BECAUSE CANCER PATIENTS FIGHT EVERYDAY

BECAUSE CANCER PATIENTS FIGHT EVERYDAY- 

THE TIME IN BETWEEN

It is 23^rd October, exactly twenty two days into the month dedicated to tailored

activities of raising breast cancer awareness (steps to have a plan to detect the disease in its early stages, ways to reduce chances of suffering from it, signs and symptoms to look out for and most important actualize ways of helping those who are suffering from it.) It is the month when female celebrities grace magazine covers without bras and it also the time when celebrities and everyone who has a social media page puts up messages to show support for those suffering from breast cancer. Brands and franchises’ also get an opportunity to give back to the society by rallying their customers to contribute towards helping the affected. Do not get me twisted all these are splendid things to do.

photo courtesy of: www.facebook.com/carolinemutoko

But what is going to happen when October comes to an end? Will you wait for October 2016 to do something? Or will it be an appalling story of someone suffering from breast (or any other form of cancer) aired on television or printed on the dailies that will awaken your sympathy? Then get so mad at the government for failing to revamp cancer treatment facilities, have couple of minutes of guilt for all the time you have been ungrateful for your good health, quickly ask God to forgive you for such times, run to dr. google to find out whether you exhibit any symptoms of cancer and finally with self-assurances put all that behind you and move on.

What if that was to change? Support for those suffering from cancer and those affected by its consequences is not a destination and is definitely more than an event. Cancer patients fight every day, and so my support and yours should be accorded on a daily basis. It could be little cash that you consciously plan to put aside and once it has accrued channel it to help. Or a plan to pray for all those that cancer has affected daily: you can do this as an individual or in a group (WhatsApp group, bible study group, work colleagues, etc.) Anything that you can give or do, do not wait for an event or rather do not stop after an event.

PS: I have already started taking my advice…I hope you will follow up…I know you will follow up. Thank you

elizabeth muthama

GO BIG OR GO HOME….! GO BIG AND GO HOME…! OR JUST GO HOME!!!

KATUA, THE MAN IN A MISSION

Both Katua and Kamau worked in ‘Pat-Supplies’, a hardware owned by Patel in Kariokor. On that Thursday Katua was so nice to Kamau and everyone wondered what was happening because Katua was a lot of things but nice to people was not one of them. Earlier that week Katua was told by their employer- Patel that he could have a three day off from work. He had waited for the good news for nearly four months and so he was excited that he would travel home after nearly a whole year away. He quickly told his parents who lived with his five other siblings in Mumbuni-Machakos that come Friday he would finally be home. Everyone at home was excited: His father knew he would get money to brag while drinking beer at the local brew den, his mother knew that she would finally cook chapati and upon thinking about how her neighbours’ would envy her she felt so good and of course his siblings knew they would eat a lot of good stuff that was not githeri and they would have the coolest story to tell in school.

Even with a meager wage he managed to save and so shopping for his family would not be a problem: But he had one major problem in his mind-Mueni. Mueni was the yellow skin girl Katua had a serious crash on since they were in primary school, and now that he had been in the city he knew he had an advantage over Mutune who according to the village rumour mill was dating or sneaking (let your imagination go

photo courtesy of: modespices.info

wild) around with Mueni. He thought it through and decided that a smartphone would definitely topple Mutune who was a cook at the local Secondary school. Among all the workers only Kamau owned a ‘smartphone’ although Onyango and Onyancha said it was fake, but Katua cared not. He approached Kamau and asked if he could borrow his phone over the weekend, “Na nikikupea mimi nitasaidika aje?” he retorted (How will giving you my phone benefit me?). Katua promised to bring Kamau five kilograms of green grams for free from Mumbuni and so the deal was on. Kamau was however well known for going back on his promises and Katua knew he had to be in good books with him, so he played nice through the week.

That Thursday was the D-day, Katua would find out whether his plans to impress Mueni would be thwarted. At the end of the workday Kamau seemed to avoid Katua and he knew he had to step up his game so he bought him rice viazi (rice with potatoes stew) at the food vendor to soften the grounds for negotiations. Kamau finally gave in and gave Katua the phone. His act of generosity was however loaded with commandments and warnings, “Ukiharibu hii simu utanipea 20K bila negotiations” (If you cause any damages to my phone you will pay fifteen thousand shillings and there will be no negotiations about that). He made sure to speak so loudly that everyone present would be a witness. Everyone including Katua knew Kamau’s price was an extreme exaggeration but he still had a reputation of collecting his dues no matters how dubious they were. Nevertheless, Katua agreed and left to his house to get some sleep and most importantly to learn the way around the ‘new’ phone.

