Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Kogelo Village


This past weekend I went to my home town of Kogelo in Siaya a district in Nyanza province of Kenya and I could not believe my eyes. Our little sleepy village has been turned into a tourist site! For those not in the know, the US President Mr. Barack Obama has roots in Kenya, Kogelo village specifically. I’m sure there are a billion blogs dedicated to this great man so I will move along swiftly and talk about my village instead.

Kogelo is like my ancestral land since my father and his father and his father’s father all come from there. We are from the Luo community, a Nilotic community that is said to have migrated from southern Sudan many centuries ago. I digress we were talking about Kogelo village. So since my father comes from that village it makes it my homeland. For as long as I can remember we have been going to Kogelo to visit grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and numerous other relatives. Life in the village is awesome, fresh milk straight from the cows, lunch is chicken chased down and prepared in minutes and supper is fish straight from Lake Victoria. Life is easy, the air fresh and the people friendly.

Some of the fond memories I have are of going to the river with cousins to fetch water. They would balance the pots of water on their heads, a task I could never muster being from the city. I also remember sitting down by the fire while my grandmother told us interesting folk tales.

I’m glad tourists are flocking our village to experience the amazing culture, the people, the food and the history. The main tourist attraction is Mama Sarah Obama’s homestead, here the visitors have a chance to have a talk with the US president’s grandmother and get a glimpse at Obama’s roots. For those interested in being more than a tourist and experiencing more of the Luo culture, Siaya town is about 45 minutes away where you can walk to the market and buy some African artifacts or enjoy local delicacies such as osuga, ojuri, aliyah... Maybe one day I’ll tell you more about these :)

6 comments:

  1. It sounds like it was nice there in your village. Jesus Christ while on the earth tried to go to every town and village in his area to tell them he was the promised Messiah and LORD God who came into the world to save sinners.He lived a sinless life and died for all our sins on the cross,he was buried,and rose from the dead the third day,was seen of men,and went back up to heaven.The only way to heaven is to repent of our sins and trust him as your personal Saviour. Why not ask him to save your soul and forgive your sins now to miss hell fire and go to Gods heaven. Sincerely; George , www.FBNRadio.com or www.FellowshiptractLeague.com or www.unshackled.org

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  2. Also www.antrimfaithbaptistchurch.com and www.fishermenbaptistchurch.com

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  3. Truly awesome post ! It is really very interesting and informative. Thanks for posting this.

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    Replies
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