Superstition

I know
that when a grumbling old woman
Is the first thing I meet in the morning
I must rush back to bed
and cover my head
That wandering sheep on a sultry afternoon,
Are really men come from their dark graves
To walk in light
in mortal sight
That when my left hand or eyelid twitches
Or when an owl hoots from a nearby tree
I should need pluck
It means bad luck
That drink spilled goes to ancestral spirits
That witches dance in clumps of bananas
That crumbs must be left in pots and plates
until the morn
For babes unborn
That it's wrong to stand in the doorways at dusk
For ghosts must pass- they have right of way!
That when a hidden root trips me over
Faults not in my foot
It's an evil root
That when I sleep with feet towards the door,
I'll not long be fit
I know it - Yes I know it



Minji Karibo

The 4th of July

 

Today's date is a significant watershed in my life. 19 years ago in a campus room at the University of Nairobi, I got a new lease of life after my first one almost ended. So in many ways i tell my closet friends that i am living my second life

Its amazing that whilst i don't mark this day in my calendar or call it up but in every single year when this day comes, it springs into my mind and i recall and run through the events of that day, just like it was yesterday.

This is the source of my drive and zest for life: a desire to live and not just exist, to leave a legacy, a lasting impact, to live for a cause greater than myself. The words of Dr Charles Blair still ring in my heart and mind many years after I first heart them from him at a Morris Cerullo Meeting in Nairobi, Kenya

The greatness of a man is determined by the cause he lives for and the price he is willing to pay for that cause - Dr. Charles Blair

This recall of a cataclysmic event embedded deep in my conscious is a pointer to how strong the human instinct for survival is, conscious and subconscious...maybe this explains why even whilst asleep we can still breathe and dont stop to breath when we slip into deep sleep...

It is a beautiful day in Central London, as a contrast to that dark day 19 years ago, and whilst the English Summer has failed to manifest for the upteempth time but I am glad to be alive. Its been an epic 91 days so far in London and through the adversity I am learning to thrive, and thrive I am.

Over the weekend I went to Richmond park and whilst it is summer and i enjoyed walking through the grass and woods with Keith and Kyle, yet i stopped for a moment to consider how gloomy the same place would be deep in teh heart of the British winter. In spite of the winter that is coming the grass seem to thrive and the tree sway in teh wind without a single care in the world, fully cognisant that winter is coming and they may need to shed their leaves and go into a state of dormancy

Richmond Park sits right under the flightpath of planes landing and taking off at London's Heathrow. there was no one moment where the sky was free of any plane. literally evey miute a plane appeared from the horizon whilst another one was halfway through. statistics show that Heathrow is the the third businest airport in the world and the number 1 in handling international passengers. The moral of this part of the story is that amongst all the many flights that zoomed by was the Pride of Africa, Kenya Airways, the national carrier for the Republic of Kenya. we had moments of national pride and waved, nay, saluted the carrier for their fortitude in making it where many other african carriers have not made it.

So as another 4th of July rolls my for me, i am once again grateful for a second chance at life and go through it celebrating the goodness and favor of God, thinking about the things I would not have got to see and do if my life ended in that decrepit campus room in Kabete.

Today is 20th September 2009. Glad that it is a holiday in Kenya, Id ul Fitr, courtesy of our Muslim brohters and sisters across the world. Fors congratulations to you all who have succesfully been able to deny the flesh and discipline it during the past 30 days

Looking Back, Looking forward

The year just begun the other day and today February is in a mad rush, soon Valentines will be here, then Easter, and life goes on! Jeez, this life. I never knew that this soon I would be 36 and would be staring at 40 through the nose! At least i get wiser.

This year I have opted to travel less as I feel my ship has steadied or my plane has reached cruising altitude. This is the time to get biscuits and something to drink however my seatbelts must remain fastened as the ship could hit choppy waters anytime and theplane might run in to turbulence.