Upon arrival in his home in Mumbuni, Katua made sure that Kisinga his youngest sibling went to Mueni’s home and yapped about him having new and expensive things: a phone, shoes, a trouser, etc. Over lunch his siblings sat around him as he narrated to them about life in the ‘city under the sun’, his job and off-course ‘his’ expensive new phone. He dropped names like: Whats-app, USB, power bank, selfie and all the other cool things about and around smart phones that he had recently learnt, he did not care whether he had not actually used any of them but he was sure by the time Mueni came to say hi to him he would be flawless bragging to her and would obviously win her love or overthrow Mutune, he would be content with any of the two.

After lunch Katua put the phone under his pillow in fear of tampering by his siblings as he wanted to visit the latrine which was a good distance from the main house. When he came back from the latrine Musau, one of his siblings was whistling from the smoke filled kitchen and Kisinga and the others were playing hide and seek, basically no one was in sight. He smelt something had gone awfully wrong while he was away, he rushed into his bedroom praying that whatever it was, it had nothing to

photo courtesy of: roguenaturopath.com

do with his phone, but no it had everything to do with it. The phone was on the table and its screen had a bad crack, he tried to put it on with no success. His pulse rate increased, thoughts on how to pay back Kamau and impress Mueni were competing for his attention, he began to sweat profusely and got out to catch some air, and then he saw Mueni. She had just arrived and by the look on her face Katua could tell she was ready to give him a chance or rather give the coolest man in the village a chance.

The broken phone had already ruined everything. In the split of a second he decided that figuring out a way to pay Kamau was his priority. He hurriedly said hi to her and excused himself. He needed to come up with a payback formula that inevitably meant structuring a fail proof lie to help him get some money from his grandpa who owned the biggest herd of cattle in the village and who fortunately was also his best friend. 

HE DREAMT….AND HE EXECUTED…

I have used few paragraphs to describe a man who I met and talked to for few minutes but created a great impression… Enjoy…

William Ndolo during the interview

William Ndolo is not your average model. He has his eyes fixed on a higher price than just clinching the Mr. Machakos title. When I met him at the Mr/Miss World Kenya auditions in Machakos and mentioned I had a blog and wanted to tell the story of the male models he powerfully stood up and said yes. He is in his early twenties and is the proud founder of ‘Vogue Modelling Company’ a company he started in May 2013. Apart from having a profound passion for the fashion industry he believes that by creating the company he is part of the solution to the stinging problem of unemployment in Kenya.

William Ndolo

NDOLO’S COMPANY

So far ‘Vogue Modelling Company’ has signed 40 models (7male and 33 female) nurturing their talents and representing them. Besides talent management the company also: creates television advertisements and organises fashion events.

For the Five months that the company has been in operation, it has been working from Nairobi County the first place it launched. However soon it will spread its wings to other counties: Beginning with Machakos County where it will launch on 14^th November 2015.  

For more on 'Vogue Modelling Company' check out their website

itismywords.blogspot.com wishes William Ndolo all the best.

MISS WORLD KENYA AUDITIONS, 2015- MACHAKOS COUNTY

MISS/ MR. WORLD KENYA AUDITIONS, 2015- MACHAKOS COUNTY

On Saturday at the Gelian Hotel in Machakos town, Machakos County beauties and gentlemen showed up to audition for the MWK (Miss/Mr. World Kenya)-2015 pageant. It was expected that the audition whose official sponsors included: ktn, Ashleys, Machakos Tourism and Universal Real concepts would attract hundreds if not thousands of ladies but owing to what some of the models described as poor publicity by both the County and Miss World Kenya organisers, only a handful showed up.

The models that were chosen to proceed in the competition at the County level

The county edition requires that every model audition in the county they hail from and yesterday came along way (literally) to audition in their home place. Cynthia Kanini Mueni took a break from her studies in Maasai Mara University, Narok to take a shot at the arguably arduous competition. The 22 year old beauty told ‘itsinmywords.blogspot.com’ that she hoped to see the MWK fraternity allow models who do not leave in their counties of birth audition in other counties.

Cynthia posing with a fellow model

Even though the models felt the judges were tough they lauded the organisers for running the event with a difference compared to past auditions. “This time they (organisers) were time conscious, faster and more organized” Janet Muthama.

