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Sucessful graduates will receive a certificate.



certificat for the students who had finished their course and passed their final examinations in both theory and practice.

source : kenyasaijiki/message - May 2012


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Home Page of Kenya Saijiki Database

Discussion Forum for Haiku from Kenya and East Africa


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

PUBLICATIONS

Apart from the Kenya Saijiki Database, the Kenya Haiku Clubs have contributed to the following publications :

Short Rains
Isabelle Prondzynski and Students of the Kenya Haiku Clubs
Haigaonline, December 2006
http://www.haigaonline.com/issue7-2/kenya/00.htm

This is fascinating and remarkable. I enjoyed everyone and every one. This is such a worthy project and I had no idea. Congratulations and kudos to all involved and you for publicising it... I would love to see more of it.
.. Kirsty Karkow



Shiki Monthly Kukai
Several of the Club members have been participating in the Shiki Monthly Kukai from mid-2006 onwards :

http://www.haikuworld.org/kukai/current.html


*****************************

THE KENYA SAIJIKI




[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

All Saints Kukai 2009

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

All Saints’ Kukai, 7 November 2009

Introduction

The seventh kukai of Kenya Saijiki was held in All Saints’ Cathedral Nairobi; the date and venue had been booked a long time in advance.

All Saints’ Cathedral is the national cathedral of the Anglican Church of Kenya, a splendid piece of architecture and one of the oldest historic buildings of the city of Nairobi. The Urban Development Programme, for which I have been working for almost twenty years, is one of the departments of this Cathedral. And so, by bringing the haiku students to the Cathedral, it felt to me that I had brought them home!


All Saints’ Cathedral



The two haiku clubs had organised a bus to bring them to the Cathedral; those few students who did not fit into the bus when it was ready, came separately by matatu. While we waited for everyone’s arrival, we set out the chairs in the meeting room in the brand new Multi Purpose Hall, had a look at the wedding preparations coming to a climax in the church (there were three big weddings scheduled for that day), and realised that the new Archbishop, the Most Revd Eliud Wakabula, would be the Guest of Honour at another meeting in the Hall.

When everything was ready, the big bus arrived, and it was an exciting moment when we greeted each other and the students took in the wonderful environment of the Cathedral compound. The weather was fine and sunny, and a great day lay ahead for all of us.



Guest of Honour

Caleb Mutua, acting as Master of Ceremonies for the first part, opened the kukai. Following a few choruses to get us into the right frame of mind, and a prayer to thank God for having brought us this far, asking him to bless this our day together, Caleb introduced our Guest of Honour, Janet Njoroge of Longhorn Publishers Kenya. Janet is the Chairperson of the Urban Development Programme Committee, and as such knows Kayole and the Cathedral’s work there very well.


Janet Njoroge

Janet gave an encouraging address to the students. She had been reading our haiku and observing its purposes. Observing nature and the environment, striving to write in clear and concise English, expressing a lot of meaning in few words -- all these are great accomplishments which help us not only towards better haiku, but also towards better study in general and towards better life chances. In order to show her appreciation for the work done by the haiku clubs, she donated twenty textbooks for studying better English and better writing, which were to be given to the twenty top prizewinners in the kukai.


The two haiku clubs then presented some of their showcase work.


Peacocks :

short rains--
two muddy cocks fight
on a deserted anthill

El-Nino rains--
a hen shelters under
the tree


Bamboochas :

silence, silence
the order of the day--
KCSE notices

rainy morning--
candidates in muddy shoes
sit in the exam room


Tuesday morning--
a pregnant candidate faints
in the exam room

silent exam room--
stickers with index numbers
on every desk


.................................................................................


Computer graduates

This had been a difficult year for computer teaching, as the cybercafés previously used, had closed down, and it had been impossible to find sufficiently large ones to replace them. The students had given their best, had studied and taken the theory exams, and the successful candidates were congratulated :

1. Otieno Aineah 122 marks Peacock (joint 1. and 2.)
2. Mutua M. Jacinta 122 marks Peacock (joint 1. and 2.)
3. Omondi Opondo Maurice 119 marks Peacock
4. Wanza Jacinta 118 marks Peacock
5. Onesmus Mutua 112 marks Bamboocha
6. Philister Namude 109 marks Peacock
7. Titus Karanja 107 marks Peacock (joint 7. and 8.)
8. Elungata Barrack Elauna 107 marks Peacock (joint 7. and 8.)
9. Aisha M. Malik 104 marks Peacock

