Number of street children in Thika Town on the rise..

In the last three months Thika Town has seen an influx of street children whose numbers are increasing day after day. Three months ago Thika Live through a post titled "Niaje aunti smart,the case of the the Thika Street Kid and Afcic" highlighted the issue of street children in Thika Town. It noted then that the number of street children had considerably gone down. However, the statistics have inter changed. Nearly every corner in the town will have a group of street kids sniffing glue, shouting obscenities or rummaging through the bins.

Come evening, the area outside Tabby House near the Council clock is inhabited by families of street children. Few months ago, the then few street urchins were only found in the lower town area near the main bus park but of late they have migrated in large droves to the main town. To make matters worse, most of the street kids are no longer small boys and girls but grown up teenagers.
 
Although the problem of street kids is a normalcy in many Kenyan towns, the current scenario in Thika Town is unpleasant and one that needs a fast response. The effects of this invasion of street children into any town is always a security problem. They are our brothers and sisters but when this grown up street children confront anyone especially the ladies its never a good experience. I was shocked the other day to notice a street child near Kassmart Supermarket pouring milk on the ground all because he wanted money but the friendly Kenyan gave him milk instead. Talk of arrogance. There was this song, decades ago by Them Mushrooms where the singer was pleading with people to stop giving chokoras money but instead help in their rehabilitation. Well, the trend has already caught up with us and the open arrogance from this street kids shows it all.

Majority of the street kids in Thika originate from the neighboring Kiandutu slums. In the past you could see them trooping back to the slums in the evening but nowadays the allure of town life is too much that they prefer to spend the nights in town. The vibrant Thika night life supports them since the town is always full of hawkers at night. The current teachers strike is not making things any better. Many of the street kids who leave the town when school opens have been forced to extend their stay in the Town aggravating this menace.

It is imperative that concerned authorities step in to help curtail this menace before it erupts into a disaster. Thika Town is experiencing an educational and investment boom. However its under threat since in the long run, these street kids will starting engaging in petty misdemeanors like pick pocketing, vandalism of parked vehicles side mirrors and wheel caps and harassing women. My argument being, the street kids are not taking goods(read food stuffs) and if they do, they will pour or throw them as you sadly watch..They insist on being given money and for your information they never take one bob..the minimum is five bob( they nowadays have minimums)
Being already dependent on this money hand outs, you can then imagine what happens when they run short of cash..they turn bad,,REALLY BAD

Thika: An update on the Tanga Accident & Thika Homes Expo

Thika Town has been swept by a cloud of mourning and sadness since yesterday as a result of a tragic road accident in Tanga, Tanzania. We have lost 13 of our dear mothers who were among members of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) Landless parish. The women were headed for a church mission in Dar-es-salaam and eventually to Zanzibar. The accident happened at Mandere, an area between Tanga and Dar-es-salaam. The group was travelling in two buses with a total of 84 passengers.

It is very unfortunate that the cruel hand of death could snatch our dear mothers especially when they were heading to a church mission. The landless area is in mourning and the PCEA fraternity and Thika Live joins the families of the departed in this trying time. Thika Live also lauds the government’s efforts in airlifting the survivors to Nairobi as fast as the news hit the country. Of particular mention is the Deputy Prime Minister, Honourable Uhuru Kenyatta and Juja MP William Kabogo who is the area MP, who were at hand to offer assistance and to receive the deceased.

The latest wave of accidents to hit our neighbouring brothers Tanzania is becoming too common with casualties spreading to Kenya. We also appeal to the Tanzanian authorities to emphasize vigilance and safety on their roads. The events involving the ferry accidents, the Tuesday accident that claimed lives of 17 passengers and now this grisly Tanga accident warrant a preventive solution.

We appeal to all, including Kenyans to exercise road safety in order to conserve the sacred nature of human life. To our dear friends in Landless Estate we do offer our sincere condolescences.

 On a positive note, Thika Homes Expo kick-started yesterday and it was pure beauty. Greenbuck Consult has organized the event, which highlights the opportunities in Real Investment in Thika and the areas along the Thika Superhighway. Among the exhibitors are Commercial Bank of Africa, Kenya Commercial Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, UAP Holdings, KPLC, Kenya Revenue Authority and Solaris Ecopower. Others are Ndatani Enterprises, Developing Africa Ltd, Pekar Roofing, Hardi Kenya, M & M Properties and artist Dennis Muthomi of Q 5 Creatives among others. The expo is being held at the magnificent Blue Post Hotel.

