Mother

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I sometimes sit and ask myself what must have started the gender divide within the human race and how long ago that was. I wonder how children grow up differently – based on whether their mother or father was the primary decision maker at home. I wonder how children perceive the world and how much of that perception is shaped by interactions between their parents.

 

Mama Leo

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Mama-Leo was amazing. She had a great smile and shared jokes and laughter!
When we went by her home, to see Leo’s farm, “You cannot go without eating”, she said. 0T5A8143It is against our customs to return without eating something. So she made some chicken, mixed ugali and okra broth. We had them with some home-grown coffee she brewed herself (the trees in the background are of Robusta Coffee).
It was an amazing experience!

 

I don’t count!

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“I don’t count”, he said, “for I have many”; when I asked how many children he had.
“and I don’t count my wives either”, he added. He is a farmer in Kisumu county of Kenya farming coffee with some of the oldest coffee plants in Kenya – some as old as 60 years old.

“What matters is how well I treat all my wives and children, and they are all doing well” he said.
When I asked if any of his children would help him in his farm, “Why should they? They don’t have to. They will take jobs in the city (Nairobi)”, he replied, “they have the know-how, but they shouldn’t have to!”