“I found her at my doorstep and now she’s my biggest love. I remember that cold night. It was somewhere in 2014, after I finished my studies in Sudan and returned home to look for a job.
It was around 3am and it was extremely cold outside. I was wrapped in a thick blanket and was awoken by the sound of a new-born baby crying profusely. I rushed outside and almost stepped on her as she lay outside my front door. Her cries were getting weaker and weaker. We called out in the middle of the night but there was no response so we took her in, fed her and wrapped her with warm clothes. It was a beautiful baby girl.
The next morning, we called our neighbours, if anyone knew the parents of this baby. No one knew anything so we decided to bring her to the police station so that they can find her parents. At the police station, there were 3 other girls who were carrying their children.
One immediately rebuked me for the way I carried the new-born baby. I was not a mother yet and I was shocked at the idea of babies being thrown outside like they don’t mean anything. I decided then and there that I would adopt her and be a mother to her. My maternal uncle and my mother, who accompanied me, refused straight away. They wanted me to hand her over to the authorities and let them deal with it. My uncle got so angry that blood came pouring from his nose. He had a high blood pressure.
He was so scared that the Somali society would judge me wrongly, that they would instead think I birthed a bastard child. I convinced my mother that if we hand her over, we would never know her fate, she could end up in a much worse position. My mother agreed but my uncle still refused. In order for me to adopt her, I had to get my uncle’s signature and a clan elder as a witness. I told my uncle that allowing me to raise this beautiful girl could be your ticket to Paradise. In the end, he agreed and signed it.
We brought her back the same day, brought her to the doctor to make sure that she didn’t get sick from the previous night. I called her Hadiya (‘Gift’) for God blessed me with a beautiful gift. She is a year and half old now. It’s amazing, that a year and half ago, everyone in my household told me to bring her back and now, she is the joy of my family’s world.” Source:Somali Faces
What a story!! Isn’t that pure love? By the way, if you’re having a daughter and still shopping around for a baby name, I think Hadiya is it. It sounds so nice and it’s meaning is even better. Hadiya.
Debbie Oyugi is a young successful Kenyan woman who has made her name on the runway as one of the most sought-after models in Kenya. Debbie is the founder and proprietor of Baby Shower Kenya, a kid’s fashion line. Mummy Tales writer Sylvia Wakhisi talks to her about her work.
Sylvia: Where did your interest in modelling begin?
Debbie: My passion for modelling began in high school. As I watched Kenya Fashion Week on television, it ignited a modeling interest in me. When I joined Kenyatta University, I walked the runway for Miss Kenyatta University and won while I was in my third year. That marked the start of greater things and I was discovered by renowned Kenyan designer John Kaveke, who then introduced me to a great stewardess -Dorothy Oliech of Mochez Models. Dorothy has played a huge role in my modeling career.
Debbie Oyugi
Later on, I took part in other pageants and conquered in several runways including Miss Progress Kenya 2010 and Miss United Nations Kenya 2012. My modelling career has seen me strut major runways both locally and internationally, including in Italy, USA, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Mozambique. I have also featured in various commercials.
Sylvia: Tell us More about Baby Shower Kenya
Debbie: Baby Shower Kenya came about because of a need for something different. Every time I went for a baby shower, I found that choosing a gift was so hectic since everything I found was similar and if not worse, mass produced. This prompted me to start creating unique personalized pieces. I began making kid’s clothes for friends to gift the expectant mom during the baby shower. But my idea did not just stop at baby showers. I also began making clothes for older kids as well, because I wanted to them to have unique authentic pieces. Soon, the orders started trickling in and in no time, I was in business!
Some of Debbie’s creations.
The idea of starting a kid’s fashion line was inspired by the fact that fashion and creativity come naturally to me. I fused this with one of my greatest loves –children.
I love creating pieces, and knowing that I can create something that is functional and unique and be able to keep a child’s personality needs in place pushes me to achieve the best. I particularly love it when I create a piece that is loved by both the child and his/her parent. When I have a happy client, I am happy. It gives me such great joy creating unique pieces. Baby Shower Kenya is a project that is so personal to me.
Traveling with children can at times be admittedly -very exhausting. So it is more than a pleasant relief to discover someone who can make the journey relaxing, fun, adventurous, educative, entertaining, absolutely memorable… all that and more. I discovered this just the other day, and I have captured all that in this post: The Shortest Five-Hour Flight with a Child.
Some of the contents of Kitty’s cool Emirates bag.
