Hustle and Scribble

Some TV moments entertain you. Some make you laugh. And some, quietly, unexpectedly, hold up a mirror. For me, that mirror came in the form of an unlikely friendship between a small, fearless child named Trixie and a leather-clad demon named Mazikeen ( Maze ) in Lucifer . From the moment Trixie walked into Lux and met Maze,completely unfazed by her sharp edges,I knew I was watching something bigger than a side plot. This wasn’t just about comic relief or contrast. It was about what happens when two people (or beings) who shouldn’t click … do. And in the process, they teach us more about loyalty , belonging , and the fragile art of being truly seen. Maze is a demon. Trained to torture, allergic to emotional vulnerability , and fiercely independent. Trixie is a human child, bright-eyed, trusting, and endlessly open to connection. On paper, they should have nothing in common. Yet, from their very first interaction, Trixie chooses her. Not because Maze is warm or welcoming (she’s no...

When I stepped into the energy sector , my daughter was just two months old. Two. Months. Old. I had worked on random short projects before when in uni, and even through my pregnancy, but this was now a full-time role.  And no, I wasn’t trying to “break barriers” or “shatter stereotypes.” I wasn’t gunning for awards. I just needed a job. But somehow, being a new mom in overalls with a toolkit became this quiet social experiment . Can she really do it all? I could. I did. I still am. Now let me tell you what the glossy career advice columns don’t. At seven months postpartum, I was sent on a week-long field assignment. I wasn’t offered a soft landing. I wasn’t asked if I had childcare plans. I was told, not asked. And because, like most women in male-dominated sectors, I’d been quietly trained to prove, not question, I said yes. (I also was young and trying very hard to prove my place in the company). Everyone clapped. Strong. Brave. Committed. But no one asked about how my ba...

There are days when motherhood feels like a gift I don’t deserve. And then there are days it feels like a weight I’m not strong enough to carry. No one really tells you that both can be true. Some mornings, I wake up ready, grateful, patient, full of love. But on the hard days? The days when I’ve barely slept, when money is tight, when work is demanding, and everything feels one step behind… it hits differently. I look at this little human I love with everything I’ve got, and still wonder if I’m giving her enough. If I am enough. And the guilt sneaks in quietly. For snapping . For being tired. For wanting a break. For thinking, even for a second, that I just want to disappear into silence. I think about all the things I want to provide: security , joy , structure , freedom . And then I open the fridge, do the mental math, count what’s left for school fees , for rent , for tomorrow. And my heart breaks a little more, because I know love alone doesn’t fill bowls. I don’t alwa...

If you’ve ever watched Manifest , there’s a moment that might catch you off guard, not the callings or the plane returning from nowhere, but when someone refers to God as “She.” It’s subtle. One word. But it lingers. We’re so used to hearing “He” when people speak about God. It’s been ingrained in scriptures, sermons, and everyday language for generations. So when a character says “She,” it doesn’t just shift the sentence; it shifts your frame of reference. I paused. Rewound. Listened again. And then I sat with it. It’s not just for effect. It’s an invitation. A quiet one. Across so many traditions, even the ones that rarely speak of it, there’s always been room for the divine feminine . The nurturing force. The intuitive whisper. The fierce protector. In parts of the Bible, God is described as a mother hen , gathering her chicks. In African spirituality , divinity doesn’t come in a single image, it flows through balance. And for anyone who’s ever felt held by something unseen, the...

Let me be honest with you motherhood is the wildest ride I’ve ever been on. And I’ve taken a motorbike across rural roads with no idea where the brakes were and a bad back. But nothing, nothing, prepares you for the full-blown, soul-spinning, eye-bag-deep experience of raising a toddler. My daughter is 3. She’s sweet. Loud. Hilarious. Terrifyingly smart. And deeply committed to watching Grey’s Anatomy like it’s her moral compass. Other kids her age are obsessed with cartoons. Mine? She walks around quoting Miranda Bailey and calls scalpels “scapuls.” She is fully invested. I’m just along for the ride. Every evening, it’s, “Mummy, doctor movie!” There’s no debate. You’d think she’s got surgery scheduled. And as she binge-watches medical drama, I’m busy playing my own real-life role, chief of snacks , director of emotions, crisis manager, accidental hairdresser, and bedtime negotiator . Sometimes all at once. There are days I get through only because I’ve learned the sacred motherly ...