10. Christopher Kavita 97 marks Peacock
11. Emilly Wanga 96 marks Peacock
12. Anne Wairimu 95 marks Bamboocha
13. Veronica Wayua 87 marks Peacock
14. Vivian Adhiambo 86 marks Bamboocha
15. Duncan Omoto 85 marks Peacock
16. James Bundi 79 marks Bamboocha (joint 16. & 17.)
17. Elkana Mogaka 79 marks Bamboocha (joint 16. & 17.)
18. Joseph Kilunda 76 marks Bamboocha
19. Patriciah Nduta 75 marks Bamboocha
20. Abraham Muuo 73 marks Bamboocha
21. Caroline Wanjiku 72 marks Bamboocha
22. William Odongo Mango 71 marks Peacock
23. Bernard Karanja 68 marks Peacock
24. Ann Kithu 60 marks Peacock
25. Esther Muthoni 57 marks Bamboocha

The graduates were encouraged to practise their computing skills and start sending in their own haiku to Kenya Saijiki.

As these results had only just become available, the certificates were subsequently distributed at the next kukai.



Appreciating other people’s haiku

The haijin then split up into working groups to discuss the following haiku which had won prizes in the Annual Shiki Kukai of 2009 :


Working groups at work
Photo © David Kimani Mwangi


sleepless night --
the moon shifts
from pane to pane

~ Janice Hornburg


moonless night --
the wind whistles into
an empty bottle

~ Tanya Dikova


sudden rain --
umbrellas mushroom
on the street

~ Gautam Nadkarni


winter sunset --
the beggar's shadow
grows thinner

~ Melissa Spurr


graduation cheer --
a flock of starlings
takes the sky

~ Terry O’Connor


hauling firewood --
the wheelbarrow and I
both wobbly

~ Terri L. French


.................................................................................


Ginkoo

After a lunch of bread and milk, we started into the ginkoo, the event that everyone had been looking forward to. The haijin were able to explore the Cathedral compound and the neighbouring Uhuru Park. I meanwhile enjoyed some views of the weddings going on and a short chat with the Archbishop, who expressed his interest in our work and sent his greetings to the haijin.


Ginkoo fun in Uhuru Park
Photo © David Kimani Mwangi

At the end of the Ginkoo, the haijin enjoyed a moment of interaction, while the jury retired to the Urban Development Programme office to select the prizewinners. The jury, comprising Patrick Wafula, Andrew Otinga, Harrison Wambua, Caleb Mutua and myself, were agreed that this was the best ginkoo writing we had seen since the inception of Kenya Saijiki. The two clubs were coming of age now!


Here are the prizewinning haiku:


1.
---
coloured water
in a deep bicycle rim --
short rains

~ Elung’ata Barrack

2.
---
breezy afternoon --
a dry jacaranda flower
drops to the green grass

~ Eric Mwange

3.
---
sunny afternoon --
student’s footprint stuck
on the anthill

~ Yamame Winslause

4.
---
humid breeze --
rippling pond sparkles
in the sun

~ Vivian Adhiambo

5.
---
cool breeze --
a kingfisher flies low
over the water

~ Peter Nguribu

6.
---
November rain --
a green muddy scarf
floats on the Uhuru pond

~ Hussein Haji

7.
---
afternoon breeze --
dangling waterlily roots
dance in the water

~ Elkana Mogaka

8.
---
warm afternoon --
scent of bright flowers
reaching my nose

~ Michael Mwangangi

9.
---
park pond --
a kingfisher waits patiently
on jacaranda tree

~ Stephen Nzomo




The bridge across the pond in Uhuru Park
Photo © David Kimani Mwangi


10.
----
November rain --
a stuffy sock abandoned
in the bamboo thicket

~ Aisha Malik

11.
----
a swan craning
and dipping in the pond --
sunny afternoon

~ Beryl Achieng’

12.
----
sunny afternoon --
a man busy bargaining
for a cold drink

~ Anne Wairimu

13.
----
under a green tree --
a lady’s dress resembles
a fallen flower

~ Maurice Omondi

14.
----
ants rebuilding
their crumpled nest --
dried mud

~ Maxwell George

15.
----
pond inlet --
gurgling water drips
into floating lilies

~ Jedidah Nduku

16.
----
short rains --
black termites rebuild
their destroyed anthill

~ Rhoda Mutheu

17.
----
sunny afternoon --
a couple taking refreshment
under a bamboo thicket

~ Benard Nyerere

18.
----
sunny afternoon --
gurgling pool of water emptying
into a fish pond

~ Scholasticah Mumbe

19.
----
hot sun --
couples under a palm tree
rolling over

~ Irene Muthengi

20.
----
falling water --
from a small raised step
bubbles

~ Amarpreet Amadi


Congratulations to all the prizewinners!
And big thanks to Janet Njoroge, whose books were welcomed with real pleasure.


