Fun, Holidays and Accidents

I'm writing this post while listening to a radio news report of yet another fatal road accident on our increasingly perilous Kenyan roads.

Over a period of time I've noticed a few things:

On Friday, it appears to me that more drivers throw the rulebook (if there's one in Kenya) out of the window, with more carefree, me-first driving exhibited. As a result more accidents seem to occur on Friday more than any other day of the week.

Now, the Friday after pay days seem to have even more reckless driving exhibited, and probably even more accidents than other Fridays.

It's the holiday season - look at the traffic as a result of general impatience, me-first etc, and more and more serious accidents reported.


So a layman's conclusion can be drawn:

The more likelihood and anticipation of enjoyment that one has when driving, the more likely one is to drive carelessly in one's bid to get to the 'fun' spot...

Is true for you?

Have a safe Christmas.

Barcamp Ghana

BarcampGhana 2008 will be held in Accra, Ghana on December 22nd 2008. This event will bring people interested in Ghana, on a variety of levels and topics, together in one place for a day of exploration, connection and enjoyment. 

Website:

http://www.barcampghana.org/

jipange?

Not sure that last weekends generation jipange event at Uhuru Gardens...

To me it was just another gig (albeit free) which drew a sizeable crowd (looked like 20k) but when it comes to impart values that would maybe go someway in making a difference in the lives of youth who forma a majority in this country, I feel that a more grass roots, smaller group approach might be more effective.

In terms of HIV aids awareness as one of the pillars - I assume the event was not focusing on that... 

Meanwhile some of the youth returning from that event decided to try to jipanga by attempting to rob a lady in her vehicle smack in the middle of the Langata road jam. They went as as far as rocking the small vehicle in full view of other motorists and without a care as to whether they'd get caught. Fortunately, the motorists in front of her realised her predicament and managed to scatter the crowd infront of them, allowing the lady to drive to safety.

Some of the pillars for me look shallow but that's another day's story.

Sex in the Temple II - 13th Dec 2008

Why I don't watch news

Might make you want to yell at the top of your voice.

Warning this is a rant...


I simply can't stand their antics - I know people who work nearly 8o hours a week, pay taxes on their hard earned taxes..

Up to 30% of this money goes to the government. MPs draw their salaries and obscene allowances from this cash.

Now which fair 'employer - employee' deal would allow such a state of affairs..

If they have large loans and debts to service, they should jipanga - they are not the only ones in Kenya who service loans and debts - it's just that the rest of us actually PAY TAX while servicing our loans and debts.

Mind you, there are still IDPs from early this year and before, a global recession, but no - tumbo kwanza.

Wouldn't this be classified as impunity?

--

Trust politicians to pretend that they 'don't set their salaries' - who effectively set their salaries last time...?

i don't plan to resume watching news - boring, boring same old stuff: politics. Maybe if media outlets focussed less on politicians, they might just realize that they are not as 'honorable' as they think they are.

The (unforgiving?) job cycle

(Apologies for the apparent incoherence exhibited in some portions below...)

1.New Job ->
2.Excitement at new job with new colleagues and new tea mugs and new toys / pcs .......
3. routine sets in
4. fatigue
5. The questions start: 'have i nothing better to do'
6. Start look for new job (while oscillating between 3-6)
7. Start new job
.. ad infinitum..

Stage No 3 & 4, one suspects, most covers working people.....

--
At some point, this cycle WILL be broken. A date for potentially breaking this cycle had been pencilled towards the end of this month... But there are many factors/people to consider..... but research must go on.

so school anyone?
--
Which stage are you at?

Obama Mania

A public holiday, OK, that's pushing it really.

In the US, the election day was not even a public holiday, yet in Kenya, Thursday Nov 6 has been declared a public holiday. Bana, I know quite a few people in the diaspora who are feeling somewhat embarrassed because of that.

A lost opportunity for more commerce to take place, wealth to be created. (except for the local pubs where the frothy stuff will be in full flow).

One of the reasons the US is such a powerful economy is because of work ethic. A good number of public holidays celebrated in Kenya are ordinary working days in the US.

This vision 2030 business requires more working hard and smart, less bumming celebrating. If you must celebrate.. celebrate and work at the same time.

--

There are still IDPs in camps by the way.

