Ever Beautiful She Was

One of the blogs I visit quite frequently is TumainiKids. It's a blog written by orphans who live at the Tumaini Children's Center in Nyeri, Kenya. The blog is part of the Hope Runs project which was started by these two amazing girls Lara & Claire (see TrippingOnWords.com) who I've mentioned before.

Normally the kids write an account of their day, or their hopes for the future. It's usually pretty random. But this poem, written by two older kids; Caesar 18 & Gititi 20, just took my breath away.

Ever beautiful she was
The young and optimistic teenager
From the villages to the cities
Everyone had his or her eye on her
The old and the young
Praised her beauty.

Both the old and the young
Whoever felt thirsty in this journey of life
Asked for some water whose source was her
The old and the young
Praised her beauty.

And there she was
Ready to quench anyone with her water
Be it the old and the young
The old and the young
Praised her beauty.

This sudden chilly morning
Disillusionment filled the village
For there lay her skinny corpse
With the spirit already gone
The old and the young claimed
She was once beautiful.

A fortnight was not over
Cries of the affected filled the air
From morning to evening, day after the other
Funeral ceremonies conducted
All weak and dying said
She was once beautiful.

Why this suffering and afflictions?
Was the cry of the few left
The cry of the lucky survivors
And innocent children.

Just a minute's warmth, changed
A family and a village to a pool
Of orphans, widows and widowers.
A signal of the foreseeable poverty
As all weak and dying said
She was once beautiful.

Weak and dying cursed the once beautiful
But where was she?
Far beyond the beautiful white clouds
Only to be followed by
The ignorant and the innocent.

Carnival of Flowers

Not to be confused with the Rio de Janeiro Carnival, the Carnival of Flowers is a more sombre affair. I was asked to put my saving the world (carbon footprint project) on hold for a week to help out with building our shire's flower display, and here are some of the pics:

Following the red thread

Gee, it was almost two months ago that I went to Melbourne for a Local Government Sustainable Development Conference. I was back in the city of street art and hare krishna.

I stayed at The Oaks on Collins, which I highly recommend. The rooms are super chic and you can enjoy your coffee in the breakfast bar while admiring the 19thC Rialto Towers through floor to ceiling windows.

I want to put a BIG THANKS out to Daniel & Kelly for hosting me on Friday night – and Saturday night too (not that I came home!). You two are hilarious and the chemistry between you makes me believe in love again.

Tom & Doug’s birthday celebrations were of course mad. If anyone has photos of the stick on moustaches episode – please let me know. Everyone piked and Sasha, Gilly and I were left to wander through the Botanical Gardens which lead us to our home turf– the legendary Revolver. Recovery club? No way, this is where the party really takes off.

The vibe is like out of a Kahlua commercial – such a warm, uplifting atmosphere.

3am - Flinders Street Station

Also a shout out to Jade and Neats – our conversation flowed at St. Jeromes like honey and it was soul warming to catch up on the last two years. PS. Neats I owe you one for the Kinki Gerlinki session at Hells Kitchen!

The glam entrance to St Jeromes


Monkey's graffiti lights up the walls

I miss you all so much! Keep enjoying those hidden laneways and crazy bars, I’m already counting the days till we party again.

Mwah!