Tag - kenya

Jina Langu Ni Fatma Bakthir

November 11, 2021
Jammy
Jina Langu ni
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Your Name and what do you do?

My name is Fatma Mohamed Bakthir, a lawyer by profession and the CEO of Alwalidayn Centre.

Tell us about Al-Walidayn Centre

Alwalidayn Centre is a non-profit, family-run organisation based in a remote village in Kwale County. First established in 2016, the Centre opened its doors to the community of Kinondo, tackling different issues facing them by constructing institutions that would benefit different aspects of their lives.

It consists of a Mosque, a free Madrassa (Islamic School), a free Private Integrated Academy, a free hospital providing free medical services and medication, and a Girls Rescue Centre, accommodating orphans and Girls who’ve been through all sorts of abuse, eg., defilement, neglect and abandonment, forced marriages, trafficking etc.

What made you change career?

My desire to give back to the community and promoting human welfare made me take a detour from Law to being a full-time Humanitarian.

Not every day or every time do we get people with legal issues. Most of the human suffering is caused by poverty, natural causes etc., hence where my focus shifted and I ventured into community service/development.

If you could have only one superpower, what would it be?

To be able to help all those who come my way seeking for financial or any form of assistance.

Do you think it’s better to have one great skill you’re great at or many skills you’re a ok at and why?

I believe it’s better to have one skill you’re great at than many skills you’re okay at because when you focus your mind onto one thing and fully perfect it, you become more efficient and reap the greatest results out of it. Unlike having to do several things at the same time, it could work if you’re capable of doing so, but the results won’t be similar to that of specializing in one particular thing.

Unemployment is high in Mombasa, what advice would you give to any upcoming youth who doesn’t know what to do?

My advice would be to first take time to figure out what exactly it is they resonate to and where they see themselves fitting in well. Then they put themselves out there in the field either through volunteering or just getting an attachment in whatever it is they’ve studied for, and not to lose hope for giving their time and not get remunerated. There’s always something you’d get out of a work experience; Remuneration doesn’t necessarily have to be monetary. It could be gaining of knowledge, exposure or connections, or generally the experience.

Secondly, to be on the lookout and careful not to be exploited by employers, who’d just want to use your skills and time and not offer anything that would be of essence to your life or career.

Lastly, don’t overstay in places. If one feels like they’re getting physically and psychologically drained yet not receiving anything, feel free to walk out and look for another opportunity elsewhere and eventually you’ll land on employment.

How do you deal with failure?

I don’t believe that there’s anything like failure. I always remind myself that every situation that comes by comes for a reason. To teach me a lesson, to shape me up to be a better human being, and to remind me that there’s a divine force (God) out there looking out for me so whatever it is that I didn’t succeed in wasn’t really meant for me.

People love giving, what advice would you give someone looking into charity?

First: identify a project you’d want to support – could be a meal project for children, sanitary towels for girls, academic sponsorship for an orphan, for mothers, for elders, etc., then look for organisations working on those projects.

Before donating, get to know their background, success stories, some are merely just faking stories and are not genuinely working for the purpose of helping people. If need be, you can visit the place or be part of one of their projects so you can see how they’re working (if there’s a huge sum involved).

Lastly, give knowing that you’ve played a part in trying to make someone’s life easier and possibly alleviating their suffering, and it doesn’t end there. Give occasionally.

Charity is easier when it comes straight from the heart with the intent of pleasing God, The Almighty.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Well, I haven’t really thought of that since I’m enjoying living in the present, but hopefully where my heart is at peace at. I always believe in doing things that make me happy and I’m hoping 10 years from now I’ll be in that state and more.

I also pray I’ll still be doing what I love and am passionate about doing which is serving the community. I hope I’ll have managed to touch more people’s lives and impacted them positively.

Parting Shot

Always prioritise your mental and emotional well-being in whatever it is that you do. When the mind is functioning well, everything else will work well.

#NowTravelReady Mombasa is Now Ready

March 7, 2021
Jammy
Events, Places to Visit, Thoughts
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It has been a year since Covid-19 pandemic affected our lives, we have changed our daily lives to be more protected and mitigate the risk of testing positive for Covid-19. We have learnt to wear masks, we wash our hands regularly and above all got used to staying home most of the time. The lockdowns and curfews made us realize how we took many things for granted, we are now appreciating little things that make our lives worthwhile.

