KENYA'S FIRST TEST TUBE BABIES

Kenya's first ever test tube babies - both girls - were born on 8May 2006. And like all babies everywhere, each greeted the world with a lusty cry, followed by a yawn and a sleepy smile.
Their proud parents were said to be "overjoyed and delighted" by the births, which took place by Caesarian section, and went without a hitch.
One of the little girls weighed in at a bouncing 3.2 kilos while the other tipped the scales at 2.5 kilos.
Neither has yet been named but suggestions have included Joy, after the wife of the doctor who made it all possible, Joshua Noreh.
The new mothers first read about the local availability of the test tube process in the Daily Nation's Horizon magazine and that encouraged them to undergo the lengthy and complex treatment that has finally brought them so much happiness.
Both babies were born at around 11am at the private Avenue Hospital in Parklands, Nairobi, to mothers under Dr Noreh's care.
The births were supervised by a team of four specialist doctors and support staff and they revealed that a further seven test tube Kenyan babies are on the way.
's successful births came 28 years after the birth of the world's first test tube baby - Louise Brown, at Oldham, in the United Kingdom - and are the first to follow IVF treatment to Kenyan women carried out entirely in this country.
Other Kenyan women have had test tube babies after IVF treatment in Uganda and South Africa, for example.
The brand new parents were so anxious to have a family that they paid more than Sh300,000 each for the in vitro fertilisation procedure offered by Dr Noreh at his clinic in the city's Afya Centre.
The IVF programme involves taking an egg directly from an ovary of the mother-to-be, and fertilising it with sperm of the father in a special glass dish.
Dr Noreh looks through an ICSI machine that is used to inject a sperm into an egg.
Mother's womb
The fertilised human egg is then collected in a test tube where it is allowed to develop into an embryo, which takes around three days.
Next the embryo is implanted in the mother's womb, allowing for a normal gestation period of nine months followed by the birth.
The husband of one of the mothers, who had been waiting anxiously outside the operating theatre, told Dr Noreh: "I am ready to give you anything you ask for.
His wife, who said she wished at this stage to be known only as Jane - not her real name - and speaking moments before delivery, said they had waited for this moment for the last 10 years.
"This is the moment I have always waited for and for the first time in my life, I feel a great sense of relief and hope," she said, wiping a tear from her eyes.
And after the baby's safe delivery, Dr Noreh commented: "By these deliveries, it's opening future treatment of infertile couples and also indicates we can do it locally."
Dr Noreh's wife, Joy, who is a nurse at the clinic, added: "These women trusted that we can do something for them and we thank God for that. Even for those who did not conceive, they are part of this victory."
On the eve of the birth, Jane, who is aged 35, said she was very nervous, but the urge to deliver had been with her since she was three weeks' pregnant.
"I am just waiting for tomorrow to hold my baby," she said then. "That is all I want and what is on my mind now."
And she added: "This is going to be my longest night and I will force some sleep."
Jane went for treatment after failing to conceive and seeing a series of doctors who gave conflicting reasons for her problem.

Source:http://www.propertykenya.com/

OLDEST STUDENT IN KENYA

Kimani Ng'ang'a Maruge (1920 - August 14, 2009) holds the Guinness World Record for being the oldest person to start primary school—he enrolled in the first grade on January 12th 2004, aged 84.Although he had no papers to prove his age, Maruge believed he was born in 1920.

School time

Maruge attended Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret, Kenya; he said that the government's announcement of universal and free elementary education in 2003 prompted him to enroll.In 2005 Maruge, who was a model student, was elected head boy of his school.In September 2005, Maruge boarded a plane for the first time in his life, and headed to New York City to address the United Nations Millennium Development Summit on the importance of free primary education.^[

Robbery

Maruge's property was stolen during the 2007-2008 post-election violence, and he contemplated quitting school. During early 2008 he lived in a refugee camp, where he was reportedly a minor celebrity, four kilometers from his school, but still attended classes every day.In June 2008, he relocated to the capital Nairobi.In June 2008, Maruge was forced to withdraw from school and relocate to a retirement home for senior citizens. However, soon after, on June 10, 2008, Maruge enrolled once again into grade 6 at the Marura primary school, located in the Kariobangi area of Nairobi.

