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Single Motherhood Unplugged by Annemarie Musawale
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My Husbands Wife by Jane Corry
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Chokora: A Kenyan Scavenger
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John Patrick and Martin Joseph are two teens born in the dusty, poor neighbourhood of Huruma in Nairobi. Raised by single unemployed mothers, they turn to scavenging for valuables in the city’s middle-class neighbourhoods to survive the harsh life of Huruma. City residents have labeled them Chokora, a derogatory term to describe human scavengers. And they use this effectively. For them, the Chokora façade is a camouflage as the two youths go about their exploits, including stealing from unsuspecting residents. As fate would have it, the duo ends up in a police cell to face the full reality of their escapades. Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger is a poetic narration of the reasons most of the urban youth turn to crime. There is a lot of attention paid to the protection of the girl-child in Kenya, while neglecting the boy child. John and Martin have never known their biological fathers and are forced to adopt their mothers’ names instead. From the perspective of many, unconventional naming is an embarrassment amidst the cruel surroundings.
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Emegiro y’Abagusii ba Kenya (Taboos of Abagusii of Kenya) documents taboos of the Abagusii and the role the taboos played, and continue to play, in that society. Authors assert that the taboos regulated society in all dimensions. A person breaking a taboo would face censure and/or punishment unless s/he was cleansed.
Taboos have vital effect on a society’s conduct. They regulate relations and determine how the society utilizes its resources, among other things. They also protect society from dangerous persons such as criminals.
Taboos demand obedience and are associated with rituals; they impose specific or restrictive behaviour, usually directed at avoiding danger, be it imminent or long-term.
As captured in this book, taboos are social constitutions for, together with cultural laws, they regulate community conduct.
Some taboos documented here may not be relevant today. However, they capture the context and hence the society of the time. They are of historical significance, many threads of which exist today.
A Prisoner of Hope
In A Prisoner of Hope, the Reverend Augustine Rugutt takes us through an emotional spiritual journey of the life, values and teachings of his mother Pauline Cherono Taptulmat Chepkulul. It is a tale of challenges that few non-believers would overcome, but which his mother overcame in the end. Pauline believed in the Lord and was guided by spiritual belief throughout her life. She suffered but remained hopeful for a better future. As the author testifies, neither sickness nor poverty could deter the spirit that directed her virtuous existence. She was indeed a prisoner of hope, and not only was she able to see her children succeed, but also imparted on them invaluable life-long lessons that continue to shape their lives and those of their children. They are values for all generations present and future.
The Reverend Rugutt writes admiringly about his mother and the values she held through her time on earth. He generously shares these intimate tales believing there are lessons for us all as human beings on our earthly and spiritual journeys.
A Prisoner of Hope is a must read for all. It is essential for those who, faced with challenges and suffering, may be about to give up hope.
Ludic Activities in Foreign Language Learning: The CAVIF Project in Uganda
Teachers of the French language in the Department of European and Oriental Language at Makerere University kept wondering what could be done to help young beginner learners of French to speak the language more efficiently and be effortlessly creative. By general observation, the teachers noted that this could best be done through games and play-like activities. This was later to be verified through French Holiday Camps or Cadres de Vie en Francais.
The initiative of the “CAVIF Project” identified a gap that the teachers were eager to fill. However, with the ending of the initial financing of the Federarion Internationale des Professeurs de Francais (FIPF) it became apparent that pedagogical goal needed several years of trial before fully responding to the curriculum needs with supporting evidence. The study took five years of organizing mini-language immersion camps for secondary school learners of French. This process, supported by a Fulbright African Scholar Fellowship at the University of Connecticut for the corresponding editor, resulted in the collective publication of this title, Ludic Activities in the Learning of Foreign Languages: The CAVIF Project of Uganda. This book is a record and an assessment of five years of experiential and collaborative learning aimed at improving students’ interactive skills through the use of word and number games, songs, photographs, proverbs, French cuisine, excursions, drama, debate and talent show. The application of these interactive pedagogical approaches will be helpful to readers not only for increasing learner motivation but also for making the learning environment in non-Francopnone contexts more conducive.
The Untold Story:Gusii Survival Techniques and Resistance to the Establishment of British Colonial Rule
The Untold Story, Gusii Survival Techniques and Resistance to the Establishment of British Colonial
Rule. There is little written about the resistance to the establishment of the British colonial rule in Gusii.
The scant knowledge available on this historical phenomenon in Kenya is inaccurate and intentionally
distorted in favour of the colonial master. The truth, contrary to the incorrect histories presented by the
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Gusii warriors. It was a landmark historical event. Otenyo Nyamaterere is incorrectly portrayed as a
frustrated and deranged lone-ranger who was high on narcotics when he attacked with a spear and
injured the first District Commissioner of Kisii, Geoffrey Northcote. In a fierce rebuttal to this falsehood
existing in colonial narratives, this book attempts to correct this erroneousness portrayal of a lead
warrior who valiantly came out in defense of community and its lands.
And there is context to this resistance. Over many years, the Gusii had honed their fighting skills and
survival strategies from the many years of struggle against the hostile and warlike neighbours – the
Maasai, the Kipsigis and the Luo. These skills and strategies that came in handy when later the Gusii
faced a more formidable external aggressor – the Kings African Rival soldiers. The Gusii warriors fought
with valour, demonstrating great fighting skills in their encounter with these forces of conquest even as
the latter were better armed. Inevitably the warriors lost, defeated due to the British superior
weaponry. The Gusii weapons and hand to hand combat fighting could not match the British gun power.
Smiles in Pathos and Other Poems
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In Book One we have the celebratory short poems called Poems of Homage which are inspired by the poet's admiration of canonical African writers: Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Chris Wanjala, Peter Abrahams, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Ayi Kwei Amah, Denis Brutus, Christopher Okigbo, among others.
The Incidental poems in Book Two called Poems of Known Tradition , adopt identifiable forms; rhyme, rhythm, alliteration, repetition, stanza, terza rima, sonnet, and which take on socio-political themes.
In Book Three we find the mock epic narrative poetry with the title Pearls of Laughter. The narrative poem needs first to be enjoyed as a love story, and as a satire. Every piece has a life of its own. However, the work is well appreciated when the fragmented pieces are united into one, a feat generally admired by the poet
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Brief Summary
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Brief summary
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Brief Summary
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Brief Summary
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