Coming out of the dark

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PR I N S T 1 ED O ITU UC V TE AT E N

YA YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Vol. 5 no. 6

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Vol. 5 no. 6

L e a r n i ng fo r a b e t t e r l i fe

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Chanuka Express vote d one of the “world’s top 25 educ ation programmes ” by Unesco Wor ld Conference

Despite this, I had to finish my homework before it got dark. Once it was dark, I had to use a candle, which did not provide light good enough to read by. Otherwise I had to share the kerosene lantern with the rest of the family. With time, the smoke from the kerosene lantern and the poor light affected my eyes and I could not see well. This affected my studies.

Many other children in my village dropped out of school because of the same problem. I was determined to stay in school so that I could come back and help my community deal with this setback.

When Evans Wadongo designed the Mwanga Bora lamp, he never imagined that his invention would make him one of the 10 nominees for the prestigious CNN Heroes for 2010 award.

It was while I was working on an experiment with LED Christmas lights in my dorm room at college that I realised s unitie rural comm s y n a m s a to that the tiny light bulbs gave van reach out g lives.” E “I want to act is savin p im e h out strong light that could T . as possible . o light up a room yet used very Wadong little energy. I came up with a simple solar-powered lamp made was born and raised from scrap metal, plastic and glass.” in rural Kakamega. We

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had no electricity and studying was a challenge. My school was far from home and by the time I got home, I was tired and hungry.

With this invention, Evans and his friends formed a community-based, non-governmental organisation

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IN THIS ISSUE

continued on page 3

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YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

CREDITS Publisher Jacaranda Designs Ltd Technical Advisers Experts from our sponsors Executive Director Susan Scull-Carvalho Creative Director Peta Meyer Art Director Katherine Moir Senior Editor Helen van Houten Writers Diana Lee-Smith, Peta Meyer, Katherine Moir, Sarah Radoli, Susan Scull-Carvalho, Julia Wanjeri Graphic Designers Samuel Gachie, Grace King’ori, Mbula Makaa-Kinuthia, Katherine Mamai Artists Bella Kilonzo, Gabriel Maithya, Katherine Moir, Harrison Muriuki, Martin Ngugi, Benjamin Ondiege, Nkrumah Ondiek, Tony Siema Photographs Helen Bushell, Benard Komen, Charly Murithi, Sarah Radoli, Julia Wanjeri, GTZ Biogas Project, IRIN, Recycle This, Sustainable Development for All-K, www.ehow.com, www.sxc.hu Contacts info@youngafricanexpress.net subscription@youngafricanexpress.net marketing@youngafricanexpress.net Website: www.youngafricanexpress.net

Vol. 5 no. 6

EXPRESSIONS

Dear Readers, Welcome to this special holiday issue of the Young African Express! Filled with fun ideas, facts and information, we’re offering you the chance to test your own abilities and learn new skills—ranging from health to practical science and maths, and from brainteasers to football! You can also learn about social rules or norms, and about laws and human rights.

Use this knowledge to protect yourself and others from harm.

Learning about who you are, what you’re good at and what you like to do is also important—and good to know. To do this, you must be openminded, brave and completely honest to yourself— not to others. It’s good for boys and particularly important for teenage girls.

Doing this in small groups or clubs wit h a group leader is best. The new Toolkit on Girl-Centered Program Design is a perfect tool for these group sessions. This holiday, why not join a group or get a girls group started by asking an older person to be the leader? Tell them about this Toolkit. Ask them to contact Population Council to request a copy or visit their website to get an online edition.

00 Nairobi, ncil at PO Box 17643- 005 Contact Population Cou il.org unc pco 480 http://w ww.po Kenya. Tel: +254-20-2713

Sharing the Toolkit with you is our gift to all young girls this Holiday Season.

And to every Young African Express reader— each boy and girl—our team is sending you our best wishes for happy holidays and a Peaceful, Productive and Positive New Year 2011!

Send us your thoughts. SMS 0722-667747 or 0733-960757, write to PO Box 1202 - 00606 Nairobi, email info@YoungAfricanExpress.net, or visit our Facebook page.

We say…

We asked pupils from Gaikama and Mbuinjeru Primary Schools in Embu West what holiday learning means for them, and whether learning ever ends. Their answers reveal that for them, learning involves more than books and formal teaching.

Printed in Nairobi, Kenya

Collins Muriithi, 13 years Class 6. Hobbies: Watching TV and playing football

Jacaranda Designs Ltd PO Box 1202–00606 Nairobi, Kenya Tel: +254 (0)20 374-4737 Fax: +254 (0)20 374-9171 Cell: +254 (0)722 667747 Email: info@jacaranda-africa.com Copyright© Jacaranda Designs Ltd 2010 Young African Express is published by Jacaranda Designs Ltd, under a registered trademark.

All rights reserved.

While every attempt has been made to verify all facts, instructions and procedures, the publisher claims indemnity against results of any nature whatsoever arising from the application/s thereof.

Readers are encouraged to contribute. They must include a self-addressed envelope if they want their materials returned; we cannot be held responsible for loss or damage. The editor reserves the right to alter materials in any way deemed necessary. Young African Express is not responsible for unsolicited material. All articles and material submitted must bear the contributor’s name if they are to be used by Young African Express. The opinions expressed in this newspaper are not necessarily those of the editors and publishers of Young African Express.

Thank you for “adopting a school” by sponsoring subscriptions for others.

AgriFRESH Kenya Ltd • Braeburn School • Nicky Blundell Brown • James Finlay (Kenya) Ltd • Hopcraft family • Kitengela Glass • Diocese of Lodwar • Malewa Ranching Initiative • Nairobi Pentecostal • Ole Moi Yoi family • Tara Consultants • VVOB education for development

Doreen Wawira, 13 years Class 6. Hobbies: Playing kati

Holiday learning is good because my parents help counsel me where I go wrong. I also get to know more about what is going on in different places.

Holidays give me a great chance to meet my relatives. You can also make new friends. School is not the only place for learning.

You can learn new things like riding a bicycle and good habits.

Learning never stops, unless you are dead.

My parents teach me while I am at home. We learn that sex before marriage is wrong and that we should avoid bad company.

Learning never ends, because you can continue learning even when you are old. Learning only stops when one dies.

Pius Mutwiri, 13 years Class 6. Hobbies: Playing football

Holiday learning helps me in many ways.

Holiday learning is good because you get to learn about things you didn’t know. For example, I learned how to ride a bicycle.

School is not the only place for learning. You can also learn a lot of things when in the village.

Christine Wawira, 14 years Class 8. Hobbies: Playing, singing and learning

With holiday learning, we are able to cover the syllabus and complete the work that our teacher gives us. This is good because at least we can understand clearly and revise comfortably with other pupils.

During holiday tuition, we are also able to enjoy our hobbies.

School is not the only place for learning. When we’re at home, our parents teach us how to live peacefully with other people, and to respect them. What our parents teach us at home is also important because it will help us in future.

Learning only ends when a person dies.

Learning does not stop when you are not in school. Learning stops when you die.

Vol. 5 no. 6

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

EXPRESSIONS

t u o g n i Com k r a d e h t of

continued from page 1

Evans distributing donated lamps to a community in Vihiga.

through which they distribute free Mwanga Bora lamps. The families that have received the lamps are able to save the money they would have used to buy kerosene and invest it in smallscale income-generating activities such as bee-keeping.

How do they manage the business if most of the lamps are given out for free?

mps in the wanga Bora la Unfinished M e by frames are mad workshop. The local artisans.

“We sell about 15% of all the lamps we make and use the money to make more lamps for distribution. In the rural areas, we distribute the lamps for free, but we sell them to people who live in urban centres. We give a discount to anyone buying more than 5 units.”

What teachers say • The magazine has helped in setting up activities like home gardening and in teaching children about things like traffic lights, which not all understand or may even have seen.

Comments

• Some schools use Young African Express to set exams because the information is accurate and up to date.

• Young African Express is very relevant for children in classes 6, 7 and 8.

Travelling to South Korea, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and other places has helped Evans learn more about other issues not related to his solar lamps, meet people interested in supporting his invention and find out whether the same can be exported to their countries. He intends to launch the Mwanga Bora lamp in South Sudan and Uganda in 2011.

While Evans did not win the top CNN Heroes prize, he received a cash award to help his program.

Some suggestions and requests

Teachers from schools involved in the VVOB Healthy Learning Programme came together in September to share ideas and experiences.

This is what they had to say about Young African Express, which they use in their programme.

