Gloria D. Gonsalves

To be a woman is not a weakness.

I do not condemn either the rich or the poor, but the consequences of these two.

The moment of honouring our humanity is now.

What might be considered loyalty in onesociety might not necessarily be the same for another.

Right now in this world, a child is dying from an ailment because its family cannot afford to buy charcoal for boiling water.Right now in this world, a girl is striving to find firewood from trees that no more exist, and water from sources that are poisonous.Right now in this world, a boy is out fishing in a lake rich with inedible species.Right now in this world, a mother is drowning in heavy rainfall, to save her belongings.Right now in this world, a man has lost his dignity because all his eff orts to save have been wiped away to poverty by unforeseen calamities.Right now in this world, a family is starving because drought has invaded their once fertile land.Right now in this world, a nation is planning for refugee status due to adverse climate conditions.Right now in this world, you have a choice to help alleviate environmental problems caused by humankind.

I am also open minded to embrace strange notions and respect its bearers without harsh judgement. Exposure has made me feel confident and wiser to choose what feels right for me, in order to be the best human being for myself and others.

Have you ever entered a kitchen to find a woman, her legs crossed while the rest of her body is dressed in colourful khanga, smiling at you while her hands are making a melodious song with a coconut grater? Have you ever wondered how any woman size can fit on that grater regardless of their body size? The time for wondering is over. East Africa heartily welcomes you to see for yourself. Go and visit it.

To eat Ugali is an art of adventure in itself. Forget cutlery because all you need is your lovely fingers.

Then I learnt of __hite Christmas_, which again I found very peculiar since we always have a white Christmas at home for it never passes by without eating rice. That is our white Christmas.

My thick and full lips shall pout their African ancestry until all sorrows are kissed out of me.

Drooling over an African figure that I could never have, I feasted my eyes uponthe swaying mounds of my fellow African sisters.

If a lion can growl, why shouldn__ a man cry?

Life at home is at a pace which allows you to appreciate what it has to offer. Simultaneously you get a chance to reflect on what you wish from it. Our development also goes at the same pace, which is not something that everyone appreciates.

She refuses to support the slogan - Men are equal to women - if this translates to her femininity being faded out or confused by trying to please a selfish idea of anyone wanting a woman to be both herself and a man.

Do not fear to find yourself among strangers.

We should all celebrate the magnitude of diverse and unique souls that live in our world today, for it is an essence that makes our lives colourful every singleday.

A foolish mind would not raise an eyebrow when things are done diff erently in a foreign culture. An educated mind would try to understand the meaning of it all.

I refuse to behave fraudulently, as if I was anything else but African.