 According to Mr Martin Muuri of GreenBack Consult, the first day was a success and today will witness the official visit by the Chief Guest: Honourable Uhuru Kenyatta. Thika Homes Expo remains open and free for all until Sunday the 12^th. All are welcome to visit the different stands and sample the different real investment opportunities presented by exhibitors.

The relationship between Thika Town and Birmingham City

A reader asked me why Thika is known as the Birmingham of Kenya and what is the relationship between the two cities. Birmingham is a metropolitan town in England and it happens to be the one of the most populous towns in the United Kingdom with a population of more than 3.6M people.

The town was at the center of the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century which gave it it the title of the first manufacturing town in the world. Today, Birmingham is the 72rd largest town economy and the second in the UK after London.

  

On the other hand,Thika development as a metropolitan is a similar story with Birmingham. Its one of the top industrial town in Kenya. Before the emergence of Athi River town, Thika's position in industrial development was undisputed. Thika has basically all spheres of industrial development spanning dozens of decades. The metropolitan nature of Thika is evident in its population. The Kikuyu form the largest population in Thika but there are large numbers of other Kenyan tribes. The Akamba, Luhya, Luo, Maasai, Somali and others. On the other hand, Thika is among the top 3 towns in Kenya in terms of Hindu population. All these Kenyans are all employed by Thika Industrial establishments. When planning the town's future development plan, the administrators in Thika drew parallels with Birmingham Town due to the endless similarities. On this onset, the main objective is to plan a similar blueprint to catapult Kenya to economic success that is enjoyed by Birmingham city.
The main industry in Thika has to be the Delmonte Group.

Formerly known as Kenya Canners, the conglomerate is the main grower,processor and exporter of a large proportion of canned pineapples globally. They are owners of thousands of acres of land and employers of many Kenyans. All these workers live around the Thika Town.
Bidco Oil Refineries is home to most of the consumer products found in Kenyan kitchens. Elianto,Golden fry,Cowboy,Kimbo,Chipsy,Ufuta,Mariandazi, Power boy, Gold band, Mallo, Sungold, Nuru soap among many others. Every-time you visit your supermarket, 60% of the cooking fat has been produced by Bidco.

  

They are producers and marketers of these brands and employer to hundreds of Thika residents in both skilled and casual. The company is located along Thika High School Lane junction with the Thika Garissa Highway.
The British American Tobacco (BAT) is also a major player in the Thika Industrial sector. Its the main threshing point for the larger BAT Kenya. They are also located along the Thika-Garissa Highway near Makongeni. Of 10 casual laborers in Thika,one works at BAT Thika. BAT Kenya is a subset of the larger British American Tobacco whose headquarters are in London,UK
If we talk Industries in Thika, we can take weeks. That is why Thika Live starting today will dedicate Tuesdays to showcasing the industries in Thika in depth.
Have yourself a Wonderful Tuesday.

Images courtesy of Google

Images courtesy of Google

Images courtesy of Google

 

The flame trees of Thika : Who was Elspeth Huxley

In one of the first posts done about Thika, we traced the root of the name Thika to the wars that the Maasai and Kikuyu had centuries ago. When the early settlers came to Kenya in the 1880s and the early 1900s, they fell in love with the central highlands and its magnificent mountains and rivers. They "acquired"  acres of land where they established either ranches or coffee plantations. Thika was home to numerous settlers who in some areas like Mangu and Gatanga still own acres of land filled with coffee plantations.
Thika has always been a darling to European settlers since in their passage to either Mt Kenya or the Aberdares, they would always pass through the then rugged town of Thika. That explains the emergence of the Blue Post Hotel along the Thika-Nyeri Highway which was the ideal place for the travelers to rest as they watched the cascading waters of the Thika and Chania Rivers falls.
Of all the white settlers that ever graced Thika none is more famous than one Elspeth Joscelin Huxley. Elspeth was a British woman whose family settled in Thika around 1912 with an aim of delving into large scale coffee farming.

At that time, Elspeth was 5 years old. The family, together with some other few settler families established farms in Thika while at the same time trying to adapt to the life in the wilderness with constant attacks from lions and elephants.  Well,the story goes on and on until when the World War broke and the lovely status quo of safari adventure and romance was broken. Huxley went to Britain for studies and later came back to Africa to be employed by the Kenyan colonial government. Later in life, she became a celebrated writer,administrator,journalist,,environmentalist and farmer.

