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Particulates in the atmosphere are increasing. What can we do about it?
Atmospheric particulate matter (APM), also referred to as particulate matter or particulates, is the sum of all particles, liquids and solids suspended in the air. To refer to the mixture of particulates and air, the term aerosol is used. An example of these particulates includes gaseous contaminants, smoke, smog, dust, pollen, mould spores, viruses and bacteria. PARTICULATES IN KENYA'S ATMOSPHERE A study performed by J. Karue, A.M. Kinyua and L. Njau in 1990-1991 in conjunction with University of Nairobi, the Centre for Nuclear Science Techniques, the Kenya Medical Research Institute and the...
Human dignity and freedom in a multi-cultural, multi-religious world
The current world population stands at approximately seven billion and a half billion, with more than 5000 different ethnic groups and 4200 different religions. Suffice it to say that human population is very diverse. Some call it a "melting pot", others a "cultural mosaic", "salad bowl", and even "kaleidoscope". However, many people fight over their differences in culture and religion instead of celebrating these differences, and culture and religion are often used in nefarious ways to drive forward white supremacy, sexism/misogyny, and terrorism, amongst others. Historically, in most...
The New Crisis: Locust Swarms in East Africa
Several governments in East Africa have declared that new locust infestation as a state of emergency. The UN warns of potential food crises in Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. These desert locusts eat everything that comes into their path, consuming the crops farmed by local people. This year's locust breeding is on an alarmingly bigger scale than previous years. Locusts breed rapidly, but only when the conditions are right, so their population is controlled. Unfortunately, climate change has produced excessive havens of perfect conditions for their breeding. After months of...
Education challenges
Many children in our societies go through various challenges to sustain their studies. Most of them only find time to read while in school, when they get back home, the amount of work awaiting them is just too much. I was so inspired when i saw this kid with his book trying to read and absorb something by the roadside as he sells banana for his poor mother after school. This is just an example of the many students who face various challenges out there to excel in their academics, some even get tired on the way, not because they are tired of going to school but because they can't afford the...
Advancing the implementation of the 4th SDG - Quality Education
Well into the last quarter of 2020, the words “unprecedented times” have become an assertion world over. For many, life has simultaneously been put on hold; riddled by tumult and uncertainty. Our current social, health and economic crisis has affirmed the importance of accelerating responses to a universal call to action outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) to offset key injustices and calamity. Goal 4 highlights the foundational and transformational role that education plays in empowering a generation of future young leaders to address the next set of...
Green is the color of my true love's planet
She sat under an acacia tree, the wind blowing in her hair strong, brown and full of smog. The sun beat down on her face as the tiny leaves of the mighty acacia tree did little to provide shade. A pen and a book on her lap, her mind often wandered to a few years ago, to better times when she was younger. Where she could sit on the exact same spot on a green patch of grass rather than the now brown dried grass which was very hard on her posterior. Sweat trickled down her back. Sounds of younger children playing in the distance in the now dried up River Thiba evoked memories of days when she...
Sustainable Tourism - Why it matters
When I decided to undertake my undergraduate degree a Bachelor of Science in Ecotourism and Hospitality Management at Kisii University here in Kenya many of my family members and friends had no idea what it was or what it entailed. Many of them thought it had something to do with hospitals ignoring the ecotourism part and went straight to the hospitality word of the course. When I explained to them what it really entailed and broke their visions of me in hospital scrubs and a stethoscope, they looked at me confused and worried. “Wanjiku, what is this you are going to do for four years? Be a...
The land of milk and honey
“Grandfather, where have mama and papa gone to?” The small child asked while clinging to the old man’s torn shirt. The old man looked longingly in to the distance. “They have gone to look for milk and honey my child”, he replied. He lifted the boy with one swoop ignoring the painful ache of his back. Together, they managed to walk to the frail tree which was in the middle of the compound. The old man sighed as he sat the down placing the boy carefully on his lap. “But grandfather milk and honey our land hasn’t had both of them for hundreds of years”. A tear rolled down the old man’s cheek but...
African Sistah
African Sistah, Toes in the warm sand Ankles full of charms rattling with every step Bumping a sea of people as she carries her blue surfboard She steps on a plastic bottle and sighs Picking it up and putting it in her satchel she treads on. African Sistah, Pulled by the alluring of the blue ocean She looks to the horizon and dreams She dreams of cleaner beaches and oceans But she is tormented with floating islands of plastic Turtles choking on plastic bags She shuts her eyes and erases those foul images from her head. African Sistah, She ties her dreadlocks and sets her board right Ready to...
Solar energy - Lighting up lives
Many of the people living in rural Kenya have had their electricity set up in the recent years. This is because of an initiative by the Kenyan government dubbed “The Last Mile Connectivity Project”. To say the truth, many families have benefited from this project: homes have been lit up, business and various institutions such as schools and hospitals are up and running. About 65.0% of electricity in Kenya is generated locally using renewable energy sources (hydropower 35.9%, geothermal 25.86%, cogeneration from bagasse 1.66%, wind 1.11% and solar 0.08%) while 35.386% was generated using fossil...
My Guardian Angel
Education for persons with disabilities
I stand tall to raise my voice as a #LetMeLearn campaign supporter, focusing on children and youth with disabilities. This group deserves unrivaled access to opportunities in the educational arena, where learning takes the centre stage. The right to education is a fundamental right as enshrined in key doctrines within my country, like the Constitution, the Persons with Disabilities Act and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD). The provisions set in these statutes grant these learners the authority to advance their education to the levels they fully...
Weep Child
Weep child Weep for green you'll cease to see Weep for white turning blue Weep for blue turning black Weep, now the sky is red Thank you, Asha Though joey cannot find her mother Mim cannot go back now It's too hot in there It's not home anymore We may loose new titi He has nowhere to go It's hot And I don't know him yet Turtles for the sea We feed them a lot Now they cannot swim Hold the sun Don't let it sink Weep child For your own baby's place Growing are mountains of despair Angry rivers flowing despite Oceans having had enough Too much to hold in Now they are splashing hard Lashing out at...