Wednesday 1 April 2009

I am Homesick !!!

Feeling home sick?

Left Momasa, Island of raha (happiness) Mombasa (Kenya) Dar-es-Salaam (Tanzania), Kampala (Uganda).
To emigrate to UK, Europe, America, land of so Called Opportunity.

Forsook the tropical sun
For cold frigid weather.

Left behind the warm ocean breeze
For the windchill of winter.

Abandoned white pristine beaches
For brown muddy shores.

Turned away from a turquoise ocean
For polluted Lakes & Rivers.

Gave up Mangoes, Papaya, Ma’buyu, Achari and Sunflower
For processed Apples, Pears, Peaches and Cherries.

Gave up fresh White Snapper, King fish & other Frsh from the Warm Sea.
For boxed cod and sole.

Gave up Mishkaki, Nyama Choma, Maambri and Bharazi
For Cereal, Bagels, Cheese, and Salads

Gave up drinking Fresh Coconut water straight from the coconut (Madafu)
And settled for bottled water.

Left behind the street Kahava Man (Coffee Seller)
For the office coffee pot.

Left behind the exotic fragrance of Phapa and Langi Langi
For the pungent smell of sulfuric emissions.

Deprived of hearing the call to prayers
For the sound of police and fire sirens.

Deprived of seeing women clad in mysterious black Bui-Bui
For women dressed in jeans and miniskirts.

Deserted a slow relaxed pace of life
For the fast lane.

Gave up afternoon naps.. Siesta
For gym workouts.

Gave up riding a bicycle through the narrow streets
For driving a car on the highways.

Discontinued a course on the coral marine life
For a course in stress management.

Discarded mud and thatched dwellings
For concrete and steel.

Left behind a community-based life
For a human zoo.

It makes me wonder
If I have also left my soul behind in East Africa.
I Know I have... !!!

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Attalia Trophy

Attalia Trophy
Open University MK

Attalia Trophy ~ OUSA

Ref: IP/MJ 21 March 1984

Kuldip Attalia,
Sherwood House,
Sherwood Drive,
Bletchley,
Milton Keynes.


Dear Kuldip,

On behalf of the Open University Students’ Association, I would like to thank you and your family for the very generous gift of the “Attalia Trophy”.
We are delighted that you have presented us with this and it will used to encourage our students to raise funds to help their less advantaged, disabled and housebound fellow students.

Each year the “Attalia Trophy” will be presented to “The Branch coming up with the best idea for fundraising”.

We will thus be able to encourage the smaller branches to compete to raise funds.

My thanks once again to you and your family for this most generous and thoughtful donation.

Yours sincerely,


Iris Price
VP Welfare
OUSA ~ The Open University Students Association
OUSA Office Sherwood House, Sherwood Drive, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK3 6RN
Phone: 0908 71131

Attalia Residence in Mombasa, Kenya

Attalia Residence in Nairobi, Kenya