Sankara seven: figurines of Kenya's animals

The Sankara seven are miniature soapstone figurines of Kenyan animals. Housekeeping staff of the Sankara Hotel in Nairobi place a complimentary figurine in the room each night. A card with the figurine reveals an interesting fact about the animal and its Swahili name. The figurines feature the elephant, giraffe, hippopotamus, leopard, lion, rhinoceros, and zebra.

Elephant (ndovu): an elephant’s trunk contains more than 40,000 muscles and tendons, making the tip very sensitive. The trunk is amazingly precise and can pick up an object the size of a coin from the floor.

Giraffe (twiga): giraffes and humans have the same number of neck bones. They both have 7 bones, and the only difference is that the giraffe’s neck bones are longer.

Hippopotamus (kiboko): a hippo is born and nursed under water – the mother helps her baby to the surface for its first breath. They have a single calf that can weigh 55 to 120 pounds.

Leopard (chui): the most secretive and elusive of the large carnivores (meat eaters) is the leopard, and it is also the shrewdest. Pound for pound, it is the strongest climber of the large cats, and is capable of killing prey larger than itself.

Lion (simba): a lion can’t roar until it is two years old, but once it does the roar has enough force to raise a cloud of dust, and can be heard up to five miles away.

Rhinoceros (kifaru): the black rhino’s prehensile upper lip cannot only pick up a small leaf from a twig, but it can also open gates and vehicle doors.

Zebra (punda milia): each zebra has its own variation of stripes, so the striping pattern is as unique as human fingerprints.

The animals can be purchased as a boxed set. Each animal is also a soft handmade toy – made by the Baba Dogo Women’s Initiative – that can be purchased. The BDWI were taught income generating skills for sustainable community development.

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog