Diary of a Mjengo girl

  Finding a good job is a dream for every graduate in Kenya today. However, the shortage of jobs today has made most young people opt for alternative means of survival. While some opt to start small business as they look for jobs, most youths settle for any job opportunity that comes their way even if it means doing casual jobs. Kenya’s unemployment rate is 7.4%, according to the    2015/2016 Labour Force Basic Report   done by the   Kenya Bureau of Statistics.   The basic salary for an entry level job in Kenya is about Kshs 30000. In some cases, the amount is lower while in others the amount is slightly higher. An   article featured on the Daily Nation in 2017   highlights the frustrations that the youth are undergoing because of lack of jobs. Here is a breakdown for someone earning Kshs 30,000 living in Nairobi, Kenya. Let’s call him Njoroge. Njoroge has a wife who is just a  housewife . She too is a graduate who is still looking for a job....

  So yesterday during lunch break at the kibandasky, I met an interesting character, a classic hooch hound. People at the mjengo call him Kalewa because of his drinking prowess. He appears to be in his mid-40s. “Aaah, Redia, leo umekujia mashakura?” He shouted when he saw me approaching. By the way my name changed from Lydia to Redia the moment I stepped in Ol Ng’arua and my staple food is now mashakura. (If you know you know.) “Eeee, so what are we eating today?” I ask. “The usual.” “The usual? Okay then. Mathe, weka kawaida.” I say to Mama Chakula as I sit next to Kalewa. Usually every lunch time at the kibandasky, we like to catch up about society, politics and football and other ‘mjengo-like’ topics. I have seen some ‘fat’ comments on my latest pictures but I can’t help missing lunch time interactions with people. And to sit in a kibanda and not buy something is an abuse to Mama Chakula so here we are. “I haven’t eaten since yesterday. The day this kibanda closes is the day I’l...

  I hate good byes. I hate having to leave. Or being left. Just like starting a new job, leaving a job is a new journey on its own. Whether it is on grounds of being declared redundant or quitting or even being sucked, termination of employment often gives people a new perspective towards life. Leaving a company that you’ve worked for, for more than ten years is as hard as it sounds. This September, a huge number of my colleagues have been laid off from their duties on grounds of redundancy. The company is in a bad place. Unlike retirement or voluntary resignation where you know prior to the date of leaving that this will come to an end, this came as a surprise to many of us. Nobody had been psychologically prepared for this. Even being sucked after committing an inadmissible mistake usually comes expected. This was a total shocker. When employment is terminated on grounds of redundancy and people have to go their separate ways and figure out a different way of making ends meet. Th...

There is more to being Kenyan is not just being born in Kenya or legally acquiring Kenyan citizenship. From the popular trends inherent in the Kenyan Cultures; to the sarcasm; to the twitter soldiers and meme creators, Kenyans have a way of making Kenya feel like home. In  his book  Wahome Mutahi, a Kenyan writer, has put together a series of hilarious tales about what it means to be a Kenyan. Although much has changed since the mid-90s, he gives a hilarious illustration of the particularities of Kenyans in terms of behaviour, attitudes and survival skills. So really how do you spot a Kenyan? Social media answers Kenyans have an answer to almost every question that may arise. Go to twitter and find a trending topic, Kenyans have something to say. And I don’t know how it happens but the answers are often hilarious. We are experiencing the birth of a highly tech-savvy generation who have adopted fast to social media trends. Image source: bbc.com Memes There is no single occurren...

  “ Form ni gani leo ?” “ Sijui, am kinda broke, tungeenda mtush police line ” “ Basi twendeni tuchill kwa Jo ” “Good idea, ndo hata mnitoe hizi braids ” Sharon, Faith and I were quite inseparable. We enjoyed doing a lot of things together and most importantly staying together. Although we fought sometimes, we always got back to the trio we had been since first year. On this particular Wednesday, we were idle and broke therefore we couldn’t go for mtumba neither could we go for ice cream at Muliro gardens. So we went to Jo’s place in Lurambi. She was staying alongside other students in the same compound. We had a mannerism of just texting someone “uko?” and then arriving in the next few minutes. Jo was used to that. When we got there, Jo was still in her sleeping attire. She got up, took a quick shower the prepared uji for us. We loved porridge although mine was not as tasty as Sharon’s. “ So leo hamna form ?” Jo started. “ Form ndio hii, tumekuja kubangaiza hapa hadi jioni .” “ F...