There's still the Waki and Kriegler reports that cannot be wished away.

There are still HUGE GAPING POTHOLES on a good number of our roads.

Poverty is still a major issue
--

Change? In Kenya? Nah? Just business as usual - with the usual over-indulgence of all things political. Boring!

Horrible Driving, Rain

Last Monday evening I counted at least 5 minor accidents over a stretch of about 5 km.

Today evening, there was a pileup on valley road, while I encountered a couple of accidents as well.

Most of these accidents, if not all were preventable. A little patience, a little road courtesy, and at least trying to adhere to traffic regulations.

I'm actually shocked that the incidents of road rage are this low, considering how inconsiderate we are about other motorists, and pedestrians. With the current rain, it's just polite to avoid splashing water on pedestrians. Going back home to change clothes thirty minutes after dressing up for work is NOT fun.

The road carnage is avoidable:

• by keeping to the speed limits (it saves fuel too) - I suppose that the people who came up with these limits were not picking the figures arbitrarily. Even in developed countries with wider roads, the road speed limit is rarely more than 120 KPH.
• Not overtaking at junctions - it is illegal and dangerous - the number of times I've seen guys do this is amazing. And with the narrow roads that are most Kenyan roads... Of course overtaking at bends, hills is dangerous .. but most people at least don't do that.
• Avoiding getting emotional when driving, it's not worth holding a grudge against a driver who'll probably end up on a different road.

I've no words for matatu drivers (City Hoppa, Kenya Bus are not any better). They are arguably the most skilled drivers on the road, but they have no semblance of road etiquette. The day we get an urban rail system.....


Another thing I remember from the highway code - overtaking at bumps is illegal.. I wonder when cops will start harassing guys..

The only problem with traffic enforcement is that it is not consistent - always a crackdown here and there.. and there's the whole corruption issue....

Government spending on IT

Things should be looking up for local software developers in Kenya after new guidelines for IT software were released by the government. 50% of software used in Government should be local. This is great news for local developers, considering that the Government is the largest consumer in the country, and with the increasing automation of Government processes, more and more software will be required. This initiative would also result in more jobs and opportunities for Kenyans.

If we want to be able to export software, we'd better start by developing it and using it ourselves.

Have a look at the Business Daily Story here.

Blog Action Day

Today, 15th October is Blog Action Day.

Fuel in most parts of Nairobi, Kenya is still at around 96.5 - 104 /- per litre band, yet the price of crude oil is still falling. This, couple with the current financial crunch globally, and as a result, possible reduction in aid to developing nations could mean that development projects could stall.
Thus the world's poorest countries remain at the bottom of the food chain.

One wonders whether it maybe better for debt in Kenya to be wiped out, as a large chunk of the GDP is used to service debts to other countries (some of which it is said are as a result of shady deals). Perhaps that would be more useful than giving aid.

At the end of the day, perhaps it's better for help to 'come from within'. I came across a request on the Skunkworks mailing list by a University studies asking for ideas of how to enable NGO's locate areas of greatest poverty globally using Microsoft Virtual Earth or Google Earth/Maps. Using technology to solve problems in Africa (problems which are mainly poverty related) is something I am passionate about.

Perhaps something similar to Ushahidi.com might work.

Build and Edit your maps of Kenya (and Africa too)

Finally!

Now with Google's MapMaker, you can edit Google Maps, build your own maps. Fun, fun, fun!

I've spent a few minutes playing around, adding a few places I know that are not on the map, and its pretty easy to use. Its kind of a open approach to building the map since changes any user makes will be moderated by other users so as to improve accuracy.

I'm still not sure ( I haven't checked) whether locations have been geotagged for direction finding, but if not, I guess it will be happening at some point, so the more the locations and sites on the map the better.

Check out the Official Google Africa blog for more details.

nairobi metro

Trains every 30 minutes:

Nairobi Central -Thika, Athi River, Limuru, Buruburu/Eastlands

It would be very useful and could ease the load on our crowded roads very much.

I know RVR is maybe more intent on enhancing the use of railway lines for transportation of cargo, but commuter transport is viable. I'm still to see a modern city that boasts a good transport infrastructure that does not have a well developed railway system

--

And whats with this half baked patching of roads that borders on hazardous at times? While attempting to patch up Chiromo Road, the contractors have created large craters on the road ( I know they intend to fill them up) that more likely than not, have been the cause of a few accidents. Considering that this is 3 lane motorway, that is not well lit, accidents are bound to happen when large potholes stretch across two lanes.

