Gravity Defying Kituluni Hill in Machakos

The Kituluni Hill, just outside Machakos town is known to "defy" gravity.
Water is said to flow up a particular stretch of the hill.
So we went to investigate...

Little Mungai fell asleep during the long, bumpy ride there:

Melody called shot-gun and didn't budge even when we made a short pit-stop:

The car also rolled up the hill when out of gear:

You're not supposed to drink the water Mungai!
Pour it down the hill, and watch it flow up!

It wasn't as blatant as we thought it would be

But we definitely saw water flowing up-hill

Maybe the slope of the hill was just an optical illusion?

Either way, we had a good time :)

Safari Rally

Patriotic!

A bundle of "Joy"

Fredrick:

Fredrick and Naomi:

Sydney:

Joy and Alice catching some shade:

Sylvester:

Athi River was hot and dusty on Sunday

They were trying to race us back to Nairobi:

Back at KICC for the award ceremony

Joy, Alice, Jomo Kenyatta and Sydney:

Naomi, Joy, Alice, Sydney and Melody:

The winners of the rally - Rose and Daykin:

Albinism Awareness

The Albinism Foundation of East Africa (ALFEA) held a forum on Saturday to raise awareness about Albinism. The guest of honour was Ms. Al-Shaymaa Kwegyir, a member of Parliament in Tanzania.

MP Kwegyir distributing Hats:

Mumbi Ngugi, one of the AFEA trustees:

A poem performed by students of St. Lucy's School

Mary and me:

Mary and Carmile from Thika School for the Blind:

AFEA trustees Mumbi Ngugi and Dr Prabha Choksy (Opthamologist):

Albinism is a genetic condition characterized by a lack of melanin pigment in the eyes, skin and hair. As melanin helps protect the eyes and skin from ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun, people with albinism are unusually sensitive to sunlight and thus very susceptible to sunburn.

In addition, their irises do not have enough pigment to block the light that enters the eye. However, not all people with albinism are blind. Children with albinism in Kenya are often placed in schools for the visually impaired for no reason. Such stigma's can only be overcome by spreading awareness about the condition.

Light sensitivity (photophobia) generally leads to a dislike of and discomfort in bright light, but does not prevent these children from enjoying the outdoors, especially when using sunscreen, sunglasses and/or brimmed hats.

Contact us at amkakenya[AT]gmail[DOT]com or +254 (0)726 67 39 31 if you would like to donate: hats, sunscreen, sunglasses or prescription glasses.

Snake Park Picnic

The snake park was closed, but we enjoyed ham sandwiches in the sun all the same :)

Desmond:

Karanja:

Gitau, Mungai, Fred, Sylvester and Eric:

Beautiful ladies - Melody, Sydney, Alice and Joy: