RESUME AND COVER LETTER GOOFS

There are certain aspects of resumes that may if not managed properly have implications on the impressions that a job seeker employee earns. Many of them certainly do not imply that the job seeker has not communicated exactly what they need to put through but that there is an extent to which their self projection has remained static – basically functional. Competencies can be defined in terms of career growth. When one starts a career, the first career growth competencies they acquire are basically functional competencies. These are the competencies that require one to be able to do their jobs as required. The next level of career growth competencies are usually qualitative – how better or consistent can you do the job. The third career growth competency usually is integrated or strategic competencies which enable one to place their jobs within the organisation wide context or professional contexts. The final levels of career growth competencies, which unfortunately, are never mandatory for all positions, are those that are associated with self actualization. Such may include etiquettes, style or disposition. The misconception in the career seekers' minds is usually that the requirements for the various competencies are more related to what level of management that one has acquired. An Executive Assistant may require some level of etiquettes that the Chief Engineer may, without much to lose, do without.

In terms of one's impression in career search, there certainly should be a difference in the way one portrays themselves at the beginning of their career from when they are beyond functionality. This may not necessarily be the same for different positions but it should be consistently reflected in ones cover letter or resumes.

Below are examples of resume goofs that may reflect how progressive, biased or conceptual one is in their appreciation of themselves.

a)         using the template of their job descriptions to list responsibilities in their resumes

b)         being  more expressive verbally than in their resumes or otherwise

c)         using past tense to describe responsibilities of a past job – took, wrote, supervised, etc

d)         being overly elaborative – purchasing "books, pens, milk" etc; instead of purchasing office supplies

e)         repeating common responsibilities – "arranged travel, arranged meetings, arranged seminars etc"

f)           including unnecessary details – mentioning machine models

g)         résume style – inconsistent font style, spacing etc.

 At some point, George, a Procurement Officer, gathered the guts to ask the HR Manager why for three years he has not been promoted to the Procurement Manager position, adding that many junior staff have overtaken him. "The truth be told" the HR Manager said, "you know all that needs to be done in the department, but you lack any sense of style that would distinguish you from your current level. We need Managers that, more that being competent, will afford our clients an admiration for the managerial sense of style. It is not the same in everybody, but at your level you should have some style. The last interview you went for when the last promotion was on, all you said is what you do but you never gave a managerial touch. You do not even know how to put forward other conceptual things you do. When we asked you about your knowledge of procurement quality assurance, did you notice that is exactly what you do when you carry out quarterly supplier assessments?"

You certainly have all competencies that you need to do your jobs. Otherwise your boss could have fired you. But wait a minute; does your resume reflect your own appreciation of your competencies? Are your work competencies established in your instincts? Are you developing a style?

CAREERPITCH- RESULT FOCUSED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS

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CAREERPITCH - RESULT FOCUSED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS

The Ambush of an Aptitude Test

Aptitude tests are often assessment criteria that many job seekers find hard to understand and even prepare for. They may have relevance to the subject matter in the job of interest and at time be very general to dig into a candidate’s adaptable judgment al abilities.

A well designed aptitude test will bring out what it is targeted to bring and most often subject a candidate into surprise.

There are often many types of aptitude tests. Here are brief outlines of the commonly used types.

Reasoning and Judgment - Abstract Reasoning; Critical Thinking; Inductive Reasoning; Logical Reasoning; Diagrammatic Reasoning; Situational Judgment Test and Verbal Reasoning

Such often include case studies that may require that you take on commonly accepted principles and notions to make an assessment of a case scenario.

Example; How best can market best practice be?

Creativity and Sensitivity - SiftAbility Test; Spatial Visualization; and Perceptual Speed

These may range from diagrammatic reviews to case studies where trouble shooting is required depending on the level and type of role being recruited.

