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DECEMBER 2005 - PART ONE
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Old timers
One arrived in London in January 1958 while the other one arrived on 6th April 1965
The air ticket was less than a thousand Kenya Shillings to go to UK when Mzee John Magero left Kenya for UK to study in January 1958. The same air ticket had gone slightly higher to Ksh. 2,500 when Mzee Gichinga left Kenya for UK on 6th April 1965. Both of them had one mission in mind "to study and go back home to Kenya". After 47 years in the UK Mzee Magero still negotiates the streets of London better than his Kisumu town. The man from Nyanza settled at Stoke Newington in Hackney as he studied for his BSc Economics in London School of Economics, before moving to several other areas, finally settling at Camberwell in South London. He still speaks his mother language Luo, Kiswahili and English fluently. Mzee Gichinga arrived in London with Ksh 55 in his pocket of which his father asked him to send it back to Kenya as it had been borrowed. He was left behind with several coins of which he still treasures them on his key holder. (Old Kenyan coins had a hole in the middle). Recently they both attended Jamhuri Celebrations at Hilton Hotel London but few people would recognise them as they both played a low profile. They have been attending the celebrations since they arrived here. (a profile of Kenyan old timers in the UK coming soon).
Mzee Gichinga (left) and Mzee John Magero at the Jamhuri Celebrations at Hilton Hotel London on Monday 12th December 2005
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£3,500 for Christmas decorations
Some of the natives in the UK start to celebrate Christmas as early as November. Most of them go to borrow loans in banks to buy Christmas gifts for their family and friends. Others spend as much as £3,500 (almost half a million Kenya shillings) to decorate their homes. All in the name of Christmas of which most take it as a festive season. No much talk about the true name behind it "Jesus Christ". Other replacing the name Christmas with X-mas to suit their needs. You will find a 30-year-old person who has never been to a church or mosque.
Most houses have been decorated for Christmas in a big way. High streets in most areas are beautifully decorated. The most decorated street in UK is Oxford Street in Oxford Circus where you would wonder about the technology used to decorate the street. Thousands of pounds used for the season. A lady in one of the most decorated house in London explained that she has spent more than £3,500 to the decoration which starts from the garden to everyone corner of her house with colourful flashing lights. "It is Christmas and we have to enjoy ourselves," the lady commented.
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A house in London where the decoration theme is Santa and his reindeers in motion. |
 More than £3,500 was used to decorate this house in London |
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128 operations and still waiting for more
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Oliver's skull was repeatedly broken and rebuilt |
Oliver will need operations until he is 17 years old
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The mother of an eight-year-old boy who has undergone 128 operations on his face and skull plans to raise funds for the hospital which saved his life. Oliver Cartwright, of Crick, Northants, was born with Pfeiffer Syndrome, which causes the fusion of bones. His mother Julie said Oliver had been in intensive care 11 times and was "very lucky" to be alive. She hopes that telling Oliver's story will encourage people to donate money to Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford. When Oliver was born, his skull was prematurely fused which left no space for his brain to develop. To rebuild Oliver's bone structure surgeons at Radcliffe Hospital have repeatedly broken his skull. In addition, Oliver has no knuckles, and has problems with his sight and hearing. In the future, he will also need operations on his feet. Ms Cartwright said: "It's an amazing journey we're on, it's been one thing after another. He's been very unlucky, but he's still here." He will need operations until he is 17 years old, when his face and brain have fully developed, she added. Oliver said: "I wouldn't be alive. But I like being with my mother and my dad and all my pets and I don't want to die."
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Miss World, Kenya
Miss World Kenya, Cecilia Mwangi, on arrival at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi from China, where she took part in the Miss World competition. Miss Iceland, Unnur Birna Vilhjalmsdottir, clinched the title. - The Standard.
