Safari Notes

Gallup Rankings Ever thought of Rwandans feeling very loved? According to a gallup data just published - in response to the question: “ "Did you experience the following feelings during a lot of the day yesterday ?" How about love ?" According to Gallup - the result is the most comprehensive global index of love ever constructed. Most Rwandans answered positively. Rwanda does not only rank first in Africa, but it is one out of only three other population surveyed where at least nine in 10 respondents reported feeling loved; and it ranks 2nd globally. For a country that has gone through so much suffering and misery just a few years ago , that is the best and greatest recognition and teastament to how much forgiving Rwandans are and how much healed they feel. And how do other people in East Africa feel? Do they, too, feel loved? After Rwanda, Tanzania ranks second in East Africa and 15th globally; Kenya ranks third in East Africa and 47th globally; and Uganda r

Save Elephants and Tigers! I have just read a heart wrenching, painful report on how more cruel and merciless poaching for wildlife and 'trade' in them and their parts has become. The report by the award winning photojournalist and filmmaker, James Morgan, is one of many that's coming out of Africa and Asia. Every day in the savannas and forests of Africa, elephants are being gunned down for their ivory tusks. Across Africa, tens of thousands of these majestic animals are being slaughtered each year. In many places the species has already been poached to extinction . As for tigers, it is one of the most endangered mammals on Earth. Numerous tiger species are on the brink of extinction; the numbers of all existing species are declining rapidly. If nothing is done, now, both these two very majestic animals will soon be wiped out from the wild. The main market for both elephant and tiger parts, is Asia. And the main, central hub for this very cruel and merciless 't

James Bond When Ian Lancaster Fleming, who died from a heart attack at an early age of 56, started writing the James Bond books, he never realized it would have such a profound international impact for this long and on so many people around the world. And no one, least of all Fleming, would have realized that Fleming's creation, James Bond code name '007', would be the basis of fifty films and a household name, worldwide. Why did Fleming name his fictional character James Bond instead of something more interesting, like 'Peregrine Carruthers'? Because he wanted  the simplest, dullest, plainest-sounding name he could find - and to him that was 'James Bond'. The role of James Bond has been played by Barry Nelson, Sean Connery, George Lazenby, David Niven, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and today's Daniel Craig. Bond films are known for style, sensual scenes and being very macho. And there are the stunts, the gadgets, the villains and the

Nairobi Aquarium Store Did you know that having a fish aquarium can be relaxing, relieving and can reduce stress? Although it is not discussed very much, there are health and emotional benefits that come from having a fish tank or  an aquarium. This is true whether its a fresh water or salt water tank . Read more here . Studies have shown that watching an aquarium has multiple health benefits such as lowering of high blood pressure and reduction of anxiety. Medical offices and retirement homes are two examples of places that can reap the benefits of fish tanks. And children do love aquariums and respond well to them. Living in such a fast paced, crowded and noisy place like Nairobi - you will certainly benefit from having a fish aquarium at home or in your office. One of the best and most affordable places to buy  an aquarium is the: Nairobi Aquarium Store at Mai Mahiu Road, off Langata/Mbagathi Road, near T-Mall Sopping Center . They specialize in both locally made and imported

In the last 30 years, we’ve lost as much as three-quarters of the floating sea ice cover at the top of the world. The volume of that sea ice measured by satellites in the summer, when it reaches its smallest, has shrunk so fast that scientists say it’s now in a ‘death spiral’. For over 800,000 years, ice has been a permanent feature of the Arctic ocean. It’s melting because of our use of dirty fossil fuel energy, and in the near future it could be ice free for the first time since humans walked the Earth. This would be not only devastating for the people, polar bears, narwhals, walruses and other species that live there - but for the rest of us too. The ice at the top of the world reflects much of the sun’s heat back into space and keeps our whole planet cool, stabilising the weather systems that we depend on to grow our food. Protecting the ice means protecting us all. Help save the Arctic! Act and Sign Now! >>>>>>

Kenya is now abuzz with election talk. I love and very much appreciate what Google Africa Blog is doing for the Continent. Recently they up came with this : Next it’s Kenya’s turn, and March 4th 2013 will be a pivotal moment as Kenyan voters go to the polls to decide the country’s future. This will be Kenya’s first general election under the new constitution and following the post-election violence of 2007/8. Expectations are high both for a peaceful transition and a deepening of democracy under the new constitution. Voters are already turning to the internet for information: according to Google Zeitgeist, the IEBC (Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission) was the top trending search in Kenya in 2012, and all the major candidates have a strong presence across the various social media outlets. We want to help empower Kenyans with accessible and useful information during the upcoming elections so we’re launching a number of initiatives to make it easy for voters to find

Bena Nakijoba, fondly and respectfully called Jaja ba all - is seventy two years old. Very few life stories are as touching, as moving and as dramatic as Jaja's. She went to school up to the 6th grade; she got married at age fifteen; she was barren, could not conceive and so her husband broke-up with her; she then got a job looking after children of expatriates; and after three years looking after the children, she left and moved to Katanga, Kampala in 1971. In 1971, Katanga was small and had very few people; but through the years it has grown up too fast, become over-populated and is one of the worst slums in East Africa. For the last forty or so years, Jaja has been opening her doors in Katanga and her heart to abandoned children and caring for them. At first, it was those of working parents who would live their children with her, for a little pay, while they worked. Then, in the early 1980s - with war raging around Uganda, people, mainly young girls who mistakenly got pregnant,