As we got used to the mitigations, we created the “New Norm”. It has become normal to wear a mask, to carry sanitizers and to maintain social distance. One of the biggest affected industry is the travel industry, airplanes were grounded, hotels were closed and restaurants were operating for delivery services only. Today, we have continued to reduce the risks the skies have finally opened. People are now ready to travel and abide to the rules set forth by various health ministries globally.  Although international flights have resumed, the most common travelers worldwide are domestic tourists in their respective countries. Because of stricter rules to fly internationaly, more people are opting to travel within their countries. Domestic Tourism has been on the rise, in Kenya more people are traveling locally and enjoy local destinations and experiencing local experiences.

To celebrate the return of the flights, JamboJet embarked on a journey to showcase and celebrate local tourism and the New Norm of traveling. The #NowTravelReady campaign took local content creators across their destination to capture and showcase the different strategies that have been implemented to mitigate covd-19 spread from the Airport, accommodation and activities. The #NowTravelReady campaign curated stories all throughout social media channels by the different content creators. Life in Mombasa in collaboration with Department of Trade, Tourism and Investment- Tourism Unit was delighted to sponsor and host Now Travel Ready in Mombasa from the 4th of February to the 8th of February 2021.  The simple itinerary included visiting old and upcoming areas in Mombasa.

The simple itinerary included:

Thursday 4th February

Friday 5th Feb

Saturday 6th Feb

Sunday 7th Feb

Monday 8th Feb

  • Check Out 

Transport throughout the trip was sponsored by Kilian Tours and Travel

Content Creators

The Content creators included the following, click on their links to see their curated works:

Monica Macharia @MonyqueXO

Marion Mithamo @Marion_Mithamo

Bonita Aluoch @bonitonsafari

James Wamathai @Wamathai

George Magunga Williams @TheMagunga

Oscar Ogero @Gufydox

Trevor Maingi @the_mentalyst

Sights and Sounds from #NowTravelReady Mombasa:

Now Travel Ready by JamboJet

KTN News Culture Quest

Scrapbook Journeys by Marion Mithamo

Top 10 Unique Things To Do In Mombasa!

Bonita on Safari

Mombasa, Kenya’s ultimate tropical beach destination

Jina langu ni Hassan Faisal Ali

October 26, 2016
Jammy
Jina Langu ni
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Your name and what do you do?
My Names are Hassan Faisal Ali. I am a Film producer and Director at Coastal Films productions. A Hotelier by profession and an event’s organizer and also a music producer.

Tell us about Coast Film Productions ltd?
Coastal Films was started way back 2009 to promote The Films Talent at The Kenyan Coast. We were motivated to start Coastal Films when we realized the number of homes in Mombasa who had an urge of watching Movies. At that time most homes were watching Indian Movies before Nigerians took over our screens.

Why did you go to into production?
I love Films, so I decided to learn how to do scripts thereafter I decided to start shooting movies.

How many series and Movies have you produced?
I have done 7 movies so far

We have few movies and series from Mombasa, what do you think is the problem?
The cost of doing Movies is not cheap and the market is not readily available. We have no sponsors due to the fact this is an Islamic town. The Able people will not sponsor story lines on violence etc. Companies here also have no authority to fund as decisions are made from their head offices in Nairobi

Where do you see the creative industry in Mombasa 5 years from now?
In the next Five years the coast will be leading in productions once we streamline the creative industry market. The coast has what it takes to do good movies; we have superb locations and talent down here.

What criteria do you use to select a script, screenwriter, director, etc.?
This relies on the story line and the budget plus available funds.

What is your latest project?
My latest project was Yoba Movie which we have shot with a Holland films company called CLFILMS.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
One of the biggest producer in Africa

Parting shot
The Government needs to invest more on creative arts industry in order to create self employments to the youth as it’s unable to provide employment to all this youths.

