The Sparkle

Defeating The Blinding Curse In Marginalized Children Picture Courtesy of Internet By JUDITH MORAA Every child desires to watch their mother smile, read & write and share in the happiness of their family's joy. This are the things we take for granted. Our ability to see the sun rise and set, watch our children play happily and even the clean water at our disposal. This is not the case in Kajiado county, which has been named as one of the trachoma-endemic counties in Kenya. Trachoma is the leading infectious cause of blindness in the world among children. It starts from childhood and if left untreated leads to total blindness. It is commonly found in Pastoral areas with poor hygiene environments. Children between 1-9 years are the most affected victims of this blinding curse followed by those aged 10-15 years. As they innocently interact with their animals, unclean water, lack basic hygiene and adequate sanitation at home and school they un...

A cry of the Unborn Photo courtesy of Internet Today I celebrate me, the birth of me, the day I made my first sound, the day I witnessed the first lovely smile, the day I felt the first pure, genuine and true love of a mother and the day I was truly accepted into a family. This is the day a name was chosen for me, a name that appear on all my records, a name that I stick with and answer to all my life without complaining. A day like this in the 1990s, I was initiated into the societal rules and regulations that I knew nothing about. A race was decided for me, a tribe, a religion, a language, a country and most of it all, I was expected to behave in a certain way immediately after my birth. On this day, my gender, dress code and my gender roles in the society were ruled out. In some communities, this is the day my bride price was decided and my fate in life concluded. All without my knowledge. As I quietly wrapped my hands around my mother’s finger, innocently smili...

Caught up in the moments of darkness PHOTO CREDITS: Mercury Press So scared was I. Nothing mattered at the moment but getting home safely. You know the feeling you get when the spotlight is on you, but only that this time its between me and the nocturnal operators. Things don't always seem real until they actually happen to you. We always hear of people's stories during their most fearful moments and we laugh it off as it usually comes out as a big joke. Well this time, it was me and it was real. Walking stealthily along the pavements of the Riverside Drive, all alone at around midnight and vulnerable to all sorts of occurrences, I have only one person in mind to trust, My Creator. The Musical me is encouraging me to utter some lyrics while the scared me disagrees. As I maneuver my way to the main road, I keep encouraging myself to remain strong for some few minutes as the Bus will come by shortly. Well, this was all in  my mind. Its crazy how things always happen ...

ONLINE ACTIVITIES: YOUR ULTIMATE BUILDER OR BREAKER. Photo:Credits Are you always missing out on those big interviews that you know you were more than qualified for? Are you not receiving interview emails after a thousand applications? The problem could be your social media platforms. How well do you present yourself in the public limelight? Are your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts professional? Do they reflect a job seeking individual? Your online social media accounts could be your resume in this social media age. Social media is becoming a big aspect of everyone’s life. People who neglect to build and maintain a strong social media presence may miss out on big opportunities. It is the social media that public figures, product brands and companies run to, whenever they need to know where they are placed in the public eye.  On the other hand the social media serves as a CV for any job seekers. What you post on your Facebook account reflec...

Scopolamine Menace PHOTO CREDITS So you woke up today in an empty apartment that looks like yours with no memories of the previous day’s events? Your school fees gone, Mpesa, Mshwari and bank accounts emptied but you can’t recall when and how?  Interesting, you might be the latest victim of the ‘devil’s breath’. Human beings have a free will to decide what, when and how to or how not to do things. Medical hypnotizing takes away this free will while extracting some information from a subject and treats some medical conditions. The difference here is that the subject is informed prior and consents to the whole exercise. On the other, Scopolamine or the devil’s breath as it is locally known in Columbia, is a lethal drug that is used mostly to block the subject’s conscious and completely eliminates the subject’s freewill to think independently. Experts have recorded that the drug blocks the free will, reduces memory and even kills making it the perfect weapon for robb...