Meanwhile, have you voted for this blog? Mummy Tales has been nominated for an award in the 2016 BAKE awards – in the Best Topical Blog category. I will appreciate your support. Kindly click onthis linkto cast your vote (number 11 .b). Ensure you click on the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page to complete the voting process. Thank you for your time.
Last week as I returned home from work, my two sons were all over me with their stories –each of them animatedly telling me what they’d been up to all day –each trying to outdo the other in how fast and how loud they can be. And they can be really fast and loud, trust me. As they did so, one particular phrase that they kept repeating stood out.
“Mummy….surprise….mummy…box….mummy…open…box….something nice….box…..mummy box… open now mummy….box…this they said as they dragged me to a section of the room – one pulling my right hand and the other pulling the left.
When I finally got to where they were leading me, I saw it. It was glittering. Tantalizing. Warm. Calling out for me. It was wrapped in blue. Looking all nice and inviting. It was indeed a box –as the boys had been energetically harping on about. As I got closer, I could see its contents and my mind immediately drifted to my pregnant days, those times I’d go around shopping for newborn stuff.
So the boys let go of my hands and gently presented the box to me saying: “Mummy we have something nice for you”. Awww, these my sweet lovely boys. They are such adorable little munchkins. They make me want to tear so many times – and so many times I not only tear, but I actually cry me a river –just thinking of the precious blessings they are. They are my pride; my possession.
Continue reading this experience on this link: http://bit.ly/23ZhHzU at Mum’s Village where I am a guest writer for this article.
Don’t you just love it when you see fashionable people around you, and more so -fashionable moms with their babies? Well, today we feature the stylish duo of Mercy Obiero and her two-year old son Jack K. Junior. See my interview with her below.
Maryanne: How do you like to dress your son?
Mercy: I like to dress my son according to the occasion. If we’re just indoors I keep it simple, but once we hit the outdoors, I try to explore my fashion sense.
Maryanne: Do you consider him fashionable?
Mercy: Yes he is fashionable because at two years he is aware when of what nice outfits are. He always knows when I dress him nicely –with swag.
Maryanne: Where do you shop for your son’s outfits?
Mercy: I buy his outfits from Toi market, Sunbeam, Gikomba and once in a while at Mr. Price.
Maryanne: Do you find it difficult to shop for boy’s clothes and shoes?
Mercy: At first I used to find it difficult to shop for him but once I identified a nice secondhand dealer it became easier for me. Shoes though are still a hustle because he outgrows them so fast! One thing I’d like to mention is that for good quality shoes for boys, you have to dig into your pocket a little deeper. Boys stuff doesn’t come cheap!
Maryanne: What advice would you give other mums about dressing their kids?
Mercy: Fellow mums, you don’t need to spend a lot for your kids to look stylish and fashionable. You can always get nice things around you, as long as you keep it simple and within your budget.
Maryanne: And you? What’s your fashion style?
Mercy: As for me I like to keep it simple but still fashionable.
And that’s Mercy’s fashion story. I love her son’s outfits and hers too! They look absolutely beautiful. And I love her flat tummy too :). What do you think of Mercy and her son’s style?
You can also read other fashionable moms and one dad who I’ve featured on this blog before by clicking on the links below:
“So what does your wife do for a living?” This video is a must-watch. The issues depicted do not only apply to Ethiopian women, but to women all over Africa, and across the globe. How did it make you feel after watching it?
Mariam Mell’Osiime Mpaata, 38, is a mother of four and the Founder of Junior Stars Youth Development Programme based in Mombasa. Originally from Uganda, Mariam has been living in Kenya for 14 years now. She shares her motherhood journey with us, and also talks of how her love for football has enabled her make an impact in the lives of many youngsters.
Tell us about your Family
We’ve been blessed with four children: Imran, 16, twins Aslam and Afraa aged 10 years and our baby Hannah, 4 years. I tell you, being a mother of four is tougher than a PhD! But I completely love it – there’s never a dull moment in my house. I always thank God for the opportunity to be a mother to my own children and all the other children he has put under my care.
When we moved to Kenya from Uganda, I had just completed my degree in Development Studies and was very eager to settle down in a good job. Unfortunately, I soon discovered that jobs don’t come easily, and I ended up being a housewife for seven years!
During my stay-at-home stint, I found myself religiously following my then seven-year-old son through his every passion. His love for football particularly captured my attention. One day, he kicked his ball into the windscreen of our neighbour’s Mercedes Benz and I had to pay for it. After doing so, I decided to enroll him in a football programme. But I wasn’t able to find one nearby, and that’s when I began toying with the idea of starting a small football programme for my son and other boys in the neighborhood.