Kenya Blog Awards

March 17, 2016
Jammy
Events
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Life in Mombasa has been nominated for the Kenya Blog Awards 2016.
Kenya Blog Award recognizes and awards exceptional Kenyan bloggers in different categories every year. It is organized by the Bloggers Association of Kenya.
Please take your time to vote and spread the word.
The link to vote is: http://www.blogawards.co.ke/vote/
Go to the bottom to Best County Blog – vote for Life in Mombasa (www.lifeinMombasa.com)

Thank You

 

Safaricom Jazz at the Coast

November 30, 2015
Jammy
Events
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The Safaricom International Jazz Festival, one of the country’s biggest music events, is finally here again. This December, Safaricom will not only host the much awaited show in Nairobi, but the Coastal jazz lovers will themselves be getting a treat too in Mombasa. The festival which has been taking place for the past 2 years is Kenya’s premier Jazz exhibition. With big names like Isaiah Katumwa, Jonathan Butler, Salif Keita, Richard Bona, Rhythm Junks, Jimmy Dludlu, The Nile Project and Yuval Cohen, the festival has steadily been garnering a cult following since its inception on the 23rd of February 2014. The Safaricom International Jazz Festival has come to outgrow the Ngong Racecourse as venue and this December it moves to two big stages, The Carnivore in Lang’ata and The Haller Park Butterfly Pavilion in Mombasa.

The move to hold the festival in Mombasa too is a much anticipated move with the city being home to a lot of art and Jazz enthusiasts. The lifting of the travel ban will also prove to be an advantage as a lot of hotels have reported early bookings for both international and local tourists who will be there around the Christmas period.

But yes, with the numerous venues in Mombasa, what makes the Butterfly Pavilion Safaricom’s choice? Over the years, the Butterfly Pavilion has proven to be a paragon of both serenity and beauty. It is an extension of the Haller Park, a rehabilitation project by Lafarge owned Bamburi Cement and one of Mombasa’s most popular wildlife sanctuaries. The Butterfly Pavilion, formerly known as Bamburi Forest Trails, is lush forest with trails and an assortment of wildlife including butterflies, birds and vegetation. It is home to a number of ecosystems all thriving alongside each other to bring about a harmonic natural balance. The park literally demonstrates just how beautiful environmental conservation can get.

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Add all that together and you get an epitome of beauty. A magnificent scenery perfect for the art-enthusiast with refined taste. The park guarantees a magical view from the open space where the festival is supposed to be held. The open spaces are perfect for blankets kind of setting with one huge stage and with revelers bringing their own blankets or vikoi, or a formal arrangement. Simply put, when you combine the beautiful live jazz music with the magical view at the Butterfly Pavilion, you are sure to get lost in a world of colour.

This year, The Safaricom International Jazz festival features four huge international artists who join together as a quartet to give you “A Gospel According to Jazz”. The quartet consisting of highly acclaimed Grammy award winners Kirk Whalum and Norman Brown, Grammy award nominee Gerald Albright and newcomer Shelea Frazier will be the main act. All four artistes have impressive music achievements with all having received international accolades and titles. They will be curtain raised by Edward Parseen and the Different Faces Band, and AfroSync who are local jazz sensations.

All proceeds from the Safaricom Jazz Lounge will go towards supporting Ghetto Classics, a music programme based in Korogocho Slums that seeks to provide an opportunity for children from underprivileged backgrounds to explore their musical talents.

Safaricom-Int-Jazz-Press-Ad_shared-20112015-e1448012812597

Tickets to the Safaricom Jazz Lounge go on sale on Friday 20th November, and will be retailing at Ksh.1,500 for advance tickets, Ksh.2,000 at the gate and Ksh.500 for students. They will be available from select Safaricom outlets (Sarit Centre, Thika Road Mall, Galleria Mall, Junction Mall, BuruBuru, Village Market, I&M and Nakumatt Mega in Nairobi, and Nyali and Rex Shop in Mombasa). To find out more about the festival, go to safaricomjazzfestival.co.ke

The serene Butterfly Pavilion:

The Beauty of Heena

November 17, 2015
Jammy
Mombasa Culture
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Every Eid and during weddings women in Mombasa adorn their hands with floral henna patterns, some with the black dye and others natural henna.

In Mombasa, there are henna artist who do the henna designs around town but the most common place is called Bin Sidiq center on Bawazir Lane. There are few salons located inside the shopping arcade that primarily do henna art. In addition, you can find a few on Facebook where you can see samples of their work before you visit them and book online.

 

The designs depend on status, for little girls normally a small simple design pattern suffices. For a single girl, the art goes just up to the wrist of the hand whereas for married women it is not restricted.

It is believed that a woman must always adorn her hands with henna to look beautiful for her husband so that whenever she is with him, he sees the beautiful and colourful artwork.