Ah, the sweet, sweet sound of corporate buzzwords . “ We value diversity .” “We pay based on merit, not gender.” “ Equality is a top priority .”Isn't that adorable? You can almost hear the CEO patting themselves on the back after putting a woman on their marketing materials for International Women’s Day . You know the drill. The company’s newest campaign featuring the "empowered women" who get empowered paychecks… or maybe not, but who’s counting? Definitely not the HR department . Let’s get one thing straight. If you're a woman in engineering, your skills are, apparently, worth a little less than your male counterparts. How? Well, the math is simple, equal work, unequal pay . But don't worry, you’re probably “too emotional” or “not aggressive enough” to ask for more cash. It’s probably your fault. But don’t sweat it; at least you can enjoy your free coffee while working on a team of men who totally listen to your ideas, especially when it’s time to talk about you...

Let me tell you the story of how I nearly lost my will to live... over poop. Yeah, you read that right. Not heartbreak, not poverty, not existential dread, just plain ol’ constipation . Or as I like to call it now, poop peeping- when the poop comes to the door, peeks out, then slams the door in your face like, “Not today, ma’am.” It started innocently enough. A few missed meals here and there, a little dehydration (I was busy, okay?), and then boom everything stopped. My digestive system clocked out like a casual intern who only came for the free lunch. I didn’t think much of it at first. I mean, it’s just a skipped meal or two, right? Hours later, I’m bloated, gassy, and already regretting every life choice I’ve ever made, including that time I ghosted someone who just wanted to talk about my bad eating habits. Poop was teasing me now. I could feel it chilling somewhere in the hallway of my intestines, humming like it had nowhere to be. I’d sit on the toilet and feel hope. Just a litt...

Solar energy , one of the most powerful and abundant natural resources, has been harnessed by humanity for thousands of years. Long before the modern-day photovoltaic solar panels that line rooftops across the globe, ancient civilizations had already discovered ways to make the most of the sun’s rays. From heating homes to creating sustainable architectural designs , ancient people understood the sun’s power and used it to improve their quality of life. Although they didn’t have the technology we now rely on, their ingenuity in utilizing solar energy laid the groundwork for the modern solar revolution. Before the industrial revolution, many societies relied heavily on the natural environment to meet their energy needs. Ancient civilizations found that the sun could be a reliable source of warmth and light. The most obvious applications of solar energy involved heating spaces, drying crops, and even providing light. However, there were also sophisticated architectural strategies that ...

If you’ve never interacted with a Luo man , let me save you the trouble. A Luo man is a vibe, a whole personality, a LinkedIn bio in human form. Everything he does, says, or even implies will remind you that he is living his best soft life and somehow, you should be impressed. I have had the...pleasure?...of “dating” two Luo men. I say "dating" in quotes because, in hindsight, I may have just been a spectator in a one-man performance. The first time was in high school. Let me tell you, I was catfished before catfishing was a thing. His photos had me believing he was built like a rugby player . I showed up, and this man was...well. Worse still, he had a mountain of laundry waiting for me. As if I had signed up for a domestic internship . When I politely declined (read: absolutely refused), he had the audacity to be angry. Imagine lying to my mother to see a man who wanted me to wash his socks. Tragic. The second one was worse. I never realized that a man could talk about ...

Let me tell you, raising a human being in this economy is ghetto. Absolute ghetto. Some mornings I wake up feeling like I have it all figured out, I mean, how hard can it be? I’ve watched enough YouTube , read enough X threads , and even skimmed through a parenting book once (okay, twice). But by 9 a.m., I’m sweating, my patience is hanging by a thread, and I’m negotiating with a toddler over why we can’t eat yogurt straight from the cup with a fork. And don’t get me started on those “ perfect parents ” online the ones with color-coded toy bins , kids in matching outfits, and packed lunches with faces made of carrots and cucumbers. Me? I’m just out here wondering if it’s bad parenting to serve ugali and sukuma twice in one day. Honestly, is there a chapter somewhere that tells you when you officially qualify as a bad mum or are we all just vibing?   You see, they sell us this dream of gentle parenting . “Speak softly.” “Use positive affirmations .” Meanwhile, I’m over here s...

