Author name: Hellen Kimaru

It is said that we count our blessings, one by one. I feel like I lost count already and might not be able to name all in one sitting, but let’s give it a shot. At some point in 2023, I was the most uninspired in my life. I was going through an unanticipated change in my business, and this had taken a toll on me. I would watch my life play out as if I was a character in a movie only that this was my inescapable reality. It hurt. My normal self is always inspired, she is always thinking on her feet and its easy to ace anything or come up with solutions. When in a rut, however, zero inspiration runs through her. But not in 2025, when I started 2025, my friend and I went journal shopping as per our tradition and got down to writing our yearly goals. She keeps me grounded, and I am grateful for her. I categorised my goals into Financial, Health, Physical etc. I then broke this down into more realistic goals. I wanted to go hard on these dreams. In 2024, Patrick, my co-host at( The Spark it Podcast), spent a considerable amount of time discussing the idea of a podcast. In 2025, I wanted us to actualise this dream, and in January, we sat down for a mic test. What was meant to be a 15-20 minute mic test turned out to be a whole hour of talking. We eventually decided to post this episode even though I didn’t like my lighting or felt I wasn’t “video” ready.  It taught me that sometimes we wait for perfect moments, and they might never come, or they might take too long. From this very first step of faith, the podcast took off, we became consist covering issues to do with governance, young people and change, among other issues. This podcast was a culmination of a goal I had in 2022. A little backstory, in 2022, I bought Manila paper and wrote a concept for a podcast. I mapped it down to the name of the podcast and the types of conversations I would have. I even included a few names of young people I knew who could be featured on the podcast. To see The Spark it Podcast grow and build a community from scratch was such an eye opener to just how much needed to be done. In June of this year, as I was reflecting on the journey on the podcast and the growth, I realised that there were more stories that needed to be told, and somehow, we had narrowed down our conversations on the podcast. I went back to the drawing board and decided to go with my initial idea of a podcast,  highlighting women’s issues. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how the podcast idea from my Manila paper back in 2022 was actualised. Nothing changed about the idea, including the name-“Safari Yangu Podcast”. On another note, I felt that I had also invested a lot on equipment, and to only record for the Spark It Podcast and have all the equipment lying around was not a good use of my resources. These two podcasts have pushed my personal limits. I have learnt so much about myself and what needs improving. For instance, I have learnt to interview in a better way and allow guests to tell their stories without inserting myself in the conversation in a way that takes away from their experience. It’s a hard one, especially when you find their stories relatable. I have learnt to edit better and to plan for everything, including setting up my recording space and sound checks, etc. It’s intense work and I had never just realised how much effort content creators put into their craft. They have my newfound respect. As I write this, I actually have 5 episodes of the Safari Yangu Podcast on my laptop waiting to be edited. I haven’t posted an episode this December. Life has been a bit crazy on my end, and I am finding ways to balance everything. Travel and New Adventures.In August, I travelled to Northern Uganda to cover more stories for the Spark It Podcast, an interesting journey that I am yet to post on this blog, but already written down. I was not mentally prepared for this journey. The journey from Nairobi to Kampala was almost smooth, but the Busia border has its way of ruining the moment sometimes. We were stuck at the border for about 2.5 hours.We arrived in Kampala a few hours late, my plan had been to book the morning bus to Koboko, I had missed it unfortunately.  I was feeling a bit stranded and frustrated when a guy approached me. Meet Edd, the Ugandan who spoke Swahili with a bit of an accent. I am not sure what about him exactly made me give him a listening ear. I often avoid speaking to strangers; we all know what these Nairobi streets are like. One minute you could be showing  kindness to someone in need, and the next minute you are a victim of robbery by the same person. I therefore avoid speaking with strangers. But it might have been the fact that he spoke Swahili. I needed a Sim card ASAP so I could communicate with my host about my change of plans. Edd offered to take me to a vendor who was selling this at a very outrageous price. It could have been because they heard my accent, as when I walked into the MTN office, the price was a quarter of that of the vendors. I found it strange that we were queuing for a sim card, knowing how in Kenya they sometimes even sell the Airtel ones door to door and even give them out almost for free. Their data rates were also high, and it taught me just how privileged we were as Kenyans; internet accessibility here is top-notch.  I could write more about that

He spent most of his days getting to know fellow inmates and what had brought them there. He had heard it all by the time he was leaving. The prison guards would go about their day trying to ensure security is enforced but to him, the real askari jela would be unleashed at night.