The price starts at 300 kshs for a smaller design i.e to the wrist and the higher the design on the hand it goes the higher the price.  Bridal designs are different from the other designs because it is the bride’s first night with her husband she has to look extra beautiful.

Different cultures have specific designs; you can Indian design Mehndi or United Arab Emirates Khaleeji style, also Sudanese black dye style.

The process includes mixing the henna powder with water, and the designer puts the wet henna in a cone which is used to draw with. Once the henna is applied on your skin, you wait for about forty five minutes to one hour for it to dry.After that, you just peel off the dried henna and normally you are advised not to touch water for 6-8 hours so the henna can darken preferably overnight. These days henna is mixed with a thinner which speeds up the process of drying.

Jumba la Mtwana

October 13, 2015
Jammy
Places to Visit
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The full name Jumba la Mtwana means in Swahili “the large house of the slave”. Within this area four mosques, a tomb and four houses have survived in recognizable condition. These houses include the House of the Cylinder, The House of the Kitchen, The House of the Many Pools, which had three phases, and the Great Mosque. The inhabitants of this town were mainly Muslims as evidence by a number of ruined mosques.

There are no written historical records of the town but ceramic evidence showed that the town had been built in the fourteenth century but abandoned early in the fifteenth century. The dating is based on the presence of a few shreds of early blue and white porcelain with lung-chuan celadon, and the absence of any later Chinese wares.

It is most likely the site’s strategic position was selected because of the presence of fresh water, exposure to the North East and South East breezes which would keep the people cool and its safe location from external attacks by sea since it had no harbor, thus larger vessels had to anchor along way offshore, or move probably in Mtwapa creek. One can only therefore guess reasons for its eventual desertion, namely trade interruption, hostile invasion or a failure in water supply. Though there is need to pursue further research on this.
Clearance and excavation of the ruins were first carried out in 1972 by James Kirkman with a view of dating the buildings, its period of occupation and consolidating buildings which were in danger of collapse. Ten years later in 1982, Jumba la Mtwana was gazetted as a National Monument. Thus Jumba is legally protected under Antiquities and Monuments Act Chapter 215 of the Laws of Kenya.

Excerpt from National Museums of Kenya

Mombasa Instameet #wwim12_Mombasa

October 10, 2015
Jammy
Events
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Every few months Instagram hosts a worldwide instaMeet, basically photo enthusiasts coming together to take photos and videos and upload on instagram.

A definition as per their blog “An InstaMeet is a group of Instagrammers meeting up to take photos and videos together. That’s it! An InstaMeet can happen anywhere and be any size. They’re a great opportunity to share tips and tricks with other community members in your area, and an excuse to get out and explore someplace new!”

A group of people or an individual can plan and organize an instaMeet in their city and invite others via Instagram.

In the beginning of October 2015, Instagram called out for worldwide InstaMeet number 12. The theme was #WWIM12 is to share #todayimet portraits of the people you meet at the InstaMeet.

For Mombasa we held the Instameet at Mombasa Butterfly House, located next to Fort Jesus. The Mombasa Butterfly House has on display butterflies that have been purchased from community groups living adjacent to key coastal forests, including the Arabuko-Sokoke Forest.

About 20 people attended the event, we enjoyed getting know one another and capture the different species of butterflies that inhibits the gardens. We were given a tour of the garden, and a few facts on Butterflies and the House itself.

Below are scene captured from the InstaMeet

 

 

Nguuni Nature Sanctuary

September 16, 2015
Jammy
Places to Visit
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Nguuni Nature sanctuary is located 4km from Lafarge Bamburi Cement on the Nguu Tatu Hills; the amazing sanctuary is the home to many species. Including Giraffes, elands, oryx, waterbucks, ostriches and many species of birds have made Nguuni their home. Large Doum Palm crowned by Leopard Orchids are scattered in the grassland.

Nguuni offers a beautiful location to view the sunset, also caters to weddings, camps and barbecue sundowners. At sunset Giraffes make their way to the picnic area for feeding. You can experience feeding the giraffes without gates or barriers, an exquisite experience only at Nguuni.

I had the privilege of visiting Nguuni during a sunset and the experience was magical and enchanting, I had the experience to feed the giraffes who made their way to the picnic area, as the sunset the giraffes made their way back to the grassland. The backdrop of the landscape and giraffes walking away was very beautiful and delightful.

Below are photos from the trip.



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