• It is easier to handle the smaller magazine size and the use of staples makes the magazine stronger. The pages do not get lost so easily now.

Future plans

• Young African Express has helped change children’s attitudes about farming, and they now see it as a viable and respected way to make a living.

• In English lessons, students read an article and then present a summary of what they have read to the rest of the class.

• Can you carry stories on what children in different schools are doing to help their community?

—Definitely! Please send your stories (with photographs if possible) to us at the address below. Editor • Can you have a glossary explaining new terms?

—We do not have much extra space but we will try to explain certain words either within the article or along the bottom of the relevant page. Editor • Can you carry information about wild animals? Even children in rural areas like North Eastern and Turkana don’t know about them.

—Thank you for this suggestion. We will write about wild animals in future issues. Editor

Write to PO Box 1202 - 00606 Nairobi, email info@YoungAfricanExpress.net

Attention Educators: Follow the colour band at the top of each page for curriculum links Expressions: English language and literacy Staying Healthy: Health, hygiene and nutrition Practical Science: Maths, science and technology

Our World: Civil society, social sciences and human rights Business and careers Going Green: Agroforestry, home gardens and environmental conservation Critical thinking, puzzles and brainteasers

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YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Vol. 5 no. 6

staying healthy

Toilet Talk

, so yo ur bo dy has Fibre slows digestion nutrients fro m more time to absorb re also makes yo u the foo d yo u eat. Fib u do not overeat yo so feel full longer,

What is constipation?

It is when you are not having bowel movements as often as you usually do or having a tough time going because your stool is hard and dry. Normal stool is easy to pass because it is soft.

How to relieve constipation

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• Drink lots of fluids. This keeps your stool from getting hard and dry.

ou just got home from another interesting term at boarding school. You are happy—apart from taking a hot shower every day, you can eat chips, sausages, mandazi and bread as often as you like—a good way to spend the money you’ve been saving up.

You decide to eat all these “wonderful” foods at once. Soon, your stomach feels uncomfortable. You want to belch, but you cannot. You wish you could break wind or go to the toilet, but you can’t.

You may be experiencing constipation.

Emergency!

• Eat more fibre. No, not sisal rope. Fibre is found in fruits, vegetables* and whole grains such as whole grain breads, brown rice, sorghum and millet—even popcorn. Fibre helps remove harmful chemicals from your system and balances the acid in your large intestine. Fibre helps move waste through your intestines.

• Eat pawpaws and pineapples to help your stomach when you feel constipated.

• Exercise. Activity helps you to go to the toilet regularly. If you get moving, your bowels will too. *Apart from providing fibre, vegetables such as beans, green leafy vegetables like kale and spinach, broccoli, carrots, peas and cabbage are a good source of the nutrients your body needs.

Where’s the water?

r water into a cup, in the morning, do you pou When brushing your teeth er run until you e, do you just let the wat or if you have a tap at hom finish brushing your teeth?

©Abdul Majeed Goraya-IRIN

disasters, which interrupt the supply of drinking water, may last for many days.

It’s important for every household to have on hand an emergency supply of water to meet the needs of every member until the situation gets better.

The amount of water each person needs depends on age, physical condition, activity, diet and climate.

People in hot climates need more because their bodies Water everywhere but none safe to drink. A Pakistani family use a lot of water for cooling.* surveys the floodwaters surrounding their home.

Children, nursing women and ill people need more water. any times, we take our household water supply for granted.

Water is also necessary for preparing However, when safe drinking water food and for hygiene. Store at least is unavailable, it is more than just 20 litres of water per person per day a problem—it can become a health of expected need. If you have enough emergency. space, store enough to last up to 2 weeks. Remember also that it is not Emergency situations may be caused enough just to store water. Water has by natural disasters such as drought, first to be purified then stored safely to earthquakes or floods after heavy rains, avoid contamination. as has happened in Budalang’i and most recently in Pakistan. These natural

M

Boiling is the most common method of purifying water. Make sure that you store the boiled water in a clean container and cover it.

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Filtration is a water purification method used for the separation of solids such as sand and stones from water. You can filter water using a clean piece of cloth and 2 or 3 buckets.

Boil the water afterwards.

It is also important to wash your hands to control or stop the spread of diseases such as cholera when water supply is low. This is what people in Haiti are being encouraged to do during a cholera outbreak. *Find out all about sweating on page 7.

Vol. 5 no. 6

DISEASES

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

The A, B & C of hepatitis food or water, for example uncooked seafood, or water that hasn’t been boiled. Transmitted through faeces, the disease is more common where sanitation is poor.

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hat do drugs, alcohol, unprotected sex, body piercings and tattoos have in common?

Yes, they are all things that your parents warn you against, but there’s another connection—they can all lead to a liver disease called hepatitis.

What is hepatitis?

Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver*. The liver becomes swollen and functions less efficiently. Hepatitis is most often caused by a virus spread through contaminated food or water, or through contact with infected body fluids or sharp instruments such as needles used for drugs or body piercings. There are at least 5 different strains of hepatitis, the 3 most common being hepatitis A, B and C. Hepatitis A—the most common form of hepatitis spreads through contaminated

Hepatitis A seldom leads to permanent liver damage. Once you’ve had it, you are usually immune for life.

Hepatitis B—is transmitted through blood or other body fluids. The most common way is through unprotected sex or through shared implements—for instance drug addicts who share needles, or tattoo parlours that don’t sterilise their instruments properly.

Most people who get hepatitis B recover naturally and become immune.

But some will have the condition forever and may develop liver cancer later. Hepatitis B can also lead to cirrhosis, a permanently damaged liver that can cause serious illness or even death.

Hepatitis C—is the most deadly form. Like hepatitis B, the C virus passes through blood or body fluids.

Treatment is painful and not always effective. Worldwide, thousands of people die from the disease each year.

Why your liver is important hepatic vein returns blood to heart

liver

hepatic artery brings blood from heart portal vein brings blood from intestines bile duct drains bile to intestines

Everything you eat or drink is carried by the blood through the liver after it has been digested in the stomach and intestine. Your liver helps process nutrients, helps clear the body of toxins, and breaks down (metabolises)

chemicals such as medications and alcohol.

While you have a pair of most organs—2 lungs, 2 eyes, 2 kidneys—you have only 1 liver (and 1 heart).

The good news is that your liver is tough and is the only internal organ in your body that can regenerate itself after injury. Severe cases of hepatitis B or C can destroy the liver so it does not recover.

*hepatitis comes from the Greek hepar = liver, and itis = inflammation

Signs of hepatitis Hepatitis symptoms take 2 weeks to 4 months to develop. Some symptoms, like tiredness and nausea, are the same as for many other illnesses.

Sometimes a person shows no signs at all so the infection goes undiagnosed, but health problems develop years later. Like with HIV, someone who has no symptoms is still infectious and can pass the disease to others.

Typical symptoms • jaundice (yellow skin and eyes) • fever • nausea, vomiting, lack of appetite • pain in upper right abdomen, under the ribs, where the liver is • light-coloured stool; dark-coloured urine The main sign of any liver infection, including hepatitis, is yellowed skin and eyes, known as jaundice—a sign the liver is not working well.

Treatment Hepatitis is diagnosed with a blood test. Someone with hepatitis A has to rest until the fever and jaundice are gone and the appetite returns to normal. Alcohol is forbidden until the person is completely cured.

Hepatitis B and C can sometimes be treated with medications, although a cure is not guaranteed.

Protect yourself against hepatitis Vaccines can protect against hepatitis A and B but not C. Knowing what puts you at risk can help keep you safe:

• Wash your hands before touching food and after going to the toilet.

• Don’t share toothbrushes or razors.

Hepatitis can be transmitted through sores or cuts.

• Don’t eat raw seafood such as clams or oysters; boil drinking water.

• Be sure tattoo or piercing shops sterilise needles and equipment.

• Don’t have unprotected sex.

• Avoid intravenous drug use.

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YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Vol. 5 no. 6

hiv and you

• •

Living positively with HIV means taking care of all aspects of health so as to lead a normal life. If you or someone you know is HIV positive, follow these guidelines.

A healthy body

A healthy body keeps our immune system strong.

• Improve nutrition—get plenty of vitamins and minerals to protect your body from disease, carbohydrates and some oils to give energy to your body, and proteins to help the body build and repair itself.

• Drink lots of water and other fluids—many authorities recommend

• • • • • • • • •

6 or more glasses a day.

Cut down on sugar—it encourages fungal and other infections.