However, this was the time Kenya was experiencing the post-election violence of 2007-2008, and I was not sure anyone would want their children out in the fields playing. But when the reconciliation process started, I began to realize that football could actually be one of the tools that could get children back to the playing fields. I pursued the idea, and I opened the doors for the Junior Stars Youth Development Programme on 8 April 2008 with 15 boys from different religions, tribes, and economic backgrounds.
Eight years later, the small dream has now turned into something I can hardly comprehend. Junior Stars Youth Development Programme has become a dynamic youth programme that uses football and mentorship programmes to connect with over 50,000 youth. The football programme takes in children aged between 6 – 16 years (both boys and girls), while the mentorship programme is for those aged 11 – 25 years (both boys and girls).
You have helped nurture talents of many young people through football. How does that make you feel?
We have not yet created the Messi’s and Wanyama’s of this world, but it certainly makes me proud to be part of a generation that not only believes in grassroots football. I also feel proud to be among those taking action to fill this gap. Football, like any other talent, requires nurturing the potential of a child from early on. I dream of a modern sports center in Mombasa where potentially talented children will have access to the best training. I am proud that young people are busy spending their time in more productive ways, hence keeping them away from social evils like drug and alcohol abuse, sex and radicalization.
I find my kids to be really creative, confident and funny. They constantly amaze me with the things they say and do. My 10 year-old daughter is good in singing and songwriting. My sons love football and will push themselves to achieve their football dreams. My 10 year-old son has a brilliant way with words, and he thoroughly engages me with his interpretation of life. And baby Hanna is just too cute when she is not throwing tantrums. I am inspired by each of their individual journey and involve them in most of my work so that I monitor their growth.
We love traveling together as a family and of course – playing football. We love road trips, full of real adventure and mischief. As a family we make half a team hence we could play a 5 aside game with me being the goalkeeper!
As a Ugandan who has resided in Mombasa for many years, do you expose your kids to both cultures?
Sometimes I cannot believe we have stayed in Mombasa for close to 14 years. We have embraced the culture so well. We can all speak serious Swahili and we enjoy almost every Kenyan dish. However, we dutifully taken our children back home every December to meet their grandparents and learn a bit of the Ugandan culture. This sure does help us raise Pan-African children in this era.
What are your future plans?
I’m currently writing a book titled “Boots Don’t Lie”. It’s an uplifting life memoir about my life and work. I am working around the clock to beat my 2017 launch deadline. Also, I just started a soccer club called ‘The Soccer Divas’ for amateur women. I am playing football for the first time in my life and cannot believe that I am both the goalkeeper and captain! I anticipate turning the Watoto Africa Soccer Awards (WASA) into an East African event. It involves a series of tournaments and an award ceremony, and we are now in the fifth edition.
Ps: This blog (Mummy Tales) has been nominated for an award in the 2016 BAKE awards – in the Best Topical Blog category. I will appreciate your support. Kindly click onthis linkto cast your vote (number 11 .b). Ensure you click on the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page to complete the voting process. Thank you for your time.
I recently received an invite for a media tour at the BURN factory in Ruiru. You might not be familiar with BURN factory, but you might be familiar with their Jikokoa product. Jikokoa is that cook stove that has Wilbroda of Papa Shirandula on the packaging. Translated, Jikokoa means ‘the saving stove’, and from what I have heard from other women, it saves by using way less charcoal than the regular jiko.
However, I wasn’t able to make it for the media tour, but Sylvia Wakhisi, a fellow journalist and very good features writer – who has written for the People and Standard newspapers, was able to take the tour. At the factory, Sylvia met some of the women involved in the manufacture of the stove. She spoke to two of them – working mums who toil hard to provide for their children. Sylvia shares their stories with us.
“People Think That my Work is too Heavy”
Anastacia Mutoli, a widow and mother of five has been working at the factory since September 2014. In the assembly of the Jikokoa, she deals with the bottom part which is normally placed under the jiko to support the bridge.
Anastacia at work.
Anastacia, who previously worked as a house girl and later in a security firm, says she is happy and loves her job as it enables her eke a decent living.
“The security firm dismissed me because I was not educated hence didn’t have the papers that were needed for me to keep my job. I began the search for another job and when I landed an opportunity to make jiko’s here, I decided to take it up,” she explains.
Anastacia reports to work by 7.50 a.m. so that she can be at her work station at 8.00 a.m. and leaves at 5.30 p.m.