Orange

Telkom Kenya finally launched the Orange brand in Kenya. Here's a quick review.

The rates for calls are not too bad though I suspect Zain still has the lowest intra-network call charges. There's also some offers for phones though many people I know were eagerly waiting to see if the iPhone 3G would be one of these. Sadly its not on the list of business phones available. Also the phones available don't appear to be subsidized much, if at all - the Nokia E71 at 39k which is only up to 3k off the price at the few mainstream shops selling it.

There's also no mention of mobile data packages (GRPS, EDGE or 3G) so if these are not available, there's really no point of having one of those high end business/smart phones on their network as one would end up only using the phone for text messages and calls.

Looking at their broadband packages, I don't see anything really new. A friend of mine once remarked he would never pay more than 3000/- for an unlimited internet package so for him, these packages would be on the higher side. That said, rumour is that the livebox offers pretty fast internet. though costs may be prohibitive for some.

So I'm still waiting for a really good reason to switch networks.

moving?

this blog might be moving to a new location..

Standing your ground, defending your faith

I just came across this interesting article in today's Nation.

In this day and age where money is everything for most people, it is heartening to read that even in the face of harsh economic times, there are some principled and upright Christians out there.

Quoting the Nation's report:

“I believe that I’m playing my role in building a society that is morally upright. I believe if you can prevent a man from infecting a girl with a disease, you are straight before God and honest members of the society.’ Mr Muriu told the Nation.

IEEE Exhibition 11th Edition

This year's exhibitions mainly featured IT and renewable energy.



A few of the demonstrations I got a chance to look at:

• Hybrid Power using Solar and Biodiesel - combining both Solar and Biodiesel Energy to ensure that a household (or village) has power via Solar or Bio energy regardless of whether the sun shines or not.
• Developing Energy from Gravity - looked intriguing - it would be interesting to see this fully developed
• Synergistic Hybrid Energy
• SCADA system
• A solar based mobile charger (more than one variation) - quite useful for those without electricity
• Automatic headlight dimmer for two approaching vehicles - I've ranted about headlights before - would be very useful and potential could reduce some accidents.
• Automatic traffic offence checking system - reduces corruption maybe ?
• Electrical Biogas production (process monitoring and control)
• Market Decision Support System - This looked quite interesting - A business intelligence tool that allows a farmer to choose where to sell his produce based on price, and location. Some of the obstacles that the developer Andrew Owuor mentioned include the need for real time market data from markets round the country, for the system to be of use.
• iLocator @ Makerere University - provides a virtual tour of the university. Next for the two ladies from Makerere is making it mobile and GPS enabled.
• Online Farm information system - providing useful info for farmers round the country
• Online Farm Equipments and Machinery hiring system
• Building Materials Management - quite useful when putting up your house .
• Keeping in mind the events that occurred earlier in the year, several students had voting/tallying systems.
• Thermo cooking - using a regular thermos
• Mpesa Online Shopping - Safaricom CEO Michael Joseph was especially interested in this one for obvious reasons.
• The Dullu Game Project - It looks like more developers are following Wesley in the development of games.
• Mobile Real Time NSE data - A very well done user interface on the mobile phone, portfolio management, hourly data.
• Using Piezo Electric energy to charge a phone - very interesting yet practical.

Driving in Kenya: the madness of it all

Speed limits? What are speed limits?
This road typically should have a speed limit of 30 kph (being in a residential area with kids sometimes cycling or walking around), but I've seen impatient people doing > 60 kph on this road, even when there are lots of pedestrians who sometimes have had to jump out of the way.




The Rush to Nowhere in Particular?
You wonder what the rush is, when most of the time rushing only costs one more wear and tear (think brake pads, engine), not to mention (expensive) fuel wasted, increased stress levels, higher risk of hitting someone; basically a waste of energy. One only gains maybe 2 seconds, (and an ego boost maybe) which is quickly lost at the next traffic snarl up:

Ushahidi.com

The new look ushahidi is now out. From the early (dark) days in January, growth has been rather phenomenal, especially with the support of the various organisations providing funding for the project.

