The Real: Brand Kenya

What is this brand we call Kenya? Is it the animals in wild , the great rift valley, the beautiful beaches at the coast, or is it our music- our real music, the languages, the rich foods diverse foods we enjoy or is it the people- You and I? Does this brand extend to the Kenya Police,the parliamenterians, the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission and the slums that feature in the backyard of every suburb. If Kenya was a person, how would you describe her?

Would it be accurate to say she was born in 1963? what was her childhood like? who are her tutors? who brought her into being? Is it true that she speaks more than 42 languages and she has a rich heritage to share with the world?  I hear she has a lot going for her though she lives way below her potential and her bank statement can attest to this. Her decisions are heavily influenced by the creditors who won’t  let her be, they interfere with many things in her life. Her heavy debt burden makes her development a far reaching goal so she sometimes gets entangled in receiving aid that is not real.

Food for her family has become a challenge lately for reasons that remain a mystery, now that we all know the soil in her farms are fertile and produce much fruit. This continues to create a lot to uncertainty in her home with regard to her ability to fend and provide for her children.  Despite all this she still continues to support and house her neighbours children who have run her in aid because of the violence that continue to rage in their homes.

It is common knowledge that next year is very important for her because she gets to evaluate and select trustees fit to give leadership to every aspect that shapes her life for the next five years. The behavior of some her trustees in the last electoral  process  was not very pleasant. This  resulted in many of her children suffering acts of violence that left them displaced in their own home. Some of the trustees have been summoned to the international criminal court and only time will tell what will become of the justice process.

Back to my now old question, what is this brand we call Kenya? What can you and I can do to about the variables at play that unite and divide her along the lines of economics (the haves and the have-nots), the urban and rural, elite and illiterate, employed and the jobless,  patriotism and tribalism. What is this ‘them vs. us’ that resides in our minds and looks for opportunities to manifest in the choices in the neighbourhoods, city or towns, county and country? You are the real custodian of the experience that we call Kenya therefore must consciously take charge of the person you are and what we say or do?

You are  Kenya and you carry her name from your home to the office, from the office to the meetings and world that knows you as her her ambassador. The real brand Kenya is you the brilliant entrepreneur, gifted teacher, trustworthy member of parliament, hospitable tour operator, dedicated game warden, courteous driver, insightful media practitioner, honest banker and yes you who know who you are and are doing everything to make Kenya proud.

Jivunie kuwa Mkenya