After I completed my primary education, I got circumcised to mark the beginning of my young adulthood. I was to attend secondary school but when my father retired, school beyond standard eight was not going to happen. My next move was to find ways to support myself. I had a thingira (a one-bedroom house) at […]
Geoffrey: The Young Adult Life – PART I Read More »
When the state of emergency was declared in 1954, native Kenyans were ordered by the colonial government to leave their farms. Many went to live in the Village (Gīchagi) for security purposes. As the Mau Mau war of independence raged on, fear spread everywhere in the country. My father, who was a freedom fighter, was
Flashback: The Mau Mau War of Independence in Kenya. Read More »
At a young age, my father lost his share in the clan land because he was in the detention during the war of the independence, Mau Mau, in Kenya. Later in life, he was able to acquire some property for him and his family, and when he grew old, my father did something almost similar
Change with Change by Geoffrey Read More »
My father was deployed to fight in World War II (WWII) for the colonial British – he was a newlywed with one son at the time. Fortunately, he survived the war and returned home a born-again Christian. He joined the Anglican Church and firmly believed that indulging in alcoholic drinks was a sin. He reunited
Geoffrey’s Story – PART I Read More »
Once you retire, your family increasingly becomes the center of your life. By this time, your children have become adults, and have families of their own. Your children include your own and the in-laws (we do not call them in-laws in our culture. They are our sons and daughters). Your children are now the ones
I learnt many lessons as a young child growing up in an environment filled with war, tragedy, broken families, and struggle. When I was about five years old, my father burned my grandmother’s house. My father had come from work in Nairobi, Kenya, to my grandmother’s home in the village. I lived with my mother