Hopefully this application will adopted by relief and aid organisations world wide as a tool to assist people in need, as well as even governments in terms of crisis.

Get yourself a button and banner for your site.

Kudos to the Ushahidi team!

Beijing Olympics 2008 (argh the timing!!!!)

I'm looking forward to tomorrow when Jason Dunford will be participating in the heats for the 100m freestyle (18:33 Beijing time or 13:33 Kenyan time), though with USA's Phelps being on a gold medal + world record-breaking spree, it might be better to wait for Thursday's 100m butterfly heats (19:54 Beijing time or 14:54 Kenyan time) where Jason is the Africa champion.
Times for the 100m Butterfly:

Jason's Qualifying: 51.85
World Record: 50.40
2008 best times: Phelps @ 50.89

David Dunford is doing 50m freestyle. (I can't find his entry on the official website for 100m freestyle). Lets hope he also can pull a few surprises... on Thursday (18:33 Beijing time, 13:33 Kenyan time).

Meanwhile, athletics starts on Friday.

The Number 8

The last lap is usually the most strenuous in long distance running.

Less than one week to go and yesterday we did a full run through of the whole program without too many breaks..

I must say I'm looking forward to this. Number 8 is one of the most gifted poets, spoken word artists, hiphop MC, yet one of the most down to earth people.

Hopefully we should be seeing some of his poetry online, especially after the 8th.

Number8 says:

"I go by the stage name Number8. This is because I appreciate the fact that it is humanly impossible to be perfect, (perfection being symbolized by the number 7), so I’m chasing after perfection like number 8. This is not to say that I’m greater than God (Perfection), but rather implying that IF ever I am to become perfect, I must decrease (John 3:30 “…I must decrease”)."

More on Number 8 here.

Personal Productivity Tools

I use both Linux (Ubuntu at home) and Windows (Windows XP at work).

WikidPad
I have found this Personal Wiki software pretty useful (once you get the hang of things). It functions like Notepad only that it allows you to create links between various 'Notes' aka WikiWords and thus maintains a hierarchy of documents that you can easily access.

I'm finding myself using it more and more to note down things instead of Notepad++ (which incidentally replaced the default Notepad). That way, all my 'notes' are in one location and I only need to start up WikidPad to access them.

Its open source too.

Google Desktop
If you have sufficient RAM on your PC, this would be pretty useful. Hitting Ctrl twice pops up a Google Desktop search bar allowing you to search for items on your computer (or your gmail if you've enabled it) and better still, allows you to run applications if you know at least part of the name.

08/08/08

Irritations: Full beam while other vehicles are around at night

This post has just been coming ....

Sometimes I wonder if people who do not dip their headlights while driving at night behind another motorist realize that they are potentially increasing their chances of being in an accident. The effect on your rear view mirror serves to disorient and blind you.

Not to say the guys who do not dim their lights when a vehicle is approaching in the opposite direction at night. With the craters on the roads, it complicates driving at night: dodging potholes, and having some dude (tte) with lights so bright that they could help the three blind mice see.

Aargh!

GnuCASH and personal finance management

I have finally moved to Gnucash for management of my personal finances, after my trial license for MS Money 2008 (US Edition) expired.

This means that I now completely use FOSS software for all my personal software. I had done a post on this about a year ago, and the missing link was financial management.

Gnucash is pretty simple to use once you get the hang of it. Some stuff can be a bit manual - e.g. automatically setting up tax on personal incomes (possibly due to the business oriented nature of the software), but one feature I like a lot is the ability to have multiple accounts open at once and switch between them at will.

I opted not to migrate from MS Money, but start from a particular date to make it easy for myself.

I would recommend Gnucash for anyone looking for a FOSS alternative to the commercial accounting packages out there.

Fun vs Work

I have been wondering when I will be able to turn my fun/part time projects into a full time income thing.

A friend of mine remarked recently that we need to figure out how to work out how part time software developers can get round to producing really innovative, disruptive and market changing products. Someone who develops fun or part time projects, would probably be able to do really good work, as a result of the passion.

Still figuring out this one.. but soon..

After Barcamp Nairobi - Saturday June 21 2008

Was extremely fatigued on Saturday after the barcamp. Spent 10 hrs standing more or less and another 3 hrs after that clearing up.

