MY STORY

· "When I left for a week-long college orientation last June, danger was the furthest thing from my mind. I had to schedule classes, meet potential roommates, take my placement tests… everything but concern myself with safety. Rape, often featured in the nightly news, was nothing that seemed realistic to me.

The first day of orientation had gone well. I had taken in several lectures, eaten out with my orientation group, been to a “dive-in” movie and toured around the campus. I was tired, but when several girls on my dorm floor asked me to a party I was determined to go. After all, college was all social life, right? I had been to parent supervised parties back home, but they were very tame compared to the scene we witnessed upon entering.

My dorm mates abandoned me as soon as we stepped through the door. There were kegs of beer and various bottles of strong liquor set up in the kitchen, and loud music booming from the den. There were so many partiers that we were squeezed together like sardines. My confidence and pleasure over being a real college student evaporated as I watched my schoolmates dancing, drinking and even trying drugs.

I wanted to leave but we were miles from campus and my dorm mate was the only one driving. I sat down on the couch in the living room, the quietest place in the house, and tried to make the best of it. Soon, a guy my age came over. He wasn't staggering or swearing. In fact he seemed well in control of himself. He sat down beside me and we began to talk.

His name was Roger and he was a Junior. He remarked on the cross hanging from my neck and suggested we attend church together sometime. Instantly I felt better. I let my defenses down and engaged him in conversation for a while.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked after a few minutes. I told him that I didn't drink beer, and he offered me a Pepsi. He seemed so sweet and courteous. When he returned with the soda he suggested we go upstairs, to talk in quiet. I was a little suspicious, but I figured nothing could really happen in a house full of people. Besides, he was a Christian, and he seemed very kind and attentive.

We went up to one of the bedrooms and Roger left the door a little bit open, to make me feel better. I drank some soda and continued talking. Soon I was exhausted, almost so badly that I couldn't keep my eyes open. I asked Roger to find my friends and have them give me a ride home. He agreed and went out, closing the door softly. I closed my eyes and felt my forehead, wondering if I was coming down with something.

Then, suddenly, Roger was back in the room. He closed the door this time and locked it as well. I tried to get up and yell but I couldn't. I was too weak to even sit up. He raped me in the bedroom, among a house full of people. It was the worst night of my life. Eventually my dorm mates found me and brought me to the nurses station. I filled out a report orally while she did tests.

The nurse shocked me, saying that I had been given the date rape drug. I didn't believe her at first. I never took medication that I didn't get for myself, and I certainly hadn't had any the night before. She explained that it was most likely mixed with my Pepsi and I hadn't even noticed!

I went home early and spent months in therapy. I was feeling horrible; guilty, ashamed, frightened. It seemed like I couldn't trust anyone. After all, Roger had seemed like a real nice guy. I was afraid to go out for a while too, and held my mothers hand when we were on our way to shop or attend church. I'm feeling a lot better now, but it's taken many months to come to terms with everything.

My advice to all party-goers is BE CAREFUL. You need to be in control of the situation. Don't drink, or if you do, drink in moderation. If you are drunk you won't be able to defend yourself or think straight. Stay with friends and people you know and trust. It is tempting to go off with someone new, especially if you think the situation is safe, but that is not always the case. Whenever you feel uncomfortable head home, call a taxi, whatever. And girls, get your own beverages. The date rape drug is very common these days. You need to know that no one has tampered with your drink, even if you're just having a soda. Take care of yourself."

· "I have read through the other stories on this page in which most cases the child was kept by the mother. My story is a little different. At the age of 17 I was raped by my boyfriend and became pregnant, only I didn't know it until I had left the area to go to college. I was only at the college for 3 days when I found out I was pregnant. I called my dad and told him I wanted out of school, so he sent me to my grandparents house. Then my dad told me I had 3 choices a)abortion b)adoption or c)keeping the child myself, he wasn't going to tell me which one to choose—the problem was mine and I had to figure out how to fix it.

