When I introduce myself, the question sometimes comes up, “What tribe are you?” Sometimes it is asked smartly and with a measure of culture. Sometimes it comes out brash and insensitive. Either way, I have always hesitated before answering that question, more often than not hiding behind other snippets of information. If I am fortunate, I can totally evade giving an answer. My reasons for this are because I come from a truly mixed genetic pool, so I am never sure what to say with regards to tribe. I speak Kikuyu, Swahili, English, some Kamba, some Giriama. Is that enough for you? I grew up in Mombasa, but I have relatives in Embuland, Pokomoland, Kikuyuland, Maasailand and Deutschland.

Now it is not just a matter of my genes. When you ask me what tribe I am today, I will quickly rush to say I am Kenyan. I will hope that my ‘accent’ does not slip in at an inopportune time, and that you will not look too long at my last name. I may be afraid that you will identify me with ‘them’. But more than anything, I may be wondering if the hate that exposed itself after the last elections might still be around, a machete in waiting, baying for the blood of the people I may be more closely linked to.

Now is the time we talked about my fears, your fears, our fears, my opinion, your opinion, our opinions.

Ethnicity has been one of the things that has stung Kenya and divided its people. This is the reason as to why Storymoja decided to hold live discussions on how the diverse people of Kenya can learn to live together, especially after the post-election violence early this year. One such session was held as part of our Nyamachoma Fiesta at Impala Grounds on August 10th. The High Commissioner of Nigeria, Dr. C.W. Wigwe was the Guest of Honour at the Strength in Diversity session.

Dr. Wigwe explained how Nigeria succeeded in making ethnic diversity a matter of understanding, integration and tolerance. Nigeria is home to about 140 million people with 371 identifiable tribes and 510 living languages according to the Ethnologue report. Nigeria has made only four languages official, namely English, Igbo, Hausa and Yoruba. As is obvious, the many tribes, nation states and diverse cultures pose many challenges for the government and people of Nigeria. To deal with these challenges, the government of Nigeria came up with a number of measures. One was the creation of states so as to shift loyalties from tribes to states. Another was to set up a National Council of Arts and Culture with the vision of using culture as a cornerstone to build a nation where citizens see cultural diversity as a source of strength. Among other activities, the Council organizes national arts festivals to showcase the diverse cultures.

The High Commissioner also said the Nigerian government introduced the National Youth Service scheme where every graduate from the polytechnics and universities serves for one year in different states other than his or her own. This is a prerequisite for employment. Further, the country’s major languages are taught in primary and secondary schools. And there are public awareness programmes through the Ministry of Information that focus on core human values and practices.

During the discussion, it was noted that for Kenya to emulate Nigeria, we first should appreciate that there is a serious problem of ethnic strife. This is the only way to welcome change. Another member of the audience said that Kenya should come up with institutions that will acknowledge differences among the people. Another acknowledged that there is beauty in diversity. One way the Nigerians appreciate this is by wearing the traditional clothes of the various tribes, whether they belong to those ethnic groups or not.
George Kaboyashi, the Coordinator of the Peace Federation, added that Nigeria encourages intermarriage, and that Kenya should do the same.

The Nigerian High Commissioner recommended that Kenya should introduce a National Character Commission that would monitor the degree of development in every ethnic region. The audience called on the Kenyan government to develop programs to be used to teach the public about such issues as the appreciation of ethnicity. This all important discussion shows that Storymoja is doing its part. Why not you?

“Ati wewe ni mrefu mpaka unauzia helicopter njugu.” You are so tall, you can easily sell peanuts to passing helicopters. The audience pauses, digests, and then explodes into laughter. The joke is hilarious, but it takes some time to absorb the fact that the young figure on stage actually let it out. Mchongoano is a form of Kenyan-made stand-up comedy common with kids and teenagers. At the Storymoja Nyamachoma Fiesta on Sunday, August 10th, the fun-sparked Mchongoano sessions lit up the mid-morning. Alongside other activities, such as the Storytelling Finals and Spelling Bee Finals for kids, the Mchongoano sessions guaranteed fun for everyone.

There also were workshops and discussions going on for all those who wanted to explore themselves and tap into their creative and intellectual talents. For the ladies, three sessions in the Women in Leadership studio helped them see how they could develop financially, and balance their work and personal lives and still be happy individuals.

The Men were Under Attack at a session led by Oyunga Pala of the well known ‘Man Talk’ column. This was a lively and confrontational session where the changing roles of the modern Kenyan man were examined. The discussions at the General Fiction and Business Book Clubs centred around East African writing, the issues that affect us, and how they are reflected in a writer’s work.

Writers, actual and aspiring, got to explore their challenges, different career avenues, and ways of finding fulfilment in writing at the Publishing, Careers in Writing and Poetry Studios. The guest facilitators, all experts in their fields, included Bantu Mwaura, editor of Jahazi, Billy Kahora of Kwani?, Wayua Muli, Editor of True Love, Agatha Verdadero, a publisher, Tony Mochama aka “Smitta”, Hawa Essuman, actress and film producer, and Imani Woomera, a spoken word maestro. As you can imagine, the sessions were quite popular.

The Strength through Diversity workshop was graced by His Excellency The Nigerian High Commissioner Dr. Wigwe. It was a forum that allowed participants to look at case studies of other countries that have managed to grow past ethnic conflict towards cultural understanding and tolerance. It too was well attended.

A large number of business-minded individuals discussed Customer Service and Retail procedures at sessions run by Mildred Awiti, a corporate sales trainer, and David Aoll, commercial director of Storymoja.

The Storyhippo Kids Club was one of the busiest and most fun tents, alight with storytelling sessions, peace workshops, book discussions, drawing and colouring, face painting, as well as bouncing castles and other games. Ah, to remain a kid forever!

The main event of the day was the Storytelling Finals. This year’s storytelling campaign was themed Storytelling for Peace. It drew participants from fifty learning institutions across Nairobi. The stories, borrowed from many different cultures, highlighted the fact that we are all the same, we are just packaged differently. We can benefit from learning to live together in peace despite our differences.
All this was topped by music by Anto and GrandMaster Masese, not to mention food and drink aplenty, including the ever popular nyamachoma.

The Storymoja Fiesta was designed with Kenyans in mind, to link active reading to creative thinking, and personal growth with the country’s economic growth. The event was meant to help everyone embark on the road to active reading by following up on personal growth activities that require reading and writing. Making all this entertaining was a main goal that was by all reports achieved, even exceeded.

The Storymoja Nyamachoma Fiesta was indeed a celebration of Kenyan stories!