Zama Zetu?

On Friday I traveled to the coast of Kenya for a meeting with Athman Hussein, Assistant Director of the Coastal Region for the National Museums of Kenya. We had a wonderful discussion, and he thought that the idea behind the exhibit would be really important to people on the coast where there are many who feel as though their history is left out of the national narrative.

We also talked about how to incorporate local voices into the exhibit, and decided to organize a series of meetings with elders in different parts of the coast. Athman will have local museum staff organize the meeting and then he and I will travel together to each location, at which point I will film the local accounts of resistance and nationalism in Kenya.

This meeting came on the tail end of several exciting conversations with Kenyan technology experts and software developers. We are creating a team in Nairobi that can help with translating the material I am collecting into the interactive kiosks that …XYZ are designing in SA. Also, check out Utani’s website about Mesosfera (http://www.utani.org/2007/07/04/mesoesfera/) another possible way of bringing this exhibit to life.

After the meeting, I showed a new friend around old town and then we traveled to Diani Beach to visit our friends from 2seeds in Tanzania founded by Sam Bonsey (2seeds.org). Sam and I started studying Swahili together when we were freshmen so it was incredible to be together in Kenya. His team has come up with some great iterations of Swahili words, for instance “sikuku means holiday in Kenya and so they’ve decided that they will celebrate “weekuku” for the last week they are in Tanzania. Or, “pamoja” means together but “pamojo” could mean the togetherness of a group. Things like that.. it was great. Shout out to Andrew McCarthy.

At Diani we stayed at an eco-lodge made up of tree houses. It was quite cool. We spent some time on the beach, in the turquoise water, and at Forty Thieves, the bar that hosted a “Doctors and Nurses” party. Ridiculous. But I met a woman who works for Doctors without Borders in Somaliland—one of the only westerners who lives in Somalia-- and I was, of course, immediately smitten. So the Drs and Nurses party wasn’t so bad.

I’m now back to Nairobi and I can’t get my computer to turn on, so if anyone has Mac advice, please share.

In the meantime, I’m brainstorming names for the project. Right now I really like the idea of Zama Zetu, which means “our past” or “our story.” I think it has a great ring.

I’ve never felt busier with this project, and it is a great feeling. Things are moving on every front!