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·         Your competitors are already doing SEO and if you don’t start doing it right away you can be sure that they will get leads that otherwise would have been yours. In fact, businesses monitor other businesses in their niche to see what SEO methods they are using and how far ahead they are so that they can come up with a strategy of their own. When you are hiring a New York SEO expert make sure that he has the tools and the a

bility to do this.

I’m 13, I’m Smart, I worked Hard, I See A Future, Maybe Barrack Obama Can Help Me?

Dear Barrack,

I call you in first name terms because you are a child of our people, so don’t judge me yet. Get to the end. I am writing this because today, I believe that you’re the most powerful man on earth. I believe just a spoken word from you can change the way children are treated by the powers that be in Kenya.

I have just been talking to Judy, a pretty 12 year old, and she sounds shaky. Not just she, but there are 2 other children in my neighborhood who can’t even work up the nerve to talk to anyone. Their names are Chris and Omari. They sat their primary school exams in 2010 in private schools, but now at 13, they know that their future lies in the precipice because their parents were able to take them to private schools.

Ok, let me start at the beginning. Education, public or private, was expensive in Kenya before Mwai Kibaki, our president, came to power. When he knew he had the nation and the world hearing, he played his trump card; education was going to be free for anyone who could get their child into a public school. Of course the populace rushed there; it was free and reputed to be good. The result was bulging classrooms.

My friend, Mildred had to mark her son’s homework herself. She could see it. After a full day of being in class after class, the teacher had to mark 80 homework books. In a few weeks, the teacher was too exhausted to do this effectively and stopped marking any kind of homework, only giving it. Mildred realized that a public school was not the answer, got another job that could pay her better. She wanted to afford private schools, where her son could get the attention he needed. They were a bit on the steep side. I must admit that I have no idea where he went – I lost touch with Mildred.

Suddenly, the scenario is replaying itself all over again before my eyes. You see, last Sunday, Judy came to leave the keys at my place for her parents to find when they got home from church; she had to go to school for private tuition. The private school demands that she does so that she can make the mark required for that all important national school. I was shocked, and I asked her who said: she explained that although she will sit her exam next year, her school has to work extra hard on her for her to get there. She knows that those who set the deciding primary school exams are usually from national schools, and they will train their pupils in the very same questions that they set so that the government can save face. What knowledge for a child!

The week leading up to that Sunday, every news broadcast was about parents crying foul; they had done all they needed to do for their children to make the mark (the results had been released by the ministry) and yet when they did, the government made a public announcement that only the children from public schools would get admitted in national schools.

Oh, national schools; I went to one. They’re set up to give back to society the best that’s possible in a child. Ask the Ivy Leagues who they pick from Kenya and then compare it to the list of national schools that we have; its actually more than 90% I believe. All kids know to w0rk their way to a national school so that they can go to the best universities in the country and in the world. They are up at 4am and don’t get to bed until 11 am. They study every day and then they study more; they go to school on Sunday. They want to be the cream of the crop.

They have now done their exams and they have hit target – spot on. But national schools are now for those who attended public schools, places where classes are 70 or 80 to a class, homework is never seen, food is a scramble and discipline comes by luck. The 0nly mistake that Judy, Omari and Chris made was for their parents to understand that they needed one-on-one attention in learning and so took them to private schools – of course they paid more.

Omari and Chris, who sat the exam this year, are not outside with us any more. They stay indoors because they feel that they have failed; Cambridge, Cornell name it are a dream. They have been sent letters to join second grade high schools. True, some of them do eventually spit out brilliant children, but not very many. These kids feel that they have just gambled away their young fortunes.

Maybe, Obama, being who you are, can shine a light to guide us as a nation, show us the way, so that the next crop of leaders that we have is not all about “grab what you can now coz it wont last, coz you’re not worth it”?

I hope to hear from you.

Sincerely yours and I love you all,

Mutuo Mbilla

The Tooth Fairy Does Exist

Dear All,

Someone amongst you, one of you, has been going around telling little innocent children that the Tooth Fairy does not exist. It’s appalling, and I’m here to tell that she does exist; in fact, as you can see, she has a gender, she’s a she. This letter is to make it clear to you why she exists so that you can stop misguiding poor, innocent gullible souls who have done just fine so far. I send it with the authority vested upon me as a parent, and also based on the fact that indeed, I too believe that she exists because I have seen her at work. We have worked together on all kinds of projects and I can tell you that she always delivers on time and according to instructions.

