Wanjiku in Global Development: Everyday Ordinary Women Livelihood Economy in Kenya

John Patrick and Martin Joseph are two teens born in the dusty, poor neighbourhood of Huruma in Nairobi. Raised by single unemployed mothers, they turn to scavenging for valuables in the city’s middle-class neighbourhoods to survive the harsh life of Huruma. City residents have labelled them Chokora, a derogatory term to describe human scavengers. And they use this effectively. For them, the Chokora facade is a camouflage as the two youths go about their exploits, including stealing from unsuspecting residents. As fate would have it, the duo ends up in a police cell to face the full reality of their escapades.
Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger is a poetic narration of the reasons most of the urban youth turn to crime. There is a lot of attention paid to the protection of the girl-child in Kenya, while neglecting the boy child. John and Martin have never known their biological fathers and are forced to adopt their mothers’ names instead. From the perspective of many, unconventional naming is an embarrassment amidst the cruel surroundings.

What others say

“Mbugwa’s Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger captures the downside of Nairobi life. It is a story of street kids raised by single parents, ruthless gangsters and a middle class sex pest all in a police cell. It offers a real reflection on happenings in Kenyan society. The use of Sheng gives the narrative a genuine perspective of life in Nairobi. Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger is a good, comical and serious read.” – Willie Murigi, Consulting Engineer, Nairobi

“Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger is an intriguing narrative, extensively using Sheng and hence appeals to the ever-growing Kenyan urban population. It subtly captures the social aspect of absentee fathers, a rarely talked about subject, and the narration invites the reader to question society’s values in this respect. The reader is left to “fill in” the voids that the author opens up.” – Moraa Gitaa, Novelist

“Chokora! A Kenyan Scavenger raises a number of issues in urban society, including single parenthood, male dominance, sexual exploitation and pursuit of crime as a ‘business’. The prison-cell rendezvous of characters makes for interesting reading!”

In this compelling novel, Till I’m Laid To Rest by Garfield Ellis’ , we meet Shirley Temple Brown a young woman who has survived some of the hardest social and political times Jamaica has seen. But now she is finally tired of just surviving, she wants to thrive and she knows she must leave Jamaica in order to do so.

She makes the decision to leave Jamaica for a new start in Miami, USA. Not long after arriving in the city, she begins to see what the glare of the sun and the bright lights have kept hidden: elderly American retirees living out their last days in the warmth and comfort their youth never afforded them, while being cared for by complete strangers; drug dealers hungry for their slice of the American dream, sexual predators, con artists and murderers.

Alone in a place where standing still is sure death sentence, Shirley is determined to succeed or be laid to rest!

About the Author

Garfield grew up in Jamaica, the eldest of nine children. He studied marine engineering, management and public relations in Jamaica and he completed his Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Miami, as a James Michener Fellow.

He is the author of four other books: Flaming Hearts, Wake Rasta, Such As I Have and For Nothing at All . His work has appeared in several international journals, including; Callaloo, Calabash, the Caribbean writer, Obsidian III, Small Axe and Anthurium. He is a two-time winner of the Una Marson Prize for adult literature; has twice won the Canute A. Brodhurst prize for fiction and the 1990 Heinemann/Lifestyle short story competition.

Till I’m laid to Rest (in manuscript form) was the 1999 winner of the Una Marson Award for Adult Fiction.

Here is what others say about Till I’m Laid to Rest:

“Ellis writes with grace and power.” – George Lammaing

“This story reveals much about the culture of poverty, human nature and survival … The author handles contemporary social issues with such skill that there is no detraction from overall enjoyment. The proverb ‘stealing from thieves makes God laugh’ comes alive in the events. The author’s sense of time and place is powerful and convincing.” – Jennifer Amoah

“Where this story is original is the way it weaves a love story with someone who is involved in illegal activities and a woman torn between whether to stay with him or leave.” – Sarah Kibaalya

“It is clear that these characters want the same things those who continue to leave their homes, families, communities and even their countries want: the chance to improve their futures. What separates us from these characters is the lengths to which they are prepared to go in order to improve their circumstances.” – Patricia J. Saunders

“Garfield Ellis makes us see and hear people distinctly. In scene after scene character and tension are communicated in nicely nuanced dialogue.” -Mervyn Morris

And O the lofty blowing of the horns
At various stations of the homeward journey
When the horn-bearers suddenly –
Blared their message to the mountain
Sounded their object to the plains
Announced their cause to the sunset
Declared their purpose to the sunrise –
Bv…..u!
Bv…..u!
Bv…..u!
Bv……………u!
Signifying that in the sundry homesteads
Of the candidates returning from afar,
An impending deed was to be done –
That would never be undone or done again!

This is the apex of Wangusa’s poetic career to date. As a category, the work is characterised by being phenomenally rooted in indigenous culture. And besides being strongly lyrical, it is dynamic, dramatic poetry. There are here multiple voices, various personas in life’s problematic arena. It is poetry not to be just recited but to be performed for maximum effect.

Giorgio thought that a sojourn to Kenya’s coast was the perfect way to kick back and relax, luxuriate in the sun, scuba-dive, take big-game fishing trips or a dhow cruise, but it turns out to be a break filled with mixed fortunes. On the other hand, Lavina’s sabbatical for soul-searching in Malindi turns out to be a Herculean task of grappling with a moral dilemma of epic proportions. When their paths cross and their lives become intertwined, their emotionally charged struggle to connect with each other is challenging and turbulent.

This story deals with various socioeconomic issues ranging from the institution of marriage and multi-racial relationships, to amazing Kenyan art & culture, to historical land injustices brought about by the pre-nineteenth century, 99 year old colonial crown land leases, absentee landlords, and the long overdue land reform agenda on land tenures, the cause of many a conflict in the country.

The first scene opens on the Kenyan coast with captivating miles of pristine sandy white beaches, lapped by clear turquoise waters, providing the backdrop for your typical tropical beach holiday, but gets marred with a near-tragedy.

Here is a compelling and descriptive narrative that will pull at your heartstrings, but one that offers a message of hope to a moral dilemma that has bedeviled the world.

Here is what others say about this work:

From an an author clearly proud of her heritage and the beauty of her country comes a romantic tale set in Kenya. Featuring a jaw-achingly handsome Italian man and a beautiful, talented, but troubled local girl, the romance unfolds in a light teasing manner until the twist in the tale turns out to be a moral dilemma that would test the strength of any relationship. – Muthoni Garland – Kenyan writer nominated and short-listed for Caine Prize 2006, winner of Absinthe Literary Review 2003, and Founder of Story Moja, a new publishing initiative in Kenya