Kenya
Republic of Kenya Jamhuriya Kenya Eastern Africa AREA 224K mi2; 580K km2 [51st largest of 257 countries] ARABLE 10% POP 57M(255/mi2; 98/km2) [27th highest of 237 countries] GOV’T Presidential republic CAPITAL Nairobi (2.7M) GDP/CAPITA $4,700 UNEMPLOYMENT 5.7% IN POVERTY 36% LIFE EXP 70 years MEDIAN AGE 21 yrs INFANT MORT 27/1K live births (58th) LITERACY 83% LANGUAGES English and Kiswahili (both official), numerous indigenous languages RELIGIONS Protestant 33%, Catholic 21%, Evangelical 20%, African Instituted Churches 7%, other Christian 4%, Muslim 11%, other 2%, none 2% HEALTH 4% of GDP EDUCATION 5% of GDP (83rd) MILITARY 1% of GDP (117th) LABOR FORCE Agriculture 35%, industry 18%, services 47% PCVs 1964–2014, 2019–present CURRENT: 50; TTD: 5,222 |  Kenya Wearing the traditional beaded jewelry for which the Samburu people of north-central Kenya are known, wedding guests watch young men engage in a spirited jumping competition that is part of the wedding day celebration. The necklaces and headdresses worn by Samburu women are important both for their beauty and to show social status. The necklaces also enhance the rhythmic movement of Samburu dancing, an important part of the culture. As they dance, men and women joyously weave and circle, creating a mesmerizing spectacle that beautifully melds tradition and celebration.
PCV Guinea 20052007; Madagascar 20072008 Small Enterprise Development |
Adult Books
By Ngugi wa Thiong'o, 2012 (1967)
Publisher: Penguin Classics; unknown edition (June 5, 2012)
Language: English
Paperback: 272 pages
ISBN-10:0143106767
ISBN-13:978-0143106760
Summary:
The Nobel Prize–nominated Kenyan writer’s best-known novel. Set in the wake of the Mau Mau rebellion and on the cusp of Kenya's independence from Britain, A Grain of Wheat follows a group of villagers whose lives have been transformed by the 1952–1960 Emergency. At the center of it all is the reticent Mugo, the village's chosen hero and a man haunted by a terrible secret. As we learn of the villagers' tangled histories in a narrative interwoven with myth and peppered with allusions to real-life leaders, including Jomo Kenyatta, a masterly story unfolds in which compromises are forced, friendships are betrayed, and loves are tested.
Reviews
Barack Obama, via Facebook: “A compelling story of how the transformative events of history weigh on individual lives and relationships.”
“One of the greatest writers of our time.” —Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, The Guardian
“His novels . . . have been deservedly canonized.” —The Wall Street Journal
About the Author
Ngugi wa Thiong'o is an award-winning novelist, playwright, and essayist from Kenya whose novels have been translated into more than thirty languages. He lives in Irvine, California, where he is Distinguished Professor of English and Comparative Literature at the University of California, Irvine.Kids' Books
By Alma Fullerton
Publisher: Toronto: Pajama Press, 2023.
Format: unpaged; col illus.
ISBN: 978-1-77278-286-8
Age Range: 4-7 years.
Summary:
In a garden outside a Kenyan schoolhouse, the children work together to harvest the vegetables they have grown and make them into a soup for everyone to share, but Kioni's goats have followed her to school today and they are trying to eat all the vegetables.
Films
Film:Nusu Maisha ya Nairobi (Nairobi Half Life)
Director: David “Tosh” Gitonga
Release Date: 2012
Music
Recipes
Mandazis (African Donuts)
