Defn: Attending a weeklong seminar at a hotel where the minimum charge for internet access is 175 shillings for 15 minutes (or 11.66 sh per minute) – meaning it’s not worth checking e-mail, browsing or blogging until the weekend.
Beautiful city
-Silent improvements are taking place in Nairobi.
– Road and lane names signs which had all but disappeared years ago, have re-appeared even in estates. I now know the names of roads in my local area, which I had never known before.
– The City has quietly fixed the traffic lights at University Way/Uhuru highway roundabout. These lights bore the brunt of stones whenever students rioted and have been off for many years. But it appears that since students are now more sober-minded and less riot-prone, the lights have been re-activated – but a bummer for me since that roundabout is now much slower to navigate. I have not seen any accidents there yet, but I can expect a few since matatus generally ignore traffic lights there and the City has not told motorists, who normally, zip through there at high speed, that they may have to now yield
– The Adopt-a-Light company has put up high floodlights (which they call slum lights) at the railway bus terminus, inside Uhuru park some parts of Mathare and Kibera which illuminate huge areas and improve security.
Noticed too that there are beautiful plants too where there were mounds of garbage used to be. Whoever it is s/he should keep up in the same spirit maybe Nairobi will regain its place in the sun.
Keep well.
While I appreciate that there city is taking a beatiful shape everyday, cant help but chuckle at the fact that beautification and restoraion of law and order (read kicking out hawkers)is part of preparations for hosting the Afrocities Conference to be held in september next year… Wow, city Council should be hosting more conferences!
Knowing that us Kenyans concentrate on the undone, glad you noticed.
Enjoy your weekend
oh wow!when i hear such things happening it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. mad props to whoever it is bringing about these changes. lets just hope that kenyans will be civilised about it and not go about trashing up the good work.
Prousette: It’s a small start, much work to go.
Parklander: Some of the changes are super-ficial and I doubt if they will impress delegates.
Shiroh: thanks.
mama shady: we’ll see how Nairobians react
So great to read a positive post from a Kenayn in Kenya. I’m dead tired of their complaining. Thanks for the positive break!
For the weeklong stay under internet-starvation … i feel you, i feel you!
For the beautiful city, great insight and quite some piece of work being done. am really impressed.
However, I think its time Kenyans changed and stopped complaining about things and got down to acting!!
If u ain’t helping fix the problems, ranting and raving about the same aint helping either!
lol ati ‘jaba boeku’ that’s just funny!
Bankelele, as always, thx, and yes, you rock!
What a nasty week you had without internet? that cruel!
Nairobi is looking good and its an effort Period.
thumbs up to passaris for actually lighting up our city -though she getting paid for it but she is doing something.
lovely weekend
Nothing inspires me more than news from back home that our country is improving and slowly rising up again. I remember the last time I was home, Waiyaki way was sooo dark at 7 PMish, that if the car infront of you turned off it’s rear lights, you’d have to smash into it.
Jamaaz who were unlucky enough to have their cars break down over there on Museum Hill Road and Waiyaki way, would get clobbered by thugs waiting in the dark bushes. Infact Biwott & his security, got attacked there once when his car broke down. Yaani it was just that bad!!
So to hear that Nairobi is lighting up again…including the slum areas is awesome!!!
I hope Esther (Muthoni) Passaris will continue with her beautiful work. God bless Kenya!!!