End of a Chapter and.....

After spending three and a half years in kenya, I have decided to go back to the US. It has been a worthwhile experience. I can now say that I know Kenya, and i will stop romanticizing the country and see it for what it is.
My decision to go back to the US is mainly financial. I hope to go, work very hard for a given period and come back with a sober image of Kenya.
My trip is on Thursday and Friday, so the next post will be from Obamaland.
I hope my relocation will generate more worthwhile posts.

Najivunia kuwa Mkenya!

US Embassy Frustrations

I have been lucky not to enter the US Embassy though I have travelled there many time.
Many of my family members and friends have told me of their frustrations and these frustrations got me thinking!
If you are a young person who just cleared highschool and you have the ambition to go study in the US, you will most likely spend countless hours preparing and lots of money before you finally go to the US Embassy for an visa interview.
Some of the things that you would do is:
1. Research and shortlist a few universities
2. Take the SAT or ACT
3. Take the toefl
4. Apply to the shortlisted schools---each school will charge an application fee (not less the 50USD)
5. Wait patiently for test results, wait patiently for school acceptance or rejection etc.

Once a school accepts you and offers you an i-20, you can log on to the US Embassy website to schedule an appointment.
A visa interview cost money (money that majority of Kenyans struggle to afford)

I have been told that the Interview is short, to the point and in a few minutes you can know whether all your efforts were in vain or you have been cleared to go the US.

My problem with the process is when people get rejected.
The US Embassy does not bother to tell anyone why he/she failed the interview.
If they disclosed such information, the individual can go and rectify that issue and come back.

It is a known fact that once you have been rejected once, chance are you will never be granted a visa. Isnt it dishonest and cruel to send someone away without a reason after all that hard work?

I believe the Kenyan Government should lobby for its citizens; petition the US Embassy to at least give a reason for rejecting an individual.

Visa interviews are a cashcow for the Embassy!
Visa Fees: at least Kshs. 11,200 per person per visit
Les say they interview 20 people per day...that would mean that they are collecting Kshs. 224,000 everyday. To make matters worse, they have a big notice on the website: Appointments once booked cannot be changed or cancelled.
That means if an emergency occurs on the day of, or there is huge traffic and you are a few minutes late, you have lost Kshs. 11,200.

As I mentioned, I am glad that I have never gone to the US Embassy but I think they are mistreating Kenyans and other foreigners with their stringed policies.

IIEC and Voter Registration

Voter Registration started March 22, 2010 and lasted 45 days.
This was to ensure that the voter register for the referendum was in place.
Referendum has now come and gone, and we have a new constitution.
I live in Juja Constituency where a by election is planned to take place Sept 20th.
Since voter registration is closed, how does one go about voting for his/her MP of choice if you had not registered during the referendum?
I am asking this because I have some friends who have come back from abroad since the voter registration process closed and they want to vote; IIEC has told them that they are not registering new voters at the moment. Isnt that being denied their civil rights?
Besides the guys who were abroad, there are young people who have become eligible to vote since the voter registration exercise...what about their rights?

IIEC should clarify their stand on new voters registration process.

Post Secret

I just ran into a new website that is somewhat disturbing and empowering. The website is called: postsecret.com

Basically people can send random notes to this site to vent or to share information that they would not necessarily be brave enough to tell to someone close.
Some of the posts are very romantic, some downright disturbing, but I guess all in all it gives people an opportunity to express themselves without fear of being judged.
This got me thinking: I wonder what I would write about? Is there something that I am scared to say to others? Is there some strange, evil, romantic, ultra ordinary thing that I am scared of sharing with others?
What would you post about? Do you have any reserved issues or concerns that you can only share with people who do not know you? Think about it?

I especially liked the post that I have attached.

Invest Only Of What You can Afford to Lose

I read this blog from: http://affleap.com/invest-only-of-what-you-can-afford-to-lose/
and thought it might be worth sharing.



The reason why people invest is that they wanted to improve their lifestyle, with the hope of achieving financial security.

As an investor you need to acquaint yourself that in investing of any scheme, it takes a lot of patience, a careful planning and the courage of how much money you can afford to lose if in case your investment would not turn out to be successful.

The reason, why this is very important because if you have this kind of approach, quitting is surely is not your option if in case you have failed in your first investment.

Nevertheless, such failure is not the end of the world to you, but it would be a brainstorming lesson of why you fail. There must be something wrong along the way that you have done that needs to be rectified.

Anyone can make a few investment mistakes but the biggest mistake that one can do to himself or herself if ever he or she wanted to become a successful investor is not to invest at all or to put off investment on a later time.

Why not adopt the mindset of those proactive successful people, that they cannot afford to wait for tomorrow of what they can do for today. Besides tomorrow is another day and surely that ‘later time’ would never come.

