I have always known that I am Kenyan and proud of it but I have never thought about why I am Kenyan.
The artist is a young woman who lives in Kisumu. She works in the community.
I have always known that I am Kenyan and proud of it but I have never thought about why I am Kenyan.
The process was energizing and therapeutic. Yesterday I had a splitting headache but when I started drawing it went away. It was good way to reflect and to think about things that we never have time to think about, or never felt the need to think about them.
My body is orange because I am a bright person. My background starts from dark, black to light to signify the journey we have come through. Meaning the things that happened when I was born, the things we have come through as Kenyans, the dark background shows the challenges we have faced and the light part shows where we are going and the hopes and dreams we have as a country.
I tried to draw a river with crocodiles and the crocodiles mean the different things that are happening in Kenya, the challenges that we want to move away from. The body is walking and wants to cross this river and end things like; tribalism, corruption, poverty and unequal distribution of resources. My legs and palms are red, signifying the many challenges we face as we move along. My hands are green to mean productivity and prosperity.
I started my timeline with the year of independence. My date of birth coincides with the death of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, our first president. In 2002 I graduated and it was also the end of Moi’s rule as our president. In 2007, we had PEV and in 2007, I forgot to put that it was the year that I got married. In 2010 we had our constitution. In 2011, I gave birth to my son.
I have drawn human beings to mean the different types of people who come together to network around a common goal. It represents my life, where I network with a lot of people.
I also drew a tree but in the tree, the roots are different colors to depict the different types of Kenyans we have, who grow up to be one family, one tree.
I believe that I am determined and happy and relate well with people. Others say I am fat and short, ladylike and talkative.
I drew hills to represent the different challenges we face, you go up and go down, you see good and bad at different times of our lives.
I have always known that I am Kenyan and proud of it but I have never thought about why I am Kenyan. I asked people around me. The only answer we had was that we are Kenyan by birth. People don’t really think about what makes them Kenyan. This bodymap will help them.
Who I Am, Who We Are. 