An East African Tour

It all started out as a meticulously planned work trip around East Africa,little did I know that it was going to be an educative lifetime experience.
What was supposed to be a trip to three East African countries to discuss the urgent and unique issues in the Social Sciences and Humanities as envisioned by various participants in different fields of endeavour turned out to be a 3 day crash program in the history,culture and tradition of two countries I had never been to before.
Behold a few nuggets of what I was able to capture along the way.

The beautiful city of Kigali

We took a tour of the Genocide Memorial Center while in Kigali.
Forget what you saw in "Hotel Rwanda" and "Sometimes in April" you need to visit this place to see first hand what the people of Rwanda went through during this very tumultous time of their country's history.

Ardyn Halter, artist, and son of Roman Halter, a survivor of the Auschwitz death camp, was commissioned by the UK-based Aegis Trust to create two stained-glass windows for The Memorial.

This is one of them.

 

As seen from inside the Center.

Its been 17 years since the genocide but the images and video footage shown at this Memorial Center depict a country that has been to hell and back and is now on a consistent and well orchestrated path to development.My heart goes out to all those who lost their loved ones during this tragic time.

We had a lengthy but very thought stimulating discussion with two journalists who shared their thoughts on different issues particularly about Language,Higher Education and Social Media in Rwanda.

Our next stop was Kampala..,the City of Seven Hills which happens to be home to the author of this blog.

We were kept under lock and key at the splendid Golf Course Hotel and I could not resist the temptation to take a few photos of my beautiful home as seen from one of only seven revolving restuarants in Africa.

 

Kampala

The Kitante Golf Course as seen from above.

Next stop,Dala-Dala Land or for the uninitiated,Tanzania.

A table carved out of what was once a canoe.

An mural on the ceiling at the SlipWay

The Artist behind the above two pieces

Lebanese Cuisine at the Albasha Restuarant in Daresalaam

Still can't believe it was only three days.Nevertheless I enjoyed every minute of it and I am happy to be able to share it.

Authentic Friendships

But if we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other. Then the blood of Jesus, God's Son, cleanses us from every sin. If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:7-8 NCV)

In Christian fellowship people should experience authenticity.

Authentic fellowship is not superficial, surface-level chit-chat. It’s genuine, heart-to-heart, sometimes gut-level, sharing.

It happens when people get honest about who they are and what is happening in their lives. They share their hurts, reveal their feelings, confess their failures, disclose their doubts, admit their fears, acknowledge their weaknesses, and ask for help and prayer.

Authenticity is the exact opposite of what you find in many churches. Instead of an atmosphere of honesty and humility, there is pretending, role-playing, politicking and superficial politeness, but shallow conversation.

People wear masks, keep their guards up, and act as if everything is rosy in their lives. These attitudes are the death of real friendship.

It’s only as we become open about our lives that we experience authentic fellowship. The Bible says, “If we live in the light, as God is in the light, we can share fellowship with each other.… If we say we have no sin, we are fooling ourselves” (1 John 1:7–8, NCV).

The world thinks intimacy occurs in the dark, but God says it happens in the light. We tend to use darkness to hide our hurts, faults, fears, failures and flaws. But in the light, we bring them all out into the open and admit who we really are.

Of course, being authentic requires both courage and humility. It means facing our fear of exposure, rejection and being hurt again.

Why would anyone take such a risk?

Because it’s the only way to grow spiritually and be emotionally healthy. The Bible says, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed” ( James 5:16a, Msg)

Toastmasters International Enters a New Era with Updated Brand

Toastmasters International Enters a New Era with Updated Brand

The Office

Aloha,

Once in a while I like to take a mental hiatus simply because it allows me to go places I may never go to or do things I have only dreamt of doing at a certain age.Its while on these mental vacations that I stop to take stock of things around me.The people around me,what makes them tick or not.What makes some of them seem like they know where they are going and others like yours truly completely oblivious of such tiring thoughts?

Just this afternoon,I had the unenviable opportunity to watch how yet another power relationship is played out.
So may be we all have had bosses at some point in our lives and we all know someone just hacked into my computer so I can't be held accountable for this.

But my observation has me thinking.What makes a good employee?

Is it showing your Boss that he/she is the only one who has the cojones(women who hold such positions got the cojones too) and you are always at his/her beck and call for this,that and  God knows what else,or is it showing him/her that you might work under him but you got a spine of your own and he/she has to recogonise that or your relationship will be as short-lived as Lady Gagas' hairdo's.

I am not sure if I have the right answer to that but at the end of the day,I am always reminded of Robert Greene's statement,paraphrased as below.

Our prime objective in life MUST be and SHOULD always be to possess ownership and control over that which puts food on our table.

Even the highest paid minion can not dictate the very terms by which he/she can operate.


While still on my hiatus,I took a photo of how things would look like if I followed my own advice.

True Ownership wldn't be exciting without a few people to watch you.