Ensure good hygiene—wash hands regularly with soap and water.

Wash fruits and veggies thoroughly.

Cook meat and eggs thoroughly.

Treat water from wells, boreholes, lakes or rivers before use.

Keep warm—to conserve energy.

Exercise—at least 4 times a week for half an hour at a time. A walk is cheap and easy!

Get treatment for infections right away—do not stress your body if treatment is available.

Stick to your ARV treatment—and take it at the same time every day.

Avoid smoking and drinking—they weaken your body.

Get enough sleep—fatigue weakens immunity and increases stress.

A healthy mind

Your state of mind affects your physical health. Help it by •Talking to someone, whether a family member, a counsellor, a health worker, a minister or a traditional healer.

• Having love and support from family and friends.

• Feeling in control—know what you need and how you want to live.

• Having some purpose in life—work, being responsible for other family members and having hobbies.

• Having a spiritual life, whether through religion or another belief system.

• Avoiding stress, fear and boredom— worry or stress releases hormones that weaken the immune system.

Fear causes stress—find out as much as possible about HIV. Boredom can cause lethargy (lack of energy) and depression. Keep active and stay involved.

Glossary • ARVs—antiretroviral drugs, designed to prevent the development of AIDS

• CD4 count—the number of CD4 cells in the blood

• CD4 cells—white blood cells that fight infection

• Viral load—the amount of virus in the blood

• ART—antiretroviral therapy, the combination of ARVs that a doctor prescribes

• Dose—a certain quantity of medication

he’s the hockey coach at bethesda high. hey everyone, come and meet my uncle brad.

hi, i am leon.

nice to meet you, sir. i am nuru.

Story by Peta Meyer Art by Bella Kilonzo how can you be feeling positive, uncle—your team just lost the game!

just wait, we’ll beat you guys next time! and by the way, i wear this t-shirt because ...

... i’m hiv positive.

uncle brad, umm … aren’t you afraid how people will treat you when they find out you have hiv?

sir, you are obviously living positively. can you tell us how you do it? that’s why i wear this t-shirt, to get people talking about it. when they see that i am healthy and strong … they realise that hiv does not have to be a death sentence.

people are afraid of what they don’t know.

but you’ve just lost the match … that’s serious!

i eat a healthy diet, don’t smoke or drink, take my medication, and avoid getting stressed. it is important not to take things too seriously. and i told you—we’ll beat you next time! i always think positive!

TALK ABOUT IT! do you think it’s a good idea for uncle brad to tell people he is hiv positive? do you agree that it’s good to get people talking about hiv? how would you react if you met someone like him?

Vol. 5 no. 6

bodyworks

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

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A sweaty issue from the spaces between your cells, which get it from the blood vessels (capillaries) in the skin. It travels from the coiled portion of the gland (see diagram) up through the straight duct, coming out through your pores as sweat.

It’s Friday and once again, you’re late for school. You are walking as fast as you can because running will make you feel too tired.

Besides, you don’t want to get to school washed in sweat. The clock outside your school entrance shows that it’s already 8 o’clock. That makes you sweat even more. weating is the body’s natural way of cooling itself down. It is your body’s way of getting rid of excess body heat, which is produced by metabolism or working muscles—like when you run. The amount of sweat your body produces depends on what you are doing or feeling at a particular time.

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Your body works best when its temperature is about 36° C. Your brain doesn’t like it when your body temperature goes higher. When that happens, your hypothalamus sends a message to the brain telling it to sweat. What would happen if you could not sweat? You would suffer from heat stroke during hot weather.

How does sweating on a hot day make you feel cooler? Here’s a simple experiment to explain.

You will need: A thermometer Rubbing alcohol or methylated spirits Some cotton wool Timer (clock) What you do: • Lay the thermometer on a table for 3 minutes; this will allow it to register the room’s temperature • Moisten the cotton wool with the rubbing alcohol or methylated spirits • Spread a thin layer of the wet cotton wool across the bulb of the thermometer

hair skin surface

sweat pore

sebaceous gland

sweat gland duct

dermis (lower layer of skin)

How is sweat made?

Your body has approximately 2 million sweat glands. Sweat is mostly made up of water, with tiny amounts of chemicals like ammonia, urea, salts and sugar (ammonia and urea are left over when your body breaks down protein).

When a sweat gland is stimulated, its cells release a fluid (plasma) that is mostly water and has high concentrations of sodium (salt) and chloride and a low concentration of potassium—but without the proteins and fatty acids that are normally found in plasma. This fluid comes • Blow across the cotton wool and watch what happens The cooling effect of the alcohol is because it evaporates fast.

Evaporation occurs when a liquid absorbs enough heat energy to change from liquid to gas. The evaporating alcohol takes energy away from the mercury in the thermometer bulb causing the mercury to cool. In the same way, the evaporating sweat absorbs heat energy from the air next to your skin, making you feel cooler.

sweat gland

When you’re resting, you do not sweat much because cells in the straight duct have time to reabsorb most of the sodium and chloride from the fluid.

Do you notice how much you sweat when you are nervous or scared? You produce a lot of sweat because the cells in the straight duct do not have time to reabsorb all the sodium and chloride. Therefore, a lot of sweat makes it to the surface of the skin and the composition is close to, but not exactly like the fluid from the blood vessels.

Sweat itself has no odour, but when bacteria on the skin and hair break down the proteins and fatty acids, they produce an unpleasant odour.

Sweating a lot can quickly dehydrate you, which can lead to circulatory problems, kidney failure and heat stroke. It is important to drink plenty of fluids when you exercise or are outdoors in high temperatures.

You may not realise it but you sweat even on a cold day—2/3 of your body is water and you lose most of g. it every day through sweatin Keep drinking those flui ds!

• Metabolism—the chemical processes in the body that provide us with nutrients and energy • Hypothalamus—the part of the brain that controls hormones and body temperature

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YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Vol. 5 no. 6

LIVING RIGHT

There's good in helping others “Everybody can be great because everybody can serve.”

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—Martin Luther King, Jr.

he holidays are here and instead of travelling to the village to visit your grandparents, your parents have asked you to join the church youth group as they volunteer at the children’s home in your neighbourhood.

Don’t grumble!

When you volunteer, you give your time to help others in many ways.

A volunteer is an unpaid helper but volunteering has its rewards. Volunteer work helps you see that you are needed and important and that you can make a difference in someone else’s life. People will depend on you and you will gain a sense of purpose in your own life.

If you are suffering from depression, volunteer work can help you see situations in life in a different way.

Volunteering helps you strengthen

communities, improve lives, connect with others and also transform your own life. It means that you are willing to learn as well as help others.

Where can you volunteer?

You can volunteer to teach younger children, play with them and feed them—like when you go visiting a childrens’ home. You can visit elderly people in your community. You can also volunteer to help clean up your neighbourhood.

By doing good for people, you inspire them to be grateful and loving. This helps you deal with the stresses of life. People need people for the sake of their health.

DELILAH, ARE YOU SMOKING THAT STUFF AGAIN? I THOUGHT YOU HAD QUIT!

Martin Ngugi

OH FIONA, RELAX. HAVE A PUFF. YEAH, FIONA, EVERYONE’S DOING IT. THAT’S NOT TRUE. MOST PEOPLE ARE NOT DOING DRUGS. BESIDES, I’VE SEEN WHAT DRUGS DID TO MY COUSIN— IT WAS AWFUL.

CONTROL, AND HE DROPPED OUT OF SCHOOL. HE’S OFF DRUGS NOW BUT IT’S TOO LATE. HE HAS NO QUALIFICATIONS AT ALL.

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Bad touches—like being slapped, kicked or bitten—make us feel sad and unloved.

Sometimes a good touch can turn into a bad touch, like when a tickling game goes on for too long and instead of laughing you start to feel pain. Or someone you know and trust plays a touching game with you that’s fun to begin with, but later he tries to touch your private parts or tricks you into touching his.

So what do you do when someone touches you in a way you don’t like?

Say no! Tell the person you don’t like it and you don’t want to be touched.

Then get away. Don’t be alone with that person again.

WAS IT SO AWFUL SEEING YOUR COUSIN HAPPY?

MY COUSIN STARTED LIKE YOU, SMOKING FOR FUN. BUT IT GOT OUT OF

hen your mum gives you a good-night kiss, when your best friend gives you a hug… these are good touches that make you feel loved and appreciated.

Bad touch can be the start of sexual abuse and it is confusing, because you know what you’re being asked to do is wrong, yet the person is someone you love and trust. Many children feel so confused, they let the game continue.

