Now that voter registration is underway in Kenya, I found myself wondering where I should actually do my registration. I scoured the inter webs and found that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has a file that contains a listing of all polling stations in the country(dated 2013). Quite a nice find but pretty tedious to look through. So I decided to parse it, make it searchable and thus easier for one to find the polling station they need based on county, constituency and ward.
Politics: What’s Clan Got To Do With It.
Whenever the Kenyan elections draw near, the political rhetoric explodes on social media. A recent visit to one of the facebook forums shows that this year is no different! What continues to amaze me is the nature of the rhetoric among Maasai’s in reference to leadership within the Maa community. There seems to be a constant insistence that leadership be doled out based on clan. Such that If, for example, the Governor is from the irkaputiei clan then his/her deputy cannot be from that same clan as the rest of the clans will cry foul and the same goes for all the other leadership positions within the Maa counties. Why? The one reason I have heard, repeatedly, is equality must be promoted – equality in representation of the entire nation of Maa. Ok. So what is wrong with this kind of thinking? Plenty, in my humble opinion!
How to make Ghee From Scratch
I have been thinking about making ghee (clarified butter) from scratch (using raw milk) for a while now but I haven’t had enough homemade raw cream from our daily milk supply to actually make it. Luckily, my sister has been stocking up on some cream over the past couple of weeks and she was kind enough to share it. Ghee is one of those super foods – a traditional food that is common place in many nilotic homes – it has a high melting point so it’s great for cooking and has an incredible flavor.
When The Sewage Hits the Fan
It was one day mid September that we saw tons of cars converge where Rimpa road meets the Kiserian river. Donated, back in the day, to the community by two families to be used as a watering hole for cattle and people from the area, it is now a hot spot of all sorts of controversy. So it was with that in mind that we ventured out to investigate the horde of cars. On approach, we noticed that the occupants, all of Chinese decent, were madly taking pictures of the area around the river and when asked what was going on, a gentleman shockingly told us they were scouting for a sewage location.
Observations: Maa Diaspora Community
When I first came to the states about 20 years ago, there were very few Maa people in the country. It wasn’t until the early 2000’s that we began to see an increase in numbers and the idea of community organizing coming into play in the mid 2000’s with the formation of the Association of Maasai Abroad (AMAA). AMAA ran fairly successfully for a number years but was unfortunately unable to attract and keep members.
A Tribute To My Father: An extraordinary ‘Ordinary’ man
It was 9 years ago today that I lost my father – the most amazing father a girl could ever have! Thinking about it now is a stark reminder that we are all here for a very limited time and our loved ones will miss us oh so dearly when we are gone.
I miss everything about my father.
Dear Olosho le Maa
Over the years you have neglected to take care of yourself and it is with great sadness that we continue to watch as your overall health continues to deteriorate rather rapidly. You need to immediately start taking care of yourself so you can stay healthy and feel your best.
Bare Naked On The Internet: Our Home Birth Journey
I decided to write my home birth story not just to share the magical wonders of the birth of our son, but to show other women that birth isn’t something to be afraid of and to encourage each one of them where support may not necessarily be available.
Of NGO’s, Circumcision & Sponsorship
A Facebook friend posted yet another story about a young Maasai girl expelled from high school after her sponsor (Soila Maasai Girls Rescue Centre) stopped funding her for allegedly having secretly undergone circumcision. Here is the story, as reported by the nation newspaper. Here is the same story on video.
A Real Maasai Woman’s Thoughts on the White ‘Warrior Princess’
My emotional rant about the “first female Maasai Warrior” was recently picked up by Jezebel.
These views were originally in response to a Facebook posting in the African Diaspora group which were later blogged by Tms Ruge.