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Miss UK 2005
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Miss Kenya UK, 2005 Miss Loice Shinaka |
 Miss Kenya UK 2005 with the Kenya High Commissioner and his wife HE Joseph Muchemi and Mrs Cecilia Muchemi at Jamhuri celebrations at Hilton Hotel in London on Monday 12th December 2005 |
Loice Shinaka
Age: 24
I work as a quality controller with LINPAC AUTOMOTIVE whereby we do moulding injection for BRITAX AND CAR PARTS.
My reasons for joining Miss Kenya-UK 2005 is because I would
like to take part in a charitable community event, meet different people and to
have some fun as well.
My hobbies involve dancing, singing, listening to music and playing basketball.
I am simple, gentle at heart and love nice people with a good sense of humor.
I like sharing ideas and dislike things that makes me sad, mostly when it has to do with things of the heart. Born in Kakamega, Kenya a graduate from London School of Business Management. She lives in Basingdon, in Essex, UK.
CLICK HERE FOR OTHER CONTESTANTS - THEN CLICK THE NAME
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The site moderators graduates in London
Jackson Njiiri the moderator of misterseed.com was among four Kenyans who graduated in London on Tuesday 6th December, 2005. Njiiri graduated from the University of East London with BSc in E- Commerce while Maina Watene, Benson Mwangi and another Kenyan lady graduated in Computer Science. It was a big challenge as over 800 students graduated at an emotional function held at Barbican Centre, in the city of London. The Asian community dominated the field taking almost 70 per cent of the grandaunts, followed by Chinese, Nigeria, Zimbabwean among other communities. Notably was the big number of drop-outs during the course. In one of the computer course they started with 56 students and only one managed to finish. Njiiri's course started with 78 students and only 17 managed to finish. There was a sad case during the graduation where a 28-year-old man married with one child fell sick during the examinations but he managed to finish the exams but died before the exams results were out. He managed to get first class honours of which was presented to his wife during the graduation.
The graduation hall at Barbican Centre as the lecturers enters the hall
 Mr. Seed and Mrs. Seed posing with their son after graduation |
 Mr. Henry Mwangi well known as Githumu.com (second right) with his family after graduation |
 Jackson Njiiri (centre) posing with his lecturers after graduation |
 From right is Mr. Kitaua from Oxford, Mama Maina from Gatanga Kenya who had come all the way to see his son Maina Watene (third right) graduating, Mrs Kitaua and Jackson and her mum in the far left |
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The Nairobi boy catching up well in London
LEVYSILL is a Kenyan Dancehall artist currently based in London, England. He is currently receiving strong support from various key personnel in the UK radio, television and entertainment industry including BBC 1Xtra’s Silver Star and Robbo Ranx.
LEVYSILL was born and raised in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi, where he initially honed his craft. He started in the mid-90's whilst in secondary school On completing his high school studies and following much encouragement from his peers he started performing at talent shows in and around the Kenyan capital where he not only won many competitions and awards but also many fans who were impressed by his distinct flare, stage presence and voice.
Even in his early stages, one could easily detect his influences from renowned international Reggae stars. Whilst fancy words can be used to try describe his uniqueness the core of his style and persona has consistently been ‘always conscious and forever vibe-full’.
By 2001 LEVYSILL had contributed his talents to various popular Kenyan artistes and in 2002 he unleashed his now classic first single, ‘Tukae Masaa’ (Swahili slang for ‘Let’s Move Forward'). His debut release spoke against the ills of society - with special emphasis to the youth. His efforts were duly noted by an upcoming local record label, The Arkangel Label, who immediately got him in their studio writing and producing for not only himself but their other artists too. Arkangel were also associated with such renowned musicians like the Jamaican Reggae group Culture and LEVYSILL’s first major concert was as an opening act for them group when they headlined a major AIDS awareness concert in Kenya.
LEVYSILL is now promoting his latest release, ‘Wanataka’, and its forthcoming video promo. This upbeat anthem is a delightful blend of Dancehall and Swahili slang over a pulsating self-produced sound-scape. Wanataka is already garnering early exposure on 1Xtra and support from other stations is anticipated. This will be followed by his highly-anticipated album to be released under the UK- based record label he is working with, Highrise Media. His material as always will continue to bring a positive message through his lyrics and aim to further contribute to the international Dancehall scene including that of his native home.
