THE STANDARD GAUGE RAILWAY 



One of the biggest projects that our country ever had since independence was constructing a railway.This dream came true after the completion of the construction of The Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) .This was during 2017 when the first-fare paying passengers boarded the Madaraka Express on Madaraka day on 1st June 2017 during the 54th anniversary of Kenyans attainment of selfrule from great Britain.see also:benefits of sgr

SGR consruction;google photo

The Standard Gauge  Railway has brought upon so many benefits to the people living in Mombasa. One of them being job creation.So many people have been able to secure job opportunities at the Standard Gauge Railway station at Miritini. Personnel employed are such as station agent,senior station superintend,selected station master,junior selected station master,deputy station master etc.see also;list of train workers.

In the train we've also got other employees who offer services to the passengers such  as serving coffee and also maintain the train.For example conductor,second man,telephone maintainer,power maintainer,railway lubricator etc.This has improved the living standards of the employ

ed  people at the SGR ,living in Mombasa.

President Uhuru Kenyatta launching the SGR;
Google photo

Transportation of goods exported goods from the port of Mombasa to Nairobi and Naivasha has also improved entrepreneurship around Mombasa since the business men are able to transport or sell their goods to people in Nairobi and other parts of the country on time.This has widened market for their goods thus growth of their businesses.The amount of fragile or perishable goods that are damaged when the goods are transported by buses has also reduced.

The goods are  also transported  at a cheaper cost compared to the bus  transport cost thus enabling them to maximize their profit. 

Despite the benefits i've mentioned above there are also some numerous disadvantages that the Standard Gauge Railway has brought upon the people living in Mombasa.One of them being people employed at railway stations are some buses that stopped operating due to lack of  passengers travelling to Mombasa because most of them prefer travelling by the Standard Gauge Railway since its faster and cheaper.

                                 


                             CORONA VIRUS ANXIETY 

It was on Monday morning, as i was preparing my breakfast when i heard the breaking news on the radio.''The deadly Corona virus is now suspected to be in the country.The states that are likely to be affected are Nairobi,Kisumu and Mombasa in particular.This deadly virus can be contracted through body touching such as kissing or shaking hands.The most effective way to prevent yourself against the disease is by frequently cleaning your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or washing then with soap and water''.My jaw dropped in suprise when i heard the news.I immediately called my mother  and informed her and she was like...''mtoto wangu ukisikia tu mtu amekufa ni ugonjwa huo kuja nyumbani hata hiyo masomo inaweza kaa''😂😂.She got so insecure but i assured her that there is no confirmed case of the virus in the country.

I had already heard about corona virus which was all over the news for the past three weeks.Everyone is talking and wondering about corona-virus which is has so far killed so many people especially in China.Though there is no confirmed case of the virus that has been reported  in the country, there are rumors spreading all over the social media that  some people are already infected with the disease .
Nairobi has been listed to be among the capital cities in Africa that are at a very high risk.Coastal towns in Mombasa and Kilifi where many tourists visit have also been placed at a high alert.
Some people are now afraid to go to public places such as churches cause they're afraid of getting infected.
I've also noticed that when you cough in the public everyone will stare at you in a weird way.Some people will even leave the place.This is because coughing is one of the symptoms of corona virus alongside fever and shortness of breathe. https://familydoctor.org/condition/coronavirus/https://familydoctor.org/condition/coronavirus/.


image of the new corona-virus from google.
We've also got some myths associated with the virus that are spreading faster than the virus.When we were discussing about the virus with my friend Carol,she told me that she believes that taking alcohol or spraying it allover her body will kill the virus although i told her its a myth she said that is what she firmly believes😂😂 Some people also think that taking a hot shower will kill the virus.This are all  myths because according to the World Health Organization there is no specific  medicine recommended to prevent or cure the Virus   https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public/myth-busters.
One of my friends who lives in Uganda sent me an audio of a pastor talking about the virus.He said that it was a punishment from God and in order to prevent yourself and your family members from getting infected you should get anointed oil from your pastor and make sure you apply it on daily basis.I think this is  a myth too because there is a Nigerian Pastor who also claimed to heal the disease but he ended up getting infected.https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-51710617


photo of the pastor from google.

The government of Kenya has now opened a quarantine center in the capital,Nairobi for any suspected cases.This shows the preparedness of the country to deal with any possible outbreak of the virus.

 MY UNIVERSITY EXPERIENCE

Time has been flying by and its hard to believe that i have been in campus for almost two years.I always thought about university so much especially when i was in high school.
I had a glimpse of campus life from my friends who had completed high school and successfully made it to campus.They always told me that campus life would offer me freedom because i'd be away from my strict parents and there would be no more restrictions.
Ours teachers always urged us to work hard so as to attain good grades in our final exams in high school[KCSE]  in order to join university.


I wouldn't say i didn't pass in my KCSE but i could have done much better though i didn't fail,i did 'okay' and so i was able to join Technical University of Mombasa to pursue mass communication.I was so excited because i had always dreamt of living in Mombasa cause i'd be very far away from my strict parents,i'd have fun by going to swim in the ocean and basking on the beaches,eating Swahili meals etc.


Because of unavoidable circumstances i had to travel to Mombasa from Kitui(home) alone , a twelve hour journey.I reported at the school,got admitted and then settled at St Kevin's hostel.After a few days we started attending classes and that"s when i got to make a few friends.

                                               st Kevin hostel.photo Sarah
They'd always ask  me to join them on weekends to go have fun at the clubs but i never turned up because i do not drink  or party but people have a trouble in believing  and understanding that.I never have and I'm not interested in it because that just doesn't seem enjoyable to me.It actually makes me irritated when people call me a liar when i tell them that i never have drank or partied and will because i do not think that's the only way to have fun.There are more things that are enjoyable in campus such as participating in sports Plus i believe its just a waste of time and money that i can spent doing other things that are worth awhile for my campus life.


I do face some challenges such as homesickness etc.
With the hurdles I've come to discover some hidden strengths about myself.One of the challenges being money because of the high cost of living here in Mombasa and so i have to do some part time job while in school. During my first year in campus it was very hard since i wasn't so good at managing my time. I'am a procrastinator and always have been so working,attending classes and submitting assignments  on time was a very big challenge for me.This led me into performing not so well in my exams during the first semester.Right now I've learned how to prioritize and schedule events and studies accordingly.
I also discovered that i can be a good leader. This was during my second semester when we had projects to work on and so we got divided into several groups and i got selected to be the group leader.Through this i learned how to take center of a situation and still remain diplomatic with my fellow students.Through this project also which was on television techniques i got the opportunity to do one of the things that i love most which is doing feature stories.I did one and my group was the second best in the class.

Completing school this year makes me very excited for next year- fingers crossed   ill be at the Capetown university to further my studies.