Sikiliza

I must admit, I am at a low point right this minute; my body mind and soul are screaming exhaustion and its not even 10am. Most nights, I toss and turn at flashes of ideas, pending things in my to-do list that now haunt and occupy my dreams. I sleep late and wake up early, almost guilty for 'wasting time' resting when there is so so much to do and so little time. It sounds ridiculous and unsustainable but I am afraid that thats the current situation. I enjoy the work I do but as we all know it is not always easy. Also, new developments! I am so happy to be back in University doing part time night classes. Even at the tail end of a busy workday my brain is absorbing everything I can - I keep having to virtually pinch myself in class to remind myself that my 16 year hiatus of studies has finally ended! I am soo excited! More and more, into my journey of embracing feminist principles, I am in awe of how much I do not know. I have been transitioning from a default shrug...

I have been known to be truly moved; moved to introspection, action, silence, tears, joy. It is not every day though I have been moved to words..Especially nowadays where stories remain vividly raw, too real but yet largely unspoken and unwritten. Pardon my clumsiness, tardiness and impertinence in capturing a slice of my reflections today: Me we us All of me Pulses, sways, sings Needs, takes, grabs Fights, confronts,  creates Connects,  Inspire. Me I us All of me, Breathes, exhales Desires, lusts Touches Reaches Fucks, likes Wants, loves Burns, consumes Falls, soars. Me we us All of me Questions, worries Cries, laughs Learns, dreams Hopes, open Lives Here  Now.

There is this monster we bore and raised called diplomatic immunity that rears its ugly head many a time. Anytime it comes to play it is when the proverbial sh*t has hit the fan…. Recently I came across a disturbing new article that reported that #UNEP employee Alphonse Kambu based in Nairobi from Papua New Guinea who has been accused of physically assaulting his estranged partner Ruth Gakii on Sunday night at Jacaranda estate, as their three-year-old son looked on . The United Nations Environmental Program - UNEP has expressed its willingness to assist with investigations into an incident where one of its staffers is accused of assaulting his estranged Kenyan lover and causing her grevious bodily harm. In a statement to newsrooms, the UN body has clarified that its employees are only immune from prosecution in actions or words spoken during the cause of their duty and not personal actions. The statement came even as police launched investigations into the matter, ...

L-R: Me, Melissa - MAVC, Mercy BHESP, Maya & Hannah - Tactical Tech and Nida - MAVC I got to know (and love) Tactical Tech in 2013 - its  a great non-profit organisation that advances the use of information and digital technologies used by advocates and activists worldwide. I particularly love and subscribe to the very cool toolkits they have developed for activists and NGO's around how to take stock of their advocacy or activism work and their digital security (or lack of it for that matter). I particularly love the Security-in-a-Box Toolkit with a multiplicities of cool tips and tricks on internet and web vulnerabilities that we encounter in daily tech lives as activists. I recently took part in a discussion and sharing of research findings that Tactical Tech undertook with the Kenyan LGBTI community (with support from a very cool organisation called  Making All Voices Count Fund .) The study is called  The Möbius Strip: How LGBTQ Keny...

Sometimes you have those weeks when you have nothing to look forward to...well, this week isn't one of them! A random public holiday on a Tuesday to mark Mashujaa Day was pretty awesome....Monday became the new Friday..TGIM..lol at least this week that is... Well another amazing thing to look forward to is the  Tamasha Festival which  is a biennial celebration of Africa and African media makers in the mediums of film, photography, music and literature. In 2016, the festival will bring together creatives from across Africa and the greater African Diaspora for a series of performances, workshops and conversations around the arts.  The Tamasha pre-festival showcase will host some of East Africa's most inspiring, trendsetting and innovative artists as a launchpad to the main festival in 2016. And so if you are like me, you have bought your Advance Tickets and saved some cash! If you havent please do that right away via MOOKH for Ksh....

I was having a conversation with a friend on our personal and collective ideas around belief, religion, and traditions. Reflecting back, I marvel how much we humans are so preoccupied by the way we do things, how and why, and for who and for what?! It is as though these thoughts really take a large proportion of our time and preoccupation. Well, for me at least and perhaps more than I would care to admit… And so today, I am pondering about my ideas, around my sense of purpose and the things I think that I am meant to achieve in this life. As I dwell on this and draw a quote from a rather famous Kenyan Oscar winner who said, “.. our dreams are valid.” I am curious to know how much of what we hope and dream for can weave into every day talk of our life’s purpose and ambitions.  To read the full story click on:  http://standbyme.rnw.org/content/my-fight-is-my-dream/

The following is a talk I had on 31st July 2014 in Amsterdam Netherlands. I Melissa Muthoni’s on choices in Kenya Melissa 'Celebrate Freedom Summit 2014' Credit RNW/Michiel Bles