There are six small orphaned children here between the ages of 2 and 4 years old who have formed a family bond. When I give one a biscuit he or she will not leave me until I give them another 5 for their chums; if I don’t they will run off and fetch all the others, making certain they all get an equal share. Yesterday I gave Moses (2yrs old) a plate on which there were 6 slices of pineapple, he can’t count. You could see the confusion and fear on his little face. Bless him he did hand the plate out to his chums and the look of relief…

Mama Sarah Obama, grandmother of USA President Barack Obama Mama Sarah Obama, whom I was fortunate to spend a couple of hours privately with; before she was due to visit her grandson, Barack in Washington DC. She was remarkably sharp and enthusiastic, with a great sense of humor. She talked passionately about her efforts to promote education. Noting that she herself had never attended school. Mama Sarah told me “I realized the value of education when somebody would bring me a letter and I could not read it!”, so Mama Sarah made certain that all her children received an education “including Barack Obama Snr”; whom she pedaled 6 miles to…

I traveled from Siaya District, crossing the Rift Valley, to a small town on the slopes of Mt Kenya, near Nanyuki, where the British Army has a large base. I booked into a Hotel that caters for Mzungu (white people) who are planning to climb Mt Kenya. That evening there was a tremendous storm. I was in bed reading under under the canopy created by my mosquito net. Suddenly there was a build up of crashing and a buzzing racket; my room was being invaded by hundreds of Flying Termites! This particular specie is a similar in size to UK Dragon flies, 4 x 2.5cm wings, with a body length…

Kevin Otieno Obote, both parents died and he lived for a time with his Auntie. He arrive at 8yrs with bad asthma, thin and had ringworm. He recovered well after receiving treatment and enjoying a healthy diet. Now doing well at school, he is usually in the top group, studying so he can get a place at University. He wants to become a Doctor.

I have a choices, Michael Oduor Odimo did not; his father died and mother is still alive. She is poor and unable to provide for his basic needs. Michael was very sick, undernourished and very thin when he arrived. The staff at the orphanage immediately put him on a special diet and he had to be dewormed. During early days he was badly behaved and very anti social. With a good diet his health has returned as has his attitude, he has become a sociable lad, working hard at school and the results now speak for themselves. He got accepted into secondary school where he is studying to go to…

In recent times I have been sitting down to enjoying meals with large groups, not business lunches or ‘contrived’ dinner parties; but with families and/or a collection of friends, this is surprisingly novel to me. I appreciate good food and recognize that I really do enjoy the relaxed banter. Today there was an enormous hatch of what looked Mayfly; on closer inspection they looked like big flying Ants. However, I was shown they are in fact Termites. Kioni explained that the Termites come out of their holes, fly around for a short time and on landing their wings drop off. The males and females find each other, go off to…