The Tooth Fairy comes to my rescue on matters not just relating to teeth, but everyday things as well. To systematically show you how, let’s start with what we all know she does best – the teeth. Sometimes, one of my kids will have a tooth that has been shaking in its root for weeks and they won’t let anyone get near it. All I need to say is that if they don’t get it out, the Tooth Fairy is going to send a dog tooth instead of a good tooth. Like magic, the child is suddenly asking everyone if they can help them get the tooth out. As a result, all my children have straight teeth. If a tooth happens to get out on time, the Tooth Fairy and I keep our end of the bargain: she continues to exist and all I have to do is buy cheap candy and place it under the pillow. We, the Tooth Fairy and I, are now exploring how we can actually make sure that we get the straight teeth brushed as recommended.

Sometimes I have to leave the kids for 1 or 2 hours unattended so that I can get an errand done. I only have to say that my Tooth Fairy is watching for any kind of mischief and she will let me know right away if any of the children is causing a ruckus – she just whispers in my ear wherever I am. I can tell you that each time, I get back home and the kids themselves are intact and so is my house. Try that without having the Tooth Fairy help you’ll and see what happens.

There are nights when a tummy is bad and a child cant sleep. Have you ever tried telling them that you’ve just had a word with the Tooth Fairy, and she is sending her sister who is a nurse to come and have a look and the tummy will be better? You see, the Tooth Fairy has a family too and they work in a sort of company where everyone has an allotted role. You know that the bad tummy is nothing serious – the child was trying out the taste of the weeds in the garden, and a trip to the doctor is not really necessary. The Tooth Fairy takes away pain, and she is within reach, and so I use her.

The Tooth Fairy has a relative called Snitch. And Snitch sits on the shoulders of children who do bad things and goes back to report everything to the Tooth Fairy herself. My children know that should they be caught in the act, they can forget anything nice that was coming their way because the Tooth Fairy only works with good children. Snitch, oh, I love Snitch. It means that I don’t have to be in the same room with them every waking minute – Snitch is there doing my work for me.

There is another relative I must mention, and her name is Candy. She is terrific for keeping kids on the straight and narrow. She is plump, round and sweet and all she asks is that I have a secret stash of cookies for when we, she and I, need them. Her work is to notice good things that the kids have done. She tells me, and I have to hand out a cookie and say thanks, good boy, or good girl. The buzz from that will last for hours on a kid – I know because I get to rest in that time.

One of the most useful relatives when it comes to matters of hygiene is called Tub. Tub hangs around bathrooms and usually sits on bubbles that are on the soap. If he doesn’t get a bubble to sit on all day from each of us, he can get pretty upset and then the Tooth Fairy has to deal with that – she doesn’t like it at all because it’s hard to make Tub happy. She will get him to smile in the end, but trust me, she won’t be visiting you with anything nice for a while. All children must make bubbles for Tub with soap and water by taking a bath. Tub and I, and the Tooth Fairy of course, make sure that baths are rather regular.

You can see why you cannot possibly say the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist. I could go on, but I have to go because I have a feeling Snitch has just flown in. I could intervene for whichever child of mine for whom the visit is intended on this one occasion so that the Tooth Fairy doesn’t get to hear about it.

One last time, please, if you are a self-respecting adult who has any kind of regard for the hard job of parenting, do not any child that the Tooth Fairy doesn’t exist. They just might believe you.

Mind Control

It’s becoming clearer with time that our brains are powerful tools and can be modeled to do anything – your brain takes and executes instructions from you and does exactly what you ask of it.

Does this therefore mean that another person can control you using your brain? I bet its true, and I will be telling you more about that really soon. In the mean time, watch this here and see just how your brain chooses what it wants you to see – you actually have to struggle with yourself to see anything else.   

A Suicide Note - How Do You Heal Such a Hurt?

We hurt each other all the time in so many ways, but there are people who do so much damage that they completely invalidate another's life; they make them feel useless, and especially when they do things to a spirit so young that it does not know how to deal with pain. Its killing without killing, I guess burying without burying.