Well at 17 I had no job or permanent place to live at so I choose b) adoption. I have to admit it was the hardest choice I have ever had to make, but it was one that I feel was God led. I called an open adoption agency and asked a lot of questions that first day. I wanted to make sure it was legal. My social worker was the best! She helped me with any and all questions and even when my former boyfriend denied being the father she was there to hold my hand. She gave me files that couples had to fill out about themselves so I could read them and get to know them. The couple I picked even had a video tape of themselves that I got to watch. Even though the tape wasn't very clear, and I had just an idea about these people I knew God was telling me these were the people to choose. I got to meet the couple (even though I was scared outta my mind) and we had a very good visit. I ended up having a baby girl and I got to feed her and bathe her while in the hospital—it was wonderful. I was also there when the couple met that baby for the first time. I have to admit it was the hardest moment of my life, I even ended up running out of the room crying. But by the time I walked out of that hospital I knew I had done the right thing for myself and that beautiful baby girl. I was later told how brave I was to do such a thing. I don't consider myself brave, I see it as I had a bad situation and God turned it into a Godly situation. So many people have a negative reaction about adoption. I'm here to tell you it can be a beautiful, wonderful situation that is a better choice than abortion."

 

 

SINGLE MOTHER

To her regrets and I wish I new have become her dairy song every time you talk to her, she will always tell you I wish I can become a little child. You may think that she is insane because of the things she talks about but I assure you that she is 100% normal.

I never knew that a comfort life can be a path to problems until the day that I saw it myself.

She is among the girls who are said to be beautiful among the beautiful ones she is the only child of her mother and dad who are among the richest people in the village. She enjoyed her life to the fullest. Other children could beg on her for assistance since she could not lack anything. To her problems were like nightmares that are they were great enemies. Her parents took her to school like any other child. She passed well in her primary level and went ahead to high school level. In form one she did well. In form 2 she now started under estimating her own mother. She could not hear or obey her mother at all and for that reason she started performing poorly. In form 3 she pretended to know the true meaning of the word “LOVE”. No one could convince her not her mum, dad, teachers, friends and no one else was left for her to listen to. A girl who was well brought up became a wound which has no cure.

She knew that she have money because her parents were rich and she could lack nothing in there home, but there is only one thing she could not find from them which she considered to be the most important and of value to her life that is “sex”.She is now on a dilemma to choose between good or bad which she could not have differentiated.authough majority advised her to continue with school and leave sex alone but all that was in vain.

I fell free to say that she made the wrong choose and dropped out of school and got married by a police officer who is a dad to four children and had a wife who he had left at home, at first the girl never knew about it and the time she realized it she felt like going to hell. Although it was too late since she was already a mother of 3 children and on top a HIV positive. She decided to go back to her parent and apologized and since the parents remain to be parents despite how taught they are, they received her with open hands and she narrated her story to them and they decided to forgive her.

They could take a good care of her and their grand children she started medication but still guiltiness was killing her.

Any day you could meet her she had a word of advice from the experience despite that she is having everything she desired to have the fact always remain that she is HIV positive she lives to blame herself and she have no more hope in her life, and her advice to others now is ‘make a good choose in life which will never make you regret in life.

 

USUAL DISEASE

When you get infected of it you will become a patient like others who are suffering from other diseases. When it gets roots in you you will be sicker that one should be infected because it is a choice disease you can get it or not. Ask the experts who have suffered from it and get healed.

Hei! come down my friend, I am talking about using drugs i.e. abusing drugs. The kind of drugs that I am talking about  are the ones which are not prescribed by doctors for instance cocaine, mandrax, wine and spirits, beer, bhang among others.

In primary school my teacher taught me that these drugs bring a disease known as cirrhosis in high school my teacher told me that drugs like bhang can make one go insane. But now in the real world my own observation and experience I can say that I have learnt a lot concerning them like the diseases and problems that they cause, my very honored teacher Mr. Media Stations of Kenya  among them being Citizen TV, and K24 TV, I salute you in a great way. You are among the best teachers I have ever had. Through the story that was aired by K24 TV about a man who had qualified in teaching professional and later changed his profession to drugs addicted profession and the one which was aired by Citizen TV of an advocate to a tea harvester through drugs is an enough evidence to enable me if allowed to come up with my own proverb which says, “drugs abuse turns ones success to failure. It makes teachers and advocates beggars. It brings a lot of family divorces, it makes men irresponsible, young boys are going insane. There are many effects caused by abusing drugs but let the ones who know about it tell us  and let those who have not yet tried it don’t dare.

