Ifehenia's blog

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Taking Stock: September 2023

No one reads blogs in 2023. That makes it so freeing to come here, dust this old blog and post something that only one random reader in Kazakhstan will read. Here goes! Making : my bed every morning, and getting a lot of joy from that. Cooking Marinating : Fish and chicken since my nanny does most of the cooking. Drinking : Water. I've kept up the good habit of drinking lots of water since having Mutana. You need lots of water when pregnant and when breastfeeding, and I suppose just in general as a human. It took me 29 years to built this habit! Reading : All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr and I have just now realized that it's been made into a film, so guess who now has something to watch over the weekend / on my long upcoming plane rides?! Wanting : Cute floral dresses. Preferably matching ones with Mutana. Looking : out for any chocking hazards on every surface. Playing : Peekaboo, making faces and weird farty sounds with Mutana. Wasting : very little in this Nab

A Life Well Lived

My grandma's sister, Cucu Nyokabi, passed away last week on Friday. 29th Jan 2021. She passed away at the age of 107. I found out first thing in the morning, when I opened my WhatsApp to see dozens of messages from my cousins. Multiple WhatsApp images captioned, "RIP cucu". Even though she had a long, wonderful life, the messages still caught me by surprise. "Say it isn't so", I murmured to myself as I scrolled through the few images that couldn't even begin to summarize her life. She was my grandma's last living sibling and I felt like this was the end of a generation. I am named after my grandma, so in a way, Cucu Nyokabi was my sister. Those are the words my aunt used when she called me to update me about the plans for the burial, "Will you be able to come and bury your sister?" In the past few days, I have been thinking a lot about my grandma. My Cucu Nyokabi looked exactly like my grandma. My cousins and I were really fond of her be

Just Start!

In the middle of a pandemic, I have decided to resume something that once gave me so much contentment: writing. I don't really know where I am going with this don't they say to 'Just Start'? This is me - just starting. Perhaps I chose this day as my 'Just Start' because I woke up and my body was simply not co-operating. It was 13 degrees outside, my limbs felt lethargic and I simply had no inspiration for anything. I coerced motion within myself and somehow got through the day. I know this body well enough to recognize the signs of my 'lethargic episodes'. I also think I know it well enough to recognize when that lethargy wants to be left to its own devices versus when I need to shock it into motion. Today was an in-between day: I coerced myself into working and let my thoughts wander every few hours. I have been thinking a lot about self-care recently. During one of our cooking / dish washing evening dates (that magical time of the evening when

Taking Stock: October 2019

This blog was headed to a timely death. You see, I have been getting the hang of adulting. I am 26, going onto 27. Can you imagine that? I am knees deep in the mid 20s and crawling into the late 20s. Some days that scares me, but most days I feel as if the stars are aligned. Before we get reacquainted, let me take stock after 2 yrs, 9 months. 😅 Making : Big life decisions like venues, dates, and themes for my (our?) wedding. Who knew there were so many things to decide! Cooking : Fish in healthy ways lately as I try to champion my partner to eat healthier and manage his blood pressure ( I swear that I am not the cause of the blood pressure) . Drinking : Hot lemon and ginger (I know, a lot has changed in 2+ years yet I still have the flu!) Reading : Sapiens (rather, struggling through Sapiens while finishing 2 other books in that time frame). I've been aiming to read at least 1 book a month this year and have done well, largely. I don't know why I am struggling with

Taking Stock: January 2017

We are already 24 days into the new year but it's never too late to pause and reflect. I fully intend to be more introspective in 2017 (Case in point, I dusted up the old journal and posted for the first time in a year!) So let's take stock: Making: nothing at the moment. However, I intend to bring to life some DIY home decor ideas. Cooking: a lot of stews lately. Peas, ndengu, kamande. After December I feel as if I need a meat cleanse. Drinking: hot lemon and honey. At the moment it's because of the sore throat. Two weeks back it was because of the metallic taste from those awful deworming meds. Reading : A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. Its very English. So much so that even though the main characters are all suicidal, you feel as if there is a general, "Chin up, old chap!" feeling all along. No one is more whiny than they have to be. Wanting: potted succulents in my house! And a knitted bikini because I already have plans for the birthday! L

Will society allow the bleeding heart entrepreneur to do their job?

This essay was originally written for the Peter Drucker Challenge 2016. Current events such as the closure of Bridge Academies in Uganda and an increasing threat of closure in Kenya have prompted me to post this. I have been wondering whether 'the powers that be' are ambivalent about social ventures until the point where they disrupt the status quo; then hell hath no fury like a cartel boss scorned... Entrepreneurship is the new cool. It is a word that inspires thoughts of celebrity-like status when one considers ‘unicorns’ such as Facebook, Uber and WeWork that have disrupted traditional business models in communication, transport and real estate. This high profile status of entrepreneurship is not only limited to developed nations. The power of entrepreneurship to be a disruptor in recent times is clear in sub-Saharan Africa, and Kenya in particular. Riding high on the ‘Africa Rising’ narrative, Kenya is continuously making its mark in the world as a regional hub of innova

9 reasons why the Standard Gauge Railway should be built AROUND and not THROUGH the Nairobi National Park

To the Director General NEMA, 9 reasons why the SGR should be built around and not through the national park: Elephants have long memories and big hearts . Do you really want to make their lives hell? (Also, have you watched Jungle Book? That should move you enough to be an animal conservationist) Trains are very loud and disruptive . Can you imagine the railway being built THROUGH your cattle pen? Animals aren't the best at reading signs , e.g., a railway crossing sign? Lions look great and I'd prefer them not to all die. Warthogs are kind of cool too and seem pretty shy. I'm pretty sure that the noise will make them uneasy. Man eating lions of Tsavo . This is a bit of a stretch, but isn't it dangerous for humans to build a railway while surrounded by wild animals? Case in point, history. We constantly build roads AROUND some rich people's houses so as not to offend them. Tourism makes a tonne of money, making the national park a rich person's h