The ginkoo prizewinners


.................................................................................


Conclusion

Presentations were immediately followed by a return to the bus, which had arrived to drive the haijin home. It was another happy journey, with everyone already looking forward to the next kukai.

Patrick Wafula captured the spirit of the day with his own haiku collection :

inside All Saints’ --
purple jacaranda blooms
outside

wedding bells --
abandoned bouquets
behind the church

All Saints’ Kukai--
discussion groups whisper
under the fig tree

the gardener sweeps
fig leaves from the pavement --
All Saints’

Isabelle's penknife
cuts open haijin's milk packets--
kukai lunch



More photos of the event
© Isabelle Prondzynski and David Kimani Mwangi here :
http://www.flickr.com/photos/prondis_in_kenya/sets/72157623522614607/

Text and photos : Isabelle Prondzynski (unless otherwise stated)

Click on the small photos for enlargement, please.



*****************************
Related words

***** The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Arboretum Kukai

[ . BACK to TOP . ]

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Arboretum Kukai, 29 March 2008

Introduction

The fifth kukai of Kenya Saijiki was set for a mystery destination, unknown even by the organisers themselves until a few days before the event.

The day started with a lot of excitement, as the members of Kenya Saijiki gathered at Kayole Police Post, and the driver of the Jimcy School Bus worked his way through the traffic chaos of Nairobi. Haijin and bus met together a bit later than expected, the traffic chaos having won out. Bamboochas and Peacocks boarded in an orderly manner, one by one from each club, with friendly teasing and a feeling of joy at sharing this new adventure together. We were joined by some smiling members of the Cocks, out of their school uniforms now, and still strong haijin together. We all squeezed in as best we could for a while, until a willing matatu was hired to drive the overflow to the Arboretum.

.. Nairobi Arboretum ..
is a wonderful, historical place, where the trees of Kenya and East Africa have been planted in a beautiful park for our pleasure and education. Each tree is clearly labelled, with the Latin and English names of the tree, as well as the family of plants to which it belongs. The park is famous for its serenity, its peaceful and natural ambiance.

The Arboretum is sponsored by the charity FONA (Friends of Nairobi Arboretum), is kept beautifully clean and safe for groups, and is very popular with schools for outings and with the population of Nairobi for picnics and games.

When we arrived, the ground was still wet from the previous night’s heavy rains, and it took us a while to find a suitable location for our Kukai.

We organised ourselves around the trunk of a fallen tree, and set up our blackboard, which we had brought from Kayole.

Computer graduates

After the introduction by Patrick Wafula sensei, we turned to the awarding of computer certificates and prizes for the students who had persevered for the year and had passed the recent computing examinations.

It was a great joy to congratulate the following successful students on their well deserved certificates :

Hussein Haji (Peacock)
Margaret Ndunge (Peacock)
Malcolm Arnold (Peacock)
Winslause Yamame (Peacock)
Beatrice Awuor (Peacock)
Amarpreet Munayan (Peacock)
Peninah Mutheu (Peacock)


The computer graduates


The graduates were encouraged to practise their computing skills and start sending in their own haiku to Kenya Saijiki.

We agreed that the computer courses would be resumed, so that the new Form One members of both schools could learn the same skills, with an invitation extended also to those who may wish to repeat and gain their certificates.


Haiku on Ageing

The members of Kenya Saijiki had submitted a number of entries on the topic of AGEING to the Shiki Kukia, March 2008. Several of these had been awarded points by the voters, and we celebrated the haijin who had contributed their poems.