“My salary is able to feed, clothe, provide shelter for my children, as well as pay their school fees. My first and second child just recently joined form one, and that gives me the drive to work hard and educate them because I want them to have a good quality of life ahead,” she says.
This is the job that gives Anastacia her bread and butter.
Anastacia enjoys working at BURN factory because, whenever she has financial challenges, she is able to get a soft loan from them. Aside from that, Anastacia has enrolled for English lessons at her work place where she and other colleagues are taught how to read and write.
One of the most interesting things about the nature of her work is how people react when she tells them she works in a factory – a factory that manufactures jikos no less.
“When I tell my friends that I work at Jikokoa, they become surprised and shocked because they feel the work involved is heavy and hard. They feel it should be a preserve of the men folk. But I always tell them that it’s better than doing nothing,” she says.
“My Goal is to Further my Education.”
Pauline Mawia, a mother of one, has also been working at the factory since August 2013. Her specialty is handling the slip handles-astry and side body handles- and making sure that they are in good form before they are fixed on the jiko.
Pauline at work.
“My typical working day starts at 8.00 a.m. and ends at 5.30 p.m. I am normally given a target which I have to beat. For the astry handles, the target is 550 per day while for the side body handles it is 1,100 per day,” says Mawia.
Is Pauline satisfied with her job?
“I must admit that this kind of manual work is not for the fainthearted. I have a child, and when I was searching for a job, this is what came up and I decided to take it up. At the end of the day, it is my child who matters, and as long as I am able to provide, then I will do whatever it takes,” she says.
Pauline is further motivated to work hard because she is putting money aside that will enable her pursue her dream course -Business Management. She believes the salary she is getting will enable her achieve this goal.
She has some advice to all women: No job is easy. All I can say is that whichever job you happen to get, undertake it passionately and work hard. The results of this will be evident,” she says.
The other day during chama, we were going on and on about all those things women like going on and on about during chama. The chama girls – we’ve been together since our first year in campus donkey years ago, and still keep that close bond between us. Amazing. We call ourselves ‘Mascara’. When we’re feeling hippy, we call ourselves ‘Mascariots’ (don’t ask).
So we’ve gradually transitioned from days of talking about internships and new jobs, to dating, to our first new second-hand rides (Starlets and 110’s), to moving into our new ‘digs’ (one-bedroomed houses in Buru –albeit right next door to our folks), to painting the town red (I should write a novel about this one day), to job losses, to brokenness, to our siblings, our parents, to weddings, to funerals, to taking holidays together, to the blessings in our lives and now, we seem to be concentrated more on our motherhood experiences. I think we’ll be talking about that for many many years to come. Many.
God has been good to us -we have 12 children between the nine of us.
So the other day during our regular chama meet, we got listening to our newest mom go on and on and on and on about how she has not slept in the last four months. Of course, we all understood. And sympathized we her. And even empathized with her. And laughed about it too. Because we’ve been there, done that and gotten the t-shirt. Two t-shirts for me please!
Maaan, those first months can be tough! In between the night feeds, trying to burp baby, rocking him to sleep and the diaper changes, getting a good night’s sleep can actually become just but a dream – and an elusive one at that. But yet, baby must sleep since it’s very critical to his development. Why? Because when babies rest well at night, they wake up feeling happy and bright. And ready for the next feed!
So today, we have a guest – a paediatrician who shares some helpful sleep tips, especially for those of us with younger babies. Dr. David Githanga is the Chairman of the Kenya Paediatric Association, and here are his sleep tips:
Sleeping Tips for Babies
Don’t try and keep baby awake during the day thinking that he will sleep better at night. This usually just makes night sleep more disturbed.
Plan ahead for wakeful nights by having everything at hand that you might need – nappies, bottles, milk etc. Do what you have to right there in your bed so that you don’t have to wake up and start moving in and out of different rooms.
Don’t strive for absolute silence when babies (no matter the age) sleep. Normal background sounds can be very relaxing and reassuring.
Small babies need to be comforted and held close for optimal emotional security and development. If this need is responded to, baby (and mom!) will sleep better and more.
Me holding Njoki -one of our chama babies.
So there you go. By the way that tip of not keeping baby awake during the day so that he can sleep at night rings so true for me. Before I knew better, I would try and keep Kitty awake during the day so that we could all get a good night’s sleep and we would both be happy, but wapi! Nothing doing. The nights would actually become worse when I did so because he would be so cranky and tired and annoyed and I would end up so frustrated and red-eyed and cranky too. Sigh. But by the time baby number two Ello came, keeping him awake all day long was not going to feature in any strategy of mine :).