Was great though!

About 228 people in total.

3 rooms running 30 minute sessions in parallel.

Lots of help from various sponsors and volunteers.

Being only the 3rd Barcamp organised (the first one was only 15 months ago), the growth and interest has been phenomenal.

It was great to see that the Government is very much interested in developing ICT further. The next few months should be interesting...

More photos.

Barcamp Nairobi - Saturday June 21 2008

June and August

There are two events that I am heavily involved in over the next 2 months.

June 21 - the first Barcamp of 2008 in Nairobi will be at the Jacaranda Hotel. Head over to the wiki and signup, especially if you want a free T-Shirt courtesy of Ushahidi.

August 8 - Mission Driven Ministry Presents Number 8. If you have ever attended the Poetry Nights every 2nd Tuesday of the month @ the Junction, you will have come across his poetry and spoken word.

More details about this on the blog and on facebook.

iPhone 3G

$199
8GB
Kenya is on the map
Can't wait

Barcamp Nairobi - Saturday June 21 2008

0900 - 1700

A barcamp has nothing to do with Beer :)

Erik has a comprehensive writeup of the plan for the day.

Head over to the wiki and signup.

It's free so that everyone, especially students can attend, but we are still looking for sponsors to cover the costs of putting it together.

Fuel Tracking vs Euro/Dollar from Sept-April

I have been tracking my fuel consumption and came up with this chart (google docs + gadgets) that shows the trend from Sept last year to late April. I will update it with up to date data as soon as I can... Since I don't fuel daily (of course) the graph may appear spiked at some points.

Later, I am thinking of including the fuel stations I fuel at, and then mash this up with google maps to give a good idea of where to fuel in Nairobi (or not to fuel)..

Egypt III

I hate the bakshish business. People asking for tips for anything and everything (its rude) - arrrrrrrrgh.

The roads are good, but the drivers.... I actually saw traffic lights that were working - but only on my last day. Most places don't have any.

I enjoyed visiting the Giza Pyramids (being a Stargate fan) though there's a lot of littering within there.

For Kenya, I think with modern roads, and good local and international internet connectivity, there's loads of business opportunities out there - and not just the usual BPO business.

Egypt II

Looks like its not just Egypt with 'interesting' drivers. Look at this Business Daily story on Dubai.

Yesterday we nearly hit some dude standing in the middle of a THREE WAY highway with vehicles whizzing past at 100+ Kph. I have not seen traffic lights (I wonder if they would be followed anyway) anywhere yet.

Egypt

The driving can be freaky. I thought Kenyan driving was crazy, but this is overboard. I think I could count the number of cars using indicators. If you have ever played the likes of Lotus II (that old classic) and WRC on Play Station, you might not be out of place driving in Cairo. It can be chaotic.
That's what do u get when you get relatively good and expansive roads and drivers interested in giving Lewis Hamilton a run for his money, combined with a disregard for speed limits.

The weather - hot as expected.

What interests me is even with mostly desert, there's lots of modern buildings, industry all over. Makes me wonder why we shouldn't be having these in Kenya, with all the natural beauty and great weather we have.

change and music

One of the music bands I enjoy listening to and worshipping with is Delirious?. Being part of a music group, I have realised change in life is inevitable as new visions are born and giftings discovered.
Delirious? drummer Stew decided to 'retire' from the group - wants to have more time with family and focus on his other gifts, and his local church.

I've enjoyed the videos I've watched of the band - especially his expression while playing his drums... thoroughly enjoying himself while worshipping...

The Heron has landed

Ubuntu 8.04 LTS (codenamed Hardy Heron) was released yesterday world wide. From the reviews online, it looks to be even better than its predecessors and has gone even further in making it easier for novice users (one can just install it like an application on MS Windows using wubi).

If you are in Kenya - get it from http://mirror.ac.ke/pub/linux/Ubuntu/hardy/ (hopefully should be available soon).

+ Easy to use, no viruses, and best of all, it is free.

For gamers, I came across this article.

Check out the article from the Wired Blog that takes an indepth look at it.

english - technology - terms

Safaricom charges Sh12.60 per megabit for a bandwidth of 700 megabit units while Celtel charges Sh10 per megabit for a bandwidth of 500 megabits. The higher the bandwidth, the faster the connection.