Njoroge and Beth, discussing haiku on ageing
Photo © David Kimani Mwangi


It was enjoyable to discuss the haiku first, without announcing the names of the authors. The following six haiku were taken up in an open discussion, and many haijin explained why they enjoyed the poems, and what in particular appealed to them. Here are the haiku, with the authors’ names included :

my grandfather --
using less and less
of his cane

~ Abraham Muuo

The discussion of this haiku made us see the grandfather either with a walking stick, or with a cane to punish the children... We had very good explanations as to why he was using each of these less and less... It just shows that a good haiku can give rise to various different pictures in the readers' minds!

my grandmother
looking at me closely --
the frown on her face

~ Anne Wairimu

sunny evening --
my grandmother talking
to herself

~ Solomon Kilelu

breezy evening --
my grandmother
trembles

~ Wandera David

my grandmother
brushing a toothless mouth--
ageing

~ Joseph Kilunda

my grandfather
holding onto my hand --
a slow walk

~ Onesmus

my grandfather
chewing soft vegetables --
his toothless mouth

~ John Mwangi

We also discussed several of the top prizewinners of the kukai, and appreciated the many different views of ageing that have been brought by writers from different countries. The poem that the haijin found most attractive, was :

face in the mirror
a map
of my life

~ Frances McCarthy

More on Ageing in Kenya

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::


Ginkoo

After a lunch of bread and milk, during which we relaxed in the pleasant atmosphere of the park and watched the children and the monkeys playing around us, we started into the ginkoo, the event that everyone had been looking forward to.

The idea was this :

We walk around and compose our haiku, writing the first two lines about what we have observed. The third line will, in each case, read :

"this makes me feel happy"
or
"this makes me feel sad"
or
"this makes me feel lonely".

We would then come back together and carry out an exercise on the first five prize-winning haiku, replacing the third line with an appropriate kigo.

The idea I wanted to teach, was that a good haiku expresses an emotion -- not by saying "it makes me feel happy / sad / lonely" etc, but by using an appropriate kigo.

But first, we set out to observe, to see and listen, and to compose haiku.


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Patrick Wafula wrote about the ginkoo as follows :

Shortly after Isabelle san had issued guidelines and instructions for the Ginkoo, a grasshopper daringly walked across the flipchart on which she had written the guidelines:

a grasshopper
walking across the flipchart --
Arboretum ginkoo




During the ginkoo among the green trees -- it is the start of the long rains here -- I was saddened by one tree near the ginkoo site which was dry and leafless. I walked to the huge trunk and found that termites were busy eating up its roots and building their nest at the base :

termites
eating into its roots --
the dead bunchananii

And then there was the walk and writing haiku among the trees :

the golden blooms
of the cassia tree --
first rains

rejuvenating
leaves of the bocare --
first rains

moss growing
on the bark of the pinus --
first rains

monkey playground --
brown carpet of pine
needles

It was the loveliest ginkoo ever; in the heart of nature's abundance of trees and sounds of monkeys, birds, insects and children.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


At the end of the Ginkoo, the haijin enjoyed a moment of interaction, telling each other about the participation of the Bamboochas in the Japanese Cultural Week, counting up to ten in Japanese, and having a song and dance session, while the jury selected the prize winners.


Song and dance, and Japanese!


Here they are :

1.
---
the Caledonian pine
deserted by its needles --
this makes me feel sad

~ Arnold Ambogo

2.
---
under a tree
two lovers seated --
makes me happy

~ Emily Wanga

3.
---
staring at the clouds
under a Polynesian tree --
I feel lonely

~ Catherine Maina

4.
---
kids in red
play and run around
looking happy

~ Beatrice Awuor

5.
---
down the hill
two monkeys scratching each other --
makes me happy

~ Anne Wairimu

6.
---
African wisteria
dry, leafless and bent --
it makes me feel sad

~ Margaret Nzilili

7.
---
cool breeze
coming from the shaking trees --
making me feel happy

~ Sebastian Kimeu

Photo © David Kimani Mwangi


8.
---
up and down
kids swing on a trunk --
happy mood

~ Loice Wangeci

9.
---
a troop of monkeys
climbing from tree to tree --
it makes me feel happy

~ Angeline Muthoki

10.
----
young grasshopper
stuck in the mud --
makes me sad

~ Joan Barasa



Haiku 11 to 20 (in no particular order)
-----------------------------------------------

happy afternoon
students watching flowering trees --
I feel happy

~ Abraham Mulwa

tree
with leafless branches --
making me feel sad

~ Khadija Rajab

cold breeze
under rathmannia tree --
I feel happy

~ Wandera David

under a tree
crawling of insects --
this makes me feel lonely

~ Gilbert Livuku

on a bunya bunya tree
black ants moving silently on a path --
makes me feel lonely