You may be wondering where am heading with such a tale, but later in Life, Elspeth Huxley would share her experiences about Thika with the rest of the world through her best selling novel: The Flame Trees of Thika. The book would later become serialized into a television series. The Flame Trees of Thika was her most famous book of the more than 30 pieces that she penned.

It shares her life as young girl growing alongside the Maasai and the Kikuyu while experiencing the wilderness, terror and the romance that it brought with it. Many events that took place around the time were never or  fully documented thus Huxley's life as documented from her words, builds a visual image of the unique Thika wilderness then. In the 1980s the book was serialized into a television series ,The flames Trees of Thika with seven,50 minute episodes. It starred actress Hayley Mills and was filmed in Central province and Thika in particular. The series was nominated for various awards including the British Academy Television Awards.

 

The episodes start with the promised land, when Elspeth and her parents settled in Thika to the drums of war when the lords of the World War come knocking. Elspeth was a great friend of Joy Adamson the famous writer who penned Born free. The book about the experiences of rearing Elsa the famous lion is one of the most popular African wildlife and classical novel . The book was made into an Academy Award winning movie under the same name. Matter of fact, on Joy Adamson autobiography, Elspeth Huxley did the foreword, highlighting the close friendship between the two environmentalists and writers. Elspeth died aged 89 in January 1997 in England.
Twenty years after, we have the Thika Flame Tree apartments along Garissa Road. The gated community which is 5 min drive from Thika Town consists of 3 bedroom affordable units.


This makes me wonder, does every story about Thika end with real estate development.
In brief,that is the story behind the famous Flame Trees of Thika....the novel,writer,series..and the apartments.

Images courtesy of Google

Move Out of Your Parent's House: Utahama lini???

When I was in campus, I was always so envious of those people who rented their own rooms outside the campus. I would often go to visit my friends who lived outside campus and I would admire their ability to organize their finances in such a way that they could maintain their own house. Let me just say it here before we go any further, it is not easy living on your own. However, it is a necessary step that most if not all of us have to take at some point.
There is no set age whereby you are supposed to move out of your parents home. Without over-thinking it, if you have finished college and have secured a job (even a temporary one), it is time for you to move out. It is as simple as that. Other notions that one must be 25 or some other age to move out is inapplicable. How many times, did you see the advert of NTV asking 'utahama lini?' and felt as if the producers were attacking you??

 If you felt this way, this step by step guide is meant to help you prepare and eventually (read asap) move out of your parents house.
1. Make the decision
This is the most important of all steps. By this I do not mean that you start telling people that you are moving, because I know many out there have perfected this habit. By making a decision, I mean you declare to yourself that you need to move out and make a commitment to this decision.

2. Create a timeline
At the beginning of each year, many of us make resolutions to achieve certain goals by the end of the year. However, we do not set measurable and specific timelines that guide our achievement of these goals. This is the main reason, people find themselves in November, having accomplished none of their new year resolutions. In moving out,set a particular date by which you should be in your own house. For example, a measurable goal would be: 'In 3 months time, more specifically by 1st Oct, 2012, I will be out of my parent's house and in my own house". That's achievable and measurable at the same time.
3. Make living arrangements
Where and how do you want to live? Do you want to rent a house? If so, how big will it be? This will depend with where you want to live and how much you are willing to pay. For example, if you decide to live in Thika town, you might pay 10,000 for a one bedroom while if you choose to live in the outskirts of Thika, you might pay 8,000 for the same sized apartment. This is a key decision and it must be addressed with careful consideration. Additionally, you might decide to live with a roommate and split the costs. This is a good idea for younger first time tenants.
4. Make a list of the things you will need in the new house
In order to make a house livable, there are certain basic necessities that one must buy depending on personal needs. Make a list of things such as mattresses, beds, beddings, kitchen items, Gas, stove or jiko depending on the budget etc. Please note that you do not have to start with everything. For example, you could forego a bed and spread a mattress on the floor if the finances are a little tight. After a few months, you will find that it gets easier and you can buy the rest of the stuff.