From this Business Daily article

What's wrong with this statement?

Spyware Problem: Install Ubuntu!!

Just came across a story on the Business Daily on computer spyware as you work.

Funny though that I rarely encounter that much spyware or viruses - when I use windows (at work). Best way to reduce the chances of viruses, spyware and other nasty things online is to watch where you surf.

Needless to say when I use my Linux @ home, I only read about spyware.

Liverpool vs Chelsea

I was looking forward to Arsenal vs Barcelona Final .

But looks like I shall have to wait for another season. Wenger I'm sure is seething about two refs right now. Arsenal looked rather fatigued in the second half - signs that Wenger needs help with a shopping list (I can help :) in creating one).

Liverpool vs Chelsea is going to be boring but maybe not. Chelsea hehe memories of Luis Garcia.

Watch this space [Walcott] though.

{Sigh} when will that trophy ever be lifted by Arsenal, and mind you while playing beautiful soccer. Coz for me once soccer becomes kick and run I'll stop watching it.

OOXML

Some (priceless?) imagery

More here (some really anti OOXML stuff).

Uta do? Kenya's culture of impunity

It looks to me that Kenya has a prevalent 'don't care', 'uta do?' mentality.

Uta Do?
Watch how you and I drive or walk or bike.
It is illegal to overtake at a bump or at a junction. Yet I'm not sure you can find any Kenyan driver who has not. Zebra crossings, traffic lights are hardly followed. Guys (nearly) always run red lights. The list is long.
Lack of courtesy - scrambling into the lifts even before the people inside have disembarked.

Mta Do?
Then get to governance (or what we think is governance). It's usually a case of 'I'm the big man - I can do anything'. Case in point our cabinet scenario being played out. I hardly watch news, preferring to read stories online or in papers because at times, the smugness displayed gets rather under my skin.
Some one grabs a plot - mtado? Someone siphons some funds - mta do ?

So tuta do?

Update: OOXML ISO Vote

The OOXML standard looks to have been passed with a slim majority in favour.

Funny thing: A certain Microsoft evangelist, made a call out of the blue on Saturday to a friend of mine waiting to see if I had blogged about this outcome (incidentally, I had posted this entry earlier in the day). This is before the official announcement of the results. Anyhow I shall reserve my comments on this. Sounds like gloating to me though.

At the end of the day the issues remain the same for me concerning Document Standards:

Vendor Independent (be it Microsoft or IBM)
Truly Open
Interoperability
Independent of Operating System

We now have two standards globally with the ODF and OOXML.

What I would hate to see happen is the Kenyan Government, in their quest to develop proper ICT policies for the country, being coerced to support a particular vendor.

Kenyan abstains from voting on OOXML Standard

Kenya changed its vote from Yes to Abstain.

The initial vote back in September 2007 on whether or not to fast track was a YES.

I had blogged about it here (with lots of responses from the pro-OOXML side of things).

Lets wait see how the final tally comes out.

Personal Development - Task Lists and TV

I recently began to slowly apply some of the basic things I've been listening to and reading from the likes of Jim Rohn, Dennis Waitley and Brian Tracy.

One of this is getting stuff done. Meeting goals and targets.

Its elementary really: since a good number of people go into shopping centres and markets with a shopping list.

Jim Rohn says something to the effect that you should 'finish' the day before you even start it. Meaning you have a plan of what you want to achieve through that day. Then once you have that you plan your week, the week before, the month etc. Then of course do the daily, weekly and monthly, and yearly reviews.

I don't think I am perfect in this - considering how long writing this post has been on my task list. But the key thing is that it got done. I guess with time (hopefully very soon) I shall become much more disciplined.

It's helped out a lot lately though since I get more stuff done in a day.


How much does your TV cost you?

One other thing that I have found rather easy to do is limit my hours in front of the TV. Dennis Waitley calls 7pm - 11pm prime time. When a good number of us spend watching other guys making their money when we could be learning a new skill, finding out about a new culture by interacting with people, or simply reinforcing our vocabulary with a good book.

I must confess though that I wouldn't miss a game featuring Arsenal, unless it clashed with my music or bible study. I however hardly spend more than four hours a week in front of the TV. Sounds boring but in fact its not.

So the TV could be costing much more than the ~20000 KShs it costs to purchase.