Presentation, Accuracy and Precision - Document Review and Fast Track Test

A candidate may be provided with a lengthy document to review with specific objective of coming up with a target objective. The tests may also include summarizing a document into specific bullets on the key points.

Leadership and Management – Personality Review; Crisis Management; People Management; Conflict Resolution; and Strategic Focus Tests

Such tests may ordinarily be designed like presentations or write ups and may include case studies and even personal declaration of career strategies and leadership styles

Interpersonal Skills and Personal Orientation - Personality and Preference Inventory (PAPI)

Such test may include preferences, dislikes, specific case studies and personal assessment.

Numerical Reasoning

Such tests are very common, perhaps because a large number of candidates and even assessor would rather deal with situations where answers are discrete rather that judgmental prose. The most common areas of tests are probability, arithmetic, accounting, permutations and compbinations. This is perhaps why an elementary math book at home would really be a though in the right direction.

Example: A soccer match analyst in trying to assess some outcomes of the match sought to have two parameters – ball possession for the two teams and the average distance run by a player from the two opposing sides. What could this analyst be trying to establish?

The result of an aptitude test is a reflection of the actual present state of your mind. No prospect employer will test you in something that you have no chance of knowing.

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CAREERPITCH - RESULT FOCUSED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS

CAREER OBJECTIVES IN RESUMES

In many career seekers profiles and resumes, there is often this one section that is hardly a mandatory part – but which plays a key roles in displaying job seeker's credibility in terms self focus. This is the part that declares ones career objective.  Career objectives should, like with nay natural distribution vary considerably as personalities vary. However, one of the things that is relatively consistent is the potential recruiters desired perceptions.

suitability for a job, beyond the technical abilities to perform – which are mostly evident in ones training and experience, may also involve ones own drive and its relevance to the desired performance in a job. Any employer who finds an employee who has genuine passion for the career for which they are recruited is absolutely lucky.   If your passion, career purpose and aspirations coincide with the person specifications of a job, then you deserve every employers consideration for a position. Career objectives should;

1       Exhibit that you have an in-depth appreciation of your career

2       Show that you have a career purpose independent of what employer you may have

3       Show relevance between your profile and your desired destination

4       Clearly state a profession or desired industry.

Objective 1:   To be able to exploit my potential towards achieving company objectives

Prospect Employer Mindset: What potentials? Do you even know what potentials you have? Are you waiting for work assignments to help you know what potentials that you have? Wait a minute – you have not even implied a particular career or profession. I can understand this kind of objective with a fresh graduate who is still discovering their potentials.

Objective 2:   To work in a reputable blue chip company where I can use my skills in financial management

Prospect Employer Mindset: What if we were not a blue chip company? Could you still have showed interest? Are you attracted to the big salary? Can't small companies enable you to use your financial management skills? Now that you have positioned yourself to be blue chip focused, are you a blue chip material? Let me now establish that in your profile (you have attracted a fault finding mindset).

Objective 3:   To develop my skills in audit.

Prospect Employer Mindset: I guess your objective purposes you to a student for life. Perhaps you should be the one to pay us some college fees to learn. What do you have to exchange for the free learning that you want to get from our company.

Objective 4:   To be a reliable Office Administrator with potentials of planning organising, coordinating, carrying out liaison and overseeing resources of a vibrant and competitively managed office.

Prospect Employer Mindset: You have a destination career and you have performance benchmarks or role overview. I need to understand what vibrant and competitively managed office implies. Do we fall in such categories?

None of the above responses are gospel truths or model feedbacks. It is a personal choice on what objective one develops in a resume.

CAREERPITCH – RESULT FOCUSED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS

Inspiring: 12 year old Thomas Saurez's Presentation

Career Pursuit Resolutions

With more experience in job search and occurrences associated with many of the positions held, reflective job seekers begin to have structured mindsets of what they will or will not do. Some are personal resolutions to aspects of interviews that they will not redo; types of employers that they will no longer pursue and perhaps types of recruiting processes that they will not undertake. Here are some of the typical resolutions.