5. Work within a budget
One of the commonest financial mistakes that people make when preparing to move out is the lack of a proper budget. Know that a successful move requires money and you can only work with what you have. Moving on a loan is not advisable unless you have a clear-cut plan on how you will pay back. A budget guides you on how much you are willing to spend on specific items.
6. Start gathering items for you house.
You should start gathering the items mentioned in 4 above at least a month before the move. Buy the items you absolutely need and cannot live without. You can also ask for help from parents, sisters, cousins, grandparents, etc. and they can pitch in where possible. You will be amazed at how many items people have in their houses and never use. Don't worry if some of the items are a little old, you can replace later when you are settled.
7. Move
One important thing to note here is that in renting houses in Kenya and mostly around the world, you have to pay a deposit together with the first month's rent. For example, if a house's rent is 6, 000, you will have to pay 12, 000 as deposit and first month's rent. In addition, you might also be asked to pay 2,500 electricity deposit and water deposit too.

Ok, having said this, it is time for you to move. You need transport to move all your items. You may ask your parents for help on this or you can hire a moving truck.
8. Settle 
One last step: yeah  I know you thought that was it. Settle down in your house. There are people who move out and within two months are back to their parent's house.

Please refer to step 1: Make a decision. Do not be the kind of person who goes home every evening for supper or takes their laundry home for cleaning. If possible, cook your own meals and wash your own clothes. This will help you avoid constant trips home and eventual moving back.

Above all, take it easy and have fun. Many have done it and you can do it too. It just takes a little commitment and determination.
Email us at thikalive@gmail.com or post on our Facebook page if you have any question!!
Images courtesy of Google

Art pieces from BujuSanii: Have a Look.

As promised yesterday, we will showcase some of Buju Sanii artworks. They are just a few of the many pieces that this great artist has to offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There you have it, a one on one with Buju Sanii, this time, not the persona but his  expressions into art.
To book any of his work or if you need an art piece customized to your own personal liking,don't hesitate to get in touch with Buju. Thika Live can also facilitate on the same.
His art studio is in Thika Town, Thika Chemist House, 3rd Floor opposite Family Bank and behind Standard Chartered Bank.
Have a fruitful weekend

Office Assistant Wanted Urgently

As Thika Live admin, we are constantly looking for ways to improve the quality of life for the people of Thika. This is especially, for the youth of Thika who's main complaint is the lack of jobs. Whenever an opportunity presents itself, we are honored to present it to you so that you can also find a way to improve your life. In this perspective, the following vacancy is currently open. We encourage you to apply and this might be your chance.
 

Position Scope

The successful candidate will be responsible for Administering and overseeing all office requirements. His responsibilities will also cover attendance to customer inquiries and assisting in design and printing activities. He will also be responsible for office maintenance and  all other tasks that he may be assigned.

Qualifications

• Must be a KCSE Certificate Holder

• Male Candidate

• Computer Literate

• Knowledge in Design and Printing is an added advantage

Working Environment

Normal and conducive with opportunity for advancement

Our Client

A newly established printing firm in Thika is looking to hire an easy to work with person, to help in the day to day operations of the company. The candidate must be a person of integrity, intelligent and respectful. He must also possess good communication skills.

Interested Candidates should email a cover letter, CV, telephone and email contacts to Thikalive@gmail.com.
All applications should be received not later than Thursday, 19th July 2012!
Only Shortlisted Candidates will be contacted
image via

14 seater matatus Vs Kenya Mpya Buses : Thika Matatus on Strike

All public service matatus plying the Thika Nairobi Route 237 have downed their tools. The 14 seater matatus mostly from the Chania Sacco, Chania Travellers, Time Track and Manchester Sacco (Nganya) are currently having a peaceful demonstration near the Municipal Council Offices and the Police Station. The matatus have also parked their vehicles at all major roundabouts in Thika making entry into and from Thika impossible. Thika Live was in town and we have compiled the following photos.

Well that is the leader of the Manchester Sacco who is leading talks with the Police and the Municipal Council. It is believed that the strike has arisen due to the Municipal Council decison to allow the Kenya Mpya 50 seater matatus to operate in Thika. The matatu Saccos believe that by charging 80 bob and on a rainy day 100 bob to Nairobi, the Kenya Mpya buses are diluting the marketing and pushing the matatus out of business. It is also alleged that the Kenya Mpya buses presence in Thika is due to  unfair collaboration between the some Councillors and the Bus company. In a free market, is this action by Kenya Mpya viable or is it cut just throat competition taking place. Well dialogue is in progress and i believe an amicable solution will be found. For our readers we would like your views on whether the Saccos are justified to go on strike or is it just competition fears.
Kindly comment on our blog or Facebook page. Your response is welcomed.

There was an unintentional tampering on the date settings of the Thika Live camera..Thats explains why the photos seem dated 12/07/2008..But the time remains ok. Sorry for the inconveniences