He sat back down, dropped his head and wept. He felt a comforting arm around him. A chorus of soft sniffles could be heard lifting into the air.
Later that night Nehemiah was buried in his thoughts. He felt a sense of change that comes over one after a major life event. No guiding hand of a parent; no phone-call-away advice. He felt the need to cling on more to the things that he loved. He resolved to finally get to know more about his country. “Afterall, I have a whole month here”. He was surprised he had not thought much more beyond the funeral. First thing is, I’ll do a tour of Mom’s village upcountry. Nehemiah was up with the sun and after a light breakfast, set off to book a ticket to Western Kenya. In two days he would travel by bus to a part of the world unfamiliar to him. His bus was full but not crowded, unlike the stereotypes he had heard about of long-distance African buses. He sat on a cushioned seat by the window. Outside he could see the African counterparts to the travelers he saw on the train to Heathrow. A woman with a baby and a toddler, a man in a suit on the phone, and a student with earbuds in her ears.
"We're all the same," he thought. The journey from Nairobi to Vihiga was a seven-hour road-trip, crossing the waistline of Kenya also known as the equator. Except, unlike in England, these sojourners were much more excited to be traveling for the Christmas holiday season. Up until around the early 2000s, Nairobi would draw to a halt as people would take time off to travel to the countryside for reunions with their family. This mass diffusion of the populous punctuated the year. Now in the year 2042, the population was much more evenly spread. Counties like Vihiga, which had once been very poor, densely populated, agrarian rural villages, were now mega-hubs for travel and commerce and travel. A startling rise for an underrated region.
The conductor came around with bottles of water for the travelers. He gave two to the man sitting next to Nehemiah. The man, wearing a brown suit jacket and tan slacks took one and gave it to Nehemiah. “Not bad for 50 shillings." he smiled, eyebrows raised at Nehemiah.
"I remember when I would take this trip when I was in uni." It would have cost me 1500 shillings! Unbelievable how expensive things were.
We’re in such a weird time. What we have is a crisis in leadership. There is no industry--anywhere--that you can say is being led by a good leader. Yet the irony is, the problems we face require exceptional leadership skills to pull us through. But we don’t want to be led. We’ve been burned too many times before.
Later that night Nehemiah was buried in his thoughts. He felt a sense of change that comes over one after a major life event. No guiding hand of a parent; no phone-call-away advice. He felt the need to cling on more to the things that he loved. He resolved to finally get to know more about his country. “Afterall, I have a whole month here”. He was surprised he had not thought much more beyond the funeral. First thing is, I’ll do a tour of Mom’s village upcountry. Nehemiah was up with the sun and after a light breakfast, set off to book a ticket to Western Kenya. In two days he would travel by bus to a part of the world unfamiliar to him. His bus was full but not crowded, unlike the stereotypes he had heard about of long-distance African buses. He sat on a cushioned seat by the window. Outside he could see the African counterparts to the travelers he saw on the train to Heathrow. A woman with a baby and a toddler, a man in a suit on the phone, and a student with earbuds in her ears.
"We're all the same," he thought. The journey from Nairobi to Vihiga was a seven-hour road-trip, crossing the waistline of Kenya also known as the equator. Except, unlike in England, these sojourners were much more excited to be traveling for the Christmas holiday season. Up until around the early 2000s, Nairobi would draw to a halt as people would take time off to travel to the countryside for reunions with their family. This mass diffusion of the populous punctuated the year. Now in the year 2042, the population was much more evenly spread. Counties like Vihiga, which had once been very poor, densely populated, agrarian rural villages, were now mega-hubs for travel and commerce and travel. A startling rise for an underrated region.
The conductor came around with bottles of water for the travelers. He gave two to the man sitting next to Nehemiah. The man, wearing a brown suit jacket and tan slacks took one and gave it to Nehemiah. “Not bad for 50 shillings." he smiled, eyebrows raised at Nehemiah.
"I remember when I would take this trip when I was in uni." It would have cost me 1500 shillings! Unbelievable how expensive things were.
We’re in such a weird time. What we have is a crisis in leadership. There is no industry--anywhere--that you can say is being led by a good leader. Yet the irony is, the problems we face require exceptional leadership skills to pull us through. But we don’t want to be led. We’ve been burned too many times before.
