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Ugali Lessons
Leonnard Ojwang and Tom Jondiko are from Nyanza Province in Kenya, just west of Lake Victoria. Leonnard has just begun his doctorate and Tom his master’s degree, both pursuing food science at the University of Missouri in Columbia. There are currently around 50 Kenyan exchange students at the university, but no source for Kenyan food in town, so they must improvise. Here they teach the simple process of replicating ugali without the coarser cornmeal or millet available in Kenya – and explain its significance within their families and culture.
Ingredients: white cornmeal, water
Boil the water. Add 4-6 handfuls of cornmeal, one at a time, to the boiling water, stirring constantly to break up the clumps. As the cornmeal begins to take shape, add a few more pinches to absorb any remaining water.
Run time: 2:43
--Zack Shlachter & Jacqueline Brixey
Missouri School of Journalism Leonnard Ojwang and Tom Jondiko are from Nyanza Province in Kenya, just west of Lake Victoria. Leonnard has just begun his doctorate a... more -
Paintbrush, Not Bullets
Solomon is an artist who decided to quell the violence that gripped his community of Kibera in Kenya by using his paint brush. While others took to the streets with machetes and other crude weapons to vent their anger, Solomon or 'Solo 7' as he is popularly known, went out with the only thing he knew how to use- his paint brush. Solomon is an artist who decided to quell the violence that gripped his community of Kibera in Kenya by using his paint brush. While o... more
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Solar power takes off in Kenya
The expense and unreliability of electricity supply is fuelling East African interest in solar energy.
In rural Kenya, where there is no electricity, solar systems have proven popular with small-scale businesses and farms, where it is used to power water pumps and lighting.
Solar energy is cheap compared to electricity because, once the necessary equipment has been installed, there is no additional monthly charge.
Additionally solar systems require little maintenance, owing to the lack of moving parts, and solar energy offers "a stable grid quality output without power fluctuations".
Private company Solar World East Africa is set to launch "solar kits" that provide enough power for lighting, charging a mobile phone and operating an FM radio. These packs will cost 3,000 Kenyan shillings each (around US$47).
Another company, Jua Moto Systems, is planning to introduce solar-powered cookers and water heating systems.
But despite this growing interest, "solar power has not been as thoroughly explored as hydroelectric and geothermal power in Kenya … the use of wind and solar energy has remained low, just like in the rest of Africa".
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Solar power is peace.
Solar power is hope.
Solar power is self sufficiency.
The expense and unreliability of electricity supply is fuelling East African interest in solar energy. ... more -
Obama's grandmother gives an interview
Guardian newspaper visits Barack Obama's ancestral home, where he meets his grandmother and discusses religion, race and childhood memories with his uncle and half-sister. Guardian newspaper visits Barack Obama's ancestral home, where he meets his grandmother and discusses religion, race and childhood mem... more
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IN AUMENTO I TURISTI DEL "SESSO" TRA I GIOVANI ITALIANI
E' allarmante il numero di turisti italiani che ogni anno si reca nei Paesi in via di sviluppo per incontri sessuali con minorenni: circa ottantamila, e sono in aumento, i giovani tra 20 e i 30 anni.
Lo ha spiegato l'associazione di avvocati 'Legale nel sociale', nel corso di un convegno tenuto a Roma. "Il fenomeno - ha riferito l'associazione- così diffuso e drammatico, non può essere liquidato come pedofilia, visto che tra i turisti sessuali solo il 3 percento è pedofilo".
Le vittime di sfruttamento sessuale nel mondo sono 2 milioni e la maggior parte di loro si trova in Asia. 'Intrattenersi' con loro costa circa 20 dollari, ma ci sono paesi come il Brasile dove il prezzo può scendere anche sotto i 5 dollari.