They feel ashamed and think it’s their fault, which is what the person wants them to feel. They don’t tell anyone.

The cycle of sexual abuse has started.

By

By Peter Peta Meyer and Meyer Martin andNgugi K.

When a good touch becomes bad

HEY, I’M NOT LIKE THAT, OKAY? I KNOW WHEN TO STOP.

YEAH, MY CUZ SAID THAT TOO. PLEASE DON’T WAIT TILL YOU GET ADDICTED. YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE A SECOND CHANCE.

Tell someone what happened—someone you really trust, like a parent or grandparent, or a teacher, or your pastor. Or call these hotlines. a 116 • Childline Keny ne One-2-One Hotli • Liverpo ol VCT 0800 22 11 121 ildren Ugan da • Action for Ch or 0800 111 222 3 33 111 0800 ania (51) 152243 nz • ANPPCAN-Ta

Vol. 5 no. 6

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Human rights

Do you know that every citizen has a civic responsibility to positively contribute to their community?

You can carry out your civic duty in a number of ways. You will gain new friends and be helping to make your neighbourhood a happier place.

Participate in community activities.

You can participate in harambee meetings to collect funds for community projects such as building boreholes, schools, health and recreational centres. You can raise money to contribute to these efforts through fundraising activities like conducting a bake sale.

Be a community leader. Some leaders are elected and others volunteer.

You can volunteer to be a community leader and, for example, get your family and friends to participate in activities like blood donation drives or educate your friends and neighbours on issues facing the community, like child abuse.

DO THE

RIGHT

Your grandparents greet you with joy when you arrive from the city to visit but having so many people staying can be quite hard.

How can you make it easier?

Responsible citizens take care of the environment in their neighbourhood.

Protect the environment. The people who can best take care of the environment in an area are the people who live there. Some of the things you can do to protect the environment include planting trees, collecting garbage and disposing of it at the rigpht places, cleaning up the neighbourhood, and reporting people who cut down trees or dump garbage on the road or in rivers to authorities.

Protect public property. All citizens must respect public property like schools, hospitals and churches. They

should respect other people’s personal property, like homes, too. Therefore, you should not participate in theft or damage of other people’s property and be ready to report to the authorities whenever other people do such antisocial things.

Assist other people. Not everyone in the society is fortunate to have all the things they need. You can assist the less fortunate members of your community by donating food, clothing, books and the like.

THING

Make sure you are a good guest. Brothers and sisters may not realise how annoying their arguments can be for those around them.

Being a good guest

Instead, keep the holiday spirit by avoiding sibling fights. Offer to help whenever you can and do any jobs you’re given willingly. Be good company!

When it is time for your family to return home, your hosts will be sad to see you go and you will all keep happy memories of a cheerful get-together.

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Vol. 5 no. 6

our world

Unity : who needs it?

Why is Kiswahili Kenya’s national language? Using Kiswahili in all public and official meetings fosters unity among Kenyans. If all the 43 communities in Kenya were to use their local languages in public meetings, it would be difficult to understand one another. A person from one part of the country can travel to another part, communicate in Kiswahili and get along. Language is one good way to promote national unity.

our team. This creates a sense of unity. We feel that a team’s victory is a victory for the whole country.

Everyone feels proud when their national anthem is played in a foreign country because one of their citizens has won a medal.

The presidency Most countries have a president, who is elected by the citizens as the head of government. The president Julius Nyerere, first president of Tanzania, represents the country and all promoted Kiswahili as the national language its citizens. It is the president’s as a means of unifying his country. responsibility to ensure that policies Games and sports concerning areas like trade and Games and sports such as marathons, education respect cultural differences the Olympic Games and various and give equal opportunities to all— world cup competitions or street this is seen through equal carnivals like those held representation of all in Brazil create a chance citizens in government.

Everyone feels for people to interact and proud to hear work together. When your The president unites their national school or youth group has the citizens and anthem being a basketball or football this improves social match, everyone comes interaction within the played in a together to cheer their country and also with foreign country. team. other countries. For example, in Rwanda, When our national team plays a team the last Saturday of each month from another country, we support has been declared a national day for

by Benjah Ondiege and Katherine Moir

Why we should obey the rules of the road

Every day we see road users breaking the rules. All people using a road need to obey the rules because they are there to protect us.

You may be too young for a driver’s licence, but you can do your bit as a road user.

Pedestrians—use the pavement and cross roads where it is safe to do so.

community service. It is referred to as umuganda.

Economic interaction When you go to the market, you find traders selling items from different parts of the country. As people buy and sell, they share stories and information about the different areas they come from. This is most common with traders who do business at the borders of different districts, towns and even countries.

A memorial in Kigali to UN soldiers killed in the Rwanda genocide. The government of Rwanda actively supports national unity as the way to keep peace in the future.

Cyclists—cycles are vehicles and must obey the same rules. Other vehicles often ignore cyclists, so take special care. Wear a helmet—it could save your life.

Passengers—wear seatbelts in public vehicles. Wait for vehicles to pull over before getting on or off. Waiting at stages is best.

Vol. 5 no. 6

Reading is fun

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

11

and then it can be recycled to use for growing things. Even for feeding animals. Otherwise it just makes a big mess!” Her voice was trembling. “And people have to live in the middle of it! Life is so awful for them. Imagine having to sort it all out.”

BY LEE DIANI The concluding part of our serialised story

Episode 4: A family conference

S

weetie was crying. Mr Mwamba had called to tell her mother she had caused a problem during the school trip by not following his instructions. Now she was scared.

What would her father say? “Mother’s home. She’s calling you,” said her younger sister, Lisa, watching as Sweetie dried her eyes and went downstairs, very downcast.

Mother put a flask of tea and a dish with slices of sweet potato on the

table. She asked Lisa and their little brother, Kepta, how their classes had been and listened as they talked. “And what did you learn on your trip to the waste dump, Sweetie?” she asked, eyeing Sweetie, who was not drinking her tea.

Sweetie thought about the question.

“I learned a lot more about waste,” she said eventually. “You know, we should separate all our food waste from things like paper and plastic,

Mother turned to Lisa and Kepta.

“Why don’t you two go outside and play with Kofi?” she said. She turned to Sweetie. “Tell me what happened.

Why did you run away from the group?”

“I didn’t run away,” said Sweetie.

“I got left behind when our group was being shown around, because I spoke to that boy who was here this morning collecting waste. He is called Mingu. He explained so many things to me, like the difference between organic and inorganic waste. Later Mr Mwamba praised me in class for having that knowledge. Mingu is quite clever, Mother, and he is a nice person. His uncle made us tea and was very kind. He looks after Mingu because Mingu’s parents were killed in a terrible accident. Mingu told me all about the UN project the others were looking at.”

Mother looked thoughtful. “What is it that is making you so upset, Sweetie?

Is it because Mr Mwamba told me you disobeyed him? Or is it because of what you learned at the waste dump?”

Sweetie fought back her tears. “The dump is awful,” she said finally. “I feel sad about Mingu’s life there. I wish we could make things better.”

Later that night Sweetie heard her parents talking after she had gone to bed, and next day Father said they should have a family conference on Saturday.

“Sweetie did something wrong when she did not listen well to her teacher,” said their father on Saturday, “but she also learned a lot. Sweetie, tell us what you think we should do at home to recycle our waste better?”

Sweetie smiled for the first time since she had got into trouble. “I think we have to separate out our food waste and use it in the garden to make compost.” continued on page 12

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YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Reading is fun

continued from page 11

Vol. 5 no. 6

Mingu was feeling a bit ashamed and dirty as he came up to Sweetie’s house, and he was astonished when her father opened the gate and greeted him by name. Sweetie’s father welcomed Mingu and his uncle into their courtyard, and took them through to the backyard to show them the vegetable garden. He even asked for Mingu’s advice on how to build a rat-proof compost container where they could put the kitchen waste. Then he turned to Mingu’s uncle. “Je, ungependa kikombe cha chai?” he asked. “Tunafurahi kwa kuwa ulimwalika Sweetie nyumbani kwako.

Alijifunza mengi.” (“Would you like a cup of tea? You were kind enough to entertain my daughter last week, and she learned a lot from her visit. We are grateful.”)

“Yes, I think that would help our vegetable garden,” said Mother.

“And I think we should be polite to the waste recyclers, too,” Sweetie added boldly. “They are trying to make a living and are really helping the city. It is not their fault that all the poisonous, toxic things are mixed up with the organic food waste. They are the ones who suffer, so we should help them sort it out.”

