You are my missing piece

The first  time a boy made me feel something, I was only ten years old.I still didn’t understand what that something was. I was still a child.In the middle of innocence,  books and boarding school, I didn’t want to pursue it .I dared not to define it.I just know I always wanted to see that boy.Always.And when he was around , I would feel all these things in my stomach.Butterflies.Birds. At 10, and in the school I was in, anything that had to do with a boy and girl was forbidden.Taboo.Demonized.You couldn’t talk about it. We had a name for it :Kamchezo.A swahili word , loosely translated to the GAME!Tabia Mbaya!As a girl coming of age, that is not a good thing.I remember how once some of my classmates were badly beaten up, for playing the GAME.It was as if they had done the abominable.What I regret the most about that time is that we were taught to hate what is only natural, what blooms in the brightest of places, we were taught to be ashamed of something sacred that God had given us.We were taught to be ashamed of our sexuality and worse still there was no one to teach us what to do with it, how to embrace it, how to deal with the changes that we could not reverse. I held on to my feelings for that boy, bottled up, waiting to be released.There were times, I saw his lingering gaze and I swear I could have let it all out but I didn’t. 11,12,13,14…The years came and went.High school.I was still the same.I remember letters from classmates who did claim they had  loved me all these years.But still they didn’t mean much because I was staying true to that lingering feeling. 15, 16.I saw him, a small glimpse but he didn’t see me.Or even if he did, it wasn’t enough to recapture the wonder of  years past . That’s the thing about unrequited love.You wait for something that isn’t yours, that will never  come to you.17…still.There was just one interrupting pause.Another flame, but dimmed even before it could burn brightly.At 17, you know more than when you were 10.I was growing up but I had not left the girl that I had always been behind.She was still there.This one just vanished after playing with my artistic dreams.I wrote him a letter.He never wrote back.Broken , I went back to what I always had. Then came Facebook.We met again but never in person. You are my missing piece I didn’t have the courage to tell him what I had felt all these years. All 8 of them.Social media sometimes is a shadow of who we really are.We wear masks and never get to let people see the real us.At 18, I let go.I realized I was hanging on to something that was not real.None of it existed.And I had been doing it for 8 years.Such a painstaking labour.The trigger was something I had seen, a post, a photo that made every shiny thing I believed about this boy, rust before my every eyes.He wasn’t what I thought he was or who would be.We had nothing in common, not even value.And I could no longer cling to him. College taught me the essence of life.My roots were there.My calling was there.And for the very first time, I knew who I was and  whose I was.But even still  I had no idea what to do with the wave and tide of feelings, the butterflies and the birds.I learned that a crush is a crush, whether you are 10 or 19, 20 or 15…This one was much older, more refined, strong.It mattered that other people saw great things in him. It appealed to me that he was a  wordsmith…and every text, every message was the substance of whatever we had.I had friends too, great ones and good ones.And I am really sorry if I ever friend zoned or brother zoned the really good ones and learned that I hurt them in the process.I don’t think girls intentionally set out to zone.At 19, a good friend, a boy told me he liked me.I honestly didn’t know what that meant.I wish he hadn’t because I felt those three words ruined a friendship that meant so much to me. The one guy, who stirred so much in my head  turned out to be  something that yet again didn’t exist.At least only in my head.I realized that I had read too much into things .I was also pursuing what wasn’t real.And I pray that men will also learn not to play with women’s feelings, not to lead them on and most of all say what they really want.I hate colossal silences.They are painful and annoying.How is it possible you can talk to someone about something important one day, and the next it’s like  nothing happened? End of story. At 20, I decided I was done.I realized that I didn’t understand anything at all.It is written,”My people perish for lack of knowledge” and I was slowly perishing.I read and read and read.From God is Your matchmaker,The Lady in Waiting, God’s Leading Lady, Passion and Purity,The Lady,Her Lover and her Lord.It was Michelle McKinney Hammond who spoke to my inner ache the most.I have never read or listened to anyone with more sass, class and the Word. “What to do till love finds you, The Diva Principle, Secrets of an Irresistible Woman,The Unspoken Rules of Love, Blessed and Highly Favoured, How to be found by the man you have been looking for , The power of being a woman, The 10 mistakes single women make, Single Sassy and Satisfied…”The list is endless.And these books were my saving grace, for the next years till the end of college, no one moved me.Not for once did I ever think anything was wrong with me, or missing.I felt whole knowing that I had to wait, wait patiently until God’s appointed time.I laugh at how I was caught up in an arranged marriage, can you believe it, someone actually wanted a wife for his son.Those were shoes I could never fill.I  value the ability of choice.My Heavenly Father has always given it to me…free will. Now, I look back at that little 10 year old I used to be.There are things about her that are still with me.Is it possible to still get here and feel that way about someone?Is it alright for the Christian to crush?A crush is a brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable or inappropriate. Others say it’s a burning desire to be with someone you find very attractive and special.It often is the act of falling hard for someone even though it isn’t love yet, an amazing thing  that gives you the feelings of nerves or excitement whenever you see them. So should we crush?NO. WIll we crush ?YES. Do we have to crush? NO. Can anything keep us from crushing? “To Him who is able to keep us from falling…and present us before His glorious presence without great fault and with great Joy! Jude 24″What do we do about it when it happens to us?What should the 10 year old do with her racing tiny heart?Should the 13 year old start writing these letters to breathe life to her feelings?What about the 23 year old who starts falling for her colleague?I believe there are no generic answers.All of us come as one of a kind, and so are the answers for all of us.What I do know is that there are so many of us  crying for answers, sitting in despair, faced with situations and  we have no idea what to do.We can’t pretend. Should we crush? I find answers in God’s unchanging and sure Word.How much God loves us, even at our worst behaviour.With God, all His promises are Yes and Amen.His Word is sure.He has made everything beautiful in its time.And if a sparrow falls to the ground and He knows,  how much more the state of your heart?Fire burns.Cold coal stains.Even a raging bushfire started as a flame.God has shown us what love is and what love is not. Beginning with the love He had that He gave His only Son to die for us and redeem us.True love is of God, it is patient,it is kind, longsuffering, not rude, not puffed up, it keeps no record of wrongs.It believes all things.It bears all things.And here is the deal:Love never fails.It doesn’t because God doesn’t fail.Paul admonishes us to pursue purity, to pursue Godliness and honour marriage when we get there. He reveals how as young people and even aging, we can still guard our hearts and minds.(Phillipians 4:8) And the  peace of God will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. God knows you.He knows me.He knows the little things that make your heart beat faster or turn your knees into wobbly jelly.He knows you will even when you shouldn’t. And if you trust Him ,He will hold you when Hurricane Hormones overwhelms you.