NB Levysill is a founding member of WATU WANGU, a collective of UK based Kenyan artists also steadily building a strong buzz amongst the East African community in Europe through a series of mixtapes and performances.
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First black bishop of church of England in UK
Dr Sentamu took his oath on a manuscript book of the four Gospels written and decorated by Eadui Basan and other monks of Canterbury hundreds of years ago.The text of the oath is based on one written in Latin in the 13th century.
Dr John Sentamu at York Minster where he was enthroned as Archbishop on November 30 (BEN GURR)
Britain's first black Archbishop of Church of England has made a powerful attack on multiculturalism, urging English people to reclaim their national identity. The Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu, said that too many people were embarrassed about being English. “Multiculturalism has seemed to imply, wrongly for me, let other cultures be allowed to express themselves but do not let the majority culture at all tell us its glories, its struggles, its joys, its pains,” he said.
He said that the failure of England to rediscover its culture afresh would lead only to greater political extremism. The new Archbishop also strongly criticised the Terrorism Bill, showing that he is likely to be even more robust in his criticism of the Government than the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams. Dr Sentamu has consistently denied speculation that his was a political appointment and, as a former judge in Uganda, his attack on counter-terrorism legislation carries particular weight. “The moment you make your laws so tough, even the most law abiding will say, this is a chance to break them,” Dr Sentamu said. He called for the English to rediscover their cultural identity by properly marking celebrations such as St George’s Day on April 23. “I speak as a foreigner really. The English are somehow embarrassed about some of the good things they have done. They have done some terrible things but not all the Empire was a bad idea. Because the Empire has gone there is almost the sense in which there is not a big idea that drives this nation.” The Ugandan-born Archbishop, who fled Idi Amin’s regime in 1974, said he would not be where he was today were it not for the British Empire and the English teachers and missionaries who worked in Africa.
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The African rhythms were a highlight of an inauguration ceremony that made Dr John Sentamu the new Archbishop of York in UK. He is from Uganda. |
 But Ugandan-born Dr Sentamu requested the brightly-coloured outfits and lively music. |
Dr Sentamu was speaking to The Times before his enthronement as the Church’s new No 2 at York Minster on November 30. As the most senior black churchman, who during his time as a bishop in London acted as an adviser to the Stephen Lawrence inquiry that found institutional racism in the police, he received racist and abusive letters, some covered in human excrement, after his appointment was announced earlier this year. But as a direct product himself of the British Empire, he intends to make mission and a passion for English culture, and the Christian roots of that culture, driving forces of the next decade or more that he will spend as primate of England’s northern province. “What is it to be English? It is a very serious question,” he said. “I think we have not engaged with English culture as it has developed. When you ask a lot of people in this country, ‘What is English culture?’, they are very vague. It is a culture that whether we like it or not has given us parliamentary democracy. It is the mother of it. It is the mother of arguing that if you want a change of government, you vote them in or you vote them out. “It is a place that has allowed reason to be at the heart of all these things, that has allowed genuine dissent without resort to violence, that has allowed all the fantastic music that we experience in our culture.” Multiculturalism as a concept failed to convey the essence of what it meant to be English. “England is the culture I have lived in, I have loved . . . My teachers were English. As a boy growing up, that is the culture I knew.”
He disliked the word “tolerance” when used in reference, for example, to people of different cultures. “It seems to be the word tolerance is bad because it just means putting up with it,” he said. “I was raised in the spirit of magnanimity. That is a better word than tolerance. If you are magnanimous in your judgments on other people, there is a chance that I will recognise that you will help me in my struggle.” He described English culture as rooted in Christianity and, in spite of attempts by secularists to marginalise it, the Church still had a central role to play. “I think the Church in many ways has to be like a midwife, bringing to birth possibilities of what is authentically very good in the English mind.” He will work closely with Dr Williams, and disclosed the precise nature of that relationship.