According to sources especially from the host’s mouth e.g. the two gentlemen an advocate and jobs, idleness, anger, peer pressure among others.

The quiz is who is to be blamed for this? At first an individual should blame him/herself for making wrong decision which can ruin hi/her life government has receive the greatest blame for not giving the youths jobs and on this am not afraid to say this because e.g. the road constructions is mostly done by people from China where I believe that many young people can do it with a guidance from an expert from our country Kenya. I believe that not only China can construct good roads we as Kenyans can also do it. Parents should also be blamed for letting their children be idle. It’s now a duty to every person to avoid the blame

Who can rescue us from the people of Muranga County as the research has shown that the big number of people from that place is drugs addicts? I salute the bishop who promises to take the ‘advocate’ named to rehabilitation center. And my wish is to urge every person to work well on hi/her par to make sure that the government to put on place many rehabilitation centers which if possible be for free to rescue our Kenyans who fall that if they can have choice they can stop abusing them. Also these should be seminars to educate people on the dangers caused by them

To conclude I would wish my hands by letting people know that it doesn’t matter how much wealth one has or how much one educated is or how poor a person may be served the fact remains that they will all be made equal by drugs which leads a person to hell. I believe that the one with ears have heard and the one without will automatically perish

 

RESCUE MY MIND

It is a question which has been a bother to my mind always. I wonder who can rescue my mind by giving me a satisfiable answer that I need. For the last 2 years I have been wondering, questioning among others but till now I have never got an answer that I have been seeking for.

I have been trying to remove this quiz in my mind and pretend that I don’t care about it but all has been in vain and now I have decided to as it publically.”Why is the numbers of the single mother becoming more every day of life.

In my research that I have done I have come up with numbers of different opinion from different people as to why we have many single mothers in our country. The major reason that I got from the people giving me the same opinion is that of young girls engaging themselves to married men to get money. This is where you find that young girls especially in high schools and college they are getting influence from their colleagues who will tell them exactly what they do to get money and in the process of trying it one get herself pregnant. Without remembering that they are married and they have their families and that’s why they cannot marry those young girls and abandon their families leading to increase of single mothers.

Another reason is where girls are falling in love with men who are surely not ready to get married. This may be because of their young age, not being financially stable among others. When they get a girl pregnant they have no option apart from dumping them and hence leaving them in a state of being single mothers.

The third reason that I got from other minor ones, is where young people are getting married for fun without considering the consequences of marrage.This is also termed as the major reason of single mother because after staying for a short period and get children, they tend to see life in an opposite direction from which they saw from the bagging and they end up getting separated hence a case of single mother.

I wonder what can be done to minimize or finish those problems which led to single mother. But on my opinion I suggest that there should be seiners being held to educate young people on effects of mirages and how they should take care of themselves and because having sex is like a normal thing to youths’ they should be educated on the right way to prevent themselves and sty a health life.

But all in all I wonder who to be blamed for this. Is it the young girls? Young boys? Those men with money or who? Can the government be blamed for not taking tuff measures against those people who raise those issues? I am in a dilemma of who will ever come to rescue this.

To be sincere the only person who can rescue my mind from this dilemma is the one who can be in a position of answering my bothering questions.

 

RIGHT TO EDUCATION

 

Some people just that being educated is usually and is of no gain No! That’s not true.

People who are educated are more advantageous and are seemed more important than others.

Don’t be surprised by this let me give a prove you can be contented.

When we come to job those jobs which are seemed an worthy like  house girl, houseboy, shamba boys and difficult jobs are all believed that are supposed to be done by uneducated people but consider those worthy jobs like journalism, accountants those big people in the government are all educated people.

If you go back to rural areas you will discover that there is a difference between an educated person and an uneducated one. The educated people gain more respect than those who are not educated. The first priorities are gained by those who are educated.

I believe and am sorry to say this that education is a choice to all people and every child can get education if she/he needs it. And as usual education is got by an active student.

There is a problem with many children who go to school fall to work hard and family start blaming their parents or guardians of not educating them. Really tell me how can a person in primary school score 90% marks out of 500 marks and start claiming that one has not been taken to high school? Seriously children you can achieve your goals.

Parents it is also your duty to make sure that you have given your child education so that at the end you will not be blamed for anything. Make sure that you are not overworking your child after school and on weekends and holidays so that they have ample time to revise.