~ Hussein Haji

weeping banyan tree
reminds me of a weeping philosopher --
it makes me feel sad

~ Paul Alala

small monkeys
perching across the trees --
I feel happy

~ Onesmus Kyalo

araucariaceae tree
with ugly spread branches --
it makes me feel sad

~ Elphas Libusi

one legged grasshopper
strolling under the bignoniaceae tree --
it makes me feel sad

~ James Mbudi

cheeky monkeys
playing in a bunya pine --
make me feel excited

~ Duncan Omoto


Congratulations to all the prize winners!


Kokeshi doll, won by Emily Wanga


:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Conclusion

Rain clouds threatened. The Arboretum sent word that they would be closing. Our bus driver was ready, and another matatu had been hired.

Very sadly and reluctantly, we packed up to leave and make our traffic-choked way home, without having concluded the lesson on feelings conveyed by kigo. This will be for another day.

Big thanks to the Patrons (particularly Patrick sensei and Madame Mercy), to Anthony Njoroge (the Master of Entertainment!), to David Kimani (without whom the computer graduates would not be able to communicate with each other), the other teachers and the adult haijin -- all of whom did so much to make it a great day! And the haijin themselves -- the star attractions! Already looking forward to the next kukai...

More photos of the event
© Isabelle Prondzynski and David Kimani Mwangi here :

ALBUM : Arboretum Kukai 29 March 2008


Text and photos
Isabelle Prondzynski (unless otherwise stated)



*****************************
Related words

***** More on Ageing in Kenya

***** The Haiku Clubs of Nairobi

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Back to the Worldkigo Index

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

World AIDS Day

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　

World AIDS Day

***** Location: Kenya and worldwide
***** Season: Hot dry season (Kenya), Winter
***** Category: Observances

*****************************
Explanation

World AIDS Day takes place every year on 1 December.
From small and thoughtful beginnings, which I remember in Kenya over a decade ago, it has become a major event, not only in Africa, living so directly with AIDS, but also in the global North. The main purpose of World AIDS Day is to raise awareness and support, and increasingly to focus on specific issues around HIV and AIDS.

In order to express solidarity with AIDS patients, the red ribbon is worn by many supporters around the world. Here it is, taken from the Daily Nation on 2 December 2005.

In 2005, the focus was on the "3 by 5" programme -- three million AIDS sufferers to be supplied with anti retroviral drugs (ARVs) by the end of 2005.

In Kenya, World AIDS Day is taken very seriously by the government, and the newspapers devote significant column inches to it. There are many events attracting the general public, and the schools perform plays and sketches with AIDS as their subject. It is sadly amazing how great is the awareness of AIDS among young school children, who in another place and time would have been innocent about problems sexual.

Isabelle Prondzynski.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgindex.asp

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Students at Bahati Community Centre School in Kayole, Nairobi, present a skit on rape and AIDS


© Isabelle Prondzynski

One of the students from Bahati Community Centre writes :

My name is Alfrine Akoth Okuku. I was born in 1990. I did my K.C.P.E in 2004 and scored 268 out of 500. I joined Bahati Community Centre in 2005 and am in Form One North. We are five children in our family: four girls and one boy. Our parents died of HIV/AIDS and now we are orphans. My father died first then my mother followed. Currently, I am staying with my uncle in Soweto, but life is very hard for me; sometimes I have no place to sleep because we are too many in my uncle's house. Sometimes I go without food for a whole day.

When I look behind, there is no alternative because I don't have anybody to assist me pay school fees; I went to all my relatives but nobody agreed to take me to school. As for now, I do not know what to do because I do not have books to write in; when it reaches time for writing notes, I usually borrow from my friends. I only have one dress which I change everyday.

I would like to become a nurse so I can help the orphans, less fortunate and the neglected. I like assisting my friends whenever they are in need of learning. My hobbies are reading storybooks, making friends and cracking jokes.

http://bahatia.blogspot.com/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

War on Aids losing steam

Publication Date: 1 December 2005
Today, Kenyans and the rest of the world mark the World Aids Day. Unfortunately, only a small number of those infected, and a rapidly growing number of those directly affected, will see any significance in the ceremonies arranged to mark the day.

