US President Barack Obama has just finished his Speech in Accra, Ghana. In it, he very clearly lauds Ghana for upholding democracy, and expresses hope that Africa is capable of rising above historic injustice and poverty.

‘The people of Africa are ready to claim that future. In my country, African-Americans — including so many recent immigrants — have thrived in every sector of society. We have done so despite a difficult past, and we have drawn strength from our African heritage. With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos; in Kigali and Kinshasa; in Harare and right here in Accra.

Fifty-two years ago, the eyes of the world were on Ghana. And a young preacher named Martin Luther King traveled here, to Accra, to watch the Union Jack come down and the Ghanaian flag go up. This was before the march on Washington or the success of the civil rights movement in my country. Dr. King was asked how he felt while watching the birth of a nation. And he said: “It renews my conviction in the ultimate triumph of justice.”’

He was very likely thinking of Kenya, his father’s country when he said;

‘Africa doesn’t need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.’

He reached out to the young people of Africa, acknowledging that they make up the larger part of the population.

‘And I am particularly speaking to the young people. In places like Ghana, you make up over half of the population. Here is what you must know: the world will be what you make of it.

You have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease, end conflicts and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes you can.’

Full text of Obama’s Speech in Accra, Ghana on Kenyaimagine

©Juliet Maruru 2009 www.jmaruru.wordpress.com

What did you learn from MJ’s daughter’s words yesterday? That every man is someone’s son, brother, husband, father. Sometimes, writers, journalists members of the media fraternity forget that the people we write about, report are human beings and they have family who love them.

While we do have a responsibility to provide true information about current events, we also have a responsibility to make sure that we do not ever cause unnecessary pain and distress to the very likely innocent family members of those persons.

Your votes are in and the story of the week is…

Rendezvous by Chrispus Kimaru, he wins again! Read it here

And now a little bit about the scheduled Storymoja Story of the Month. All stories that will be submitted by Sunday 5^th, 12th, 19^th and 26^th of the month of July then published on the blog the following Monday, will be eligible first to win the Storymoja Story of the Week. Winners of the Story of the week get a chance to have their profiles and personal blogs featured on the Storymoja Blog and Website at the end of that week.

The winner and 1^st runner up will be entered into the Storymoja Story of the Month which will be closed for judging on Monday 27^th, July 2009. The judges who will be chosen from among you readers who will enter the Write, Judge and Win Contest which closes on Wednesday 8^th, July 2009 at 11.59pm.

The winner of the Storymoja Story of the Month will get a ticket to the three day literary Storymoja Hay Festival on Friday 31st July, Saturday 1st August, Sunday 2nd August 2009 at the Impala Club Grounds.

Well, then, get writing, send in your stories and then join us here on Monday for the next batch of stories and be sure to vote for the Story of the week July 6^th, 2009. If you would like your story to compete for the Story of the Week and very likely the Story of the Month, please send in your story to blogs@storymojaafrica.co.ke before the deadline.

Every Kenyan talks about counselling needs whenever tragedy occurs, but when they seek these services in our public hospitals, they end up getting a raw deal. Many of the so-called counsellors have no qualifications to carry out this demanding job.

Additionally, many counsellors do not appreciate their roles on the frontlines of the war against mental illness, and they refuse to send their clients for specialised care. Many try to create a distinction between what they do and ‘‘mental health’’ thus enhancing the stigma many mentally ill patients suffer in the first place. Join the discussion here…

Also on Kenya Imagine [www.kenyaimagine.com]

• Tribute to the King of Pop
• Let’s not be tempted to invade Somalia
• Can you wear this?
• Somalia: the case for Intervention
• Kenyan Budget 2009/10: putting lipstick on a pig
• Soundtracks
• Lost in translation
• Basic Right
• Idiocracy

It is official, I hate all-girl slumber parties.

Sure I love to blog and post online stuff about me that no one in particular wants to know about. But I hate to sit around with too many girls, too much wine, very likely chocolate and topics that revolve around the ‘men’ in our lives.