THE CHRISTIAN AND THE CRUSH

Is it alright for the Christian to crush?A crush is a brief but intense infatuation for someone, especially someone unattainable or inappropriate. Others say it’s a burning desire to be with someone you find very attractive and special.It often is the act of falling hard for someone even though it isn’t love yet, an amazing thing that gives you the feelings of nerves or excitement whenever you see them.

The first  time a girl made me feel something, I was only ten years old.I still didn't understand what that something was. I was still a child.In the middle of innocence,  books and boarding school,...

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THE SICK HOSPITAL

A canoe does not know who is king. When it turns, everyone gets wet. Moi university hospital is under siege. For the last one week yours truly has been visiting the hospital not just for ‘status’ reasons, but also health(y) reasons. However the status of operations in the said dispensary are at a dismal level. Comrades complaining of negligence and lack of aptitude displayed by the so distinguished personnel in white lab coats. One might be forgiven to assume that they are dealing with middle level quacks and charlatans. Speaking to the Diva, Yegon Emmanuel a 2nd year student in the School of Human Resource Development apparently visited the dispensary only to be told he has no history of medical problems and therefore he is ‘clean’. However, as his condition deteriorated, he went to Maranatha Clinic in Kesses where he was diagnosed with Malaria. Even before the dust could settle on Yegon’s case, another student who doesn’t want to be named has been paying frequent visits to the hospital. Peter*, a second year student in the School of Arts and Social Sciences was actually given pain killers, something which most comrades argue has been the norm in the under-fire hospital. It is only after his condition worsened that he went back to the dispensary and ‘surprisingly’ got diagnosed with malaria as well. Terence, a first year student in the School of Education was apparently given painkillers and wished a quick recovery even as his case looked pathetic. Consultation room 14 is ever busy, however the results are not seen at all. Paracetamol is always issued out, whether you have malaria, TB, common cold, flu etc…as long as you are under pain, always expect a paracetamol. I am no doctor but real doctors will tell you that every disease is unique, however the similarities. So why is there such high level of quackery in Moi University dispensary? Why do they treat the symptoms and forget the disease? Are the services they offer free? Are they not taken care of in the school fees? While it is true that the number of students has increased sporadically to almost thrice its capacity, it’s also true that value for your money has to be achieved. After all, one cannot live by the riverside and wash his hands with spit. Questions are being asked. Questions demand answers. Is Moi University hospital able to deal with the high student-doctor ratio? Forget the fact that it takes you almost one hour to find your file, even after automating the online hostel booking system, why is it so hard to automate the dispensary? Why does the management major in the minor and minor on the major? One laboratory to serve 9000 students is preposterous! Especially when that laboratory is smaller than the rooms in Hostel Hakumatt! It remains to be seen how the management will respond. In the meantime, all comrades are urged not to fall sick…to avoid (mis)diagnosation. After all, if the alligator tells you the crocodile is sick, won’t you believe it?

SPECIAL FOR EASTER

 

No plans for Easter join us From 3-5 April, for a camping experience,road trip,lots of mingle/networking and a chance to see dolphins

A TRIP THAT YOU CAN'T AFFORD TO MISS OUT

Having no plans this weekend, join the Moi university wildlife club for a hiking experience,road trip,networking/mingle......etc.
 