To the sponsors don’t let any child who qualified to go to the next level of education and his/her parents are not able to drive them forward get stack there please! Just help them and let’s make them important people of tomorrow.

When we all get unite and support our children to get education we will make our country better and don’t forget that if all are educated we will be able to make the right choice era and we will be able to manage our country economically and politically.

To the government lets support our children and if possible any child to be taken as equal and to be given equal chances come to education that is let’s not favor a child because he/she was in public school and discriminate those who were in private school. Let all children be given equal chances come to education and let’s admit that if a child is bright he/she is despite where he/she got his/her primary education.

O conclusion lets all support education.

 

 

Exactly what they do to get money and in the process of trying it one gets herself pregnant. Without remembering that these men are married and have their families that is they cannot marry those young girls and abandon their family leading to increase of single mothers another reason is where girls are falling in love with men who are not surely ready to get married. This may because of their young age, not being financially stable among others. When they get a girl pregnant they have no other choice apart from dumping them and hence leaving them in a state of being single mothers.

And the third reason that I got among other minor ones is where young people are getting married for fun without first of all thinking of the consequences of marriage. This is also termed as a major reason of single mothers because after staying for some time and get children they tend to see life in an opposite direction from which they saw it in the beginning and they end up getting separated hence a case of a single mother.

I wonder what can be done to minimize or finish those problems which led to single mothers. But on my opinion I can suggest that there should be seminars being held to educate young people on the effects of marriage and how they should be educated on the right ways to prevent them and stay a healthy life.

But all in all I wonder who I to be blamed for this is it to be blamed for this is the young girls, the young boys?  those men with money or who? Can the government be blamed because of not taking tough measures to the people who raise this issue? For sure am on a dilemma I don’t know who can rescue me.

To be sincere the only person who can rescue my minds from this bothering quiz is the one who will answer me those quizzes among the others.

 

THE INTERN

 

Aay!!!!!..first article here, on a borrowed network, borrowed from the same people I wish to bring down HARD, Gangnam style(no relations, just thought it sounded cool) hard. That’s why I’m using a small window while writing, easy to minimize when someone walks in: I was once a teenager surfing in public cafés, lightning fingers on the mouse by now.

Any who , so, I’m an intern in this big organization, working IT for these guys. It`s not really a busy place(well, I’m on my desk writing this), it`s more of two or three tiring days a week, mostly from thinking on what to find on YouTube. Regardless, issues come up around this network and the boss, well, she is the boss. It`s for us(oh, we are three of us) to go round fixing stuff and well, answering questions while trying really hard not to laugh.

 There is this one not young guy that once specifically sent for *Ule Intern Wa Tie*. I’m a sucker for ties. First thing he does even before I’m inside his office, is to ask why I’m always tied up. He doesn’t see the need for a tie since even they, who are on payroll never wear that stuff(his words).He goes on and on about how this generation(don’t you just hate it when these fossils go *hawa watoto wa skuizi*) are trying to outdo the experienced ones by paying too much attention to how they look rather than what they are paid to do: here I resist very hard to throw in a “I’m not paid’. Naughty Boy’s La La La hit song plays in my head until he asks me to come in: yes I was standing at the door this whole time.

 

Okay, I start going intellect using big words like Browser, Flash Player, Bandwidth Clog, and to my joy, he listens with his mouth hanging(dumb ass) not wanting to ask anything. I throw in a few words irrelevant like AVI and Tiesto, I mean, he won’t ask, pride and all. Hitting a nerve, he lectures me on how it`s not my job to teach but to fix. I get my external hard drive, install the latest Mozilla browser(he was using IE) and update flash players and stuff. He searches for a video(Franco) and sits back and I can almost see his heart surrounded by little kids singing kumbaya and reciting the rosary that it fails to load. Sweating and doing a broken verse of my own kumbaya, it slowly loads fills up. Methuselah over here says nothing, watches the video to the end, then searches for another…and another.

