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Stephen Mabea was born to newly converted Seventh Day Adventist (SDA parents as British missionaries made inroads into Western Kenya. With a life punctuated with challenges, Mabea’s Christian upbringing, dedication to service and excellence saw him triumph at every turn.
One of the first teachers from his locality in pre-independent Kenya, he focused on shaping and moulding the lives of young people. Hard work and creativity saw each of his schools record stellar performance. Many of his students went on to pursue successful careers across the country and elsewhere in the world.
As a Staffing and Education Officer in Kisii and Siaya, he was central to implementing education programmes, improving teaching outcomes, streamlining teacher recruitment, and reforming the school equipment programme. Away from education, Mabea worked with fellow pyrethrum and tea farmers to get better returns for their sweat and toil.
Discipline and dedication to service have been key guiding principles in his work as a teacher, an education administrator and community leader. He professes that success through hard work, resilience, honesty and determination is its own reward. Doing what is right, at the right time and in the right way is most gratifying, he adds.
In retirement, Mabea spends time at his Borabu home farming, and serving the community and the church. They look up to him as a teacher, an advisor, mentor and a role model.
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Shadow of God
The Shadow of God is a Kenyan story set in rural Meru County, where poverty forces people into dishonest choices. At the centre is young Thĩĩrĩ, who finds himself forced to make a grown-up decision he never asked for.
When those around him accept cutting corners as part of survival, Thĩĩrĩ refuses. His commitment to doing what is right costs him everything and he is pushed out into the world alone, with nothing but his faith and his honesty to hold onto.
What follows is a journey of hardship, loneliness and unexpected kindness as he tries to build a life from scratch. The Shadow of God is a story about staying true to yourself when everything tempts you to do otherwise and about trusting that choosing the right path will eventually lead you somewhere good.
What Others Say
A mind-boggling overture for a debut author. It's quite quirky and would fit a small niche of books. - S. K .Nganaga.
Facing the World from Gusii: A Memoir
Facing the World from Gusii: A Memoir, is a personal account of growing up in Gusii, specifically living along the common border between Abagusii and the Maasai. The author captures information and events as he saw them happen as an observer and participant. These include ethnic clashes with the Maasai, tracking stolen livestock, hunting and gathering expeditions, and activities of growing up with others in community spaces. Of
interest is the community security group, termed chinkororo that was once proscribed by the government. The author’s life at home captures the realities of the times! The
challenges of schooling are of historical significance as they speak to educational issues of the time, be it in primary or secondary schools, or at university. The task of teaching and managing rural community schools offers insights that may not be obvious to the naked eye. The rare opportunity to travel overseas proffers good contrast between life in economically advanced countries and that in less economically advanced countries such as Kenya.
The Armageddon and Other Stories
The unpredictable weather patterns in Africa, the rise of earth's surface temperature, the melting of polar ice caps, rising of sea levels and the blazing wildfires in the Americas and Australia call for urgent action to conserve Mother Nature or risk Armageddon, the final destruction of the planet. This is the subject that runs through this compilation of stories to reiterate Wangari Maathai's assertion that the future of the planet concerns all of us and we should do what we can to protect it. It is the intention of debut and established authors of this anthology to perpetuate Maathai's legacy to avert Mother
Natures' vengeance against humanity. The Armageddon and Other Stories, therefore, breaks away from conventional social and political themes on the African literary scene to depict the demerits of deforestation, pollution, logging, the relegation of climate change, and other concerns of ecocriticism. At the crux of the anthology is the argument that the tendency to use financial profits to measure the success of commercial institutions without considering their role in environmental conservation is misleading. - Andrew Nyongesa.
Air, water, and earth are the basic amenities of life. Humans have constantly tampered with nature. Cyclical processes that nature has designed for resource conservation are fragrantly interfered with. As a result, the threat to life has been increased due to human activities in the environment. Some of these are air, water, and noise pollution; deforestation, blind industrialization, over-population; waste disposal, climate change, global warming, the greenhouse effect, and the imbalance established in the biosphere. The stories herein serve to spread environmental awareness in our society as well as in our daily routine life. It is necessary to save and protect our environment. - John Mugubi.
Miale ya Mashariki
Miale ya Mashariki is an anthology of eighty-two poems. These poems have been composed following different themes, styles and forms. The inclusion of both metred and free verses aims at exposing readers and literary critics to different kinds of Kiswahili poems.
The poems in this collection will attract broad readership. They will be useful in secondary schools, teacher training colleges as well as universities. Likewise, scholars doing research on Kiswahili poetry will find this anthology a great treasure. The value of a house cannot be judged from the door, open and see what is inside!
