People I admire

 She was down and out but now she is back. She has dusted herself off and is back on track ready to be more responsible with less controversies. She has great advise for anyone and everyone who may be listening. Yes she is, Nairobi's former bad gal, is back.
If you didn't know her then, here is a picture of her before the transformations.

This is a new year, almost a second chance to do to right what you did wrong last year. This year, I urge all of you to finish what you start. Many of us start soo many things but very few of use finish. I remember a sermon by T.D. Jakes about finishing. Most of us are obsessed with finishing first that if we don't finish first then we don't finish at all. How many times do we watch the Standard Chartered Marathon only to see people stop running because they saw someone else finish the race? Sometimes, when you reach the middle, you realize it's not as easy as you thought when you started so you give up but I tell you if you had the motivation to start, then you have the strength to finish. If you have listened to Betty Bayo's song 11th hour, you may have heard that it is darkest just before day break. Things are thickest before their break through. Don't give-up and please finish what you start, the satisfaction of finishing is the best. Have a motivated 2010 and continue doing the ordinary in the most extra-ordinary ways.

The year was 1968 and John Stevens Akhwari was his Tanzania’s Olympic hope at the 1968 games in Mexico City.

During the race, Akhwari fell and injured himself badly. Urged by medical personnel to quit the race and get attention, a bleeding and bandaged Akhwari refused. He continued to hobble down the path, invoking every last ounce of strength that remained in his injured body.

An hour after the race had ended, Akhwari finally made his way into the Olympic stadium limping and hobbling. The crowd stood to their feet, perhaps understanding that a great Olympic moment was unravelling. The injured athlete finally broke into a slight run, the grimace of pain on his face and the white bandages on his leg underscoring the effort each step required.

He eventually crossed the finish line to thunderous applause. When later asked why he did not quit the race, his response would find its way into the annals of history. “My country,” he said, “Did not send me to Mexico to start the race.

They sent me to finish it.” He didn’t know it then but Akhwari who finished last in 54th position (74 had begun the race) had become an Olympic legend.

Here is a video of the Olympic games of 1968

She is a 20 year old Chinese girl from Shanghai, she speaks fluent Mandarin and the only parent she knows in chinese while the only home she knows is China. This is Lou Jing, the Chinese girl that sparked debate on racism in China, attracting both sensational admiration and ignorant hate  due to her skin colour.  All this started after she joined an American like Idol competition- Let's Go! Oriental tv show.
She was a result of an illicit affair between a Shanghainese, Madam Lou and an African American. Just like in most other cases, the guy left and the mother was left to take care of her child alone. Madam Lou's husband at that time divorced her. All these family secrets were revealed on the tv show when Madam Lou was encouraged to make an appearance on the show.
Lou Jing may have not won the contest but she did hold up very well through it all. At the end of the show she was quoted saying, "I've always thought of myself as Shanghainese, but after the competition I started to have doubts about who I really am"
She hopes to study journalism at the University of Columbia....we wish her all the best.

A video of her story on CNN

Kimani Murage was a true inspiration to most of the people who heard about him, knew him or even watched or read about him. Being the oldest school boy in the world is not an easy fit. When your agemates are busy taking care of their grandchildren, yet you are busy trying to go to school with even your own grandchildren, I doubt this would be a source of pride for most of us but it was for Maruge. He wanted to go to school so that he could read the Bible (he suspected a preacher of misinterpretation) and be able to count money. He was proud to be able to have a chance to go to school and "hung out" with the kids who he called his grandchildren (2 of them actually were biological) and he promised to tell them stories about our country's history. Sounds interesting having a classmate that actually experienced all that stuff you read during history class.



My admiration for this man is humongous. He went to school at 85yrs old and gave it his all, his "syke" and excitement of moving from unknown to the known was not derailed of even dampened after he go to school, it apparently increased. I admire him because he did with passion what I usually do complaining, going to school. He once said he wanted to be a doctor when he completed his studies.

Today, I pay tribute to a great man, though belatedly. Great not because he is in the Guiness Book of Records but because he taught me and many others, it's never too late to go after your dreams. He taught me that nothing is beyond my reach if I stretch out to reach for it. He also taught me that sometimes the hand that feeds you can also poison the food it feeds you.

Maruge loved Kibaki for introducing Free Education that helped him(Maruge) to go back to school after so many years, but come 2007 Maruge was displaced thanks to Kibaki and Raila's greed for power. Maruge couldn't go to school anymore, he had no home anymore. Come 14th August 2009 at 89yrs of age, he succumbed to Stomach Cancer at the Cheshire home where he had been relocated by well wishers.



Goodbye Kimani Maruge, you fought a good fight and had not only sight but also a vision.

Sometimes in life, things don't turn out us we had planned them, but what do we do? Do we sit and wallow in self pitty or flow with the events and make the best out of our misery? Here are 3 people sharing their stories

You may also remember the Sisters who donated land to the IDPs, I wrote about them under Land to the IDPs post Now a few months later after the donation, NTV went back to see, how the settlement was coming along.

I don't think I need to say more, the title says it all...They are all over the world, helped by the St. John's Ambulance.