It’s a wrong concept or perception then, to even consider that in investment, you need a big capital to start with. It’s a normal procedure to start small to muster and get familiarize the a to z of your investment. Make your money work for you – even if all you can spare is $20 a week to invest!

Putting off investment until later time and waiting for the opportunity that you are in the financial position to do so is another wrong notion. Why not start small but then think big. It’s a healthy sign of your optimism to succeed. To maintain that positive approach of your investment, herewith, are some pointers of what you can do to improve your cash flow before embarking of any investment :

*** Get your current financial situation in order first, and then you can start investing.

*** Get your credit cleaned up if there’s any, pay off high interest loans and credit cards, and put at least three months of living expenses in savings. Once this is done, you are ready to start letting your money work for you.

*** Don’t invest into a get rich quick scheme. That is the riskiest type of investment that you can make. Don’t be hyped with lucrative returns, it’s part of their strategy in enticing would be investors.

Instead, invest for the long term, and have the patience to weather the storms and allow your money to grow. Only invest for the short term when you know you will need the money in a short amount of time, and then stick with safe investments, such as certificates of deposit.

Diversify your investment, you don’t have to put all of your eggs in one basket. Spread it all around in various types of investments not only for best returns but for safety and security as well.

If you are in the stock investment, you need to monitor meticulously the trends of your invested stocks on a daily basis and don’t move your money around too quickly. Let it ride for a while. Don’t panic if the stock drops a few dollars. If the stock is a stable stock, it will then go up after it goes down a bit.

The similitude of investment is just like nurturing a plant , it needs a lot of patience and a commitment to watch it grow. You are committed to yourself that it grows well, healthy and stable, so that someday you can reap the fruits of your labor and sacrifices in return

Utilizing the tools and talents that we have

Hope you get a message of encouragement from this! I know I did!!!!

"There is a scripture in the bible where God asks Moses, “What is that in your hand?” And then there is another scripture that says your gift will make room for you. And what that is saying is, God is not trying to get information. He knows what’s in your hand already, but he wants you to know it. So, what I’m asking you today is, “What’s in your hand? What gifts do you have that you are sitting on?” Use them and they will take you to your destiny. "

-Words from Tyler Perry!

(I borrowed this from my friend's blog: http://www.made2glam.com/word/)

THE FALLACY OF THE TAX SYSTEM

A simple classification of spending shows why leaving our money in government’s hands leads to undesirable results. When you spend, you may spend your own money or someone else’s; and you may spend for the benefit of yourself or someone else. Combining these two pairs of alternatives gives four possible summarized in the following simple table.

On Whom Spent
Whose Money You Someone Else
Yours I II
Someone Else’s III IV

Category I in the table refers to your spending your own money on yourself. You shop in a supermarket, for example. You clearly have a strong incentive both to economize and to get as much value as you can for each dollar you do spend.
Category II refers to your spending your own money on someone else. You shop for Christmas or birthday presents. You have the same incentive to economize as in Category I but not the same incentive to get full value for your money, at least as judged by the tastes of the recipient. You will, of course, want to get something the recipient will like – provided that it also makes the right impression and does not take too much time and effort. (if, indeed, your main objective were to enable the recipient to get as much value as possible per shilling, you would give him cash, converting Category II spending to Category I spending by him.)
Category III refers to your spending someone else’s money on yourself – lunching on an expense account, for instance. You have no strong incentive to keep down the cost of the lunch, but you do have a strong incentive to get your money’s worth.
Category IV refers to your spending someone else’s money on still another person. You are paying someone else’s lunch out of an expense account. You have little incentive either to economize or try to get your guest the lunch that he will value most highly. However, if you are having lunch with him, so that the lunch is a mixture of Category III and Category IV, you do have a strong incentive to satisfy your own tastes at the sacrifice of his, if necessary.

All welfare programs fall into either Category III or Category IV.
Legislators vote to spend someone else’s money. The voters who elect the legislators are in one sense voting to spend their own money on themselves, but not in the direct sense of Category I spending. The connection between the taxes any individual pays and the spending he votes for is exceedingly loose. (Ironic how our legislators do not pay any taxes yet they are the same people who decide how tax money should be spent)

The bureaucrats spend someone else’s money on someone else. Only human kindness, not the much stronger and more dependable spur of self-interest, assures that they will spend the money in the way most beneficial to the recipients. Hence the wastefulness and ineffectiveness of the spending.
Leaving our fate in government’s hand is a big mistake! Greedy legislators (who do not pay taxes) shouldn’t be allowed to control funds taken away from hardworking Kenyans.
As the chart above indicates, the best determinant of how to spend your money is yourself. You know the difficulty of earning the money, so you will most likely spend it wisely; in a way that maximizes return (whatever maximization of return may mean to you).