What Others Say
"There are many poems in this book composed in different forms and styles. Readers will learn about different types of poems upon reading it.
"The introduction part of this book gives it a strong foundation. The reader gets useful hints on Kiswahili poems and poetry in general before reading and analyzing the poems.
"The poet's expertise is portrayed through definition of various poetic terminologies and sighting examples from his poems."
--- Josiah Habwe, Kiswahili Books editor
Author Profile
Timothy Kinoti M'Ngaruthi was born in 1967 in Kanthungu village, Ruiri location of Buuri district in Meru County, Kenya. He attended Loire Primary School and later joined Chuka High School and Kanyakine High School for 'O' and 'A' level studies respectively.
He holds a bachelor of education degree in Kiswahili and Geography from Egerton University and Masters in Kiswahili from Kenyatta University. He is currently pursuing PhD at Chuka University College, a constituent college of Egerton University, where he is doing research on Kiswahili poetry.
The author has a wealth of experience in teaching Kiswahili language and literature in various secondary schools in Kenya. He has also taught Kiswahili at Chuka University College and Kenya Methodist University (KeMU) where he is a full-time lecturer.
This is his second book after Fasihi Simulizi na Utamaduni (Jomo Kenyatta Foundation, 2008), an oral literature reference book currently being used in high schools and universities in Kenya and abroad.
Undeterred : The Rural Boy’s Journey to the Pinnacle of Academia
Undeterred is an insightful exposé of his distinctive life as an academic
and community leader in Africa. It shows that taking a strategic life path
of positive thinking, commitment and hard work can lead to success and
eventual achievement of cherished dreams and aspirations; even against
all odds that may stand on the way.
Prof. Akama grew up in a simple rural African setting in Kenya’s hinterland,
and was raised by a typical Kenyan peasant family with meagre resources
and limited frills. He went through early childhood enculturation and basic
education in rural Kenyan schools, characterized by limited educational
resources, scant infrastructure and minimal facilities.
Through high school and university, his path was characterized by daunting
challenges and setbacks. Being one who does not give up easily, and
notwithstanding the many odds encountered, he managed to succeed in
several fronts to get to the pinnacle of academia and university leadership.
Prof. Akama’s discourse is a vivid testimony that all of us, as human
beings, are capable of overcoming many life challenges that come our way,
if we are guided by principles of determination, selflessness, focus,
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The Hidden Rock
In this breathtaking tale, Ochieng MC Okoth invites us into the vibrant and dangerous world of the Kingdom of Ogwato. The story follows Oba, a young man whose life is a beautiful, but a messy tangle of loyalty and love. While he navigates the delicate balance between two very different women, his world is suddenly set on fire by a violent struggle for the throne.
The author does a magnificent job of showing how one man’s quiet life can be swept up into the grand history of a nation. When the noble King Awaje is murdered, the story transforms into a heart-pounding mission of survival. Oba becomes a hero not because he wants to be, but because he must protect the innocent Princess Abiero and the sacred “Hidden Rock”; a powerful symbol of the kingdom’s true soul. This is more than just a story; it is a stunning journey about the heavy price of a crown and the incredible courage found in an ordinary young heart. It is a must-read for anyone who loves a story that is as emotional as it is exciting.
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He led the fight for Indian independence from British rule, who tirelessly pursued a strategy of passive resistance, and who was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic only a few months after independence was achieved.
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4 August, 2012. Super Saturday. On the most electric night in the history of British sport, Mo Farah braved the pain and punishment to seize Olympic gold in the 10,000m - and in the process went from being a talented athlete to a national treasure. Seven days later, Mo seized his second gold at the 5000m to go where no British distance runner has gone before.
Records have tumbled before him: European track records at 1500m, 5000m indoors, and 10,000m; British track records at 5000m, 3000m indoors and 10k on the road have all fallen to Mohamed 'Mo' Farah: the boy from Somalia who came to Britain at the age of eight, leaving behind his twin brother, and with just a few words of English, and a natural talent for running.
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After a disappointing Olympics in Beijing Mo took the bold decision to relocate to Portland, Oregon to work under legendary coach Alberto Salazar. The results were emphatic as Mo took silver at the 10,000m and then raced to gold in the 5000m at the 2011 World Championships in Daegu. Even better would soon follow at London 2012.
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The compelling life story of the Grammy-winning soul singer
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BECOMING BEYONCÉ is not only the story of struggle, sacrifice, and what it takes to make it in the cut-throat record industry, it's the story of the great rewards of such success and the devastating toll it often takes on the human spirit.
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