This is a good time to take stock of the first 30 days and to cast the net forward on what is coming over the next 3 months. In January I was priviledged to visit Johannesburg, Maputo and Kampala last week. I know I have travelled less as I have taken only 6 flights. this is however still not good enough for me for it works out on average to a flight each week. at this rate this will end up being 52+ flights. working on that. Nothing much to write home about only that these trips helped me to tighten my resolve. It was not easy to stick to my one meal regime during travel as the greasy breakfast beckoned every morning. the lunch offers were irresistible but the wait made it worthwhile. During this time I leant a couple of things. I have gone through most of life being worried about so many things...am I saving enough, why have I done wrong things, why did I hurt some people, why did people opt to hurt me, have I done enough for those close to me, have I paid my bills, am I reading/studying enough...at some point I have said enough of this as i have spent more time worrying.

Instead now i have said that i will make everyt efort everyday to live right and to have the right relationship with God, I will pray as often as I can, I will say no to the things I consider inappropriate, I will love more, I will eat out more, I will follow my heart, I will work hard as I can but I will also take time to relax and take it easy. I will give more and I will live each day as if its my last.

Message from Maputo

It is a few mins to midnight, a few mins to 22nd Sept 2009. I have just completed an epic journey hat took me form Nairobi through Pemba to Maputo. A journey that would have lasted me about 3 hours took me 7 hours to complete. It was a different journey though.

At first I though that the only Pemba I know is a small archipelago off the coast of mainland Dar es salaam. I have however come to realise that there is a better and more serene Pemba whihc is an island to the north of Mozambique. This is a very picturesque island and I have promised myself to return.

My Journey into Leadership

Today is October 1 2010. Today marks my first 30 days as the General Manager for Nokia in East & Southern Africa as well as exactly 3years in Nokia. thats significant for me.

Day Zero Minus Fourteen

I am in the process of counting down my last two weeks before my move to start on a new role in London. I have mixed feelings about it. On one side is the apprehension and implication of what it means to uproot yourself from a place you have called home for a long time and going to a new city. On the other hand is the excitement of living a lifetime dream of living and working in a first world capital, and to boot, my favourite city long before I made up my mind about this move.


There are lot of the things that I had underestimated that are now coming back hard and fast at me. I have been reluctant to let go of some things that I will not need in a long while like my car, some household fixtures, friends that i will not see in a long while et al. One that is very devastating is letting go of Bishop and Knight to the kennel where I go them from. Regarding this I am holding on to the hope that the relationship i have built with my german sheperds is strong enough to last my time away which at present is undetermined. I am also holding onto the hope that dogs, unlike cats are more faithful and we will be able to pick it up at some point in our lives.

That aside, a lot of further adjustment has to be made. Three hours might seem little but that adjustment in timezone requires a lot of work. I already realise that I will have to take lunch 3 hours later! and dinner 3 hours later! yaaaawn...but that's the reality. The bit I am looking forward to is waking up 3 hours later:-) ...that my body will relish, but only for so long.


The biggest one for me for now is recalibrating my world view. For a while I have had Africa and my local regional and national statistics at my fingertips...populations, GDPs, mobile penetration, mortality rates, exchange rates, current affairs, name it. On this pedestal I stood and ruled the roost. The scientist in me has been very factual and kept abreast of everything that matters in this microcosm is now being challenged to spread my wings and fly, and fly I will.


Now I have started getting the feeling like I am in the movie "Who shrunk the Kids". All of a sudden, my known world has become global. I have to think about China, Russia, Brazil, Indonesia, India...Oh boy and aren't the numbers staggering? Changing from managing a large team looking after a region to a smaller team of specialists looking after a global business is a different cup of tea that calls for a different skill set and gets me out of my comfort zone. I am in the process of evaluating if there is any additional help I need to make sure my "gun" does not get jammed and is always "smoking"


I am in the process of recalibrating my world view and I know that this is going to be exciting. I look forward to sharing every step of this journey for whilst i know nothing is new under the sun but peradventure it would help others coming along in the journey so that they may not have to reinvent the wheel.


So, London, here I come, a proud son of Africa with lots to offer and lots more to learn.