Dreaming into the Real New World

                                                 Dreaming into the Real New World

                                                                    Toward Universal power and peace

                                               

                                                                                                               By Nyagaka H Nyakundi

The World as we know it today has gone through numerous transformations and developments throughout the time it has been in existence. Life and even circumstances have substantially changed over time so that what seemed impossible tens to hundreds of years ago is utterly possible today. Populations have grown .Better and  useful technologies have been developed and, of course, worse war machines. The level of technology is nothing but unprecedented.

If our forefathers rose from the dead today, it would be very difficult for them to recognise this World. Despite the fact that this New World was part of the dream they dreamed in their day, several developments and innovations and inventions would be, to them, beyond imagination! This is the future they talked about in their day and we are their children, heirs of this future of their dreams.

We are indeed living in the future created by selfless  efforts in the past. We are, without doubt, living in a future of possibilities certainly unheard in say, 1930.Who would have imagined the world would later enjoy relative peace after the first and second World Wars? Who would have thought---except Martin Luther jnr. (of course)—that an Afro-american  would once occupy the White House? Who in Berlin and elsewhere  would have imagined in 1884 that Africa would one day fly independence flags?

These would have been obviously called wild dreams, yet they are now this future’s realities. This is indeed the New World of our forefather’s dreams. Their dreams and efforts gave birth to the future that is today.
Thus, the world today is a far cry compared to the Old World that solved problems through bloody wars. Although there are remnants of this old scheme of things it is safe to bet  that should    our forbearers resurrect they would actually call this the New World of their dreams .They would happily celebrate that their collective dream came to pass.

Happy should be their children!

In the run-up to the end of the devastating World Wars, leaders from the then free world came together to create what is the United Nations today. There is no doubt that the most important   issue prompting the creation of this organisation was ---and still is---World Peace. Through this effort the world has since experienced relative peace and unprecedented developments in all circles. This alone is enough to convince those of us that are privileged to be part of this generation that peace predicates a better future. Those who came before us knew that the future of their dreams would be impossible without peace and created sustainable frameworks for peace. This should never be lost on us as well.

But since our grandparents dreamed about a New World it is incumbent on us to dream of something better. Their dreams looked like hopeless illusions, but since we are privileged to learn from their experience we have the confidence to dream into the future. A future of even greater peace and prosperity: a Real New World! Those who came before us were responsible for this future; we have to create a better future for ourselves and those who would come after us.

In creating that future the world desires,  and badly so ,I consider a few things important: . peace , empowering  the people of the world in all aspects ,protecting and conserving the environment ,which is home to all of us. Ensuring the above-named factors are established and sustained, both individual and collective effort is necessary.

At my personal or individual level, I look forward to making efforts in that direction. I am a trained, but jobless journalist living here in Africa, Kenya.And let me say at this  point that my personal dream is at all inseparable  from that of my  country ,continent  and world.Based on this conviction,Am currently engaged in activities aimed at creating  peace through advocacy,empowering people(economically,politically  and intellectually),and sensitizing populations  in my neighborhood and even beyond  on the need to conserve and protect the environment.

Indeed,this was the motivation behind  the creation  of Bamboo Media Group ,an organization  I founded alongside my former college mates .At BMG we daily strive  along that course through  campaigns  and programmes Although hamstrung by a lack of funds ,BMG has actually succeeded in  teaching the youths and even older folks on the importance of  establishing and keeping  keeping peace.We have also succeeded in identifying and developing  talents in the hope that this would ultimately  empower people to depend on themselves.This includes a mentorship programme  which has  helped mentor young school leavers into skilled camera people ,actors/actresses,campaigners ,motivational speakers an so on.Our main tool is the internet  where we use various platforms  to reach our audience.

The collective journey  into the Real New World  is that simple to us.We cannot separate  our individual  dreams  from  that of  that collective hope  for our country and world.

We believe  that it is the small things done by ordinary people like us that would later  convert  the New World of our grandparents into  Real New World  for this and coming generations.

The Late Adhiambo's Bamboo Dream

The Late Adhiambo's Bamboo Dream
                                               by Nyagaka H  Nyakundi

The news about Claire Adhiambo's mysterious demise struck me-and indeed all of us present at the hospital that afternoon to visit  her  -as painfully as a hornet's sting.

It was January 24,2011,a busy day for us at Bamboo Media Group(BMG) in whose formation  Ms Adhiambo had played a crucial part.This was going to be a busier day with so much to discuss about underway shoots.But with the news that our colleague had not responded to medication yet,we collectively resolved to shelf our plans to visit her.

At about noon Edwin Tiego,Ronald Nyakweba ,Maryanne  Ochieng' and myself left for the Kenyatta National Hospital(KNH) where Ms Adhiambo had been  hospitalized  for a while.And as fate would have it,we were the first group of visitors to receive the sad news:she had passed on three hours before our arrival.The announcement,made by a very  unruffled doctor,struck us hard.All of us were visibly shaken,dazed,bewildered.A young lady  who had not  joined us in the briefing  room broke down as soon as she learnt the sad news through us outside .