Maybe if he was older he would have known that its not the deed but what you think about the deed, but by the time Bill Zeller came to realization, the blueprint in his brain was all darkness, all pain and all hopeless.

Read this kid's suicide note here.

What would you say to Bill that would make him feel better? Personally, I know I wouldn't know what to do, what to tell him or how to react if I read that when he was still alive. I guess thats why he released it post life...

Political Opinions of a Cheese Head

Taking my annual break, its time to ruminate on the year gone, and I’ll take a shallow (note shallow) stab at politics.  As a casual observer who leaves politics to those who understand it, here is my 2 cents. All of you who know me know I know very little on this subject, so feel free to chew me out. My ruminations below:

• 0+0=0. So we got a new constitution, but of course it was just a nice new expensive booklet and nothing more. Since then, the level of disenchantment amongst Kenyans is worse – if that’s actually possible. I said it before and I say it again, there were no feelings in that process, and no feelings means no commitment.

• Now Ocampo must go! (oh, now that we are no longer friends can he bring back that cheetah cub we gave him?). This level of insanity would be hard to find even in a mental hospital. We call him because we fought and cannot adjudicate for ourselves, and we are part of the Rome treaty. Name names please, Moreno. As soon as names are named, aren’t we the shocked ones who tell him please never say the truth here and in fact we don’t want to be part of the treaty any more. I think he has a plan and it’s a good plan if we would only let him execute it, but then I must wake up from that dream where Kenyans want truth, honesty and responsibility.

• If you think we are not going to fight again, I can tell you that right now, the armies are gathering. Tribal animosity has deepened and Kenyans hurt even more for what they have gone through since the PEV. People died, we sought justice, and when we are at its door, we are told “No, can’t happen. Let’s form committees and argue for about another 10 years and then we take if from there”. As Kenyans, we see the machinations of the elite, and we are not so ignorant any more. Now more than ever, its clear that to get rid of all this crap will not take diplomatic kissy kissy dialogue and talking.  Pain is what is going to do it, because after that, not only will we learn what we are capable of to get justice, but we will also learn to respect each other based on that.

• There are silly bills being passed around that make sense only to overzealous Kaguthi and whoever else who dreams these things. If they would have consulted Economics 101, it would have told them that that’s not the way economies are built. I can’t get my pint before 5pm, so Pinches, my barman, is losing income which helps him build himself – he is now busy looking for school fees which he never had to do before – there was plenty of business. At 11pm, we all have to be in bed – that’s direct loss of income not just to pubs but to cabs, to petrol stations, to all night supermarkets, to everyone who made a buck after 11pm because people were out having fun. We are also getting rid of the small matatus (I know they are a pain), but I only wish someone had thought what to do with all the touts and drivers who will lose their jobs. Mungiki, Sungu Sungu and others, I bet you’re preparing seriously for new members because there is no where else in the picture that these touts/drivers fit in.

• Lastly, and I have said this before, of course we are Kenyans and we feel very comfortable about everything; it’s not our fault. We will know that its Gods will that things be that way. We shall blame the government and whine endlessly and have many noodle-brained experts analyze the sense out of everything day in day out. Great stuff. Never step up and take responsibility. Never be accountable. Never once get so mad that you will do whatever it takes for freedom. It is all Gods will and it has nothing to do with you at all.  Wrong; it’s YOU and no one else. Keep out of the mess and channel that energy into making YOU a more accountable person – at home, at work, wherever. Try taking personal responsibility in 2011 for yourself and your affairs, try to not blame anyone and then take right action, and let’s stock again on 26^th Dec 2011.

Are Lessons Ever Learned? The Curse of Supremacy at Any Cost

In the last two days, I have been lucky enough to be able tuck away my conscience and watch 2 movies (I should be working and not watching movies), back to back, that triggered a bout of some (rare) thinking. They were Mel Gibson’s “Brave Heart” and “The Patriot”. Of course I had watched them before, but on realizing that no one had filched them yet from my collection all this time, I figured it was time for a refresher.

William Wallace

One thing that was that was staringly obvious immediately I watched them was that at the period they depict, something was obviously sickly wrong with the British. Of course I would like to be politically correct and use more acceptable language, but pardon me for now and let’s carry on, you’ll understand the semantics as you read on. Read more