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Largest gathering of Kenyans in America |
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Saturday, 24 July 2010 07:26 |
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A weekend to remember-Largest gathering of Kenyans in America
By Isaac Kariuki
Diaspora Messenger
07/10/2010
The 4th of July weekend brought the largest gathering of Kenyans in USA together as they celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Kenya Christian Fellowship in America. The gathering was at the campus of James Madison University in Harrisonburg Virginia and started on 2nd July to 5th July.It was hosted by the Kenya Christian Fellowship in America National Board led by Lucas Kimani the current president.
The convention is held every year at the same time and same venue but this year’s was unique as the Fellowship was celebrating 20 years since inception. The Theme was “Ebenezer, thus far the Lord has brought us”. Participants came from all over the country and distance was no hindrance as they came from Washington State, California ,Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, Alabama, Kentucky, Indiana among many states represented. It was surprising to see that those who came from far like Texas and Massachusetts had large representation than States that were closer to the venue. They came in hired buses, private cars and vans and others flew in.
The major sponsors of the conference, the Cooperative Insurance Company (CIC) which is owned by the cooperative movement of Kenya and is the sister company of the Cooperative Bank was represented by four top management officers from Nairobi and were led by the managing Director of CIC Mr. Nelson Kuria.They came to Launch the CIC operations in USA with the introduction of two important products for Kenyans in Diaspora which are Jijenge Investment Plan that supports periodic accumulation of capital. The plan guarantees returns over the term of the contract period of 12 years while enjoying a minimum life cover. The other one is Jipange Pension plan which is designed to ensure financial independence in old age so that one’s lifestyle is not compromised in their less active years. The plan will provide pension for those who do not qualify for pension in the Diaspora for various reasons. There are plans in the next few weeks to introduce Medical product for the parents of the Kenyans in Diaspora to cover for hospitalization and Funeral cover to insure the Diaspora in case of death. The two products are among many products in the works.
Mr.Nelson Kuria.Managing Director of Cooperative Insurance Company
The main speaker at the conference was Bishop David Oginde of CITAM (Christ is the Answer Ministry) and one of the messages he preached was “Beyond Ebenezer”. He told the Kenyans in America that Ebenezer is not a destination but a check point; it is a stanza in a song, a break in a game, a pause in a story, an interlude in a long movie whose end and outcome is not yet known. He reminded them that the journey is still not ended and that they have not come to the destination and that they have a long way to the get to the destination.
Other speakers were Rev.Beatrice Ndura of Pinnacle of Praise Ministries and the Director of Safe Harbor Christian Counseling in Lancaster PA; she is the Author of “A woman of Influence”. Dr.Joseph Okello, an assistant Professor of Philosophy at Ashbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore Kentucky.Dr.John M.Njoroge, a member of the speaking team at Ravi Zacharias International Ministries in Atlanta Georgia. Pastor Kenyatta Jackson, a youth pastor and a volunteer at the Juvenile Detention Center of Newport News and Hampton Virginia and Ms Nellie Odhuni-Shani the Author of “Stand your Ground: Perishing for Lack of Knowledge”
Bishop David Oginde with Rev.Peter Osano
The Conference was very well organized with many activities for children, Youth and Adults. Both the youth and the children had structured programs with facilitators who ensured the smooth running of the programs. Sunday July 4th was the most exciting day which started with an outdoor picnic lunch, followed by The Amazing Race competition where teams comprising local chapters competed in various games. The day ended with a black tie Dinner where the fun was in the dressing as people came dressed in their best. The guest of honor at the dinner was H.E.Ambassador Muburi Muita who took the opportunity to explain about the Draft constitution. Alabama Chapter scooped the first place in the Amazing Race Competition, Baltimore was second and Washington DC Chapter was 3rd.They were given awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd position respectively.
This year’s conference was the best said one participant “I hope they will include the picnic and the Amazing race next year and years to come because it was more exciting this year than all the years I have been coming” It was good to see so many Kenyans gathered in one place as they did in James Madison University, there was a show of unity, there was diverse representation, there was love for one another. It was a utopia of what Kenya should be.
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Friday, 02 April 2010 15:00 |
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There are two ways to build the tallest building in town. You can either tear down everything else other people are putting up, or you can concentrate to work on your project and others will help you put up the tallest building in town. For those who want quick fix, they go with the first choice, but because you and I want a quick fit we chose the second option.
We all want to be like other successful people and communities but the question is, are we willing to do what they did in order to be successful? They all saw the courage, confidence and consistency to be bigger than simply competing with one another for smaller gains in there local area at the expense of bigger gains. We fail because everyone wants to be the only guy at the top.  In order to climb up there you may need to stand on someone else shoulders or may need a friend to hold you up there not to fall. If you are the only rich guy in the whole village, your wealth may not last and you may not even enjoy it because everyone looks up on you. Our people will continue to suffer until we know the secret of investing in others.
We also can change our way of living by investing in others, by promoting each other and by talking good things about others. If you check the money going out, we spend too much money to strangers and nothing comes back to us. Think about money we spend on auto insurance, telephone bills, and car repairs, home remodeling, cooling and heating, day care, calling cards, computers, hair clinic, nyama mbuzi the list is endless. A portion of this money can come back to us if we buy from business partners within our comminity.
Community empowerment is like a bank account. You keep on depositing so that when a need comes you will have something to withdraw. Let us open an account with someone we know and start depositing.We are like elevators, we can take people up or we can take them down.
