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The recent ethnic clashes in Kenya have resulted in displacements, homes being burnt and lives being lost through violence. I (Namuyaba) began making wall hangings and decided to use them to raise funds for an orphan�s center in Korogocho slum in Kenya. The name of the center is Rehema. The center was established in 1993 by the church and they are committed to supporting destitute children, who include orphans, street children and those from extremely poor families. The Organization feeds and educates 600 children using funds from its income generating projects, well wishers and the church.
The fundraiser was on 5th April, 2008. It was held at the International house in Davis. The setting was perfect. The MC was Chege Wanjiru and the speakers were Koen Van Rompay, Don Saylor (Mayor Pro Tem) and I. The attendance was good and the atmosphere was really social. People in attendance had good food, good art, good music and made new friends. Most of the art received bids. There were also bracelets donated by Leslie which helped boost the sales. We also received one very special �peace of art� from Ab Copeland and it was a praying woman done in pencil.
This was a very successful event.
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STRAIGHT FROM THE ART (Peace of Art Fundraiser)
to celebrate Jamuhuri Day (Kenya Independence day) at the
invitation of Ushirka Kenya.
The day began with a tea reception at the International
House Davis (I-House) where he met with Davis City
officials, University faculty from both University of California
Davis (UCD) and California State University of Sacramento
(CSUS), I -House Board members and Community
Organization leaders.
The next event was at the Avid Reader Bookstore where he
had a book reading from his latest book Wizard of the Crow.
The event was very well attended though there was a
noticeable scarcity of his fellow Countrymen. All seats were
occupied and some people stood while others sat on the
stairs. The book sales were also very high.
In the evening the festivities were held at the Davis Senior
Center for the Jamuhuri Celebrations. The event was very
well attended and the program was very engaging. Ngugi Wa
Thiong’o was the Keynote speaker. He gave the audience
many good points one of which was Unity and Toloreance
especially since the Kenyan elections were days away.
On Sunday he had lunch with Board members of Ushirika
Kenya and Boma Yetu. He later left after a fantastic visit.
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On November 1st, 2006, we celebrated the occasion with a
wonderful book reading by Ngugi Wa Thiong'o from his latest
book Wizard Of The Crow. The venue was University of Los
Angeles (UCLA). It was co-sponsored by African studies
center, comparative literature, and department of French and
Francophone studies.
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o
Ngugi Wa Thiong’o is one of Africa's most accomplished and
prominent novelists. He was born in Limuru, Kenya on 5th
January 1938.
Ngugi always sympathized with the oppressed and
underprivileged people in his nation. Before independence
this included most Kenyans, for the country was being ruled
by foreigners; but after independence he showed that the
poor, rural, working class people continued to suffer-this
time at the hands of their more fortunately placed fellow
countrymen who controlled all the levers of political and
economic power. So Ngugi's primary target of criticism
shifted from the colonial government to the neo-colonial
government. Ngugi chooses to write in his native Kikuyu to
help revitalize indigenous languages and his writings are
critical of the corrupt politicians and ultimately led to his
1977 arrest, detention and eventual exile.
He attended Alliance High school 1955-1959, and Makerere
University College in Kampala, Uganda, in 1959-1964. After
earning a B.A. in English he worked as a journalist for
Nairobi's Daily Nation for half a year before leaving to
continue his studies in literature at the University of Leeds
in England. He returned to Kenya in 1967 and taught in the
English department at Nairobi University until January 1969,
when he resigned in protest during a students' strike. He
lectured in African literature at Northwestern University in
Illinois from 1970 through 1971, then resumed teaching at
Nairobi University College, where he soon was appointed
acting head of the English Department. Ngugi came to the
United States, teaching at Yale University and Amherst
College before becoming the Erich Maria Remarque professor
of comparative literature and a professor of performance
studies at New York University, New York City, New York.He is currently at University of California Irvine. He is a
distinguished Professor for English and comparative
literature. He is also the Director of the International
Center for writing and translation.
In exile for more than twenty years, Ngugi Wa Thiong'o has
become one of the most widely read African writers of his
time, the power and scope of his work garnering him
international attention and praise. His aim in Wizard of the
Crow is, in his own words, nothing less than "to sum up
Africa of the twentieth century in the context of 2,000
years of world history."
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