Year In Review: 2013

One thing I love about business is the sheer satisfaction of success at the end of a good day. Each moment is orchestrated to reflect the time and hard work the team poured into it. 

2013 was all round extraordinarily great.

It has been a year full of love, friendship, trials business-wise and glorious celebration when all went well. Many are the times I almost gave up on the dream. I would then look back to the better days we’ve had, dry the tears and put on the fighting shoes again.

It’s also a year I got to spend quality time with my best friends and with whom I got to share so many first moments.

We went Quad Biking in Lukenya for the first time 

..and it was exxxtremely adventurous

Spent a weekend at the Rhino Charge with awesome company

My Bff, Eve found her Knight in Shining Armor :)

These great friends and I dedicated most Sundays of the year to spending time and donating foodstuff to orphans at Priscilla and Chalk Children's Home

We got together for fun-filled times of Horse Riding

Participated in more charity work

And DK and I grew stronger every day of the year. 

But most importantly I cultivated a closer relationship with God. I’m so thankful to Him for the blessings throughout 2013 and I know 2014 is well on its way for a repeat.

Happy Holidays Great People.

A Ray of Hope

Every morning, I wake up with a prayer in my heart, "Dear God may you use me to make a difference, with the little I'm blessed with, help me put a smile in someone's life."

I know that in a small way, God hears me, and gives me wonderful chances like this one to serve him, to serve humanity, and to make a difference.

At the beginning of each year, my friends and I come together, identify a needy institution in our community then make it a calendar commitment to contribute towards the project. Come December, we visit the institution; share lunch and Christmas gifts with them then contribute towards ensuring their lives in the following months after our visit are easier lived.

We started this initiative in 2010, where we visited Meru General Hospital, Maternity Ward, shared gifts with the new mothers and their bundles of joy, presently to make their motherhood journey smoother. 

In 2011, we visited Njia Special School, a school for the deaf, mentally and physically disabled children. The management relies on Government Aid in running the institution, but as we would all expect, kids with special needs require Special Care hence their maintenance cost runs a bit higher than that of normal primary school going children.

Being a boarding school, the school had a greater responsibility. We spent the day with them, presented them gifts, enough mattresses, dry food, new uniforms, washing basins, learning material, sanitary towels among many other donations.

In 2012, we visited Kamatungu Special School for the deaf in Tharaka. The school had one text book per class, which normally, is the teacher’s copy. This is without doubt an uphill task. Learning sign language, the teacher explained, requires persisted practice and sharing one copy in a class of thirty pupils, well posed a great challenge.

After our visit, one copy would now be shared by a maximum of three pupils, something the teacher had been praying about since joining the school.

Last weekend, we were blessed to hold our annual charity event of 2013 at Machaku Special Unit, an institution that takes care of physically and mentally disabled children in the community. 

The children come from very humble backgrounds, and their parents cannot afford to provide them two meals per day, save for the special care and treatment that is required to cater for the children’s needs. 

The head teacher, Victor Mbaabu, was humbled when I gave him a call months back to let him know we were planning on visiting his school in December. He gave us a list of the school’s challenges, the feeding programme being the principal test. The 14th day of December, 2013 was finally here and we spent it with the kids.

We played:

Sung and Danced:

We ate to our fill:

Then we presented the little Christmas gifts we had. We bought the school teaching materials, charts and brain stimulators, dry food to last them a whole learning term, sanitary towels to last the girls the whole of 2014, each child got a blanket to carry home, every parent got 2Kgs of Chapati Flour to cook on Christmas Day and many other presents.

This is our ten percent. Sharing the little we have, makes a huge difference in the lives of these beautiful people of God.


This boy is physically and mentally disabled. I might not be able to permanently change that situation, but showing him he is loved, seeing this adorable smile, is a memory I will hold in my heart till the day I die.

18 and The Maji Beach Hotel

 You know how December is peaked with corporate end of year parties? Yes, I’ve been attending a couple of those the last few days and I must state it’s really humbling to receive invites to a party designed to appreciate you for being a loyal client.

Last evening, I was invited to Twiga Tours and Travel Annual Christmas Cocktail Party. The event was held at Apollo Centre, Westlands, and Shazmin, the Director, was in point of fact, the one receiving guests at the entrance. She’s a remarkably gorgeous and stylish lady, warm at heart, very social and exxxtremely chatty.

After giving an introductory speech, she joined our table, took a bite of the crispy coated prawns and quickly sipped on her soda. And I snapped, “what?” then she whispers, “It’s too spicy” and I go, “but you’re Indian!” and she whispers, “please don’t tell the rest of them”. And I think I just told the Whole World Wide Web now. Sorry Shazmin. Then we spent the rest of the evening talking about everything travel and DK even got a package for a honeymoon I didn’t know he was planning. So much with keeping surprises!

Next, there was a raffle competition. At the registration desk, every guest was given a ticket, each ticket standing a chance to win one of the seven possible prizes. And the prizes were huge! Some of those I can remember were tickets to Masai Mara, a night for two at Sarova Whitesands and Pedicure, Manicure and Facial vouchers to one of the leading Beauty Salons in the country. 

This is how the raffle played. Guests were randomly picked to draw a ticket from the bowl containing a copy of every number issued at the entrance.

And here is where the story gets exciting.

It was time for the last draw, and the grand prize of the evening. For a quantity of reason, everyone pointed to our table for one of us to draw the ticket from the bowl since we had been busy talking all night. And the Marketing Manager, Vincent, brought the bowl to us with an enormous smile on his face. I put two fingers in and pulled out the first folded number I touched.

“Eighteen” I told Vincent, holding up the paper.

“Number Eighteen” he announced to Shazmin. 

“And the lucky winner of the grand prize is holder of ticket number EIGHTEEN” Shazmin broadcasted. 

Silence. 

“Number eighteen anyone?” She repeated. “One. Eight?” “E.i.g.h.t.e.e.n?”

“Oh My God, I’m number eighteen!”  Pause. “That’s my ticket number!!” I yelled, raising my ticket up with both hands and jumping up in disbelief.

And everyone burst out laughing.

“You picked out your own number?!” Shazmin voiced though the mic.

“Haha You bet I did! I couldn’t let anyone else win the grand prize!!” I said with a prided laugh then ran to the stage.

“This is unbelievable, you have to go with me” she said putting on a serious face.

“NOOOO!!! Not with you!” I screamed as I jumped to the stage.

And there was more laughter.

“Ok, you earned it. People, she just won a fully paid return flight for two to Diani, Mombasa PLUS two nights at The Maji Beach Hotel full board accommodation courtesy of Twiga Tours and Air Kenya.”

I’ve spent all morning on their website..

 And I now even know which room number I want to sleep in when we get there,

CANNOT. Believe. It. I officially have a new lucky number 18 and I’m so grateful to Twiga Tours, Shazmin, the first Indian I’ve dined with who hates spicy food and her welcoming, sociable and engaging staff.

To learn more about Twiga Tours and to win amazing getaways please visit their website.

To join Joanne in envying DK and I, and see more photos of The Maji Beach Hotel we will be visiting, please click here.

Sorcery Illusion

I came across this piece on the web a few days ago.

Really, how uncooperative can your brains brain get.

Smokey White

Strange thing about owning a pet is, you’ve wordlessly agreed to live together. Till death do you part. You do not communicate in a language you would both understand but you’re mutually comfortable with that.

Smokey and I understand that the best we can do is try to read each other’s minds. I know when he needs to be fed, cleaned, stroked and he knows the difference between play day and labor day.

Then there are times I attempt to read his mind and he becomes an instant smile that sits squarely in the nucleus of my life.