Jane has been an Administrative Assistant in a number of companies. Her experience has been that of unprocedural dismissals, harassments, indiginifying encounters and unstructured supervision. She has since resolved not to pursue any opportunities in firms owned by persons from the common race that owned the companies.

Patrick is now a renowned Marketing Manager with a blue chip company. Just five years after he started working, a head hunter called him and made him an offer to place him in a more lucrative position in another company. He accepted – of course part of the first month salary became the head hunting fee. To his surprise, his job ended with the same head hunter hiring his replacement. This became the experience with another head hunter. He has since resolved not to be headhunted. He will only respond to normal structured recruitment processes.

Until 2006, John had not realized the unspoken policy of this then employer. He was employed at a very competitive marker salary. He had for sometime wondered why the predecessor left. Nothing unusual was spoken about her that could qualify her having to leave.  From the hearsays, her job was temporarily redesigned and consequently diluted. She was left without authority and she opted out. The annual salary increments had also been frozen. This is exactly what they had done to John in 2004 but he was not embarrassed enough to leave until the CEO called him to his office to make a resignation offer. It was there that the CEO explained that such demotivating job redesigns processes are ordinary in certain companies since each and five year they have to hire fresh brains for certain functions. John is still in search of a job. Most potential moderate employers see him as unaffordable and therefore unemployable. He has since resolved not to pursue high profiled, high paying employers; but seek moderate incomes that can create stability in his life for longer duration of time.

The three case scenarios are not scriptural. They are subject to personal emotional character, strength of career strategy or even circumstances, but they are real.

HOW REFLECTIVE ARE YOU ABOUT YOUR WORK LIFE/CAREER AND THE EXPERIENCES? DO YOU HAVE A CAREER STRATEGY?

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CAREERPITCH - RESULT FOCUSED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS

MISDIRECTED CAREER MOVES – THINK TWICE

Often people change careers for different reasons; career growth, better challenges, job enrichment, remuneration etc.  Surprisingly, remuneration is normally the major trade off for which many career seekers opt to overlook other stronger priorities. Here are some examples.

Caren, was till two years ago a Human Resources Officer in a financial institution. She then got a job as a Remuneration specialist in a large NGO where she only specialized in salaries and benefits administration and policy oversight. Right now she has now lost three interviews for the Human Resources Manager since the market has a general perception that specialist hardly make very good oversight managers.

Grace has been an administrative assistant for many years in a middle level firm. Three years ago, a multinational offered her the opportunity of being a receptionist at twice the salary. She now finds it very hard to get to be short listed for even the position of an Administrative Assistant, a position she has held before. She is also under the threat of down sizing since her kind of skill is abundant and a fresh diploma graduate could be cheap.

Willis has always been referred to as a go getter in terms of the manner in which he has handled the marketing of his products, mostly house cosmetics. A head hunter managed to convince him to get into a company that marketed detergents. To date he has not managed to achieve his targets. Certainly, he will be relieved of his duties. Perhaps he never conceptualized what gave him an edge with marketing cosmetics.

In making a career move, ask you self;

Does the move enhance or build onto your acquired competencies?

Does it build onto your ultimate goal?

Does your career saturate and what would make you vulnerable to saturation?

CAREERPITCH – RESULT FOCUSED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS

Creative Interview Expressions and Associated Blunders

Creativity in speech is often one thing that initiates possible chemistry between the interviewer and the interviewee. This may often range from clarity of speech to use of figurative language. The real caution is usually to what extent a candidate may get to the extent of entertaining the interviewers rather than engaging them into healthy deliberations. Entertaining candidates are often very tempting for many interviewers but may be dismissed two minutes after they leave the interview room. After one session an interviewer commented the following about a candidate. “Well, I was sufficiently engaged and excited about her. I tend to believe that she projects more of a show off personality who may be frustrated if not openly recognized. I recommend that we talk about the other candidates”

Sometimes our language and means of communication may as well be portraying different things about us – some times unethical work behaviour. Below are some of the phrases, always meant for good, but behind which demeaning translations can be derived.

