Author: Natalie Sifuma
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Loss And Hope, A January Story
Whenever I think about January, I see it as a blank canvas. It’s a fresh start, and whether intentionally or inadvertently, we make resolutions, jot down those S.M.A.R.T goals, or like me, make a vision board that captures our dreams and ideas for the year ahead. There’s people who do none of these, but find…
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Searching For The City’s Vibe: A Photo Essay
On Google Images, Nairobi is a city with stories of a built environment. Occasionally the photo story begins with the silhouette of a zebra or giraffe, but ends with Nairobi’s skyline and expressway – so in essence, according to this widely used search engine, Nairobi is predominantly a concrete jungle. But this city of brick…
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Bashing Dunes In The Kalahari
There’s a wooden sign outside a quad bike spot in Swakopmund that best describes the reason I chose to tour Namibia; it says ‘Desert Explorers’ – and for all of seven days that’s what I was, away from the push and pull of work where I had been impatiently waiting for words to pour out…
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Jacaranda, the Only Propaganda We Need
They say the more things change the more they remain the same, but not for Nairobi. The Nairobi of four decades ago is worlds apart from the Nairobi of today, because the city has changed and little if anything remains the same when it comes to the city’s greenery and its built environment. Despite the…
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What We Get Wrong About Diabetes
If you were to spend a day in the life of Marion Agunda, you would have to find a secluded room or corner at least four times a day to administer an insulin shot. You would have to do it privately to avoid drawing attention to the procedure, because not everybody is calm about the…
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Jacaranda, the Only Propaganda We Need
They say the more things change the more they remain the same, but not for Nairobi. The Nairobi of four decades ago is worlds apart from the Nairobi of today, because the city has changed and little if anything remains the same when it comes to the city’s greenery and its built environment. Despite the…
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The First Wave of Kenyan Novelists
By conceptualizing and writing these narratives, the real Kenya was shown; the evolving Kenya was shared with the world, and the creators and storytellers came to be praised and appreciated by Kenyans – not just for their work but for paving the way for the next cohorts of writers and storytellers. Respect the OGs!
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GL Vidyarthi and Priya Ramrakha: Pioneers of the Kenyan Press
A few years later, the handwritten newspaper grew into something more concrete. Vidyarthi founded the Colonial Printing Works, a print media house focused on publishing pro-Indian and pro-African independent newspapers. The Colonial Times newspapers openly supported the rights of Africans and continuously highlighted to its readers, who were mostly Indians, that Africans were being treated…
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Drip is Forever! Remembering the Original Sapeur
Sapeurs are part of the Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes, or if you like, the Society for the Advancement of Elegant People. If either feels too long for pronunciation or memory, you may simply say La Sapé. La Sapé isn’t just a moment of fashion and exuberance. La Sapé is a lifestyle with origins in…
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Cecilia Makiwane: In Memory of Africa’s First Nurse
Cecilia’s title as a nurse paved the way for many other African women who followed suit.