A Mzungu who loves Kenya

• A Message From Gordon Brown, MP

  Posted: March 29, 2010, 2:21 pm by BabaMzungu

  A Message From Gordon Brown, MP

• Treatment for HIV Being Missed?

  Posted: March 29, 2010, 1:21 pm by BabaMzungu

  From the BBC website The opportunity to save tens of thousands of HIV patients with a simple, cheap, drug treatment is being missed, say researchers.According to this article on the BBC website, administering a certain antibiotic would significantly reduce the death toll in the early stages of the disease, possibly halving the mortality rate. This treatment is endorsed by the WHO, but people are

• To the People of Haiti, I apologise

  Posted: March 23, 2010, 10:48 pm by BabaMzungu

  Shortly after the earthquake in Haiti, Gordon Brown announced that he had "purchased all of the UK’s available corrugated iron sheets to provide shelters for victims of the Haiti earthquake". So far, so good. UK doing what it can for the people of Haiti, wouldn't you say? The move would provide ‘2,000 homeless families in Haiti with hurricane proof shelter’. Still so far, so good, yes? OK,

• Air Fares

  Posted: March 23, 2010, 8:53 pm by BabaMzungu

  Just been through the websites for the 3 airlines that serve Nairobi, Virgin, Kenya Airways and BA. Prices are sky high! So I guess I won't be going out to Kenya for a while, especially after the heavy month we have had; £100 hospital fees for one little girl who had malaria and pneumonia and the cost of getting a Gusii girl relocated from Maasailand back to Kisii. Oh well, it seems I can do

• Who'd Have Thought It?

  Posted: March 23, 2010, 1:36 pm by BabaMzungu

  On the local radio station this morning - "Rain will be light, but it will be wet." Who would have thought it?

• The Sound Of Silence

  Posted: March 19, 2010, 12:58 pm by BabaMzungu

  Simon is about eight years old. He is a stocky, healthy-looking child with an open face and ready smile, but he is deaf. I don’t know quite how deaf he is. If I clap my hands loudly enough, he will sometimes hear it (or sense the air pressure?), and if I make a loud, high-pitched sound with a reed, he will hear that. In fact, he gets quite excited when he hears it, which leads me to believe that

• Free What ... ?

  Posted: March 18, 2010, 1:39 am by BabaMzungu

  Having put the few thimbles full of diesel that I can still afford into the car, I went to pay. As I paid, the cashier said, "Do you want free sausage rolls?" My ears pricked up. "Free" is my favourite four-letter, F-word. I followed his pointing finger to a basket with the ticket stating, "Sausage Rolls - 3 for £1.00" I was disappointed, but I remembered a discussion on the local BBC radio

• Waste, Graft and Corruption

  Posted: March 16, 2010, 10:10 pm by BabaMzungu

  I have read various accusations and counter-accusations regarding the efforts of Band Aid to raise money to alleviate the Ethiopian drought, and how that money was diverted (or not) to buy arms. I read that NGOs and other organisations are going around the Third World sinking boreholes in villages to give them easy access to clean water, but make little or no provision for maintaining the

• How Old Do You Feel?

  Posted: March 15, 2010, 2:58 pm by BabaMzungu

  I have been bombarded with literature (adverts) from SAGA. For those who don't know, SAGA is a company that offers a host of services for over-fifties, such as car insurance, holidays, etc. It is not necessarily the cheapest or best, but it is tailored for the over fifties - so I was annoyed, very annoyed, until I realised that I was over fifty. Now, I am approaching the age when I will be

• Things I Will Say To My Mum Today ...

  Posted: March 15, 2010, 12:23 pm by BabaMzungu

  Taking a leaf out of the Millennium Housewife's book (or blog) Good morning, Mum It's Monday Do you want toast or Museli? Marmalade or honey? It's Monday You asked for honey. I am sure you did. It's still Monday Yes, you take all the pills after breakfast. Yes, all at the same time. Look at the top of the paper, it's Monday MONDAY! I am not shouting. Put your hearing aids in. Both of them Well

• What Joined Up Thinking Can Do In Kenya

  Posted: March 14, 2010, 10:18 pm by BabaMzungu

  The idea was to put an electrified fence around the Aberdares Conservation Area. Why? To stop wildlife marauding onto farm land outside the fence To protect the farming communities and their crops that border the fence. To curb illegal log extraction. To promote harmony between wildlife and local farmers. To prevent illegal entry into the Conservation Area. So why is the Aberdares so important?

• Abused Kisii Girl Needs Urgent Sponsorship

  Posted: March 9, 2010, 2:16 pm by BabaMzungu

  Originally posted on KCIS blog The Twiga Children's Centre has  today been informed that if Esther (13), a Gusii girl who is lodged at an orphanage in Kajiado is not taken in by Twiga Children's Centre very soon, she will be taken back to her parents. This is not good news. Esther's parents sent her out to work as a house girl, where she suffered beatings and other cruelty in the hands of her

• What is £1 Worth?

  Posted: March 2, 2010, 8:43 pm by BabaMzungu

  I have just checked the UK pound against the Kenyan Shilling, as I do from time to time. Today I checked it because I read that in Zimbabwe, you could trade UK pounds against the Z$. So I checked the pound against the shilling and found that it has dropped about 5/-. OR, put another way, the pound has lost between 4% and 5% against the Kenyan Shilling! So, we are losing out against the US$,

• Never A Good Time

  Posted: March 2, 2010, 8:19 pm by BabaMzungu

  Why is it that when I am under the desk with my head stuck inside an errant computer, the phone rings? And why is it, when I answer it, it is either a cold sales call, or someone wanting a chat? And why is it that the person wanting a chat does not understand when you answer rather abruptly? And is it me, or am I the only person who prefers to receive work-related calls during working hours (I

Blah blah blah

Fish cakes

Alas a fish cake.

Yet more fish cakes

Guess what ... yeah ... fish cakes.

The end of the fish cakes