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At the beginning of the ceremony, the Archbishop entered the cathedral with a pastoral staff made from an olive tree in Bethlehem. |
 Following his anointing, he warmly embraced the Archbishop of Canterbury and the congregation erupted into spontaneous clapping |
“We come from a similar stable,” he said. “He is my Moses. I have chosen in that analogy to try and be a Jethro to him. Jethro was Moses’s father-in-law who was always very practical, making suggestions. In the end it was Moses who had to put them out [into practice]. “People say to me, ‘are you going to play second fiddle to the Archbishop of Canterbury?’ That is not helpful. This is going to be a partnership.” Referring to Dr Williams’s “incredible gifts of intellect” and deep spiritual life, he described him as “a person of prayer and a person who listens to God, a person who wants to be magnanimous about everybody, which some people don’t like. He is a Welshman, I know, but still his behaviour is the kind of tradition I was raised in.” A spokesman for the Archbishop of Canterbury welcomed Dr Sentamu’s comments. He said: “I’m only embarrassed about being English when we lose a cricket match in the way we’ve just lost one.”
OUT OF AFRICA
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A mother of 82 children arrives in London
Mrs. Ann Gathoni, a mother of 82 orphan children in Kenya is in London. Mrs. Chege arrived in London on 11th November, 2005. New Hope Orphan Children Home in Uplands, Kenya. A former senior officer with Barclays Bank of Kenya who has sacrificed her family life to serve the orphans. She left Barclays Bank of Kenya and her home in Buru Buru Estate to join the orphans children. At the beginning they were housed with her 82 children by a Kenyan family whom had built a family house but then surrendered the house for five years to Mrs. Chege and the children. Mrs. Chege feeds, educates and accommodates 81 children to date where by two of the children are currently in Kampala International University, Uganda, several in secondary schools and others in primary schools. These children have no other home, they call Mrs. Chege and Mr. Chege Mum and Dad. This is their home. A one time meal is equivalent to half a sack of maize meal and you need to be a good mathematician to serve 82 plates without missing one. During their five year period they managed to buy their own four-acre-land next to their former place where they are constructing now. She is in London for a fundraising towards the construction in their new site. A fundraising has been organised on 3rd December, 2005 at The Denmark Arms, 381 Barking Road, London E6 as from 6.30 p.m. You can deposit your donation at Barclays Bank, Acc. no. 20984698, Sort Code 209260, Acc. name: A. Chege or in Kenya at Barclays Bank of Kenya, Limuru Branch, Account no. 03-11-3791284, Acc. name; Stars of Jesus Ministries. Her contact while in London is 07947883505.
Early this year the Seeds visited the orphanage to witness the huge job which Mr. & Mrs. Chege have been doing. It was a life time experience for the Seeds family to learn how this orphanage is run. Mrs. Chege and her husband runs the hope in a professional manner whereby every penny is accounted for. Cooking for these 82 children is not easy especially where there is no kitchen and the kitchen is outside. A big pot fixed to the ground to make stable. The girls sleep in a big and congested hostel where it is not health because the beds are next to each other and it is easy to spread infections.
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Mrs. Ann Chege welcoming the Seeds at the orphanage |
Mrs. Ann Gathoni Chege - a mother of 81 children |
 Mr. Chege and Mrs. Chege welcoming Mr. Seed at the orphanage |
 A girl in the orphanage presented Mr. Seed with a flower |
 Miss Margaret Njiiri presenting some sweets to the orphan girls |
 Mrs. Chege and her children entertaining the Seeds at the orphanage |
 A huge construction is underway at the orphanage |
 The Seeds resting as they are entertained by the girls |
 The girls hostels at the orphanage |
 The kitchen which is based outside at the orphanage |
 Mrs. Seed with some of the girls at the orphanage |
 Beautiful faces of the young girls |
 Daughter Seed posing the girls |
 A group photos with the girls |
 Children queing for sweets |
 A mass choir at the centre |
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