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THE NOT-SO-WILD WEST: A JOURNEY TOWARDS THE SUNSET

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 JULY 2024 TO TRAVEL IS TO LIVE ! MAP OF TASK AREA This week I travel to Western Kenya and Eastern Uganda. The task: A Feasibility Study for EAC. My tasks include the 3 border posts at Busia, Malaba and Lwakhakha (pronounced "Lwahaha") Its a weeklong exercise to a most beautiful part of Kenya and Uganda, peopled by some of the most hospitable and hard-working peoples of East Africa. AN EARLY MORNING FLIGHT Its 15th July and we board the very early Jambojet morning flight to Kisumu. Flight time: 6am. This means reporting time is 5am. Which means I have to leave home at the latest by 430am and this means I have to wake up at 330am I lose sleep at 3am.  I remember to switch off the alarm I have set on my mobile 📱 . A quick shower. As silently as possible. I don't want to disturb the sleeping family. At JKIA, long queues await the opening of the check-in counters for Jambojet, the low cost airlines that dominates most local routes in Kenya. For the record, there is not
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THE DANGEROUS ROAD

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  THE DANGEROUS ROAD "IF YOU DONT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING - THEN ANY ROAD WILL LEAD YOU THERE." - LEWIS CARROL If I had known that this road is used often by Al Shabaab Terrorists I wouldn't have agreed to travel it. In fact it has a nickname - "The Al Shabaab Road" --- all this was withheld from me till the end of the journey back in Wajir The elders were clever. They only said that we have to go East of Wajir, about 25km.  "It's just on the outskirts of Wajir ... about half hour away from our site", said the Chairman Thats how they lured me into this trip. As usual the 25km estimate was an underestimate .... it was actually 45km one way! And it took at least an hour plus .. one way! The reason for this trip, "He has offered us 240 tonnes of aggregate, for free! A donation to the construction of the Hudheifa Masjid". .... that's how they put it! "Please check for us the quality of this offered aggregate" added the
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WEBUYE: THE JOURNEY TO A WEDDING

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  Sunrise over the Aberdares (from 19000ft above sea level) Photo by ALK   I'm not a smart man, but I know what love is. —  Forrest Gump Wedding bells are ringing. Someone has found his soulmate. Lucky man! and yes, lucky lady! We are happy for her and him. And we pray for them!!! Hassan*  ( not his real name ) - lovingly referred to as 'the Happy One'; has found his soulmate and his wedding was solemnised in the idyllic  western town of Webuye on 14th January 2023. Thats where she comes from ... The same day as Hasun's birthday. The  pleasant  and  lucky girl, a half Arab, half Muslim Asian girl named Leila*  ( not her real name ) . Daughter of one Mr Hussein*. He is a businessman and more precisely an astute transporter. A very friendly, gracious and hospitable man --- with a good acumen for business; running a wholesale business in Webuye and supplying household goods to this heavily populated hinterland. But before we dive into the safari; here is a brief descr
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