If it is true that Kenya has shown signs of a decline in HIV prevalence over the past few years, with adult infection rates decreasing from 10 per cent in the 1990s to seven per cent today, this should not be any reason for complacency.

And if it is true, as the National Aids Control Council (Nacc) says, that Kenya has managed to put 50,000 people under anti-retroviral treatment, which prolongs life and generally improves the health of the sufferers, this, too, should not lull us to sleep.

For this must be just a fraction of those infected and those needing medical assistance to cope. Most likely, three times as many die of Aids complications every year, and are quietly buried.

Going by the most recent statistics, more than 1.5 million Kenyans are living with Aids - out of 40.3 million worldwide - a huge number of them Aids orphans. What, then, is there to celebrate about?

If, as has been claimed, about 80,000 Kenyans were last year alone newly infected by HIV, it means that at least 7,000 Kenyans are "catching it" every month, leading to the conclusion that the message is still not quite sinking in.

Although HIV/Aids was declared a national disaster in Kenya before 2002, the campaign to drive the prevention message home has not been as vigorous as would have been expected.

Most of our leaders seem to have more important things to think about than preventing the death of thousands of young Kenyans every month. There should never be room for complacency on this most vexed of epidemics. Right now, the world's attention is riveted on bird flu, a disease that has killed only 68 people worldwide.

The danger is that Aids might be forgotten in the Western fascination with the novelty, which means that a few million more will be consigned to an early grave due to ignorance and neglect if we relent in the fight.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=24&newsid=62511

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

In Kenya, 29 Anglican dioceses held a national week of prayers for people living with AIDS. Anglican Church of Kenya Provincial Secretary Bishop William Waqo said that in the past, the church had "joined the bandwagon of condemning people infected by AIDS," but now there is growing awareness of the need to preach hope amidst the pain and despair of the disease.

http://www.anglicanjournal.com/130/01/world01.html

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


Members of the Administration Police carry a placard along Jomo Kenyatta Avenue during the World Aids day celebrations in Mombasa yesterday.


Photo by Gideon Maundu
http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgindex.asp


xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kenya's HIV infection rate declines
Story by MUGO NJERU
Publication Date: 2 December 2005

New cases of HIV infection among Kenyans have fallen by four per cent in the past two years, fresh statistics show. Figures released during the World Aids Day celebrations yesterday show that the figures have dropped from 10 per cent in 2003 to 6.1 per cent this year. The statistics also show that more than 20 per cent of those infected are now aware of their status, having visited the voluntary counselling and testing centres countrywide.

The decrease in infection rate is attributed to behaviour change, including abstention from casual sex and the use of condoms.

Kenyans were urged not to waver in their behaviour change which could reverse the gains realised in the fight against the scourge.

The celebrations were held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre and was presided over by Health permanent secretary Zachary Ogongo and the director of the National Aids Control Council, Dr Patrick Orege, among others.

The United Nations Development Programme representative, Mr Andre de la Porte, said the infection rate could be reduced further if the campaigns targeted young women aged between 15 and 24, who were the majority of those infected. "There is little evidence of progress in addressing the deep-rooted gender inequalities which fuel the epidemic," said Mr de la Porte, who spoke on behalf UNaids.

He said increased rape incidents, female genital mutilation and other sexual crimes had made women vulnerable. He asked the Government to use Aids funds efficiently.

http://www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=62598

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Nimechill

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 21, 2005

PSI/Kenya's "Nimechill" youth abstinence campaign, the first of its kind in the country, has became so popular that the phrase "chilling" has been incorporated into the language and culture. Reports also show that almost half of youth surveyed had been exposed to the campaign, and those exposed to the campaign's empowering messages were more likely to believe in their own ability to abstain than those who did not see the campaign.

The campaign seeks to delay teen sexual debut by changing social norms and reducing peer pressure, creating stigma regarding irresponsible, early sex among youth and making abstinence a "cool", smart and responsible choice.

A cartoon logo of a yellow hand giving a "V" or a "peace" sign is used to brand the campaign, and the phrase "Nimechill," (Swahili-English slang meaning "I have chilled" or "I am abstaining")
has become a powerful and instantly recognizable slogan. The logo was recognized by 85% of the target group (10- to 15-year-olds) and nearly two-thirds (64%) understood that "Nimechill" refers to abstinence from premarital sex, according to a national media evaluation survey conducted by PSI.