“What is toxic?” asked Kepta, joining in the conference.

“Things with dangerous chemicals in them. They can poison us if they get into our food or if we handle them too much. Paint and batteries and cleaning fluids, things like that,” said Sweetie, the expert. “We should also separate out all the cans and bottles and paper and other things that can be re-used.”

“Well,” said Lisa, “it won’t be much good if we do a lot of work sorting things out and nobody else does.”

“You are right, Lisa. I will talk to our residents association about that,” said Father. “We could have a neighbourhood project, and maybe other neighbourhoods will start to copy us.”

“Mingu can explain it all,” said Sweetie. “He told me how many thousands of tonnes of fertiliser are

being wasted on the waste dump! I did not even know that fertiliser is made of the same things found in organic waste—nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus.”

Next Wednesday, Sweetie was up early, waiting for the sound of Kofi barking and the clinking of the bottles as the waste recyclers arrived. She washed and dressed and hurried downstairs where her father was already having his breakfast. “Here comes your friend,” he said as Kofi began barking, and he accompanied Sweetie outside to meet Mingu.

Sweetie’s heart beat fast and she was smiling broadly. She had felt so ashamed because she had not thanked Mingu’s uncle for his hospitality when her teacher and friends had been scared she was lost and she had run away from the uncle’s hut.

As for Mingu, he too felt proud and happy. His new friend Sweetie had somehow made life seem much better.

His knowledge was useful to others, and they appreciated what he had to say. He no longer felt as if his own life was just a waste.

Vol. 5 no. 6

agroforestry

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Planting out seedlings

Y

ou are probably wondering what “planting out” means. Well, when your seedlings eventually grow too big for the nursery, it is time to plant them where they will grow into mature trees. How soon depends on the species—it could be a few months or up to 3 years.

Hardening seedlings off Planting out should be done at the start of the rainy season. Harden the seedlings off ahead of time so that they will cope with the harsher conditions outside the nursery.

• Gradually reduce the amount of shade they get. Species that will be planted out in full sunlight should have no shade for the last month before planting them out.

• Gradually reduce watering—give the same amount of water but water less often.

• Cut back any shoots that are very tall, as long as there are buds near the base from where shoots will grow.

Preparing the planting site When you chose what species to grow you decided where you wanted them to be permanently planted when ready.

That place is the planting site. If you are growing trees alongside crops, make sure that the species you are planting will not compete with the crops for water or nutrients or make too much shade. Just before the rainy season, get the planting site ready.

• Plant each seedling in its own hole. The space between holes depends on the species, the soil and what they are being planted for (timber trees will need more space than windbreaks, for example).

• Clear away any vegetation from the micro site.

• In dry areas make a microbasin so that rainwater collects around the planted seedling.

Dig a shallow basin around each planting site, piling the soil into a ridge 30–50 cm high and 60–90 cm wide around the downhill side, 15 cm from the edge of the basin. Plant the seedling in the middle of the basin.

• Dig holes much wider and bigger than the roots—at least 30 cm wide and 30 cm deep.

The Njengas inspect seedlings in their tree nursery—these ones are ready to plant out

Preparing potted seedlings for planting out • Keep seedlings in their pots until the planting holes are ready. Pack them in small boxes and carry them to the site.

Preparing bare-rooted seedlings for planting out

• Water the bed thoroughly the day before planting out.

• Gently dig up (lift) the seedlings and separate roots from the soil—do not damage the roots.

• Wrap the roots or put them in bags to protect them from sunlight and keep them moist.

• Plant the seedlings on the same day to prevent their roots from drying out.

Planting seedlings

• If you are planting out potted seedlings, cut or peel off the containers. Leave the soil around the roots.

• Place a seedling in each hole and fill the hole with soil.

• Press soil down gently around each seedling.

• Water if there is no rain.

• Put a layer of mulch around each seedling to keep the soil moist. Leave a gap between the mulch and the base of the tree.

Protect each seedling from browsing animals with thorny branches or a woven cage.

Thorn branch and fence protection

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Vol. 5 no. 6

ecosystems

How renewable is your energy?

I

t’s hard to imagine going through a normal day without using some form of energy (apart from your own 2 legs, of course). Boiling water to make tea for breakfast, taking a matatu to school, sending an SMS, lighting the lamp when it gets dark— none of this is possible without using energy.

Most of the energy that keeps modern countries running comes from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are found deep underground and are the remains of long-dead plants and animals. The combination of decay, heat and pressure over millions of years have converted the once-living organisms into energy-rich mineral compounds that include coal, natural gas and oil.

Once fossil fuels are dug up and burned to make energy, they cannot be replaced. We call them nonrenewable sources of energy.

The use of fossil fuels also contributes to climate change. Do you know how? When we burn oil, gas or coal, the carbon trapped in the fuel combines with oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide (CO2).

A pupil does his homework by the light of a bioga

Too much CO2 traps the sun’s heat in the atmosphere, making our world warmer and changing the patterns of weather and rainfall that humans, animals and plants depend on.

So if burning fossil fuels is bad, what’s the choice?

Fortunately there are other sources of energy that do not pollute our world or use up all our natural resources.

These are the renewable sources of energy and include energy from the sun, wind, water and biogas. Trees are also a renewable form of energy as long as we plant more to replace what we cut down and burn!

CO² in atmosphere

carbon dioxide in fossil fuels released when burned

B

respiration by animals and plants releases carbon UR

P

plants eaten by animals decaying plants release carbon

carbon stored in fossil fuels

The carbon cycle

s lamp

Here are some of the most common forms of renewable energy: Solar energy The sun is our ultimate source of energy—without sunlight, there would be no life on earth. The sun’s energy can be tapped directly, like in a solar heater to warm water, or a solar cooker to prepare your meals, or trapped via solar panels and stored.

The Kyoto box, a solar cooker designed in Kenya, can be made from simple materials.

Windpumps are a common sight across Africa. carbon stored in vegetation carbon used in photosynthesis

carbon in waste, dead animals and plants

Wind energy Places that experience regular winds can use wind power to drive turbines that generate electricity. Small windmills to pump water are a familiar sight all over Africa but now wind turbines are coming up too.

Vol. 5 no. 6

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

ecosystems

15

Hydro energy Waves crashing on the seashore, or water falling from a high level to a lower one, release huge amounts of energy that can be tapped to generate electricity and run motors. Much of Kenya’s electricity is generated by hydro energy, but deforestation is causing rivers to dry up in parts of the country, bringing less water to the collecting dams.

Energy from the sun

Fodder

Dung & urine

Cooking & lighting

Biofertiliser

BIOGAS

BIODIGESTER

As water pours down the sides of this dam wall it turns turbines, generating electricity.

Biogas energy Biogas is a mixture of gases, mostly methane, released by the decay of organic waste under anaerobic (airless) conditions. This happens naturally in a cow’s stomach, or in a specially built biogas digester. Biogas is a clean renewable energy that can be used as fuel for cooking, lighting or heating, replacing firewood and fossil fuels. The by-product, bio-fertiliser, replaces expensive chemical fertilisers.

Biogas technology helps to conserve the environment because it recycles waste, saves forests and burns cleanly without pollution.

The biogas cycle

While countries try to move from burning fossil fuels to using renewable sources of energy, we can do our part to conserve the environment by not wasting energy in our daily lives. Here are some easy ways to save energy.

1. Sometimes, energy is wasted because the ways we use it are not efficient. Use an improved jiko instead of a normal metal jiko for cooking. An improved jiko has a clay lining to hold in the heat. It needs very little charcoal to cook your meal.

2. When cooking, use just enough fuel to cook your food. Chop food into small pieces that cook faster. Soak maize, beans and grains in water for a few hours before cooking—they will cook faster, saving fuel. Cover pots, even when just boiling water.

An improved jiko

3. Switch off lights when you leave the room. TV sets and mobile chargers consume power even when switched off, so unplug them when not in use. Use energy-saving bulbs to cut your power bill dramatically.

By Katherine Moir and Benjamin Ondiege

THIS WOOD IS STILL GREEN, YUSUF. IT’LL BE VERY SMOKY.

WELL, WE CAN’T BUY WOOD SO WE HAVE NO CHOICE, MIRIAM.

YOU’RE BACK AT LAST, CHILDREN! MEET MY FRIEND CONNIE. WE HAVE SOMETHING TO SHOW YOU! YOU’LL BE COLLECTING LESS FUEL IN FUTURE!