Una delle mete preferite dai turisti del sesso, giovani e meno giovani, è il Kenya. Secondo i dati raccolti dall'Unicef e dal governo keniota lo sfruttamento di bambini e bambine è in vertiginoso aumento soprattutto nelle zone costiere del Paese africano. E' allarmante il numero di turisti italiani che ogni anno si reca nei Paesi in via di sviluppo per incontri sessuali con minorenni: ci... more -
Kenyan Witch Hunts claims 15 lives
By David McKenzie
CNN
KEGOGI VILLAGE, Kenya (CNN) -- It may be difficult for modern-day Western cultures to fathom, but in Western Kenya, beliefs in ghosts and witches are very real. And sometimes they have deadly consequences.
Justus Bosire stands in front of his house, which was destroyed by a mob that also killed his grandmother.
1 of 3 In late May, news outlets in Kenya told the story of 15 people, mostly elderly women, who were murdered in a witch hunt near the town of Kisii. The killings shocked the nation...
By David McKenzie CNN ... more -
The children of empire, McCain and Obama
This article from the Independent in the UK talks about the similarities between McCain and Obama in relation to their family history. It also goes into pointed detail as to how each father shaped the sons into the candidates and men they are today, taken from speeches and excerpts from both candidates' books written about their fathers.
These paragraphs frame the race as only an independent observer, outside of the U.S. political sphere could frame this historic competition.
"I do not want to exaggerate the difference between Obama and McCain. The US political system is hemmed in by vast blocks of corporate power and geopolitical pressures. Any president can only nudge this system by inches, in either the right or wrong direction – but when a giant moves by a few inches, the effect is vast.
From his father, Obama learned to eschew "the confidence reserved for those born into imperial cultures" that they should rule the world their way, with "a steady unthinking application of force". He can imagine the mentality of the boy in Basra whose father has vanished into an occupiers' prison, because it happened to his father and grandfather too. McCain learned the opposite from his father: that the natives only ever learn "to behave themselves" at the end of a big stick. So now we have to ask: which ghostly father will America choose?"
I chose this image of the tensions between General William Henry Harrison and Tecumseh to highlight the theme of this article: the historic perspectives that both McCain and Obama share and to show how far we have come in American history. America was born on both a spirit of liberty and oppression and that's a complex history we have all inherited. Freed from the tyranny of a King spreading the seeds of democracy in places like France, and French colonies like Haiti alike. The contradictions of our history that lead both Harrison and Tecusmuh to be labelled as American folk heroes. Our history reveres cowboys and Indians, Colonists, and those who seek independence from Colonizers.
A history where McCain's grandfather both stopped the spread of fascism in Asia with Admiral Halsey along with his son McCain's father and then helped to foster fascism and squelch democracy in Latin America later in his military career. Where Obama's grandfather who served in WWII could liberate the Buchenwald concentration camp at a time when America had a 'quota' on the number of Jews who could live in the U.S. and when Obama's other grandfather was being detained by an American ally, Britain for speaking up for democracy. A generation later McCain is tortured by a communist government and Obama's father by a Democratic Kenya that his grandfather hoped for. At a time when everyone in the world is heralding and applauding how far we have come as a nation and as a world we need to take a step back and ask ourselves, what have we learned from the journey? This article from the Independent in the UK talks about the similarities between McCain and Obama in relation to their family history.... more -
Obama's victory spreads excitement on a global scale!
From hundreds of supporters crowded around televisions in rural Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland, to jubilant Britons writing "WE DID IT!" on the Brits for Barack discussion board on Facebook, people celebrated what they called an important racial and generational milestone for the United States.
"This is close to a miracle. I was certain that some things will not happen in my lifetime," said Sunila Patel, 62, a widow encountered on the streets of New Delhi. "A black president of the U.S. will mean that there will be more American tolerance for people around the world who are different." From hundreds of supporters crowded around televisions in rural Kenya, Obama's ancestral homeland, to jubilant Britons writing "WE DID... more -
Clashes at Nairobi food protest
Kenyan police have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people demonstrating against the soaring cost of food.
Protesters in the capital Nairobi carried placards demanding the government cut the cost of basic Kenyan staples like maize flour.
The police said the demonstration was illegal and four arrests were made.
Food prices in the east African country have risen sharply since the recent political crisis led to shortages.
December's disputed presidential election triggered violence across Kenya, leaving 1,500 people dead and some 600,000 people displaced.