Msafara Wheels of Hope - in Nairobi today

In as much as there has been a political breakthrough, there's lots of stuff that still needs addressing - one of which is spiritual.

Check out the blog for more info.

An extract from the Msafara Blog:

'' I spoke from the life of Daniel & his friends, who lived in the midst of a tense political situation, and yet never compromised. 6 traits in them that I called the “6 pillars of Leadership Integrity”. First was their intentional commitment to walk together (accountability) (1:6); second was their access to a different source of wisdom (God) 2:17 - 19; third was their non-negotiable values (3:17, 18), fourth was their/Daniel’s commitment to tell the truth even at the risk of his life (4:19); fifth was his refusal to accept incentives in the administration of his calling (5:17); and finally was his untainted honesty & integrity (6:5). ''

I wonder if I'd be able to maintain these pillars given Daniel's situation.

The msafara convoy is in Nairobi with prayers from 5.30 pm at the KICC.

Msafara Banner

Msafara Wheels of Hope - Kesha, Kesho.

Venues for Nationwide Kesha, 29th February 2008

Nairobi:

• ICC (International Christian Center) - Mombasa Road
• Deliverance Church - Umoja
• Good Shepherd Church - Ngong Road
• Solution Center, Mbagathi Rd
• Nairobi Pentecostal Church - BuruBuru
• Karura Chapel - Limuru Rd
• Nairobi Pantecostal Church - Central Valley Rd
• Kileleshwa Convenant Community Centre
• Parklands Baptist Church
• All Saints Cathedral
• JCC (Jubilee Christian Church) - Ngara
• Nairobi Gospel Centre - Embakasi

Mombasa

• Mombasa Pentacostal Church
• Redeemed Gospel Church (Malindi)
• Full Gospel Church (Voi)

Nakuru

• Afraha Stadium Sports Ground (during Msafara)

Naivasha

• Naivasha Africa Inland Church
• Anglican Church Naivasha
• Kenya Assemblies of God
• Karagita Bread of Life
• Oserian Pefa

Eldoret

• Town Hall Pastors

Kakamega

• Social Hall

Thika

• Christian Church International (Makongeni)

Kitui

• Redeemed Gospel Church

Tanzania

• Dar-es-Salaam Pentacostal Church

Visit the msafara blog and website.

Msafara Wheels of Hope II

Todays' prayer focus (from the msafara blog)

2 Chronicles 7:14 “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.”

Repentance

Personal Repentance

• Personal sin - prejudice, pride, arrogance, hate, tribalism etc. (Psalms 15:51)

Corperate Repentance

• Ask God to forgive the Church of pride, divisions, hate, involvement in tribalism and violence, unhealthy competition etc (Mathew 12:25)

National Repentance

• Cry to God to forgive Kenya for bloodshed, hate, tribalism, social and political injustice, cheating and rigging, propaganda against others etc. (Ezekiel 18:30 & 22)

Intercession

Church

• Pray for unity, restoration and revival (Joel 2:28; Psalms 85:4-7)

Nation

• Peace, justice, reconciliation, restruction and economic revival (Isaiah 61:4)

Leaders

• Ask God to give us us righteous leaders (Psalms 8:15; Proverbs 29:2)

Spiritual Warfare

• Pray against tribalism, occultism, violence, lawlessness, bloodshed and death (2 Corinthians 10:4-6; Ephesians 6:12)

• Exalt God over Kenya (Psalms 46; Isaiah 33,5)

Msafara Wheels of Hope

I just got this by email so I will reproduce it in full:

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An exciting initiative that’s been recently launched is ‘Msafara – Wheels of Hope’. Msafara means ‘convoy’. The vision of Msafara is to lead 300 pastors and Christians from different churches in Kenya to 5 major towns over 10 days on a mission to unify churches, conduct large scale healing/reconciliation ceremonies and distribute humanitarian supplies.

Msafara is seeking to raise 100,000 hygiene kits to distribute to the displaced across the country. What’s a hygiene kit? Thought you’d never ask! See the list below. If you are able to put together one (or a thousand), please drop it/them at the Nairobi Baptist Church, where the secretariat is housed. Or if you work in downtown Nairobi, you could leave it at the Memorial Park, which is the downtown collection center.