Now where would I start if I was to talk about the men in my life.

How about a cold, distant father, who seems to have jinxed my emotive processes?

Or the first love of my life who died in his sleep and left me comparing all the men I meet to his impossibly perfect qualities?

Or a certain Mr. X who would compete very succesfully with Love number 1, but who has his own love that I can never oust?

Or perhaps, more reasonably I could talk about Mr. Now, who just happens to be a really nice man, with a penchant to say all the wrong things about my past? It’s been a bit too many ‘I don’t think we could work…’

So I am at the slumber party listening to everyone complain about their ‘men’, well except for Lady D, whose man, even I have to admit is great. She is reasonable too. She said at one very heated moment, that she knew her man was imperfect but she chose to love him anyway.

Lady C said the same thing, except her man is a woman beater, and I think she should get out, but last time I told her that, she said I was not in any position to tell her what to do. I agreed. I have never been with an abusive man, and if I ever found myself there, I would like to think I am strong enough to get out.

Well, I would like to think…

Anyway, I have chosen not to let these ladies pick my brain. No, I do not think I am any better than them. I just think that there is a time to talk, and a time to work through my thoughts and feelings without getting totally confused by someone else’s opinion.

I know, Mr. X says I can be very independent, it can be a strength and a weakness. He would know, he is a lot like me.

So after the slumber party, I told Mr. Now that I would try to understand him, if he would do the same for me. I have no idea if it will work. He has very set ideas about what should be. Problem is, my life is living proof that not everything works the way it is supposed to. But that does not necessarily mean that it is all bad. It is just different.

What do you do when things are different, when you find yourself thinking differently from a lot of the people around you, when you feel and experience life differently, when you make choices that are different?

I told Lady N that I have principles and beliefs that I would never give up for anything, but that I would never give up who I really am so I can be like everyone else. She said I was likely to scare the ‘men’ away, likely to never get married in time [whose time?], likely to never do things the way they are supposed to be done.

I told her that there were very many women who had not lived the ‘traditionally accepted’ life but who were nevertheless content and happy. She said that if I was from Europe or America, she would buy that. In Africa, she said, I would stand out and people would not be forgiving.

I laughed a little, but I thought it was sad. I am just a little different, quirky perhaps, with a slanted view on life maybe… what if my life choices were much more drastic? I mean, like my friend, whom Lady C dares to point at.  Lady C thinks that she is in a much better place than my friend. My friend has an alternative lifestyle, but no one is beating up on her, no one is telling her everyday that she is not good enough. She is strong, and she takes care of herself. I would much rather be like her than be a helpless, insecure woman who would rather be with a man who buys her makeup, the latest fashion fad, and a car, but abuses emotionally and physically.

Oh well, I knew I should not have been here… I just hoped. Now I know for sure.  Yeah, I should change my slumber party buddies…

How would you like to judge the Storymoja Story of the Month contest as well as win tickets to the Storymoja Hay Festival? All you have to do is send in a 600 word essay on the importance of reading and literature for economic development of Kenya. This essay must be submitted by Wednesday 8th, July, 2009 before 11.59pm.

Two winners will help the editorial team read and judge stories entered into the Storymoja Story of the Month. They will also get two tickets each to the Storymoja Hay Festival!

Send in your essays now! blogs[a]storymojaafrica.co.ke Then look out for details about the Storymoja Story of the Month.

Kenya’s minister for Public Health and Sanitation Mrs. Beth Mugo held a press conference this morning in Nairobi to confirm the case. The new case is different from a false suspect which had been reported last week in Nairobi.

The patient a British national jetted into the country from the UK over the weekend. He presented symptoms of the disease on Saturday night. Samples were taken on Sunday morning and by evening, they had been confirmed as positive.

The UK student is part of a group that is in Kisumu in Western Kenya for a medical camp. The student had travelled from Nairobi to the lakeside city in a bus with fellow students.

Confirmatory tests had been carried out at three different laboratories at the institution as per World Health Organisation guidelines.