And while at it moms, remember that a good diaper plays a very important role in ensuring that your baby has a good night’s sleep!
Ps: This blog (Mummy Tales) has been nominated for an award in the 2016 BAKE awards – in the Best Topical Blog category. I will appreciate your support. Kindly click onthis linkto cast your vote (number 11 .b). Thank you for your time.
So there’s this childhood friend of mine called Faith Musau, who will be the subject of my writing today. Faith and I were classmates in Nairobi Primary right from pre-unit to class 8. A good solid nine years. We watched each other grow from little kids, through puberty, to pre-teens to teens.
Faith was this polite girl – very talkative (interestingly) with humorous stories, but yet still polite. And kind. I remember one time in class 7 when I had an excruciating headache and Faith offered to take me to the sanatorium -in the scorching sun. Nairobi Primary’s sanatorium was quite far from the main learning area (about a 10 minute walk –I’m not sure if that can be classified as ‘far’ now, but those days it was as far as Timbuktu). Each time I remembered Faith, that kind gesture came to the fore. Then I also remember this one time we’d both forgotten our home science materials at home (which was such a great crime), and the female teacher wrestled us to the ground, literally! We were really pounded weeeh! Teachers of those days were no joke.
But our school tales with Faith didn’t end after KCPE. We joined State House Girls together. So it was another four solid years of growing friendship, where we transitioned from teen girls to young women. After high school, I would bump into Faith in the streets of Nairobi from time to time, but we began seeing each other a lot more often from 2010 –when we were brought together by our mutual friend Joy. Joy is my Mwarikwha’s sister. Joy and Faith are bosom buddies, hence we’d always meet.
Faith became a mom three years ago to an adorable little boy. I remember meeting her when her son was just a few months old, and she excitedly talking about her new life as a mom, about breastfeeding, about the sleepless nights, and how I needed to share tips with her about how to raise little boys. Which I was very happy to do.
Now, Faith is your typical mom. The kind of mom that loves talking about her child. The one whose child fills up her nights and her days. The kind that is motivated to rise each day and work hard because of her child. Just like you and I, Faith absolutely loves spending every free time she can with her son. She loves playing catch with him, reading him bedtime stories, taking walks with him, taking countless photos of him, chasing him around, kicking ball with him, shopping for him, dressing him up in nice colorful boy clothes, giving him a bath, watching cartoons with him…you know…all those things that we love doing with our babies.
Today though, Faith is not able to do all those things with her son. She is in hospital right now, undergoing cancer treatment. Lymphoma. A cancer that crept up suddenly in 2014. Faith has been through so much in the last year and a half -in and out of hospital countless times undergoing consultations, tests, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, hospital admissions…the works.
Faith with some of her dearest friends. “Every girl needs a friend like Faith,” Joy (second right) once told me. Co-sign.Faith with her friends Diana and Juliet.
All the while, family and friends have been filled – and continue to be filled with hope that Faith, who has always been a strong-willed girl, will indeed emerge victorious over her cancer.
Faith is receiving treatment in a US hospital and more than anything, her greatest desire is to see her three-year old son grow up, to be there as he marks his milestones, to be there as he transitions from childhood, to puberty, to teenagehood, to adulthood. Faith is determined to raise her son into a well-mannered gentleman. It is this resolve that has kept her going during her difficult health.
It can’t be easy for Faith right now, but we are all praying for her. Fervent prayers that have been ongoing since she was diagnosed. I know that those prayers have counted for something all those months. And today, I ask you, my friends, to join her family and friends in praying for her recovery. That she will soon return home to her beautiful son who, at the tender age of three years, greatly needs his mother.
At the same time, Faith’s hospital bill, which is growing by the day, is at a level where the family needs help from friends and well-wishers across the globe. The family will appreciate any contribution you can give with this regard, and which you can make through the following channels:
MPESA: Paybill number 985050
Account Number: 0100214905
Bank Details:
Account Name: Faith Musau – Medical Fund
Account Number: 0100214905
Bank: Gulf African Bank
Branch: Upper Hill Branch
Swift Code: GAFRKENA
Faith, my dear friend, I continue to pray for you and wish you a quick recovery. I know how much you miss your son, and I pray you will soon be back home to play catch with him. Hugs.
Update: Faith was called to be with the Lord on 23 March 2016. She gained her wings peacefully, surrounded by her family. Rest in peace my dear friend.
Faith’s family still needs support, and your prayers will be appreciated. The family also needs assistance with regard to the hospital bill. Kindly help where you can. Visitthis pagefor more details.