PSI/Kenya's "Nimechill" campaign seeks to delay teen sexual debut by changing social norms and reducing peer pressure



This poster is from a PSI/Kenya campaign encouraging youth to abstain from sex.
http://www.psi.org/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

VCT

Voluntary Counselling and Testing Centres (VCT) have sprung up all over Kenya and have made it much easier for Kenyans to seek advice about HIV and AIDS. Many sports and youth clubs expect members to have passed a HIV test before joining, and to repeat it at regular intervals, e.g. every six months. This, together with the very successful "Nimechill" campaign, is helping to reduce peer pressure to engage in adolescent sex, and is very welcome among community leaders.

The following web sites list VCT centres and explain how they work.

http://www.straightalk.or.ke/vct_centres.htm
http://www.youthaids.org/action/kenya.html
http://www.fhi.org/en/RH/Pubs/Network/v23_3/nt2333.htm

Isabelle Prondzynski

*****************************
Worldwide use

Lesotho

AIDS is an every day reality for the people of Lesotho. With adult prevalence rates at 29%, the Kingdom faces one of the greatest burdens of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa.

In an effort to urgently address the growing epidemic in the country, on World AIDS Day 2005 His Majesty King Letsie III led his nation in a renewed commitment to halting and reversing the spread of AIDS in the country with the launch of a new plan to have every person in the country know their HIV status.



Photo credit: UNAIDS
http://www.unaids.org/

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

United Kingdom

Welcome to World AIDS Day - the international day of action on HIV and AIDS which takes place every year on 1 December.

This year in the UK, World AIDS Day is about wearing the Red Ribbon, as a sign of support for people living with HIV and a symbol of hope for the future. We want you to Wise up and Wear it. If you would like to get hold of your own Red Ribbon you can find your nearest outlet here and you can also download a Virtual Red Ribbon from this site to wear on your website or in your email signature.

World AIDS Day is about people getting the facts about HIV and AIDS. It's a day for people to get involved and there are many ways in which you can do so. We have a listing of events where you can search to find the ones that suit you, or if you are organising an event, you can add details of your event. If you would like to get involved in other ways, we have some great ideas for you!

No matter how you decide to mark the day, you can help create a more AIDS Aware society in which everyone takes action, so please make sure you show off your Red Ribbon on 1 December! http://www.worldaidsday.org/default.asp

*****************************
Things found on the way

46664
"AIDS is no longer just a disease it is a human rights issue."
Nelson Mandela

46664 is Nelson Mandela's campaign to help raise Global awareness of AIDS/HIV. 46664 launched last Autumn by Mandela in London aims to highlight the emergency of AIDS/HIV through unique live events and music related initiatives.

46664 was the former President of South Africa's prison number when he was held in captivity for 18 years on Robben Island in Cape Town. Last November a huge Concert was held at Green Point Stadium in Cape Town which featured a galaxy of international music talent including Beyonce, Bono, Dave Stewart, Queen and Anastasia. This show was the first of many planned world wide events.
www.mediazone.com/channel/mandela/jsp/index.jsp

*****************************
HAIKU

Rosemary --
your absence still present
every day


AIDS test
even the good outcome
with trepidation

Isabelle Prondzynski, World AIDS Day 2005

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

aids report. . .
her tears fall
on her baby in arms

torn between -
sick child, sick husband
aids report and god

Aids is a very big threat in India, but an awareness is definately building up amongst the people.
Still we have a long, long way to go.

Kala Ramesh, India

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Plump healthy strong man
I looked elsewhere for a while
Now frail and thin, AIDS

Galefetolwe Sethapo
http://www.thuto.org/english/courses/eng434/botshaiku.htm

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

learning how deep
sexless love can be - holding hands
in the spring meadow

http://www.ahapoetry.com/twchp2.htm

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

From my toes on up
I'm learning to survive this
HIV and AIDS

http://www.hivstopswithme.org/contributor_article.aspx?t=EN&l=home&c=stevan&id=110

.........................................



HIV / AIDS Awareness event in Kayole
17 May 2008

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::　


happy happy bar--
drunkards take HIV test
when drinking beer


HIV rally--
jack declares his positive
status daytime


HIV virus--
she has lived positively
twenty years

Barrack Elungata
Kenya, June 2011


*****************************
Related words

*****

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

[ . BACK to WORLDKIGO . TOP . ]
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::