When managing a project like SOLAR THRIVE , where every detail from production logistics to customer satisfaction needs to be tracked, you start to see life differently. Deadlines, bottlenecks, unexpected crises . Sound familiar? Turns out, the same principles that keep a renewable energy project on track can also help manage the chaos of everyday life.   Here’s what I’ve learned about project managing my life from working on SOLAR THRIVE:   Planning Is Everything (But Plans Will Change) At work, we have production schedules , delivery timelines , and KPIs to meet. In life? Well, things don’t always go as planned either. I’ve learned to structure my goals while staying flexible. Instead of rigid to-do lists, I now break tasks into sprints , short, manageable chunks, so that even when life throws curveballs, I still make progress.   Lesson: Plan like an engineer, adapt like a survivor. Data Tracking Keeps You Honest Solar Thrive’s success depends on meas...

Have you ever met someone and felt like you already knew them? Like your souls had been in sync long before your physical paths crossed? Science might call it coincidence, but some theories, and a whole lot of personal experiences, suggest something deeper. There’s an idea that we are subconsciously connected to the people meant to be in our lives before we even meet them. It sounds poetic, almost magical, but even science has some breadcrumbs that hint at this possibility. Quantum entanglement , a phenomenon where particles remain connected regardless of distance, suggests that at the most fundamental level, connection is not bound by time or space. So, what if human connections work the same way? Think about it. Have you ever met someone and immediately felt safe, understood, or inexplicably drawn to them? As if the universe had been weaving your stories together long before you turned the page to each other? It’s the kind of connection that doesn’t need logic or explanation,it just ...

In today's digitally driven world, screens are an integral part of daily life, especially for children. From educational tools to entertainment, the exposure is constant. This ubiquity raises a pressing question, how does screen time influence children's cognitive development and intelligence ? Research presents a nuanced view of screen time's impact on children's intelligence. A study published in Nature indicates mixed outcomes, with effect sizes typically ranging from -0.20, suggesting that the relationship between screen time and cognitive abilities is complex and not entirely negative. Conversely, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found that children born extremely preterm who engaged in more than two hours of daily screen time exhibited lower IQ scores and increased behavioral problems. This suggests that excessive screen exposure may exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in certain populations.  The formative years are critical for brain development ...

Before I became a mother, a sister, a friend, a daughter, an engineer, before I took on any of these roles, I was, and still am, a woman. That’s not just a biological fact. It’s the foundation of everything I am. It’s the lens through which I experience the world, the reason I fight a little harder, prove myself a little more, and carry the weight of expectations I never signed up for. I exist in a world that often tries to define me by my relationships to others. “You’re such a good sister.” “You’re a great mom.” “You’re a strong woman in STEM.” And while all of that is true, I can’t help but wonder, would I still be enough if I was just… me? I juggle logistics, deadlines, and quality control at work. I coordinate, nurture, and problem-solve at home. I am expected to do it all, effortlessly, as if I were built for multitasking on expert mode. I’ve mastered the art of switching from technical reports to bedtime stories, from factory floors to family dinners, from professional to perso...

Africa , a continent endowed with approximately 60% of the world's uncultivated arable land, paradoxically finds itself grappling with escalating food insecurity . Despite this vast agricultural potential, the continent imports food worth billions annually . This contradiction raises a pressing question: Why is a land so fertile facing such profound hunger challenges? Recent reports paint a grim picture over 140 million Africans face acute food insecurity, with one in five going to bed hungry each night. This crisis is not merely a statistic; it's a daily struggle for survival for millions. Factors such as conflict , climate change , and economic instability exacerbate the situation, leading to widespread malnutrition and loss of life. For instance, in West and Central Africa , over 40 million people are currently struggling with food insecurity, with numbers projected to increase to 52 million by mid-next year.  Unpacking the Paradox Several interwoven factors contribute ...