This is the first in a series of articles designed to provide parishioners an enlightening look at our Kenya Mission Ministry – its setting (past and present), genesis, growth, present-day activities, and bright future. This week’s article focuses on the history of the land that is the mission’s setting – the history, geography, economy, politics, and peoples of Kenya.
Kenya – Past Imperfect
Land Lost in Time
Present-day Kenya occupies over 355,000 square miles of East-Central Africa, nestled between the borders of Ethiopia to the north, and Tanzania to the South, with Somalia and the Indian Ocean encroaching from the east, and Uganda and Sudan brushing its northwest boundaries; the world’s second-largest fresh body of water, Lake Victoria, laps gently against Kenya’s westernmost point. Dominating Kenya’s southern-central landscape, Mount Kenya, the continent’s second-highest peak, pierces the deep sea-blue sky. An ancient land, evidence abounds that our pre-human and human ancestors walked its dusty ground some 2 million years ago.
Titan of Trade
Over millennia, various tribal cultures colonized the land, and maintained quiet existences until, in A.D. the 8th Century, Arabian and Persian traders visited the area, bringing with them a strong Muslim influence.
By the 15th Century, disparate African groups living on the coast had formed into the cohesive Swahili culture, adopting Islam as their religion. Soon, the unifying Kiswahili language developed, allowing for an exponential acceleration of commercial activity, now rapidly expanding westward, into the African interior. The Swahili became regular trading partners with merchants from across all of Africa, as well as Arabia, Persia, India, and even China.
Mired in Mayhem
Everything changed in 1505. That year, invaders from Portugal slaughtered, bombed, and robbed their way along the East Coast of Africa, occupying the city of Mombasa in the process. Over the next 300-plus years, the Arabs and Europeans fought almost constantly for control of the region, destroying any vestige of thriving economic activity along the way.
British control and influence eventually won the land, and British East Africa was established in 1895, taking in present-day Kenya and Uganda. Under British direction, railways were built, European and Indian settlements established, and many indigenous peoples were herded into “native reserves.” In 1907 the British colonial government was moved from Mombasa to Nairobi.
Independence Day
With Ghana’s 1957 independence the first to be gained by an African colony, Britain soon began to allow the formation of political parties, and by 1960, was preparing in earnest for Kenyan independence. Kenyan Independence Day was celebrated on December 12, 1963. In 1964 the Republic of Kenya (Jamhuri ya Kenya) was officially formed, and former rebel Mau Mau leader Jomo Kenyatta was installed as the new country’s first president.
Reclaiming Hope
Current Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, who vowed to end the corruption that plagued the country since its founding, is ruling over a time of renewed peace and encouraging economic growth for this ancient land. As a shining example of the country’s sustained movement toward positive living for its entire people, in 2004 Kenyan Wangari Maathia became the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She is a government minister, and founder of the Green Belt Movement, which empowers women to create novel income-generating paths that are also environmentally nurturing.
Next week we look at today’s Kenya – languages, ethnic groups, continuing struggles, etc. – as we gain a deeper understanding of the circumstance and need surrounding the founding of our Amazing Grace Orphanage.
Link to: Article 2 Article 3 Article 4 Article 5
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