I am a go-getter. (Overly driven – the end justifies the means, dignity is no priority)

It is not strange to find me in the office on Sunday afternoon. (because the whole week you are on facebook)

I am a no nonsense person with respect to substandard work (no one can grow through your supervision)

At some point, I think, my supervisor became jealous of my performance. (You are a lone ranger who cares the least about other people’s levels of contention – all credit for yourself. You seem to be celebrating conflicts that favour your opinion)

I strictly abide by company’s regulations and no thing else. (Do you have an idea that many breakthroughs come from people thinking beyond the obvious?)

Next time you think of an creative way to market yourself or stronger means to project your disposition, think about alternative messages that this could send to the potential employer.

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CAREERPITCH - RESULT FOCUSED RESUMES AND COVER LETTERS

Job Seeker With a Purpose - Some Insights

Jobs can only be as available as the industry demands. The industry may not be knowledgeable about its solutions and therefore some industry needs may not be reflected by the design of jobs being advertised. Many employers are still stuck with empirical job descriptions that do not embrace the required levels of competitiveness. It takes the job seeker to develop ability to challenge the market (not jobs) by growing their command of the market and developing strategies for pursuing such identified opportunities.

There are three levels of job seekers.

Level One – Elementary

They have no connection with the industry needs. All they know is that they have some training and skills that (they heard) the market requires. They will only respond to advertised jobs that correspond to titles that they are familiar with. Many times they will not read the job descriptions. When they come across opportunities, they will always wait to be led and unless someone else does something creative, they do not have a chance to identify new scopes. They are there to be directed and in their opinions, careers grow by the duration one takes on a job rather than what they do in such jobs. They are likely to pursue advanced training not on the basis of tangible skills that they want to acquire but on the perception they want the market to have on them or the potential material benefits that they stand to accrue on that basis.

Level Two – Intermediate

They have no connection with the industry needs beyond the jobs that they are suitable for. They are keen on job descriptions and the type of companies they want to work for – most often they prefer high end employers. They are clear of what it takes to get the job and deliver on the same. They are likely not to be creative beyond the circumstances of their current employers. They apply for advertised jobs or opportunities that are shared through the grape vine.

Level Three – High End

They have a good command of the market beyond the employers that they have worked for. They also have a good command of their career directions. They know what they are capable of, what they need to work on and the skills that the market requires both in the short and long term. They are able to develop position concepts that can lead to the creation of jobs that do not exist. They do not fear losing jobs – in fact they would rather have a job whose purpose they can identify with rather than one that they do not appreciate. They solve market challenges through their careers. They are choosy and have no problem being paid the right salary – they are very compelling. They may not necessarily be highly knowledgeable but they are serious thought leaders with structured problem solving abilities.

WHICH ONE ARE YOU?

careerpitch@gmail.com

Presentability and Other Risks in a Resume and Cover Letter

Its is common that many job seekers look forward to prospect employers reading through their CVs to establish what their true potentials are. The risk that many often do is to assume that none of the targeted attributes can be picked from the resume. Some of the very judgments that can come from perusing through ones CV without even reading the content are issues to do with language prowess, personality, sense of style, personal organization and resource management orientation. Below are some of the common aspects of judgment that a prospect employer may have.