The three labs include that operated by Kemri itself, a second one run by the US Centres for disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a third one operated by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research also of the US. All the three are hosted at the Kemri headquarters in Nairobi.

Dr Kioko, however, added that only mild strains of the virus had been found out.

“It is not a serious case and there is no cause for panic,” he said.

On Monday, the public health officials isolated the student in a hotel room as arrangements were made to transfer him to a hospital.

The symptoms of H1N1 in people are similar to the symptoms of common seasonal flu. The common symptoms of H1N1 Flu include:

• Fever – particularly a fever of over 100 degrees

• Sore throat

• Cough

• Chills and fatigue

• Body aches

• Headache

• Occasionally, vomiting and diarrhea

Persons who experience flu-like symptoms should immediately contact their physician, but, remember, Swine Flu is a highly contagious disease and people who believe they are infected with H1N1 should avoid going out in public unless absolutely necessary. So, call first.

Warning Signs

People at higher risk of serious complications from seasonal flu, including people over the age 65, and children younger than 5 years old, pregnant women, people of any age with chronic medical conditions (such as asthma, diabetes, or heart disease), and people who are infected with HIV should be extra vigilant in looking for the symptoms of H1N1.

Because young children often cannot explain how they are feeling it especially important to keep an eye out for children who are having difficulty breathing.

If any person, but particularly small children and others in high risk groups, exhibit any of the following serious warning signs, seek immediate emergency medical care:

• Trouble breathing, including rapid breathing.

• Gray or bluish skin color

• Not drinking enough fluids

• Sleeping constantly and not interacting when awake

• Being especially irritable

• Not urinating or no tears when crying

• The symptoms improve but then return with fever and worse cough

Also please remember that causing unnecessary panic would likely only make the situation much more difficult to control. However, there are a few things you need to keep in mind.

• Swine flu likely spreads by direct contact with respiratory secretions of someone that is sick with swine flu, like if they were coughing and sneezing close to you.

• People with swine flu are likely contagious for one day before and up to seven days after they began to get sick with swine flu symptoms.

• Droplets from a cough or sneeze can also contaminate surfaces, such as a doorknob, drinking glass, or kitchen counter, although these germs likely don’t survive for more than a few hours.

• Anti-flu medications, including Tamiflu (oseltamivir) and Relenza (zanamivir), are available to prevent and treat swine flu even in Kenya.

• The latest swine flu news includes advice that students should stay home if they have swine flu symptoms, but schools do not need to close unless they have large clusters of cases that are affecting school functioning.

I don’t watch TV in the morning, but I’ve been glued to this couch all morning, occasionally getting up on my feet and breaking out into the moonwalk. I didn’t even know I can moonwalk.

I would say I love Michael, but I can’t even say I know the guy. I have loved his music ever since I watched my big brother dance in that way that made my grandma frown when she walked in on the cousins dancing in her living room.

I can sing very many of his songs from memory. I can’t say my voice is any good, but I can sing very many of his songs from memory. Most of the time I just mime that very classic MJ whoop.

For a man who had the ability to create completely new trends in music, he also attracted a lot of negative publicity. Being accused then acquited of the crime of child molestation pretty much sent his career into the shadows.

Somehow, I think that if he had made it to the first of the ‘Final curtain call’ concerts he would have been riding high once again.

Sadly, it has taken his death to remind his fans just how truly popular the ‘King of Pop’ was.

Check out the moves above.  Remember…

Do you even remember?
I do…
Sitting in the back of your red truck?
I do…
When we talked about everything?
I do…
And about what I was going to be?
I do…
And what you had to be?
I do…

Don’t you remember what you said?
I do…
That I was never going to be good enough?
I do…
That I was damaged, ruined, not quite right?
I do…
That she was much better than me?
I do…
And she was just right for you?
I do…

Well, I think I did just fine,
I do…
And I think I survived,
I do…
And I’ll yet be good enough,
I do…
Just not for you, but for me,
I do…
I think I’m just fine with or without you,
I do…

© Juliet Maruru 2009 www.jmaruru.wordpress.com