Granaries and farms were set on fire, leading the government to import three million bags of maize.
Annual inflation rose to 26.6% in April from 21.8% in March, mainly because of increasing food prices. Kenyan police have fired tear gas to disperse hundreds of people demonstrating against the soaring cost of food. ... more -
Kenyans Tap Sun To Make Dirty Water Sparkle
In Kenya's massive shanty town of Kibera water is often unhealthy and far more expensive than in more affluent neighborhoods. An effort to put distribution and purification in the hands of local women is producing sparkling results.
NAIROBI, Kenya (WOMENSENEWS)--The long rainy season in Kenya has begun and sudden storms regularly burst over Nairobi. Many welcome the downpours, which signal the end of another dry summer and wash the steamy crowded capital clean each morning.
In Kibera, a massive slum of rusty tin roofs and makeshift homes spreading out from the southwest of the city, the rain is turning the twisting dirt roads and alleyways to thick red mud.
Here in one of largest slums in the world--a flashpoint for violence stemming from Kenya's parliamentary elections in December--the rain is causing open sewers to swell and uncollected garbage to rush in rivers of tattered plastic and human waste through backyards.
Potable water is one of the hardest resources to secure in Kibera and the torrents now being unleashed will offer no relief to the estimated 1 million people here who must use their meager wages--usually less than a dollar a day--to buy water for drinking and cleaning.
On a good day, 20 liters (5.5 gallons) of water in Kibera costs 5 cents, far more than what piped water costs in Nairobi's wealthy areas. But when water is rationed, or when vendors block pipes to manufacture shortages, prices can skyrocket to five times the usual cost and an impossible price for most residents here. Much of this water has been contaminated with sewage.
Now, a Nairobi-based group working to bring affordable clean water to Kibera, the Kenya Water for Health Organization, is trying to replace water vendors with women's groups who are accountable to each other to keep price gouging at bay. This informal system relies on the belief that community-driven women's collectives will handle this precious resource fairly because of their shared hardships.
"There is inadequate water supply, no toilets, no access roads, no lighting and no drainage," says Paul Ochieng, assistant project officer for Kenya Water for Health Organization. "These people need water, clean and safe water."
In Kenya's massive shanty town of Kibera water is often unhealthy and far more expensive than in more affluent neighborhoods. An effor... more -
Water Wars In Africa
While Americans fret over rising gas prices and global tension over oil, the world’s poor are struggling to secure access to another, even more basic resource. Water scarcity in East Africa is fueling conflict and thwarting development while growing in step with local populations and rising global temperatures. While Americans fret over rising gas prices and global tension over oil, the world’s poor are struggling to secure access to another, ... more
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BRUCIATE 15 STREGHE
E' accaduto in un villaggio del Kenya. Cento persone sono andate nelle case dove abitavano le donne, le hanno prese con la forza, legate e messe al rogo E' accaduto in un villaggio del Kenya. Cento persone sono andate nelle case dove abitavano le donne, le hanno prese con la forza, lega... more
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AFRICA ON THE ROAD: VAGABONDING ACCROSS AFRICA
Fabio Miggiano, an Italian young Traveller and his "Africa on the road", an amazing trip accross all Africa, from Tanger to Cape Town; totally by public transport.
AFRICA ON THE ROAD IN PILLS:
30.000 KM on the road
166 days in Africa
17 Countries Crossed
1 Person (crazy one!)
Ps=do you think is enough!? ;)
For more info: http://www.africaontheroad.it
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Fabio Miggiano, un giovane viaggiatore italiano ci racconta il suo "Africa on the road", un viaggio d'altri tempi attraverso tutta l'Africa, dal Marocco al Sudafrica con l'ausilio dei mezzi pubblici.
AFRICA ON THE ROAD IN PILLOLE:
30.000 Km percorsi
166 giorni in terra d'Africa
17 Paesi Attraversati
1 sola persona (matta!) ;)
Ps=pensi sia abbastanza!? ;)
Per maggiori info: http://www.africaontheroad.it Fabio Miggiano, an Italian young Traveller and his "Africa on the road", an amazing trip accross all Africa, from Tanger to Cape Town;... more -
Fifteen women burnt to death over witchcraft
At least fifteen women accused of being witches have been burned to death by a rampaging mob in a village in western Kenya, police say.