Janet poses with Idah Nguma (Winner Miss World Kenya 2014)

MALE CATEGORY

William Ndolo a model and founder of Vogue Modelling Company

Miss World Kenya, for the first time included a male category. Male models that will emerge top in their counties will represent their counties at the national level: but unlike for their female counterparts they will not have a shot at the universe level.

The selected models (male and female) will compete at the county level and the winners will proceed to represent the county at the national level and face off with winners from other counties for the Mr. and Miss World Kenya crown. 

PS: While at the audition i met a very interesting person with an amazing story that i must tell. He...(yes he) will be the focus in my next post.

Post-Campus Life: Part2

(Part 2) of the Post-College Life series, enjoy and learn.

DEGREE, PASSION VS JOB

As you navigate the murky world of employment you will be lucky if you get exactly what you saw in your reverie. The most common scenario however, is that your first job will be short of your expectations and interests. You will begin to understand that your Bachelors degree is useful only as a conversation starter. Regardless of how far from your passion it will be just get on with it: That job will open doors of opportunities for you and it will help you discover lots of talents you did not know about yourself.

IT’S NOT TOO LATE FOR RE-INVENTION

You do not have to be a slave to the identity you had while in campus: Take advantage of the new phase, new job and new friends to re-invent yourself. You could kick away old bad habits and venture into a hobby that you have always wanted to. After campus you are most likely in your early 20s, so after thorough self-evaluation change what you want to change fast you do not want to start struggling to change when you are 30 with couple of dependents behind you.

DAMN! MONEY CAN ACTUALLY BUY HAPPINESS

To attend nice events and get yourself good things you will need money, if you cannot do this you will surely slide into sulking and sadness once in while may be too often. Do not get me wrong, money is not synonymous to happiness but as an author I love put it “Not having to worry too much about money and a shoe string budget brings a sense of ease and joy to a person’s life. It may not bring you happiness all the time but it surely shields you from being miserable”. When you are not making any money and cannot do much for yourself, it gets worse when you see through the prism of social media how much fun your friends are having.

Check out Caroline Mutoko’s 'Lessons from my 20s' HERE. This is my gift to you: I wish you happiness and excellence in your endeavors and i hope you make money.

POST-CAMPUS LIFE: PART 1- FRIENDSHIP AND SELF-CONFIDENCE

RELATIONSHIPS AND YOUR CONFIDENCE IN POST-COLLEGE

There are many stages an individual goes through in their lifetime: They normally mark the end of one journey and the beginning of another. One of the most crucial phases is arguably the one that comes after college. As opposed to when you were in Primary, High school and College: When you could literally get away with everything from boycotting books to drinking yourself crazy, decisions you make when you are a young adult from your relationships, career and even health could easily make or break your future. My friend and I sat down over lunch to talk about ‘life after college’ and here is a take away (Part 1) from our conversation as far as Friendship and Confidence are concerned.

FRIENDSHIP

YOU WILL LOSE SOME OF YOUR FRIENDS

As hard as this is to grasp, it is inevitable in your post college life.  As you and your friends get new responsibilities, new opportunities and concerns change happens inadvertently. If the change does not make you stronger it will surely kill your friendship. The person you knew as a friend becomes nothing more than a memory in the rear view and what once a blossoming friendship is reduced to inconsistent Facebook likes and short commentaries: BFFs (Best Friends Forever) is subtly replaced with KOF (Kind Of Friends). As your friend becomes a different person you are left with two options: accept them as they are or let them go. It would be fatal if you attempted to fix your friend to restore the friendship, if you can’t adjust yourself let them go.

FORGING NEW RELATIONSHIPS

As old friendships fade you will initiate new friendships. When you move to new towns and meet new people, you are bound to begin a new relationship with someone: Just ensure that you surround yourself with people who challenge you and encourage you, it would be so sad to carry unnecessary baggage in your post college life, it will slow you down.

YOU ARE NOT ALL TOO CONFIDENT IN YOURSELF…ITS OKAY

Insecurities and peer pressure does not end when you are done with college. There may be something about yourself that you still struggle to accept, fight or even hide, the only difference now and when you were eighteen should be how you handle it. Now you should at least be able to consciously work towards being at home with what you cannot change about yourself, sooner than later you will triumph and this will open reserves of positive energy and confidence that will be very instrumental as you run your daily duties.