HEY, THAT’S ONE OF THOSE IMPROVED JIKOS.

THAT’S RIGHT! THEY USE MUCH LESS FIREWOOD THAN OUR OLD STOVE. OH GOOD! HOW DOES IT DO THAT? BECAUSE OF ITS DESIGN, MUCH LESS HEAT ESCAPES FROM THE STOVE …

YUSUF, PUT THE LID BACK ON TO SAVE THE HEAT. THAT WAY WE’LL USE LESS FUEL.

CHOP WOOD SMALL—IT BURNS BETTER AND GIVES MORE ENERGY.

AND NOW IT IS TIME TO ENJOY WHAT WE’VE COOKED ON OUR NEW STOVE.

USE DRY WOOD BECAUSE IT BURNS BETTER AND MAKES LESS SMOKE. … SO WE’LL USE LESS FUEL TO COOK THE SAME AMOUNT OF UGALI. GIVE IT A STIR, YUSUF.

IS THERE ANYTHING ELSE WE CAN DO TO CONSERVE FUEL, CONNIE?

AND USE BRIQUETTES—YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN FROM WASTE.

COME ON, EVERYONE!

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Vol. 5 no. 6

home gardens Hmmm. The cowpeas and beans are ready —the pods are yellowish.

It is harvest time at Furaha Primary School! Mkulima Halima has come to inspect the garden.

When the pods get too dry they break easily and the beans scatter everywhere.

When the pumpkins are ready, we’ll sell some and eat some.

We’ve been picking amaranth leaves every 2 weeks for the school kitchen. We also pick pumpkin leaves.

Early the next morning ...

Good to see you here so early, class! Let’s find out how to pick.

Pick the bean pods by hand, like this.

You see the colour of the cowpeas? They’re ready to be picked. If you wait longer they may shatter.

Here, each take one of these sticks wrapped in sacking.

We’ll pick the pods early in the morning when they’re moist with dew so they won’t break.

Ha ha—just wait.

We’ll have to thresh these in a few days.

This is easy!

Put the bean pods on that sack and pile the cowpea plants on this one.

Pull the cowpea plants up whole.

Beat the bean pods with the sticks to split them.

The beans will spill out.

What’s threshing?

Separating the seeds from the rest of the plant.

Where do we put them?

Two days later …

What do you mean?

How do you thresh?

You’ll see.

Do the same to the cowpea plants.

See how they fall out?

Everyone lends a hand ...

We will leave the beans to dry for a few more days. Then we will sort them and keep the best seeds aside for sowing.

Not too hard! We don’t want damaged seeds!

Good work. We will dig the remains of the cowpea plants back into the soil to provide nutrients for your next crops.

Some weeks later …

When the threshing is done: We must store the beans and cowpeas carefully to avoid pests.

Will we triple bag them?

Use a sharp knife— be very careful.

HARD RIND

DRY VINES

I’ll show you how to harvest them.

Huh? What do you mean?

I’ll explain. Beetles can damage stored legumes badly, especially cowpeas.

Mwalimu, I think the pumpkins are ready.

I’ve done this one—oops.

Dealing with cowpea bee tles

Keep beetles out by storing legumes in airtight containers.

Beetles and weevils need air. If you find cowpea beetles, kill them—here are 2 ways:

1. Solarisation—put the cowpeas in a black plastic bag. Tie bag closed (leaving some air in it) and leave in the sun for a day. The heat kills the beetles. (Don’t heat seeds meant for sowing.) Store in an airtight container.

2. Triple bagging—using 3 strong plastic bags to make an airtight container. Put cowpeas in one bag, squeeze out as much air as possible and tie bag closed, put it into a 2nd bag, squeeze and tie closed, and then into a 3rd bag, squeeze and tie closed.

Cut off the vine, leaving 8 to 15 cm of stem attached.

We’ll leave the pumpkins in the sun to cure for 7–10 days to cure and then we’ll store them in a cool, dry place.

They’ll stay good for up to 8 months.

Careful! Don’t damage the pumpkins. Lift them from the bottom.

We’re having delicious, nutritious meals with our produce. And we’ve sold some pumpkins!

We’ll use the money to buy more seeds.

Our school garden has improved our diet. Why don’t you start one?

Vol. 5 no. 6

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

practical science

Balancing act

Have you ever watched a toddler learn to stand? Keeping that big head and round belly steady over the tiny base of their feet is not easy! o understand balance, you have to understand force. A force pushes or pulls. If the force of a push is equal to the force of a pull, the forces are evenly balanced. Balance is a state in which the pull of gravity on an object is equalised by the supporting push away from the ground—in our toddler, their legs and muscles.

T

x

x

x

centre of gravity

When an object’s centre of gravity moves past its base, the object falls.

x

1. Balance the ruler on your finger so that it stays level.

Record the point on the ruler at which it is resting on your finger (for example, 10 cm).

2. Have someone place a coin carefully over the 1-cm mark. The ruler will tip. Move your finger until the ruler balances again and record where it is resting now—did it move closer to or farther from the coin?

3. Place another coin on top of the first one, move your finger to balance the ruler, then record and observe again.

Repeat step 3 with more coins. How many coins can be piled on without the ruler falling over?

+ tio in ac PEANUT SAUCE FOR 20?

NO PROBLEM!

Hooray, the holidays are here!

Your relatives have come to visit and you’re helping mum prepare the meal.

You are making your favourite peanut sauce–delicious with sukuma or cabbage. Oh dear, the recipe says 125 g of peanut butter and 150 ml of coconut milk, to feed 6 people—how do you convert that for 20?

Divide by the lowest number that will go into both numbers—2.

A toddler’s centre of gravity is higher in their body than an older child’s because their legs are shorter in relation to their height. This high centre of gravity makes it much harder for them to balance. To take that first step they have to learn to balance on one foot while the other foot moves forward and their weight shifts.

Divide the top number by the Divide bottom by number

the lowest number that will go into both numbers—2.

1 20 = 10 = Divide the 3 top 3number 3 6 by the bottom number

So you need 3 1/3 times more of each 1 20 by= 10 = ingredient to feed 20 Divide people.

3 the lowest 6 number3

that will go intoml Let’s start 150 1 by converting both numbers—3. x 3 milk.

150 coconut 3

10 1500 1 = 150 x 1503 x=3 3 3

Confused? Try this: You need a ruler, small coins (like the Kenyan 5 shilling), paper and a pencil.

= s H Ma - n

-

Let’s find out how much more of each ingredient is needed.

To feed 20 people based on a recipe for 6, divide 20 by 6.

Taking a first step is … well … a big step for a toddler. That is because as they move forward, their centre of gravity shifts—and if it moves past their base, they topple.

The earth’s gravity pulls on an object as if all its weight were collected at one point. That point is its centre of gravity and it controls how the object balances.

17

Divide by the lowest number that will go into both numbers—3.

10 1500 = 500 = 150 x 3 = 3

x

= 500 ml or half a litre

x x

x

Where is your centre of gravity? Toddlers have the highest centre of gravity; women have the lowest.

Next, convert 125 g of peanut butter.

125 g of peanut butter x 3 1/3 = 125 x 10 3 = 1250 = 416.66 g 3 That’s a really odd amount for a recipe– round it off to 420 g.

For smaller items like 1 teaspoon of sugar, just multiply by 3 1/3 = 3 1/3 teaspoons of sugar.

The centre of gravity in a doughnut is in the hole!

Yum, yum. With a bit of maths, your favourite meal will be ready in a jiffy.

Would you like to try this recipe?

See it on page 22.

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YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

How to sharpen a knife

y fact g o l o n ch

file

Te

Y

do

...

bake without an oven?

Way 1

You can sharpen that knife yourself, using what’s in every kitchen—a ceramic mug or cup.

More accidents happen with a dull knife than with a sharp one. That’s because a dull knife will tend to slip off the surface you’re trying to cut, and land on … your hand!

You need:

• A ceramic mug with an unglazed porcelain ring around the bottom.

• Use a sufuria (pot) with a tight-fitting lid • Dig a hole big enough for the sufuria to fit in • Place your dough in the sufuria • Place the sufuria in the hole • Place hot coals around the sufuria

Way 2

• A kitchen towel

Find a ceramic mug with a white ring around the bottom. It should be slightly rough to the touch and free of glaze. You may also find this on the underside of a plate, but a cup is easier to hold.

2

Make long smooth strokes against the rough stone surface, all the way from the handle of the knife to the tip. Use some pressure. Hold it at the same angle every stroke.