You can contact the Msafara secretariat on 0733-678311, 0722-219330 or info@msafara.co.ke

For more details on how you can participate , please check

http://www.msafara.co.ke and read more on http://greatnessnow.blogspot.com/

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Also there's going to be a period of prayer and fasting from 29th February to 7th March.

4-0

Woi :(

Didn't watch the game.

I had better things to do (there's actually stuff that takes precedence over watching or playing soccer - like playing with my band)

Now for Wednesday; I have fond memories of watching Kaka and Co live at the San Siro, but please this Wednesday, please play like Kuku.

Power of Prayer

A friend of mine forwarded this to me via email:

Amazing Scene as 200 Kenyan Children, On Their Own Initiative, Pray for their Country and Get Miraculous Results

Ever since the children started praying together, the pastor says there have been no deaths, houses burned or even violence in their section of this slum. Adults recite this fact in amazement. The children, however, don't even mention it because it's exactly what they expected to happen. "Pastor told us that there is power in prayer. He said we can change the country through prayer," says 12-year-old. "So that is what we are doing, changing the country."

The entire story is here.

This is the example that followers of Christ should be following. When a child prays, I guess its very innocent and without any 'mindsets' ; just the heart that the Father is seeking.

Plans

God's Plan, Jer 29:11:

'For I know the plans I have for you' declares the LORD, 'Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future'.

This verse today has been very uplifting to me. Psalms 29:11 too :)

Prayer for Kenya

I got this forwarded in my email (I suggest if you have not being pray not even to wait for Jan 25 ). My additions are in RED.

"If my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray, I will hear from heaven, I will hear and I will come and HEAL THEIR LAND." God, 2 Chronicles 7:14

On January 25th 2008 , we are asking Every Kenyan, Every Friend of Kenyans, Everywhere to take time to make a concerted prayer for Kenya.

We want EVERY Kenyan and Every Friend of Kenyans in EVERY CONTINENT on the face of the earth to be praying together on this one day on behalf of our country.

How to participate:
· Spread the word: send this message to Every Kenyan and Every Friend of Kenyans all over the world that you know, Everywhere – txt, SMS, e-mail, phone call
· On January 25th, make a point of setting aside time to pray for Kenya , it does not have to be a long time but it must be a deliberate effort to pray for specific things about Kenya
· You can pray individually, or get together with a friend or friends, workmates, someone on the street, your priest, pastor, congregation, youth group

What to pray for:
- PEACE, PEACE, PEACE
- Whatever else you feel in your heart to pray for concerning Kenya
- pray according to Psalms 85 as well.
- For Peace, Justice, Truth, Love and Reconciliation to prevail
- For YAHWEH's will to be done in Kenya
- Forgiveness and repentance on behalf of Kenya, our various social groupings (ethnic or class)

'Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; when there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.' St Francis 1915

Psalms 85

O Jehovah, You have been gracious to Your land; You have brought back the captivity of Jacob.

You have forgiven the iniquity of Your people; You have covered all their sins.

Selah.

You have taken away all Your wrath; You have turned from the heat of Your anger.

Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause Your anger toward us to cease.

Will You be angry with us forever? Will You draw out Your anger to all generations? Will You not give us life again, so that Your people may rejoice in You?

Show us Your mercy, O Jehovah, and grant us Your salvation.

I will hear what God Jehovah will speak; for He will speak peace to His people, and to His saints; but let them not turn again to folly.

Surely His salvation is near those that fear Him, so that glory may dwell in our land.

Mercy and truth have met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

Truth shall spring out of the earth; and righteousness shall look down from Heaven.

Yea, Jehovah shall give good; and our land shall yield its increase. Righteousness shall go before Him and shall set us in the way of His steps.

MD

Mission Driven

Finally!

We are working on holding a concert (after such a while!) this year in August/September as well as launching our second album. Lots of planning, prayers and work still to be done.

Help us by praying for us. We also will be looking for assistance - musically (equipment, trainers, sound etc), financially and logistically.

:)

Proudly Kenyan? III

I'm still Kenyan.

Harry has set up amanikenya.blogspot.com as a focal point online for promoting peace in Kenya.

This hopefully can also serve as a central source of information on how to contribute materially to those affected by the crisis.

Prayers are still on for me. I'm born again and strongly believe in the power of prayer.