Chicks Surprise.

ARCHER'S CHICKS SURPRISE

I was travelling with my long time friend Eddy one fine afternoon when he received a phone call from his wife. His mother-in-law had delivered a box full of one week old chicks to their home and walk away. They were about 30 little quacking creatures. They needed shelter, water, warmth and food. The mother in-law had told her to take care of the chicks, there were no other instructions.

Eddy was driving the car when the call came through, and I was his core driver as usual.

The guy got confused after hitting the 'end call' key. First, he had never tried raring chicken. Two, he had never dreamt of putting up a chicken house in his town residence. We are traditionally cattle and goats keepers in Archer's Post, a town in Samburu County. Poultry is for the bird lovers. But throwing away those chicks would amount to total disrespect to a beloved mother in-law; in fact it would be an abomination.

I saw him stare way ahead of us with a forlorn look written all over his face. That is him when he switches to an 'active mode'! The vehicle picked up speed and I knew he was almost getting an answer to sort the little 'kukus' awaiting his decision back home. Then he yanked his phone from the dashboard and frantically dialled a number.

'Ero tukutane nyumbani juu nataka unitengenezee nyumba ya kuku'. That was it.

Two days later the chicks had a nice little house, a feeding trough and enough drinking water. Would they survive the above normal heat of Archers Post? There are no commercial poultry feed sellers in our town and I am not sure if the vet guy treats chicken there too. The poor creatures will definitely die in a few days! I would have carried my right hand aloft to swear that time.

Then I traveled out to my work station and wished him well. A few days later some goat thieves raided several homesteads’ in the area and made away with almost all the stock they found in the pens. A number of injuries were reported until the situation was finally arrested. The victims became poorer than before but thank God they were alive. I forgot about the chicks even though I made calls to Eddy over that period to catch up on the local news and gossips. Two months fleeted by and I traveled back home.

Alas! The chickens were still alive. All of them were fully grown and as plump as a kitchen pussy. I was ashamed for my earlier thoughts. I also spotted a cat hovering along the fence, maybe still hoping to break in and grab one of them.

Lunch was served to the two of us: an aromatic dish of rice and goat stew. Food stimulates my creativity, and it was then that I realized that my friend was set to reap from sells in less than a month. Christmas, the chicken eating season, was just around the corner. As if the chicken project was mine, I started daydreaming on all possibilities. 'This is definitely the new smart farm here. We can fill those empty goat kraals with chickens! I can bet that any jobless youth out there could learn from this guy considering that as a successful pilot project. The campsites, lodges and the ever growing town population was a ready market for chicken there.' Etc!

The chicks were a surprising eye opener all together!

Water and Life

WATER AND LIFE

By Jeremy Leariwala

Water is life. It is only after you belief that water is equal to life that you will always strive to conserve and use it wisely. Never waste it.

Our lands are little use without water. Crops, trees and livestock all exist because of water. The man (woman) tending the farm will no doubt run away if there is no water available. Think of a pastoralist roaming in the dry savanna grasslands of Losesia without water.

Water keeps our army moving along our borders. In fact it is a weapon in itself thus it is part of our security and insecurity in some special cases. Before you misuse the little water you have think of our gallant soldiers in the bush.

The most intelligent church drilled water for itself and the community it intended to preach to. Water won them a good number of followers in addition to the gospel.

A community water project should think of the poor man first before it decides to frustrate the able man for whatever reason. Reliable water management systems should be established to control the use of water meant for the community. Otherwise unscrupulous community water project managers can use the water for their selfish interests at the expense of the poor man. “Wacha ubinafsi.”

1000 Trees for IFO Police

1000 Trees for IFO

By Jeremy Leariwala.

One day as we were travelling from Ifo Police Station to Dagahaley Police Post our driver pointed to an open ground on our left side and said something that excited my brain. “There were a lot of trees here when I came to Dadaab. This camp was not here by then but now they have cut down all the trees.” Every time we passed that road I always looked at that field and wondered why the community living on our right hand side had to clear it mercilessly.

We drove for about 500 meters and came across a long line of women carrying loads of firewood on their backs. They are common here and if not the women there would always be a convoy of donkey carts laden with wood or a combination of both. I could not believe the damage the community had caused within five years. ‘What would happen after the next five years if action is not taken?’ I muse before we come across an old man seated under a shrub probably half his height. His face was awash with sweat but he must have been thankful for the small shade provided.

When I was growing up my elder brother used to call for a village meeting sometimes when he came home from his job station. My family together with our neighbours would be present. One principle he always insisted on was: “If you want to cut down one tree here, first plant two!” There were no community tree nurseries by then. He made us report to him anyone who cut down a tree without planting two around the village. I can say that our village enjoys the largest tree cover to date.