1

3 Spread out a kitchen towel and place the cup upside down on it, so it doesn’t move around while you’re working. Hold the cup firmly, and cover your holding hand with the rest of the towel for safety.

Why does this work?

HoIw ...

Do you know that you can make a homemade oven to bake all sorts of yummy snacks during the festive season? Here are 3 ways to build it:

our mother asked you to take the blunt kitchen knife to the knife grinder at the market but the man wasn’t there today.

Oh dear, there are guests coming over and your mum will really need a sharp knife. What can you do?

Hold the knife blade at about a 45 ˚ angle to the bottom of the cup.

Vol. 5 no. 6

practical science

45 °

The grit on the unglazed ring acts like a sharpening stone and shaves off tiny particles of steel from the knife blade. Using a brick as a

Alternate between sides of the blade. Test the blade after a few strokes. With a bit of practice you'll get it perfect, and never have to look for the knife grinder again.

sharpening stone works in the same way. As a rule, the harder your stone, the sharper your knife.

• Heat some coals • Place a layer of hot coals on the ground or in a jiko • Place the sufuria on top of the hot coals • Place a lid on top of the sufuria • Heap more coals on the lid

Way 3

• Heat sand and some coals • Place a small sufuria (with your dough) in a big sufuria. The small sufuria should be covered with a fitting lid.

• Place the same amount of hot sand around the small sufuria • Place the hot coal on top of the small sufuria’s lid.

Baking takes 30 to 45 minutes. Remember to keep replacing the used coals with hot ones.

Ask an adult to help you with the hot coal and sand.

Bake a cake using way 2­­: see the recipe on page 21.

Vol. 5 no. 6

business & careers

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

19

Assessing the small biz

to celebrate! We day, “we have something “Hey, June,” sai d Mark one .” ons exactly one year ago starte d MaJu Com municati some com ments doing? Your uncle ma de “How do you think we are June. got me thinking,” replied when he was here that

What June and Mark need to do is assess their business

Assessing the business means studying it to judge how it is doing. Find out what is going well and what you can improve. Study your sales records, then answer the following questions.

Strengths

What do you do well?

Where are you making money?

What makes your business special?

Mark and June found— • They work well together.

• The business is making most money doing small printing and photocopying jobs and selling small items of stationery.

• Their business attracts students because their prices are good and they are a kind of “one-stop shop” for various services students need.

Weaknesses

Where are you losing money?

What do you need?

What can you do better?

Maju Communications Bureau— • is losing money on printer repairs • some customers have never collected and paid for their jobs • could do more printing with better equipment • has more work at times than Mark and June can cope with Find out too what opportunities there are for your business to grow or improve and what risks you may face.

Opportunities

What new customer needs could you meet?

What new trends in your society or community could benefit you?

What niches have your competitors missed?

When June and Mark thought about it they realised— • They were close to their customers, who were mostly students.

• There were no nearby businesses offering students final typing of assignments and help with drafting CVs.* • They could meet these needs.

• They could handle the extra printing these extra services would bring with a better printer.

• The nearby university was expanding.

Threats

What are the negative trends around you?

Where can competitors hurt you?

Where are you vulnerable?

June and Mark identified these threats— • The number of wealthier customers, who brought bigger jobs, coming to their part of town was dropping.

• Competitors offering design services were closer to the wealthier clients.

• Other nearby businesses also did printing and photocopying.

• They were losing some money because of clients who had not paid.

Why assess a business?

When you know your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) you can decide where to make changes. Any business can do a SWOT analysis, not just large companies. *CV—short for curriculum vitae, an outline of a person’s details, skills, qualifications and work experience used when applying for a job or internship.

What June and Mark did next

• It was clear that their little printer was costing a lot to run. Mark suggested charging more to cover maintenance but June pointed out that they would then be charging more than their competitors. They decided that they should invest in a better printer; they would save money plus they could handle more work.

• They decided to target students, offering 2 new services—typing up assignments and helping AL CUSTOMER with CVs—and IDE promote them through leaflets put up around campus.

• To handle the extra work and to deal better with the current workload, they decided to employ someone part time. They also decided to focus less on design jobs.

• They resolved to charge a deposit for printing jobs to ensure that customers collect and pay for work.

Assessment is not a once-a-year thing.

As you update your records weekly, do mini assessments. Note things like what sells fast and what gathers dust on the shelf. Ask customers for their opinion.

You could even ask them to fill out a small questionnaire telling what they like about the business and what you could improve.

20

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Vol. 5 no. 6

business & careers

You could be a

“

he 5-year-old me must be wondering what happened. She really wanted to be a police woman.

She adored the uniform, the marching in unison; she knew she was destined for the police force. Then adolescence happened. With a desire to travel the world looking all pretty, the 13-year-old me decided that a career as a flight attendant made more sense. This eventually changed to engineering but when I met with dear tough physics in high school, this ambition too was shown the door.

”

”With my love for physics decreasing every term, a new love was blossoming—for accounting. With my new-found love, I enrolled for a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa.

I got an internship with a local bank

vital as we are handling people’s money. So you need to be accurate and work fast at the same time—what a challenge! It’s a challenge worth taking because it comes with the opportunity to understand money: the rules of banking and saving—rules that will certainly help me in my personal life and in my quest to become a financial analyst.

Christine Munyoro, banker

while at the university and after graduating, the bank employed me.

The Programme Support Department (ensuring that our clients’ account details—name, signature, ID number­— are in order) was my first stop. I later moved to Retail Credit, then to where I am now, Data Remediation. We keep customers’ records up to date.

Working in a bank is tough. The workload is heavy and accuracy is

My advice to future bankers: learn to be a team player—a bank runs on team effort. Interpersonal skills and integrity are very important—you are handling people’s hard-earned cash. So is computer proficiency. But above all, you must be in love with numbers!”

CAREER FACT FILE Yo u should be go od at Mathematics, Acco unting, Co mm erce an d languages.

• Un dergra duate degree in businessrelated stu dies like Bachelor of Co mmerce (B.Co m)

We salute

K

enya is renowned the world over for its track and field athletes but Jason Dunford is changing this image by joining the list of great Kenyan athletes in a sport less common in Kenya—swimming.

winning 3 gold, 2 silver and 3 bronze.

He finished 8th in the 100-m butterfly final at the 2007 World Championships.

Born 28 November 1986, Jason became the first Kenyan to win a continental swimming medal with gold in the 100-m butterfly at the 2006 African Championships in Senegal. He finished the competition with 2 gold medals, 3 silvers and 1 bronze, earning 2nd place in the 2006 Kenyan Sportsman of the Year award.

He continued medal hunting in 2007 at the All-Africa Games,

He also qualified for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, becoming the first Kenyan swimmer to qualify for the Olympics, and was crowned the 2007 Kenyan Sportsman of the Year.

At the 2008 Olympics, Dunford narrowly missed a medal but won 3 gold and 2 silver medals in the African Swimming Championships that December.

In 2010 Jason has won 2 gold and 2 silver medals in the African Swimming Championships and a gold medal for 50 m in the Commonwealth Games.

It’s a gold for Kenya: presentation of the 50-m butterfly gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Dehli.

Kenya is truly proud of him and his accomplishments in the water.

Vol. 5 no. 6

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

careers & fun

MEET

o o t t a rtist

THE

T

a

“ ‘Makerere University, here I come!’ is all I could think of when I received my letter of admission for a degree in biochemistry. A year later, I had to drop out because my father couldn’t afford the fees.”

Despite this early setback, Benard Komen now owns his own business.

He told us how this came about.

A sponsored trip to visit a friend in “Hong Kong came my way. While there,

I came across a tattoo market and my artistic side was resurrected—I used to draw a lot as a kid.

Before I tattoo a client, we discuss the meanings of the tattoo they want and the colours that suit their skin tone. Then I enquire about their medical background–whether they suffer from any skin or blood ailments.

Hygiene is extremely important in tattooing—dirty equipment can spread disease—so I wash my hands, put on

I was told I could learn tattooing at the Lipo Chung School of Body Art and I was determined not to give in to financial constraints again. I turned to friends and family for assistance.

Months later, I was on my way back to Kenya with my certificate and a tattoo machine. This was in 2006.

At first I did tattooing part time.

However, in 2008 I decided to dive into the business full time. I opened Kwemz Tattoos in Nairobi after securing a business license.

