The forbidden fruit

Patricia Odunga

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-PHLXFP77V/

I remember when I was joining campus two years ago my mother told me to be very careful with these campus boys.  You see these words did not bear as much weight to me back then as they should have. I was 18 and thought I had experienced it all and infact knew well how to handle these boys.

Several months  into the system, those words slowly started sinking in. I could see boys walking along the corridors of the female hostels during the late hours of the night. Ladies would leave their hostels and spend nights in the male hostels. At first it never really occurred to me what was going on until I came to learn of these three words; exile, sleepovers and sex. I specifically remember one night when my friend had to seek refuge in my room after she was exiled by her roommate who was hosting her boyfriend for the night.

I thought I was being quick to conclude at first but campus comes with a lot of sexual desires. More often than not we only realise the bitterness  of this forbidden fruit when it is too late. Forget  money, love or even influence, sex is evidently the number one motivator of these campus love affairs. Where exactly does this desire and urge for sex come from when it is clearly stated in our religious books that fornication is a sin?  Share your thoughts and help me understand.

The hour of need

Frankline Omwoyohttps://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-YR9PMKH9V/

As the building went down in rubles, so did my heart. It has been three to four since the plans for the expansion of our local road kicked off. The excavators came crushing everything on its path that stood on government land.  Peoples live hood went down as  well but when a children’s home went down without notice and they had to spent the whole night in the cold, I was beaten and dejected. Nobody spoke about it, nobody stood with the orphans who had been left homeless once more. I expected the local leaders to say a word , they remained numb. Let us look at the other side of the coin.

Am particularly focusing on the 2/3 gender rule that seeks to add the number of women legislators  to reach the constitutional requirement.  this is mend  to increase the wages bill burden to the common citizens. We have seen politicians and leaders from across all political divide coming together and denouncing the retrogressive law in unison. There are alternatives  to reaching the required number of women legislators than posing a burden to the citizens who are currently between a rock and a hard place financially. One such option is to increase incentives to political parties that nominate women. in such cases some leaders have dumped personal interest at the expense of the people.

 

 

Engaging in sports

Hamza Hassan

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-6DXJFW77V

Well as much we have different views and takes on sports, I think it is one of the very few things that brings folks from different backgrounds together. That being said, we should not take this unique power that sports possesses for granted, for we for sure have no knowledge on what it will be like in the near future.

Then again, having one’s self constantly engaging in sports has them open their minds to new ideas. For instance, the best sporting role is the art of teamwork. Now for those of us terming themselves as loners, are likely to change that idea if they would engage themselves in sports every now and then.

And for those that take sports on a full time basis, you are the real MVPs. Be it for entertainment, passion, passing time or whatever reason you see fit, you already know the kind of impact sports has on an individual and the society at large. As for the minority that are not in to sports or never engage in sports, well, the joke is on you.

Nobody ever moved forward standing still!

Let’s talk breastfeeding

Njeri Njoroge

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-ZZQBJQ77V

Breastfeeding is a natural process. There is no way a mother can decipher the exact time their child shall feel hungry and even so she has to go about her daily duties. It is not fair that some people expect women to go in hiding to breast feed their child.

Everybody should try and make them feel comfortable while doing it. This is because it is scientifically proven that if a woman is uncomfortable or embarrassed there will be little to no milk production. Then it’s the poor infant that will have to suffer for something they have no hand in.
Let us all endeavor to make the world a better place for these mothers by not limiting them from doing them. The institutions that make it possible for the working moms to breast feed comfortably in special rooms is a good start.

I am of the opinion that there is no right or wrong place to breast feed as long as one is not invading another’s space or stepping on the other’s toes.
To the women out there having trouble with where to do it from,you don’t really have to worry,it’s a natural process and you need to own your motherhood and womanhood. It’s one huge blessing.

Sponsors

Mellin Amayo

Me

https://www.surveymonkey.com/results/SM-NLZZVY77V

Most of us, if not all are always so fascinated about finishing highschool and joining campus thinking it’s all fun and games. Yes it is fun, fun and mad fun. All the freedom we always yearned for while at school, we have.

The first days we’re so rich with money from our folks which we spend so well as per mum and dad’s instructions. Time goes and we become so known and familiar with school, we become so full of ourselves: attending all parties going down, visiting our friends from elsewhere, buying expensive stuff outside our normal budget and actually end up finishing all the pocket money we’re given. We become broke so soon that it is even hard to ask for money from our folks.

Since we can’t turn to our folks, we bet(which works well for most people earning them hundreds of thousands for survival while to some of us it just never works and we lose money instead), we gumble(which is not good), we start up small businesses(some good, others dubious). We engage ourselves in all sorts of money bringing deals to an extent of going with/for ‘sponsors’.

For self driven students like me, we know what we want in life and come what may we can never stoop to the level of ‘sponsors’. It’s just not right.

Money and power

Frankline Omwoyo

Power and paper. Politics and money.. They are two sides of the same coin. Some argue that money is essential in fulfilling political ambitions wile others deem money as the corrupting agent in politics. Take a glance of the politician you know, and figure out the influence of cash in his/her political career.

I look at money as a corrupting factor in politics. My thinking is that leadership is not all about money but the ideas and vision. What of the poor leaders who are visionary and ambitious? Their fate is doomed only because their pockets are not fat enough to cough out cash during campaign trails.

It all boils down to the populace.  At times I feel mindset change is the key. The leaders we choose because of their worth end up minding their own business-after all it is their money that placed them where they are.  We end up being over presented while undeserved.  We end up complaining of poor infrastructure, bad governance，crime , social inequality, drugs , finally labeling politics as dirty but for sure we are the one who made those choices- we chose money over morality.  For every choice there is consequence, for the money you choose, there is tears awaiting.

Gone daddies!!

Njeri Njoroge

The number of deadbeat dads recently is on a high with some giving the most preposterous of reasons. I honestly don’t understand why a man would sleep with a woman whom he is not intent on marrying because this suffices as the most common excuse for many.

When faced with the situation of an early pregnancy most men seem to curve and hide leaving the poor girl to deal with what’s to come.  This is never fair. I however feel that many are quick to judge these individuals as irresponsible without really looking at the situation from a guy’s perspective.

Don’t get me wrong,I am not trying to justify these men’s actions. I am just saying that they should be given time to think through the situation because when compared the burden is almost equally the same.

If after giving them a decent amount of time they still  don’t come round,well they are now certified deadbeat dads. The kenyan constitution has a clearly stipulated course of action against these caliber of men. Do not be scared to take action.

It should not be a single person’s cross to carry.There is power in two as compared to one especially in the case of early parenthood.One needs all the support they can get.Bottom line is,let us neither be too brutal nor too lenient on these men. Everybody deserves a shot.