The old man we spotted squatting under a shrub also reminded me of the days I spent in the city. I paid to sit under a shade in Nairobi. Free shades were either crowded, far to reach or insecure. Thus if I had to occupy a seat in a restaurant or shop, then I had to buy something therein. You will appreciate the importance of trees the day you will ‘decide’ to walk out of your comfort zone or situations force you to leave them.

If my brother could stop our villagers from cutting trees, I think I can join my friends to plant trees too. If there were lots of trees here when we established our stations, then we can replant 3 trees each and protect them before the next rain season (that starts in August 2015). Tree planting need not be a one day activity after which all the seedlings are left to wither out.

Of course you are aware of other benefits of trees apart from the shade. If you have been to Ifo Police Station, then you must have noted an expansive bare ground in front of it. The amount of dust that rises from that field as it’s picked and blown into the station blocks is torturous. IFO area in general is hot, dry and windy but all places bordering bare grounds here can only be described as dusty, tormentors, ugly locations. I can bet that IFO Station leads. But we have made a decision. Since we are not just here to maintain law and order, we will plant trees to replace those our customers have destroyed. We are aiming at 1000 trees (15 trees per officer) before the next rain season and we would take care of them for the next one year; that is during our free time. These trees would protect us from the dusty winds and prove that we can cover the bare fields being created by the charcoal burners and firewood collectors. This place will have a new look soon.

Why Shout Back?

WHY SHOUT BACK?

By Jeremy Leariwala

One of the most important lessons I have come to learn is, “If someone calls you a cow, you don’t have to fight him to prove to him that you are not a cow.”

The same lesson applies to someone who tries to shout at me or anyone else he is engaged in an argument. Shouting back at him, many times, only worsens the situation. There are many ways of dealing with individuals shouting at me or you.

First understand their objectives. A person who shouts in an argument wants to be heard. He may wants to express his anger, to shame me publicly or to show anyone listening that he is right/better than me. In short, he wants to talk to someone else, apart from me, about a problem between me and him.

When a normal argument degenerates into a shout you need to know your role in it. You are part of it no matter how ugly it is. If you want to maintain it, for whatever reason, then you need to shout back at him. Answer by raising your voice higher; and we would have two competitors trying to outdo each other in a shouting bout! When you want to stop it, stay calm and focused. Restrain yourself from shouting back; listen for details and always remember that majority of the listeners don’t care much of what exactly is said! Their wish is the unfolding drama.

I shy away from a foolish scene of shouting men. But a man who reasonably shouts at the right time wins my support. I swear, I can shout alongside him.

A Fire Point Neighbour

FIRE POINT NEIGHBOUR

Tragedies don’t happen daily in our lives although they occur at times. Be it a landslide, a terrorists attack, a flood or worst a fire breakout. These are just a few examples that can cause massive losses to any society but there are many others.

A fire breakout can catch people by surprise. It can spread within a short time as everyone runs round in panic especially if they were not prepared for it. And before they organize themselves to confront it, the damage would be so huge that it would take them months or years to recover. It is always important to have a fire point in the neighbourhood for a start. A good fire point should have the basic items like serviceable fire extinguishers and sand buckets.

Anytime you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Visualize this example of a fire incident I had an opportunity to witness as I try to illustrate my point.

One night on a new year’s eve, some children used fire crackers to celebrate. As they lit them and run around the estate screaming ‘happy new year!’ the fireworks flew all over with loud bangs. Unfortunately, one of them went through an open window and landed on a bed in one of the houses. The mattress caught fire immediately. It spread to the curtains and before anyone could detect the smoke, every combustible thing in the room was aflame. The children were long gone to notice anything.

The people in the main house hurriedly exited and the traditional ‘Fire! Fire!’ shout rented the air. No one had a fire extinguisher in the whole apartment block. So the first step they took was to run out of their houses and find out what was happening. Some ran to the burning house but could not get into it as the fire was already at the sitting room. The smoke was unbearable. Others called the police and the fire brigade.

The owner of the house hysterically screamed for help as he struggled to grab anything he could. There was very little he could do: the heat, the smoke and finally explosions forced him out to the road outside. The fire spread to the other houses one at a time as the owners risked their lives to salvage valuables. When the fire engine wailed through the gate, four houses were burning.

A candle, as small as it is, can reduce a whole slum into ashes. A small flame on a carpet or bed sheet can be put off if a person is prepared for it. But the same can quickly grow into a disastrous inferno that consumes property.

Setting up a simple fire point, practicing the basic fire fighting drills is all you need to get prepared. Carry a fire extinguisher in your car, have another one in your kitchen and talk to your neighbours to construct a fire point in the middle of the estate. No one has the courage to watch his properties go up in smoke. But if you have a fire point as a neighbour then you can fight the fire when it breaks out and stop it before it overwhelms you or at least control it before the experts arrive.

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