Make a

You nee d

• 2 cups flour • 5 eggs • 2 cups sugar • 1 cup butter • 1 tsp baking pow der

• pinch of salt • pot (sufuria) with lid • sieve • mixing bowl

1

Put briquettes in jiko and light them. Mix the cake while you wait for the coals to be ready.

2

Benard Komen

new surgical gloves and let the client open the sterilised tattooing package to confirm that all the equipment used is safe. Finally, I clean the skin area with antiseptic before starting the tattoo.

Among my biggest challenges is turning away under 18-year-olds. I don’t tattoo under 18s even if they have their parents’ consent.

A tattoo is a lifetime mark so the decision to get one needs mature thought.

So far so good. I enjoy what I do as the business pays well and I get to mentor budding tattoo artists and employ some of them.

”

Benard at work. Sterility and cleanliness are important.

Hepatitis is one of the diseases that can be spread through unhygienic tattooing­—read about it on page 5.

Jiko pound cake

If you want to bake a cake but you do not have an oven, see page 21 for ideas. Then try this delicious recipe.

Cream butter and sugar in a bowl, mixing well.

21

3

Break eggs into mixture.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt into bowl and beat well.

4

5

6

Pour into greased pot and cover with lid.

Remove most of the coals from the jiko, leaving about 6.

7

Put the pot on the jiko. Place 10–15 coals on the lid.

8

Bake for about 45 minutes, turning the pot every 15 minutes so that the heat is evenly spread.

Remove from heat when done and leave to cool.

Hint: To prevent the cake from sticking to the pot, sprinkle the pot with a little flour after greasing it. Sprinkle some flour over the top of the cake mix to prevent it from sticking to the lid.

22

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Vol. 5 no. 6

puzzles and fun Fun for

Which 2 calabashes are identical?

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Between 5 and 10 million people speak Kiswahili as their first language but the languages below have many more native speakers, from Mandarin (with nearly 850 million) down to Telugu (with 70 million).

Find them in the Pathfinder.

Lovebird logic Wanja and Godfrey decide to meet halfway between their 2 homes. They start riding their bicycles toward each other at exactly the same time. Both are riding at 6 km/h. They live 36 Bkmand apart.CWanja’s pet lovebird, Lorna, starts flying as soon as the friends start cycling. Lorna flies back and forth at 18 km/h between the 2 friends until they meet.

Who’s there?

Punch!

Answer Punch who?

Lorna flies 54 km. Godfrey and Wanja take 3 hours Not me–I just go re!km/h. to meet and Lorna flies between themtathe18 3 hours x 18 km/h = 54 km.

Peanut sauce

Knock knock

• 1 onion, finely chopped • 1 clove garlic, crushed • 125 g peanut butter • juice of 1/2 lemon

• 1 teaspoon sugar • half teaspoon salt • 150 ml coconut milk

1. Heat oil and gently fry the onion and garlic for 3-4 minutes.

2. Add the peanut butter, lemon juice, sugar and salt, stir well and cook over low heat until the peanut butter is well blended.

3. Stir in the coconut milk and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Don’t overcook or the oil will separate.

4. Serve over cooked vegetables or with a raw salad.

Letter linkup

ON THE WING FOR 3 HOURS—PUFF —I’M WORN OUT!

Did you like the sound of the peanut sauce mentioned on page 17? Here is the recipe.

are, caw, din, dine, ear, fed, fled, ham, hare, hen, lid, line, liner, mare, maw, near, ore, pore, pose, pot, pots, pub, pubs, puma, ream, rose, rot, spot, sea, sham, shear, side, sine, slide, sore, toe, toes, top, tore, etc.

How many kilometers does the lovebird end up traveling?

Starting at the red letter, move up, down and sideways to find the 14 most common languages. The first has been done, now continue on the path from where it ends.

Russian Mandarin Japanese Spanish English German Javanese Arabic Hindi Punjabi Wu Bengali Portuguese Telugu

Vol. 5 no. 6

puzzles and fun

YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

By Bella Kilonzo

www.bellakilonzo.com

CRAZY BELZO

Letter linkup t 0 r m n

p s e a h

u b h n s

m a f l i

a w c e d

These letters have been placed in the squares at random. See how many words of 3 letters or more you can create by connecting the letters to each other. Words must have at least 3 letters and can be plurals. You can only make words out of letters that are touching each other diagonally, horizontally or vertically. You cannot use a letter from the same square more than once in a word.

Example: spot, top and pots can all be made from the letters below

Calabashes solution: B and C

Answer Lorna flies 54 km. Godfrey and Wanja take 3 hours to meet and Lorna flies between them at 18 km/h.

3 hours x 18 km/h = 54 km.

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ON THE WING FOR 3 HOURS—PUFF —I’M WORN OUT!

t p u 0 s b r e h

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top, spot, pot, pots, rot, pore, tore, sore, rose, pose, toe, toes, pub, pubs, sea, puma, maw, caw, shear, sham, slide, lid, side, din, dine, sine, line, liner, ham, fed, near, ear, ream, are, mare, hare, ore, hen, fled, etc.

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Between 5 and 10 million people speak Kiswahili as their first language but the languages below have many more native speakers, from Mandarin (with nearly 850 million) down to Telugu (with 70 million).

Find them in the Pathfinder.

t p u t p u 0 s b 0 s b r e h r e h How many kilometers does the lovebird end up traveling?

Help the duck waddle over to the pond

pots

Starting at the red letter, move up, down and sideways to find the 14 most common languages. The first has been done, now continue on the path from where it ends.

Russian Mandarin Spanish Japanese English German Javanese Arabic Punjabi Hindi Bengali Wu Portuguese Telugu

top

spot

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YOUNG AFRICAN EXPRESS

Vol. 5 no. 6

Civil society

classroom blackboard is disrespectful to your class teacher.

Common courtesy. Just because the dining hall teacher happens to be your English teacher doesn’t make the English lesson an appropriate time to point out that lunch portions are too small. Find an appropriate time—after class—to talk to the right person.

Make your voice heard

S

school administration deal with it? If you can offer solutions, even better.

o you don’t like the food at your school or the state of the classrooms. What do you do? How do you approach the school administration with your complaint?

Clarity. Be clear about your complaint—what exactly are you complaining about and why should the

Politeness. You don’t have to like your teacher or agree with what he or she says, but it is necessary to be polite.

Choose your words carefully.

Be reasonable. Don’t expect your complaint to be handled right away.

Understand that some complaints take time to solve.

Learn the system. Understand who is in charge of what and approach the right person. If your complaint is to do with sports, approach the sports teacher. Rushing straight to the head teacher with a complaint about the

COMING UP NEXT, NEWS ABOUT NEXT WEEK’S BYELECTION. STAY TUNED.

I FEEL REALLY DISAPPOINTED

BY OUR COUNCILLOR ...

Story by Sarah Radoli

If you feel that the school administration is ignoring your complaint, involve your parents or guardians. Let them meet with the school administration and work it out.

I AGREE SHE HAS BEEN A DISAPPOINTMENT ...

I DON’T THINK I SHALL BE VOTING DURING THE BYELECTIONS NEXT WEEK.

Art by Bella Kilonzo

NOT REALLY! THERE ARE MANY GOOD PEOPLE, ONLY THEY DON’T GET A CHANCE. THAT IS WHY YOUR VOTE IS IMPORTANT.

BUT IF YOU FAIL TO VOTE, WE MIGHT FAIL TO GET THE RIGHT PERSON IN THAT OFFICE.

DAD IS RIGHT. IF YOU FAIL TO PRACTISE YOUR CIVIL RIGHT TO VOTE, WE COULD END UP WITH THE WRONG COUNCILLOR.

YES MUM. WE LEARNED IN OUR SOCIAL ETHICS CLASS THAT WE ALL HAVE A RIGHT TO VOTE AND WE NEED TO EXERCISE IT.

BUT THEY ALL BEHAVE THE SAME …

CAN YOU IMAGINE IF WE DIDN’T HAVE THAT RIGHT? THEN THINGS WOULD BE WORSE THAN THEY ARE.

LIRA AND LEO, THAT IS VERY ENCOURAGING. IT IS IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOUR RIGHTS AND TO EXERCISE THEM. BY USING YOUR RIGHT TO VOTE, YOU ARE ACTUALLY HELPING SAFEGUARD THE FUTURE OF YOUR CHILDREN.

I DIDN’T KNOW IT WAS THAT IMPORTANT. I SHALL GO CAST MY VOTE.

THAT IS CORRECT. I CAN’T WAIT TO VOTE SOME DAY.

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