I first met the late Adhiambo in 2009,shortly after my fortunate admission into the Kenya Polytechnic University College to pursue my journalism dream.And as if that was what fate had ordained,I was organized into the same classroom with her.However,our friendship did not spark immediately.Given my raising at the heart of a hamlet in the outskirts of a rural town,I was quick to dismiss her as one of those flashy,snobbish girls Nairobi harbored.Consequently,I eschewed her ,kept her at arms length,and never venturedbeyond her always warm greetings .

However,a few months  into the course,I was struck by her humility and amity.She raised smiles wherever she went,her very presence in our classroom causing a sort of ambience that-if nobody else did-I at least felt.Adhiambo was inquisitive,talkative and at all whimsical.Adhiambo lived her life with unparalleled passion,which suddenly started to seep away,or so I saw,  after 2010.

But to return to the robust Adhiambo with whom I fell into great friendship,this is why am going to miss her.Sometime in June last year,shortly after we completed our journalism course,she was in the number of tens of enthusiastic former students of the Kenya Polytechnic University College class of 2009/2011,eager  to form an entrepreneurship outfit which we afterward named Bamboo Media Group (BMG).Now I was not present  physically on that day to know who suggested we use "Bamboo".But from my close and yet discreet association with Ms Adhiambo ,I had  come to note her love of the bamboo tree.She loved yellow and green.And she often dressed in yellow and  green clothes.She once had a yellow phone and studs.To her the  bamboo tree and its colors was a symbol of resilience and hope.

For those of us who were fortunate to be in contact with her , especially at BMG we mourn this  unbearable loss of an  untimely death. But at a personal level,I will forever miss her easy laughs,witty humor and adorable humility.Rest in Peace,Unforgettable ,madam.

Bamboo Media Group(BMG) Six Months on

 by Nyagaka Nyakundi Hesborn
They came in droves to that meeting that incidentally set the stage for  a momentous and equally challenging time for an infant corporate named Bamboo Media Group(BMG).I had personally planned to attend that first meeting,but with  Stacey  effecting her plans to move to a new house I felt obligated to give a hand,missing out  what I  had expected to be an impressive meeting turn-out  out of  the curiosity  of those who would attend.

Drawn mainly from our 2011 journalism class at the Kenya Polytechnic University College,this  was a meeting that Henry Onyango ,now of The Truth Weekly, later described  to me by phone
as  mamoth.Offhead,Henry counted Edwin Tiego,Onesmus Mulinge,Maryann Ochieng',Ronald Nyakweba,Peter Mungoma,Miriam Njeri,Claire Adhiambo as present, in and endless list that only ended with the beep in my phones earpiece,a sign my airtime had come up.

It was an informal launch meeting at Uhuru  Park,and so leaders had to be picked by vote.In the ad hoc plebiscite ,Edwin Tiego was elected  chairman,much as I had  hoped,Peter Mutachi   as vice chairman although he later resigned unceremoniously at an ABC Cafe meeting citing no reasons for the action.There was also Ronald Nyakweba,Maryann Ochieng',Hellen Scandy,Claire Adhiambo and myself on the list of officials.

But to return to  Peter Mutachi's perhaps eccentric resignation.Weeks following his action our challenges intensified.Many defected from the group ,leaving a handful of us holding on to what appeared to be nothing,groping in endless darkness.More defections. So that it now came to only officials attending our fortnightly meetings.During our last meeting held in November,there was only three or four from the officials number attending.We had been toying with the idea of doing away with meetings and set about working from our homes.It was at this trying moment that an idea struck us:Drama Programme!
At that meeting I have alluded to,our script writer Ronald Nyakweba arrived  clutching scripts he had done.We agreec something had to get going!

To make the  long story trim,we closed the year last week  with auditions for two tv Programmes:Machungu and Tears of Love 
The next year -next month in fact-we hope to produce these series .
However,we desperately need funds  to facilitate our  activities.We still believe we will make it!For those of us in BMG,2012 is going to be the year of sacrifice.See our group on facebook for details

Merry Christmas and Happy 2012!

Why acute joblessness in Kenya is fresh fodder for media scammers

Just a year after he opened  an e-mail account ,James Mutua has  closed the account  cursing  those who advised him to be connected online.A month ago he received a message from a lady who identified herself as just "Blessing".In the e-mail  Blessing was asking  James to assist her  deposit some millions of dollars 'because Blessing wanted someone to transfer the money owing to the political climate in her country" and then flee to Kenya  and get married.

This was a secret  James would closely guard until recently when he heard from a friend that a person with a similar name  had contacted him and he was actually opening an account-on Blessing's advise-  to kick-start the  process.Although James was now becoming suspicious,he never opened up to the friend.He only saw a 'competitor' in him and promised himself to outdo him by talking to Blessing gently.

But all this changed when the two James Google-searched  "Blessing" only to find the name and the photo she was purporting to be hers listed among the world's deadly online scammers. It was at this point that he talked to his friend about it ,cutting short their journey to regrets.

With the advent of the internet several years ago the number of people  using it has risen from a few thousands to millions.But this is a double-edged sword.whereas the internet is a useful too,it has an ugly flip side. Scammers are now online promising  people jobs and other transactions  to make them rich.This has been compounded  by joblessness making job-seekers easy prey to this criminals.

