Karibu Magazine (Kings Edition) 2023
Our 6th edition is a collection of stories from the diaspora that have dominated the media and those that are yet to reach many minds all over the world. We have taken a great deal of interest in Joy Aoko's demise especially as it touches on a lot of diasporan movements we hope that even as events like these continue to multiply, solutions and information on prevention will continue to be found. We celebrate disability with Anne Wafula as she showcases her mindset and determination to make things happen in spite of her constraints. Enjoy our Kings editions!
Our 6th edition is a collection of stories from the diaspora that have dominated the media and those that are yet to reach many minds all over the world. We have taken a great deal of interest in Joy Aoko's demise especially as it touches on a lot of diasporan movements we hope that even as events like these continue to multiply, solutions and information on prevention will continue to be found. We celebrate disability with Anne Wafula as she showcases her mindset and determination to make things happen in spite of her constraints. Enjoy our Kings editions!
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Dear reader<br />
EDITORIAL<br />
What do we say, or where do we start? With the journey of 2022 being a failure? Actually not. Let’s call it<br />
a journey of setbacks and learning. At the start of 2022, the organising team visited Kenya on business<br />
regarding the Kenya and Friends in the Park event. Despite their very best efforts things simply did not<br />
add up. But perhaps the biggest blow came with the event itself, Kenya and Friends in the Park. No matter<br />
what we did, there was roadblock after roadblock. Visas for the exhibitors from Kenya were delayed and<br />
some were even denied - something that has never happened before. Then the Kenya and Friends in the<br />
Park event inevitably took a downhill turn. Despite every angle we tried to tackle, we lost money over this<br />
event. But thankfully, there was a silver lining in all this. Despite the chaos and all the setbacks, we organised,<br />
managed and executed the long-awaited Lynn Ngugi UK Tour, which in itself became a resounding success<br />
even though there were still lots of ups and downs along the way. The bottom line is that Lynn Ngugi was<br />
coming to the UK for a specific purpose and reason, and both were met exceedingly. In retrospect, we are<br />
hopeful that the park event this year will be a much better reflection of what was missed last year, and that<br />
whatever we regard as ‘back to normal’ is what we expect to experience from start to finish.<br />
Earlier this year, Dr Alfred Mutua (Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs) travelled to London<br />
to meet with various representatives of the Kenya Diaspora Leadership, at the Kenya High Commission in<br />
London. The aim was to discuss various issues, key among the main topics being:<br />
1. Employment of 20,000 Kenyan nurses in the UK<br />
2. Importance of diaspora support for trade and investment in Kenya, encouraging Kenyans abroad<br />
to invest back home.<br />
3. Mobile Consular Services are to be mobilised outside of London to other key cities<br />
like Manchester and Glasgow, therefore making it easier for Kenyans to access<br />
GOK services.<br />
4. Equipping parents in the diaspora to teach their children Kenyan languages and<br />
promote the learning of Swahili.<br />
5. The Diaspora ministry is set to launch its website, which will offer over 4,000<br />
government services to Kenyans abroad.<br />
6. Supporting agriculture through water harvesting, with support from the Kenya<br />
diaspora community.<br />
7. Providing insurance to help families transport their loved ones back to Kenya<br />
for burial.<br />
The proposed initiatives and ideas aim to strengthen ties between Kenyans abroad<br />
and their country of origin. In the view of many diasporans, the Kenya Government<br />
has plenty of good ideas and initiatives, but unfortunately, they are mostly just on<br />
paper. In practice, or when it comes to real implementation and practicals, we might<br />
as well be waiting for a lifetime. But again, it is only fair that the diaspora community<br />
gives the new government the benefit of the doubt since they only recently won the<br />
general elections. Of most concern for many, though, is the question of our diasporan<br />
brothers and sisters in Saudi Arabia, especially those in jail - but that’s a story for<br />
another day. Meanwhile, we were able to give Dr Alfred Mutua our annual magazine<br />
karibu magazine, he was well impressed with the excellent job we are doing. Many<br />
thanks and congratulations to our staff writer Baraza J Namunyu for making this<br />
happen.<br />
Sadly, this year, we lost one of our own, from the diaspora. Joy Achieng Aoko was<br />
only 22 when a very unfortunate, violent and needless attack in Tirana, Albania, left<br />
her comatose for weeks. This eventually led to her demise, despite being airlifted<br />
back home and being treated at a specialist Teaching and Referral National Hospital<br />
courtesy of the State. Our deepest condolences continue to go towards Joy’s family<br />
and may she continue to rest in perfect peace. We are hopeful that under the ongoing<br />
bilateral investigations between the governments of Albania and Kenya, the crimes<br />
committed against Joy will not go unpunished ad that justice will prevail for all who<br />
seek it on Joy’s behalf.<br />
It Can Only Be God.
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