The Elephant Hill on the southern end of the Aberdares Ranges, is about 90km north of Nairobi, and perfect for a day hike. The Aberdares are the water catchment area feeding two of the largest dams supplying over 95% of Nairobi’s water needs, i.e. Ndakaini Dam in Thika region and Sasumua Dam near Njabini town. The Aberdares slopes are also one of the major bread baskets for vegetables supplied to Nairobi groceries, and possibly the most significant source of the second most important staple food consumed in Nairobi, the Irish potato. “Chips”

Charges :
* University students Ksh 2200
* Kenyan citizens Ksh3000
* Non- residents Ksh 90 USD

CONSTRUCTIONS IN "PROGRESS"

WHAT A SHOCK!!!!!!

KCSE HAIKO FARE...."JAMENI Tulicheswa

HEALTH

HEALTHY MINDS

A healthy mind?  Many people believe that those with mental disorders like aspersions or autism are the ones without healthy minds and those with healthy minds are able to tackle day to day hustle and activities. But what most people don't know is that; a healthy mind is that which is pure, whole and undivided. That which is in perfect sync with the body and soul.

It constitutes of a responsible, moral and above all integral person. It is the consistency of good and acceptable actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes. In general, proper and healthy habits and actions will contribute to a healthy mind.

CRAZY RITES OF PASSAGE

Among various rites of passage in a human’s life, initiation into adulthood seem to be valued by most people across different cultures. Young
people aspiring to be adults will do whatever is required of them to officially be called an adult in their society. Well maybe we are familiar to
some few ways of initiation, out there are other ways…crazy ways of initiation.

SCARIFICATION
Is practiced by the Sepik river tribes in Papua, New Guinea. Elders in this tribe use razor blade to cut the young men’s body in a pattern that imitates an alligator. Thy believe that the alligator will then consume any semblance of a boy left in their body and they will become men.

SAMBIAN
At 7years old, a boy is taken from his mother’s house and taken to a hut full of men only. Here they stay for ten years. During the ten years stay, they engage heavily in nose bleeding, forced vomiting and defecation by way of sugarcane in order to rid themselves of impurities after all these, they are men in their community.

FULANI FACIAL TATTOO
Before a Fulani girl is considered a woman in her society, she has to be tattooed on the face. This is done using a sharp piece of wood.

MATIS TRIBE OF BRAZIL
For Matis boys to be men, they must go for a hunt after they have had their eyes pumped with poison to improve their vision, they are bitten and whipped and finally, they must inject themselves with the giant leap frog using wooden needles which is incredibly painful.

CHAOS IN MOI UNIVERSITY IN ELDORET

One student injured badly due to an explosion  from a police vehicle that was burned at the junction of academic highway towards Moi university administration block on Sunday afternoon. The boy who was a third year student was later rushed to the schools ‘dispensary for first aid and later rushed to Eldoret for treatment.

Following the untimely death of a female student on 21^st February, Moi University students began demonstrating early on Sunday at the students’ center carrying branches and placards. From there they marched one on one at the academic highway towards the administration block and later to the streets of Moi University.

All activities at stage had to stop. The matatu operators could not withstand the pressure from students and so they had to obey and left immediately to secure their vehicles.  Later on, the anti-riot police came in to save the situation but they were overwhelmed and took to their heels for fear of losing their lives. The police were armed with tear gas, Rubber bullets, and their batons but they seemed useless since they did not succeed in their mission.

Instead, the students decided to burn down one of their vehicles. No one was on the rescue of the vehicle and for that reason it was burned to ashes. Only the metallic parts remained visible but in different color.  After burning the vehicle, the students felt relieved and calmed down. They scattered and everyone went back to their hostels hoping to attend classes the following day as usual.

MOI UNIVERSITY IS MOURNING…ITS SO SAD

The death of Charity Muthoni Maina who was raped and murdered near Talai on Saturday night left all the students of Moi University Main Campus mourn in bitterness.

Charity was a third year student in the school of arts and social sciences until the time she passed away. It was realized very late that is on Sunday morning when her body was found in a bush near one of the stage residential. The lady was attacked while she was coming from the Christian fellowship and she was almost getting to her place. From the look of things, the lady was strangled to suffocation before the guys raped her. After the act, they left her body naked with all her belongings. Her handbag which contained her notebooks, a bible, mobile phone and other personal items laid beside her untouched.

On Sunday morning, the news of her death went viral and the ocpd from Kesses police station came for the body that later on had to transport her to mortuary for post mortem as investigations begin. The mood in the campus was not normal as everyone was worried of their safety. Everyone felt sorry her family and her community and sent their condolences right from the vice chancellor, school management, technical staff and colleagues.

“God why me…? Why did you choose only me…why my daughter? She is the only daughter and my hope. I love her so much and she is the last born and she is the one I was left with in the family. Her father passed away recently and the memories are still on my mind yet this has followed.” The mother sobbed as the dean of students tried to comfort her in vain.

Plans for her burial are ongoing in the campus and contributions towards her funeral are done. The police report over the investigations are waited eagerly to capture the culprits. On the other hand the students are demanding for beefing up of security in the campus and its environs and also the university to look for a way they will cater for accommodation of all students inside the campus premises.