For more information see the MWANANCHI COMMUNITY CALENDAR and stay CONNECTED.
Click to watch video
Article by Geoffrey, for connection33   |
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Praise Him No Matter What! |
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Saturday, 17 July 2010 06:05 |
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Praise Him No Matter What!
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” Habakkuk 17-18
The book of Habakkuk was written against a backdrop of unbelievable hardship for the nation of Judah. It was during the time king Jehoiakim led the people back into idolatry and away from the Lord and as a result God’s judgment was imminent upon Judah. A cloud of desperation and frustration was hanging over the nation. But Habakkuk, instead of looking down in desperation decided to up to God.
Habakkuk is painting a bleak portrait of the future, but he looks away to a God Who is always the same! The One we can depend on in desperate time; we can trust in troublesome time; the one we can believe in during unbelievable times-we can lean on Him at all times!
Faith in God is not burying our head in the sand neither is it ignoring reality. But it’s about having confidence that even when our world is ‘collapsing’ in front of our eyes; there is a God in heaven who is in control! We may not be able to rejoice in our situation, but we can always rejoice in the Great God who changes not.
We may not always know what He is doing, but we can always trust Him to do what is right, We may not always understand His plan, but we can trust Him to have the best plan, Jer. 29:11 says I “know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you…” No matter how things may appear, God is still in control. He still knows best and He always does what is right.
In conclusion, Habakkuk is showing us that in spite of it all we can find joy in God our Savior. God’s salvation does not depend on circumstances around us; neither does it depend on things going well. It is not tied to earthly contentment; it rests solely on the grace and power of God.
Life is uncertain at best, but Salvation is eternal in nature. Things can get pretty bad here but it’s good to remember one thing: God is in control. You can depend on Him in desperate time and you can trust in Him during troublesome times. Just purpose to rejoice in the God of our Salvation; arise and praise Him no matter what!
By Pastor John Mbochi
Immanuel Worship Center
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WILL KENYANS EVER CHANGE THEIR COUNTRY? |
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Tuesday, 13 April 2010 23:58 |
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 The type of information you allow to your mind will determine how you react to different things and circumstances. If you allow negative information, you will be a negative person but if you hang out with successive and progressive people, their positive life approach will influence you to be a positive person. Your mind is like a computer, the kind of data and software you feed in will determine the kind of programs the computer will be able to perform. A trained doctor cannot use the same knowledge and skills to perform the work of a mechanic.
Our society has trained and equipped our sons and daughters to be mechanics yet we expect them to perform the work of doctors. A politician will not be the person he is not just because of your expectations and problems. In other words it is us who trained and indentified them to be who they are yet we complain because they are corrupt and selfish. If you invest your money in a project, you would expect to get returns and you would do the best you can to get it as soon as possible. The first qualification to be a member of parliament is how much you can bribe and how good you are promising people what they want to hear. Time is up for old politics game where leaders overpromises and under delivers. In the past, Kenyans have been promised tap water in every household by 2000, rural electrification by 2010 and "vision 2015" which have changed to "Vision 2030". I will not say anything about new constitution because Kenyans were promised a complete "new constitution" 100 days after NDP takes over in 2002. I am not sure if i go it right it was 100 days, i could be missing two or three zeros. If that is so, my fellow Kenyans, tighten your belts you have a long way to go. Those professional procrastinators in Kenya need to know that "you don't lower your expectations to meet your performance.
You raise your level of performance to meet your expectations." Kenyan politicians invest a lot of money in YOU and I during campaigns and because of our faithfulness and honesty we vote them in. Why do we complain when they discover an easy way to get their ROI when they get in parliament?. You would do the same way if it were you. Why can't we look their track records and tell who is lying and who has the interest of Kenyans at heart. I don't understand why we can have same people in power for half a century promising things they will never deliver yet we keep rehiring them over and over. You (mwanachi) are the employer with the power to hire and fire people who work for you. After every five years you are given an opportunity to evaluate your staff past performance and determine who keeps the job and who leaves the premises. Jim Collins puts it this way, "....to build a successful organization and team, you must get the right people on the bus and put them in the right seats”. We all know who are the right people to match the right sits but when elections come we end up doing the wrong thing. When organizations fail we don't blame employees, we blame the managers and CEO's for hiring wrong people for the job. Mwanachi are the Parliament CEOs who have given up their power and authority to be controlled and managed by their employees.
You cannot do the same thing over and over and expect different results. If you want something different you must be willing to do something you never did before. It is time Kenyans need to take back their roles and hold their leaders accountable. For change to come it will not start with politicians, it will start with YOU and I. Changing the way we think and the way we do things. If we don't entertain negative talks in our local communities, our families and churches, we will build leaders with principals and values that put the needs of others before their selfish desires. The choice you make on how you treat your neighbor has nothing to do with what Kibaki or Raila or some politicians said. YOU made that choice! Let us take responsibility of our decisions and bring the change we need today and in future.
By Geoffrey, for connection33
COMMENTS:
You are right, the first step to change a situation is to discover there is a problem, then how it came to be and finally how to solve it. Our main problem we only accept there is a problem but we don't take responsibility. We also don't visiolise where problems originate. We employ the politicians, this means we hire unqualified man power then we complain the job is not done. On other hand those who ignore our beloved country are even worse. We need to propel the right culture and trent. ..... BY Jesii Kimani |
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Co-operative Insurance Company of Kenya (CIC)