§ The choice of fonts may distinguish between the extent of formality or otherwise. Some fonts are better reserved for entertainment posters. The same would apply to the choice of bullet types

§The setting of your document and particularly the consistency of your spacing denting or even the variation in fonts may betray ones self proclaimed proficiency in computers. Worse than this, it may as well show such aspects like lack of organization and consistency. This may be very risky for such positions like Executive Assistant or Secretary to the Managing Director

§Whereas many employers are keen to limit the number of pages in a CV, some candidates may stay within such limits but the utilization of space is questionable. The most common type of utilization is that in which the main contents are indented towards the extreme right side leaving a half a page for only headers and reference to dates. This may manifest itself as a potential lack of resource optimization skills or attributes

§That recruiters are people with biases is not questionable. Some employers may ask for photos for applicants while other may not. A photo may attract a bias depending on the viewer’s inclinations. Hair styles, facial expressions or even personal grooming may attract the risk of subconscious bias.

With a CV or cover letter, first impressions really matter. Limit your risks and take every opportunity to impress the reader from the outward presentation.

careerpitch@gmail.com

A WINNING INTERVIEW MINDSET – MANAGERIAL LEVEL

Imagine having been put through a sequence of interviews towards getting into a leadership role in an organization. Sometimes one fails even to project what the next meeting with the Director is all about. All questions have been asked and there is nothing left to your imagination.

Sometimes some interviews are not intended to gauge what you can do but rather the mindset that you adopt in doing whatever you choose to do. Higher level positions are for thinkers, facilitators and analysts who doe not shy from giving way to opportunities and ideas that have not been envisaged. It is not easy to define the mindset of a departmental head or a CEO, but in terms of interviews one should project a personality that;

• Demonstrates focus on the strategic goals of an organization
• Cherishes delivering results through people as a leader, a facilitator or coordinator
• Who is consultative and empowers their supervisees and does not feel shy to have an alternative idea winning the day
• Cherishes a structured though process and does not feel embarrassed exposing their thought process in addressing an issue. Straight answers given in interview questions where there are variables to consider may go against this mindset. This is why answering questions by stating assumptions may sell at this level
• Demonstrates a balance between their areas of specialization and alternative wholesome management perspective
• Sees controversies, conflicts and disputes as realistic and reasonable challenges in any pursuit of an objective
• Does not become vulnerable to emotions, biases and opinions
• Questions issues from first principles and objectively puts trust on market best practice
• Demonstrates awareness of the current state of events and can project possible future developments.

These are aspects that may be picked out from the tone of speech or even answers related to case studies. They are aspects that once polished, a candidate does not need to overly prepare for the interview – instead, an interview becomes just an enjoyable sesson or perhaps even a chat.

Can your mindset, as evident from your presentation, win you a job – especially at a stage when all technical interview questions have been exhausted?

Kenyans 4 Kenya

Many Kenyans and Africans in the horn of Africa are facing severe famine due to drought. They need special food at the moment and not just the normal food we take in ordinary time. That is they need unimix and other nutrient rich clinically prepared food. You can be part of the solution by sending money through M-PESA PayBill number 111111 or to KCB Account Number 1133333338


Act now and chase the fox later. Many Kenyans and friends of Kenya are already doing it follow it all in twitter @kenyans4kenya

Great Cast no Story

It has been long since I last watched Heartstrings Ensemble on stage. I stopped being an ardent fan when their bedroom farces became repetitive and predictable. The same storyline in which cheating spouses end up meeting  at the end was becoming a drag to me. I was absent for quite a while and when I last tried again, I found they had gotten quite a following and that time I missed a seat. All the shows that weekend were sold out both matinée and evening shows.

However one thing the directors are HE are good at is casting. They get some of the biggest talents in the city. This week they are running Churchil (Dan Ndambuki) concept 'play' called men are from Kenya women are from pluto'. The tittle is juicy and the Churchill brand sold this one so well that they had to do a rerun. However if you are a thespian or if you love the real theater then 'Men are from Kenya ... ' thing is a big waste of your valuable time. The man has cobbled up a few scenarios based largely on stand up comedy about Kenyans and their mannerisms. disjointed scenes with forced jokes about ocampo six, Sammy wanjiru , fuel shortage and anything imaginable in between. Larry Assego does himself a disservice talking funny internet collectibles as a break against darkness as the acts change. Just spitting all manner of nasty insults we only read in pun sites.