Film

A feature film about Kimani Maruge, starring Oliver Litondo and Naomie Harris titled The First Grader, was released on May 13, 2011. The British-produced film was shot on location in the Rift Valley in Kenya, despite earlier reports that it would be filmed in South Africa.Director Justin Chadwick said: "We could have shot it in South Africa, but Kenya has this unbelievable, inexplicable energy - inherent in the children, and the people we were making the film about".

Baptism

On Sunday May 24, 2009, Maruge was baptised at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Kariobangi and took a Christian name, Stephen.Maruge was then using a wheelchair.Maruge was a widower, and a great-grandfather (two of his 30 grandchildren attend the same school). He was a combatant in the Mau Mau Uprising against the British colonizers in the 1950s.

Death

Maruge died on August 14, 2009 of stomach cancer, at the Cheshire Home for the Aged in Nairobi.He was buried at his farm in Subukia.

Click the link below to watch a video clip of Kimani Maruge

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYWnq4p2OBY&feature=related

Sources:http://www.wikipedia.com/

FREE BOOK FAIR

If your looking to go for a free book exhibition then the 15th Nairobi International Bookfair fair is one good opportunity for you.The bookfair will be held from

UNLOCK YOUR SAFARICOM/ORANGE/YU MODEM FREE

After buying a modem one can sometimes  get tired with the high prices of a particular network and you are then forced to buy another modem from another network inorder to browse cheaply.This can be expensive for the ordinary kenyan.There is good news however since you don’t need to buy another modem.

First woman Senior Superintendent of Prisons.

The Honorable Phoebe Asiyo—UN Goodwill Ambassador, former parliamentarian and CEDPA alumna—is one of the most influential and respected women in Kenya. Born on the shores of Lake Victoria in 1935, conventional wisdom was that she would follow in the footsteps of most women and girls in her community and not seek a career outside of taking care of the household and raising the children.

“Mama” Asiyo, as she is affectionately called, had other plans. She was one of the few girls to attend the Gendia Primary School in Karachuonyo, and had big plans for herself.

“We were not taught mathematics or English—that was for the breadwinners, the men,” she recalled. In those days, girls’ education consisted of home economics and farming skills. Not constrained by what was offered to her, Mama Asiyo began taking correspondence courses, “to prove I could do better than the boys.” She began her career as a teacher and later became Kenya’s first woman Senior Superintendent of Prisons.

Mama Asiyo went to Embu Teacher Training College where she studied to become a teacher. Her teaching career was brief; she considered it a stepping stone for the future path she would blaze for herself and other women. From teaching, Mama Asiyo went on to work in prison services.
The prison system in Kenya, like almost all sectors in the country, was a male-dominated. Mama Asiyo rose through the ranks to become the Senior Superintendent in charge of women’s prisons in 1964. In this capacity, she managed to establish separate prisons for women across Kenya.
After six years, Mama Asiyo left the prison system and became the director of a nonprofit organization to give more to her community.
At that time however, there were very few women leaders in Kenya, so there were few mentors for her. Mama Asiyo made her way with a lot of passion, but she says she lacked the training and practical skills that would enable her to better channel her leadership abilities.
In 1978, Mama Asiyo attended on CEDPA’s very first Women in Management workshops. She says the program helped her align her passions with her abilities and helped illuminate her future path.
“CEDPA played an important role in my decision to make a bid for a parliamentary seat,” said Mama Asiyo.
In 1979, she made the decision to run for national office in Kenya, and she beat the powerful incumbent by a mere 2,000 votes. When he contested the results, the election was held again, and the result was that Mama Asiyo’s margin was even larger.

The Honorable Asiyo held the seat for two five-year terms, at the time being the only woman ever to serve for so long in Kenya. As a Minister of Parliament, she worked hard on a broad agenda, but always kept women’s rights and their full political participation at the top of her agenda.

Mama Asiyo’s political activism didn’t end with her leaving parliament. She currently is chairperson of the Caucus for Women’s Leadership, formerly the Kenya Women’s Political Caucus, which works to empower and train potential women candidates for political office.

Last year, in recognition of her many contributions to her country, Mama Asiyo was presented with one of the highest honors in Kenya. She was elevated to the status of an Elder, a traditional title that comes with it great prestige. Once again, Mama Asiyo made history for women, becoming the first woman ever to be given this honor in Kenya.

She continues her advocacy in Kenya and internationally, and pursues every opportunity to advance the lives of women and girls in her country.

“Everyone has a dream of what they would like to be in the future, including our girls. If we don’t provide the mechanism to make these dreams come true, then we have failed as a country,” she says.