But in the face of all this,one tip will help you:Never trust any one you don't know in person  online.For he/she might be using a  criminal pseudonym to con you.

Heroine who won Battles for Nature Succumbs to Cancer at 71

The death of prof. Wangari Maathai on Monday at Nairobi Hospital-Kenya,  brought  an end to the life    of  a symbolic figure and role model  for many  whose very portrait  told  volumes  about her love of nature and the environment.

Wangari was an icon in  her  homeland, Kenya, what with her gallant campaigns and confrontations against   those whose activities threatened  the environment.This passion led to her recognition  in 2004 with the prestigious Nobel prize,becoming the first African woman to become a Nobel laureate.


Educated in the USA and Germany Prof.Maathai had until her death become synonymous with nature and rights through her activities through The Green Belt Movement which she founded in the 70's.

At the news about her death a barrage of statements have  been issued describing Maathai as an outstanding woman whose activities can be nothing but heroic,including that of president Barrack Obama

Where is the Media's Mandela?

The world today celebrated the birthday of the world's greatest statesman alive:Nelson Madiba Mandela.This is a man who clearly broke ranks with most of his contemporaries and   to set an example of what a true statesman should be.

For starters Mandela was incarcerated for 27 years at the notorious Robben Island prison   for agitating against the racially discriminative Apartheid.A lawyer by profession ,Mandela  was deeply concerned by the plight of his people and mounted a struggle that finally  laid the foundation of  South Africa as the world knows it today .

Coincidentally,Madiba's birthday  celebration comes at a time when  the world is deep in  a controversial  discussion regarding a  media malpractice that might lay the ground  to  several  criminal prosecutions involving  journalists ,politicians the police  and even politicians and celebrities.The News Of  the World has been accused of hacking into a victim's  phone for information in  a saga that has seen a publication's folding  and a series of resignations .

But here's a quote  fom Madiba that should give us  how we should approach the media particularly in Africa"

“I have fought against white dominance and I have fought against BLACK dominance. I have kept by my ideal of a democratic and free community where everyone can live together in harmony and with the same possibilities. ”

The ideal society should be devoid of media dorminance and government dorminance.

The Great African Literary Controversy

Ngugi wa Thiong'o has been at the center of literary controversy

A few years into his career,novelist James Ngugi shocked the literary world when he stopped writing in English  to write in his Kikuyu Vernacular.He was later to follow this radical shift with changing his name to Ngugi wa Thiong'o ,scrapping the English part of his African identity.

In many of his books that followed Ngugi fought injustices and pointed out mistakes  in  his mother-tongue ,plunging into what appears to be an  endless  controversy .He has also in his  career written numerous articles and essays  advocating for what he calls "freeing culture from Ethnocentrism" .

According to Ngugi,who recently published an installment of his lengthy childhood memoir,Dreams in a Time of War,,language and culture are part of the struggles aimed at moving the center from Europe ,and decolonizing  of the minds of the people.

"The tradition of Africans writing  in European language particularly those of the former  colonizers is clearly a product of of the fatal encounter between Africa and Europe ,"argues Ngugi in  his collection  of essays  entitled Moving the Center

In the book  Ngugi discusses in detail  the motivation behind his ardent advocacy  on language suggesting that language is entrenched in   a peoples culture.


The globally renowned scholar's pressing for  use  of people's own languages in  literature   has over time drawn criticism with some literary analysts and fellow scholars  on record saying 'Ngugi is fighting a losing battle".

Ngugi  adds that   literature in African languages suffers from a lack of strong tradition.

"Everyone  in the world has a language,either the language of his  or her parents or one adopted at birth at a later  stage in life,"writes Ngugi.He continues:"So when  we consider  English  as  a language  for the world,we are all drawing  from the languages and cultures in which we are rooted."

Ngugi's position on the matter of language has attracted interesting criticisms among them respected  Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe,and the two have had a long fight over the language in which African literature should be written.

In 1990   Achebe lashed at Ngugi  in an essay ,saying 'English is the most viable language  to represent African hopes and fears in literature.The essay ,republished in Achebe's latest book,The Education of a British-Protected Child, serves to re-affirm Achebe's unwavering stance .

As Ngugi describes Achebe's argument as 'fatalistic logic'  in Decolonizing the Mind,Achebe ,in 2009,described  Ngugi's argument as  comprising of 'fatal snags of the single-minded"


While Ngugi adfvocates for local languages only,Achebe supports  the use of English  and local languages as well.
 "The difference between  Ngugi  and myself on the issue of indigenous or European  languages is that while  Ngugi now believes it is either/or,I have always thought it was both,"Achebe said.

As the debate continues to rage,perhaps another notable difference  the two could be that while  Ngugi seems  angry and serious  in his essays,Achebe adopts irony and humor coupled with sayings and proverbs to drive his message home.

Also,Achebe's Politics and  Politicians of Language  could be a mischivous rejoinder to Ngugi's The Politics Of Language in African Literature ,a subtitle in Decolonising the Mind.