As if to test my nerves, he selects a video and then, even before it starts loading, clicks at the middle of the timeline. Being in the afternoon when everyone is bored and online, the net is a bit slow…go figure what happens. Okay, let me save you the trouble, the video doesn’t play at all. Guy does “The Boss”(you know, hands on his tummy, half turn with chair) and goes, ”ona”(See). I try to explain about how a network like Safaricom becomes hard to send messages during Christmas, and try to relate that to his situation. Satisfied, (or with no comeback for that…{ding, blue corner 10 points}), he does “The Boss” again and finds other videos.

Looking for an exit route, I tell him to always use the new icon on his desktop whenever he needs to use the internet (or use my balcony anytime he is tired of being a jerk ass…well, I should have said). He rants on,again, about my tie, so I make up a story about how I’ll still have to activate his browser from my station(joys of IT guy over a muggle).

Back to my station, go over the situation and share with my friends, who highlight the same same guy for his rude ego. Aside from that, there is a police station linked to our system so sometimes we get calls from there to go help out on something. I have to ask, is there a particular language taught in police academies? Go to Mombasa, go to Kisii, the cop accent never changes. Stuff I go through in that station requires a couch and a cute psychiatrist to get me talking…No, not that though.

Generally, I don’t understand why knighted people in the office see it worth their time to put interns or even freshmen through hell. You might argue that it`s good to build the young-ling, but then, is it really necessary. I mean, these are people that are hungry for experience, with an unhealthy urge to impress…putting them through crap, is that more of training or you flexing muscles for your own egocentric fulfillment? These peeps could dazzle you with new tricks (in the case of this friend of mine here, I wouldn’t call them new tricks because this guy has completely NO tricks whatsoever) that will make you more efficient in a shorter easier way.

 

 

B.M.S

 

 

A few days ago, I sat in line at a barber shop waiting for my turn to trim one or two loose ends. Across from where I sat, a kid, about 3 years old, was seated on top of a counter, playing with his dad. Bored and tired from the long day’s work, I watched half focused on their little peek-a-boos and the wildly incoherent tête-à-tête. The dad’s phone rang, he looked at the ID and turned to the kid and said in Swahili: “Do not move, you will fall, I am coming.” I looked around for any reactions, NONE!! Good, we were all brought up Kenyan. The kid sat put, fiddling around with a set of keys he had with him. In my head…*drum roll, little imps with fireworks waiting, a huge countdown timer clock ticking away*…..

Pinocchio over there toppled off the counter, Gangnam Style(I really should stop using this). Ladies in half burnt (or whatever you do with your hair) hair dos, rollers and all salon memorabilia collide rushing to pick the kid (too mainstream, so we, the men lay back watching, making dad noises).

Funny thing is, the kid beats them to it, jostling about until he is back up on the self-made throne of his, only to realize he left the set of keys on the floor. So he leans forward, looks at them and settles back, as if satisfied with the journey he had taken. Everyone is busy laughing and marveling at the unmoved young boy, when his dad walks back in, assume the room shared a common joke, picks up the keys and Daddy Day Care goes on, almost as if nothing ever happened.

What this kid does is avert an ‘I told you’ situation with his dad, and possibly a whooping. The kid puts aside the pain of the fall, the scare, the trauma, the hustle of sitting on the counter with his play keys out of reach. He puts his feelings aside, to focus on what someone else has to say about his little mishap. Fear, you may say. You could also say the little boy understands the father will not be very happy with his actions and the resulting consequences. That’s where my point lies: FEELINGS.

This kid’s intention is severe in later years, for a few people though. These are the people who would take bullets for strangers, people who will stand waist deep in your crap and still hand you flowers while at it. Statistically (this is how geniuses on TV begin their points, sounds very official), one in every five people are from a family where one (or both) of the guardians, is quite the public icon but has a family life so messed up that Prezzo’s ex-girlfriend would be an activist in that world(too soon?) Well, that statistic is; I made it up. This “Bruno Mars Syndrome (BMS)” to many can be perceived as a trait of the gentleman. And it is. But in its severe cases, it is damaging to both the carrier and the people around them. Putting your needs first once in a while isn’t selfish; it’s “doing you”. Some people will dwell in using the BMSers to their wicked advantage, and will drag them through hell and later send them post cards from heaven.

I am a BMS afflicted moron and it cannot change. But in time, and with help, I have learnt that being “that guy” for everyone will not take me to heaven. It’ll take me through hell, literally. So I pledge to be that guy where it matters, where the other guy is ready to be that guy for me too.