A gang of about 100 people moved from house to house searching for the women in Kisii District late Tuesday, tied up their victims and set them ablaze, Local official Mwangi Ngunyi and witnesses said.
They also torched 50 houses in Nyakeo village, located some 300 kilometers (180 miles) northwest of the capital Nairobi.
Mwangi Ngunyi condemned the murders, saying a security operation has been launched to hunt down villagers suspected of killing the women. At least fifteen women accused of being witches have been burned to death by a rampaging mob in a village in western Kenya, police say... more -
Kenyan Muslims launch food fund to save community
Some Muslim scholars have launched a fund to save the minority Boni community in Lamu from starvation. And the scholars have set off the Save the Boni Community Initiative by donating food worth more than Sh2.5 million.
National Muslim Council of Scholars executive director, Dr Mohammed Osman, said they were touched by an exclusive story in The Saturday Standard last month, that 350 members of the Boni had suffered food poisoning after feeding on sorghum seeds meant for planting.
The scholars yesterday flagged off three truckloads of food to Kiunga division where the Boni live. The consignment included maize meal flour, beans, powder milk, sugar, cooking oil and salt. He said the more than 40 tonnes of food was a small contribution to a community facing extinction due to serious historical injustices.
Osman appealed to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to donate some of the money raised for displaced persons to the Boni. He said the Boni have been IDPs since independence and their plight has never been addressed.
"The Boni have been living in Kenya as permanent IDPs, and it is sad that no one talks about them. Today they face extinction," said Athman.
Local District Commissioner, Mr Mumo Muathe, said more than half of 80,000 residents in the area face starvation.
Some Muslim scholars have launched a fund to save the minority Boni community in Lamu from starvation. And the scholars have set off t... more -
Video: Post-election violence in Kenya
Post-election violence in Kenya has forced thousands to flee their homes. More than 1,000 people have been killed. Amnesty International met with some of those most affected by the violence. Post-election violence in Kenya has forced thousands to flee their homes. More than 1,000 people have been killed. Amnesty Internation... more
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Food price crisis makes effective development aid all the more needed
With sky-rocketing food prices eroding the gains made by tens of millions of people who have been edging themselves and their families out of abject poverty, practical help has never been more needed.
And Canada's small but vibrant Ismaili Muslim community has few peers when it comes to providing practical help to poorer countries, where many of their number have their roots. They are generous with both their time and their money, and hard-nosed about getting good value — i.e. demonstrable gains the the fight against mass poverty — for the money they spend. With sky-rocketing food prices eroding the gains made by tens of millions of people who have been edging themselves and their familie... more -
Out of Africa | Comment is free
Interesting opinions on the Western obsession with East Africa’s Masai. Just last summer Masai people were exhibited in their "natural" environment in the San Diego Zoo!! Interesting opinions on the Western obsession with East Africa’s Masai. Just last summer Masai people were exhibited in their "natura... more
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Unique Off Grid project at Lake Victoria, Kenya
The first step in establishing a viable global solution for off-grid lighting is a pilot project. OSRAM has started this pilot around eastern Africa's Lake Victoria, addressing local fishermen and their communities. In April 2008, the first O-HUB in Mbita, Kenya, was inaugurated. Lake Victoria was chosen because the local fishermen fishing for sardines at night use kerosene lanterns. The fishermen spend up to 70% of their income on kerosene, so they have a strong interest in efficient lighting.
The first step in establishing a viable global solution for off-grid lighting is a pilot project. OSRAM has started this pilot around ... more -
1000 people a day fleeing Zimbabwe
The situation in Zimbabwe continues to get worse. Now thousands of refugees are leaving their homes after witnessing murders and beatings of opposition supporters. The world needs to get more involved right away before this descends into another Kenya.
Check out more at the associated link. The situation in Zimbabwe continues to get worse. Now thousands of refugees are leaving their homes after witnessing murders and beat... more
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