The 360 Guarantee

I don't own Kenya, I owe Kenya.
I am all that I am because of my experiences growing up and living in Jamhuri. Yes, born, bred and in most part equipped with life/work skills in this beautiful, diverse nation we call home. Land of smart thinking, smart acting and smart, fun/funny people blessed in plentiful ways.
Granted, it has been some time since I was last home and I miss it every day. Like many of my peers, I am bcoz I grew up in an environment where the child was raised by the entire community regardless of one's ethnic origin, social standing or worldview. We benefitted from a social support system which entitles you to hold onto and pursue your dreams despite the many hurdles standing in your way. This is the one place where I met happiness and peace of mind and made them my friends.
Growing up in a town (now a city) where leaving the front door unlocked all day was the tradition but locking yourself indoors 24/7 was considered mean-spirited and antisocial, we were taught that opening up your heart is a sure way to fill it with warmth and l'epice de la vie (spice of life/nakshi za maisha); that opening up your mind is the way to learn beyond books and maktabas and opening up your home is the key to limitless abundance of happiness, good fortune, growth of kin and kith, warding off misfortune, boredom and a cold, lonely existence.
I am aware that with time things change and so do some values but it is gratifying to know that many well-grounded principles still hold firm (despite the darned MPs mess!). These are lessons I still value and look forward to sharing.
Mimi ni Mkenya/ I am Kenyan and many things define me as such. There is no perfect person or society but I know fellow Kenyans at home & abroad to be very hardworking (and hard partying), enterprising people. When someone says "You Can't" it only gives us more fire to succeed and we turn around, smack them in the face with the "I just did and will do again!" (hehe, guilty aren't you?), yes, we run (yaaawn!) to win races and the millions in prizes that come with them but we don't run away from ourselves.
We laugh so hard and so often it hurts. We care so much till we hurt, we're more trustworthy than our lousy, kniving politicians that milk us dry as they live in sinful luxury...yet we let them be!? We stay up-to-do date with local as well as world affairs and find it quite normal to analyse happenings as far away as Kiribati, Fallujah, San Juan, Kumasi, Copenhagen or even Seoul while riding in the matt, waiting in line at Nakumatt, cycling over Nyali bridge, taking the tube to Victoria Station, in the Metro in DC's U.Street, on phone, email, blog, etc just becoz we're who we are...Kenyan.

Kenya accords me My 360 Guarantee of happiness and peace of mind for every 365 days in a year. Show me a place promising more than that and I'll let you know its other name is...Kenya.

Happy Madaraka Day!