Bottom line its not a story, its not drama and there is nothing talking about why men are from Kenya and women are from Pluto. Its nothing you can define really and it took more than 2 hours. At the end I was more tired than entertained. But the cast are simply perfect putting their best into this. It just shows how hungry and full of talent Kenyan youth are for real shows. And this week I already have an invite to culture spills production in luo. I can imagine another empty script for they are still stuck with the predictable bedroom farces only that in luo they sound funnier and more novel. maybe just a few more before they become a drag too.

Google Chromebooks

This cloud based pc will hit the industry hard like a hammer in my view.

Michael Shikuku

Michael Shikuku is a young man of 16 years. He sat his KCPE last year and came tops at Uringi Primary School. Quite quick in Mathematics, English and Business studies, he has again topped his class at St. Mary's school Yala during  at the end of the first term examinations. St. Mary's School Yala is one of THE schools in Siaya county , in Nyanza region and indeed in the country. Its a school full of history  and promise. I remember that as a young man, I had dreamed of going through this school but had to settle for KB (dalawa) due to tough competition. It is therefore easy to understand why Shikuku's joy was great when he got the calling letter from the great school. One problem existed though, Shikuku had lost his dad when he was quite young and his mother, a frail looking, peasant with no formal education having been left with 4 children to bring up has reached the end of her tether. I met Shikuku last February when I had gone visiting in the village. And I met him due to his sheer determination to better his situation. He literaly smoked me out hoping and believing I could bail him out. The young man doesn't talk much but what he told me melted my heart.

First some background; Well Shikukus mother's only economic activity is crafting payrus reed mats. It a back breaking job that involves going to the nearby Raombo swamp, cutting down semi mature papyrus and spreading them to dry. You then make small ropes using sisal fibers and use the sisal fibre to 'saw' together the mats. The swamp itself is a very dangerous place since many African pythons live there as well as leopards which target the monkeys in the bushes around it. Each mat which takes about a day to finish would go for about 50 shillings.

So what melted my heart was that Shikuku's fees was about 34000, he was also required to carry with him 2 towels, a spoon, eating knife, a mattress, pair of shoes, pair of sports shoes, metal box, dictionary,scientific  calculator (kids these days carry those to school! no more log tables) etc. not to mention a full school uniform which was to be bought in pairs for everything. the cost came to just over 10K shillings before you factor in pocket money. Now the young Shikuku had been accompanying his mum to the swamp and working his heart out and between the time he got his results and the time he was being called to join form one he had raised enough money to buy all those things required by the school. All he now needed was 34K for his first year in his dream school. That's where the A student wanted me to come in. A number of people often ask for support but I must say very few if any normally has a proposition as compelling as Shikuku's and so even though I was neither prepared nor ready I was won over. Now the hard part. Will I be able to sustain it for the next four years now that the fees keeps on going up? The Principal has already increased the second terms fees by 7000!

Marketing and Selling your Skills.

Last year I read a review about the brands that fill up our media year in year out. It emerged that they were some of the most recognised brands eg Safaricom, Raila Odinga, Mwai Kibaki, EABL, OMO, Coke etc. You would wonder why those very well recognized and loved brands would still care to spend so much money on advertising and product placement. You would ask why, if they were that good would they bother to spend so much. Well for the simple fact that competition is high and the field for selection is very wide. So it gets down to the basic question. If you all offer the same thing in terms of content, why should I choose you and not the other? The basics of human intelligence just goes down to presentation beauty, novelty, package etc. We do this with most other things. We even dress to kill in order to be ahead in the dating game, we apply make up and lotions etc. 

