Msafiri Issue 187 - October-November 2024

DEAR READER Welcome on board your flight with Kenya Airways. I’m extremely proud to announce that KQ has reported an after tax profit for the first half-year of 2024 of Ksh513m. This is the first time we have been able to do so since 2013 and highlights the success of our strategic turnaround plan, Project Kifaru, which emphasises customer obsession, operational excellence, financial discipline, innovation and sustainability. FREE COPY! Talking of sustainability, we have recently taken part in the SkyTeam Aviation Challenge, which encourages airlines to operate routes in the most sustainable way. This doesn’t just mean the flight itself. Our inaugural challenge flight to Amsterdam saw ground operations initiatives, a sustainable in-flight menu, e-mobility for guests, a travel light policy and waste management projects integrated into the service. You…

FIND OUT MORE: VISITDUBAI.COM 01 Real Madrid World The world’s first football theme park, Real Madrid World at Dubai Parks and Resorts features over 40 experiences and attractions. The venue is divided into three zones – Champions Avenue, Celebration Plaza and Stars Avenue. Discover new heights and follow the club’s journey on the region’s first wooden roller coaster, Hala Madrid, or conquer the Stars Flyer, the world’s tallest amusement ride at 140m. 02 Arte Museum Dubai Spanning almost 2800sq m, this Dubai Mall gallery contains works across 14 zones under the theme of ‘Eternal Nature’. The venue, designed by Korean digital design company d’strct, uses production-mapping, multi-image control and sensor-based interaction systems to help visitors appreciate exhibits as closely as possible with the help of technology. After you are done…

In Kenya, academic certificates are a matter of life and death… and afterlife. Doubt me? Read our obituaries. We want earthly and heavenly beings to know the deceased was learned. This is why we list all their papers. It’s the Kenyanness in us. And these papers are tied to national exams. Which Kenyan parents worship. You would think the must-have pass demanded by angels at the Pearly Gates are academic result slips. “Waiteth a second,” Chief Cherub says, while flipping through the life-size Record Book. “EVERYBODY IS A GENIUS. BUT IF YOU JUDGE A FISH BY ITS ABILITY TO CLIMB A TREE, IT WILL SPEND ITS WHOLE LIFE BELIEVING IT IS STUPID” ALBERT EINSTEIN “You don’t need to check if my name is in there,” Transitioner brags. “I have papers.” Chief…

WHERE THERE IS NO CHANGE, THERE IS NO GROWTH A friend once told me that at one stage in his career, he thought he enjoyed his business because it was constant. The environment, customers, suppliers, schedules, expenditure and profits had been pretty much the same for five years. He bragged that he had not changed the salaries of his employees in that duration. Then he noticed that his competitors had become more successful than he was. They began poaching his employees! Slowly, the demand for his products took a downward turn, along with his profits. He initially blamed his competitors for undercutting him and pushing him out of business, only to realise that his unwillingness to dance to the tunes of change is what drove him out of business. When…

“When my older siblings were in school, the family friend helped me develop a love for art. I would connect strawberries to make a train. I cut off the sleeves of my clothes and made patterns to dress dolls” 01 LULU KITOLOLO Inside Lulu Kitololo’s studio lies a collection of aesthetic art, “soulful, hand-drawn illustrations and hand-lettering patterns with lots of colour”. These could be notebooks, gifts or illustrations. Wall art and mural paintings are part of her stable too, all inspired by African nature. “My work is quirky,” she says. “It is playful and different with a lot of Swahili culture.” Her inspiration started at an early age when a family friend began coaching her on art. “When my older siblings were in school, the family friend helped me…

Sixty years ago, the Kenyan government approved the export of 36 mountain bongos to American zoos as a safeguard for the species, which was rapidly declining in the wild. This foresight proved invaluable. In 2004, 18 of these bongos were repatriated to the Mount Kenya Wildlife Conservancy to initiate a breeding and rewilding program. A significant milestone in this 20-year journey was the opening of the Mawingu Mountain Bongo Sanctuary in 2022. This sanctuary, the first of its kind in Kenya and the world, is located at the foothills of Mount Kenya and is dedicated to the conservation of this critically endangered species, with fewer than 100 individuals remaining in the wild. Recently, as part of the conservancy’s 20th-anniversary celebrations, 10 adult mountain bongos were released into the 776-acre sanctuary.…