STORIES FROM MY HEART

I am fascinated by leadership. I constantly ask myself what it is about leaders that make them stand out, or how they manage to be the ones charting out the path for others to follow. How do they convince others that their plan, strategy and ideas are what others should believe in, and take them up as if it were their own, with such passion and infectious energy? When I heard that Caroline Mutoko had been appointed the chair of the Kenya Tourism Development Corporation , my leadership alert perked. Caroline Mutoko is a leader. No doubt. We have seen her in action, on the streets, on Radio, and when recently watched her on CNN's African voices , I wondered, how one person can garner so much leadership essentials, and how she manages to not only run a high level career, maintain a genuine patriotism for a country whose leaders she constantly contests, and still be a doting mother. Now, Tourism is topmost in the Kenyan agenda. Ms Mutoko displays through her steel hand a con...

I started a discussion on twitter this afternoon, tagged #Icelebratekenya interesting what tweets came out of it. I think I should be part of the Brand Kenya team. I could do it for free (I lie) but you get me, right? No, I don't want to go to the Olympics, I don't even like crowded places. Thanks. I digress. Timing is everything.Given the Kenyan team's departure to London, there is this profound patriotic spirit that is now hovering around. Most other times, we are such a fragmented nation, torn apart by not only tribe, but also by economic disparity and a growing techonology gap, where the rate of urbanisation is leaving most of rural Kenya in the last century. But, today, and in the next few weeks, Brand Kenya should have maximized on this grand spirit, that may not be here for another few years. So, this afternoon, we tried to celebrate those things that make us Kenyan. Here are a few tweets.

Ok Maybe you do :-) But thanking Bankelele for the mention in his 10 Business Blogs in East Africa. Mucho gracias my Brother!

Gal this is Ian, Wanjohi gave me your address jana and told me that i have to talk to you. Don’t know what but all in all how have you been? I am just from job hungry and worn out and the only thing that is ringing in my head is kitchen then bed. Hope to hear from you soon. Bye! Njoroge. This was a letter written to me on 6th March 2002, from a young man i was seriously growing a crush on. His name was Ian, and he had the most beautiful eyes. This was an email he wrote to me when a mutual friend (Wanjohi) made fun of how much he thought I liked Ian. I did, and after this email, were more emails and phone calls to his home in Sigona, or he to my aunt's house in Buruburu where I lived then; way back when landlines ruled the world. We were both students at the Alliance Francaise, but he was way ahead of me, and was already pretty fluent in French, he had even taken up a part time job teaching French in a school in Westlands. We would have several lunches together at a...

I want to see you again To feel my heart beating again quicken with latent, sensual response That a woman only feels for her man That smile, sneer, smirk... shimmering anticipation splintering excitement As your gaze burns into mine shadowy darkness silken warmth utterly, irrevocably male I'd love to see you again Then smile at the memory