What of the resume. For most professionals, the resume is often a quickly done just before the application. Sometimes its the same resume spammed to thousands of employers. And you cant blame them really. Most times they are professionals in their own fields, say IT, engineering, HR, Finance, name it but they are not resume writers. They are not skills or human resources marketers. No wonder no call ever comes. But not with everyone. Career Pitch (careerpitch@gmail.com ) headed by Mr. Charles Adhola has started a very targeted marketing and product placement specifically targeting professional skills. The company works closely with the professional and creates a customized CV and cover letter directly and accurately targeted at the exact job. 

In fact they go further and try to bring out the whole person, market both the obvious and the hidden attributes. What the company would need now and what they would benefit from and which the professionals personality and traning provides.

The whole thing actually includes Resume Review and Cover Letter Designs; Interview Drills/Preparations; Career Coaching; and design of relevant Career documents (application for salary review, promotions, conflict arbitration etc). Mr. Adhola even has  two columns on Daily Nation - Get It Right on DN2 on Monday and Ask Charles on Friday.

In my view its just what the present busy and result focused professional needs for his career advancement. We seek professional help for such simple stuff as changing oil in a car, how much more do we need an expert to change careers and accelerate growth?!

Great Thoughts on Marriage

Recently when I 'stood' as best man for my long time friend in his wedding, I 'heard' something strikingly new about marriage. The priest preparing the couple for this age old life long commitment was using some really old statements but his way of expressing them and his explanation of those very plain words got me thinking and gave me an insight that I have not had all these many years of my existence. He indicated that when two people get married, they 'empty' themselves into each other and that is why no third person can come in since the two persons have already emptied or fused into each other. Tonight, while scouring the web for live stream on the most talked about wedding, I stumbled on these thoughts of The Arch Bishop of Canterbury on the institution of marriage of course based on William and Kate and I have been richly blessed by them. His thought and regard of marriage commitment as an aspect and sign of generosity is both novel and spot on at a time when the world is so obsessed with individualism.

Stop sending girls to Europe to be sexually used and abused

I read this from my friend Stephen Ogongos website. I feel we all need to be aware of this. I wonder whether the au pair thing also works this way

Stop sending girls to Europe to be sexually used and abused

Tumechukiwa!

Two days ago a young girl of about 18 confronted me during our market visit in Dar es Salaam and asked me why we Kenyans kill each other. She could not understand why 'mandugu wanaweza kugeukiana na kuuana' (that brothers could turn against each other and kill one another. She went on to say that in Tz, the worst their leaders did was to squander and steal but that they would never do such a thing as kill another Tzdian. She continued to say that for that we Kenyans 'wamechukiwa kweli humu Tanzania...' (we are despised and loathed!) The young girl was not letting me answer or get away, she told me that if she were born  Kenyan she would never let anyone know she was a Kenyan. She would die of shame and self pity! And she could be right, we were shocked to discover that to visit any tourist site, the locals insisted on treating us like absolute foreigners while we could see clearly that other nationalities like Congolese and even Rwandese were being treated as locals. So we would pay like the Europeans or Asians e in the tours. Quite a lesson for me there.

anyway let me share with you this consoling video posted by my fb pal Ogongo after such a depressing talking to!

More Bragging rights!

Remember my post sometime ago about bright girls from challenged back ground? well the first such girl who we sponsored cleared her KCSE last year at Moi Girls Eldoret and the maiden scored a fantastic A plain! Am more than excited and this girl has given to us the best 'thank you' anyone can ever give in these circumstances. A plain was a great achievement. And now the next thing we are looking for opportunities for sponsorship in top universities both at home and abroad. Would you like to be part of this success and assist us in getting her admission to these Ivy league universities?

Are you the Next Kenyan?

A number of Kenyans have been shocking me and living outside of expectations of all and sundry. Baffling both friend as foe as our media puts it. Justice Waki really did shock me with what he did bearing in mind that he was a political appointee after all. Then came one Dr. PLO Lumumba, then Dr. Nyachae of CIC however the one man who keeps on insisting on working for the nation amid pressure , influence and threats and who keeps on baffling me is this Hon Marende!