One Kenya. One Voice. One Anthem.

While under British colonial rule, Kenya's official anthem was the British anthem "God Save the Queen" and "Kenya Land of the Lion" was the national song sung at sporting and other such events.

Lyrics of "Kenya Land of the Lion"

Kenya! Land of the lion
Land of adventure and sun
Land where friendship and laughter
Wait for those who come after.
Onward! Grey skies or blue
We'll march steadfast and true.
Kenyans, staunch and united
We'll march on.

Kenya!Land of enchantment
We'll hold your banner on high.
Clear our voices are ringing
Youth and hope in our singing.
What of glory and fame?
We'll just stick to the game.
Kenyans, staunch and united
We'll march on.

The lyrics of the current national anthem were written by Thomas Kalume, Graham Hyslop, Peter Kibukosya, Washington Omondi and George W. Senoga-Zake. The music was also composed by the same people who wrote the anthem. The lyrics of the song were designed to glorify the aims and aspirations of the people.

Ee Mungu nguvu yetu
Ilete baraka kwetu
Haki iwe ngao na mlinzi
Natukae na undugu
Amani na uhuru
Raha tupate na ustawi.

Amkeni ndugu zetu
Tufanye sote bidii
Nasi tujitoe kwa nguvu
Nchi yetu ya Kenya
Tunayoipenda
Tuwe tayari kuilinda.

Natujenge taifa letu
Ee, ndio wajibu wetu
Kenya istahili heshima
Tuungane mikono
Pamoja kazini
Kila siku tuwe na shukrani.

Embrace. Celebrate. Unite

Feb28th, 1pm, 1 People, 1 Anthem, 1 Kenya

According to Martin Luther King in his beyond Vietnam Address of 4th April 1967, "A time comes when silence is betrayal." It is at such a time that our voices must be raised in unison, and in unity towards the greater good. That is the essence of the beautiful struggle. MLK urges us on in such a time with these words:

“We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history. Perhaps a new spirit is rising among us. If it is, let us trace its movements and pray that our own inner being may be sensitive to its guidance, for we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the darkness that seems so close around us.”

Our country is ours to direct, its future vision is ours to claim, its reality is ours to create.
We can no longer be silent!

So let us join hands in unity, in peace, with one focus in mind on Feb 28th 2011. Let us not be hindered by any naysayers, for the one voice in the wilderness can and has been the truth even against the majority.

On Feb28 as Kenyans, and as brothers and sisters from other nations who stand with us in solidarity we declare:

We are extremely proud to be Kenyan.
We are proud of our beautiful country
We are proud of our diversity cultures and traditions
We are proud of our heroes
We are proud of our high achievers
We are proud of being hustlers
We are proud of our hoods
We are proud of our tribes and twengs
We are proud of our kanges and our mats
We are proud of our artists and musicians
We are proud of our industries and farms!
We are proud of our sports teams!

On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, wherever you are, at work, in the supermarket, in traffic, in school, on campus, in hospitals, in churches, in mosques, in temples, in synagogues, on sports pitches, in court, on your farm, at police stations, at armed forces barracks, in matatus, in buses, on the beach, in the game parks, at the airport, in parliament, in State House, in your homes...

On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we stand
On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we unite
On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, we shall speak in one voice.

On the 28th of February 2011 at 1pm, let’s sing our anthem, all three verses

On the 28th February 2011 the world will watch as Kenyans stand UNITED; 1pm, 1 nation, 1 people, 1 anthem, united in 1 prayer for 1 Kenya

We are Kenya!

Tee care and re-styling

Hello beautiful people!
It has been a lovely Monday here in Nairobi and the weather hasn't been too hot or cold, which is brilliant! But the best thing about this Monday is that it has flown fast for us, leaving us time to do fun evening stuff :)

We feel that the great thing about T-shirts is that they are reasonably affordable and can be customized to suit and personality. They also come in an amazing array of colors, styles, sleeve lengths, fabrics. Not to mention the multitude of different pictures and fonts that can be applied to the front and back of the shirt.

However,T-shirts tend to wear out faster than, say, a jacket or skirt. Steady T-shirt wearers can expect about two years of wearability before the T-shirt starts to fade, rip, pill or otherwise look less than its best but it really depends on how often you wear the t-shirt.

There are a few tips to keep your favorite Fluid Tee in tip-top condition for a long time.

You should wash the shirt in cool water with a color-protecting detergent. Make sure you wash it inside-out to protect the design. 

White T-shirts that have been worn often will eventually start forming yellowish stains around the collar and armpits. These stains are caused by sweat and deodorant, so a good way to combat this is to wait until your underams are completely dry before putting it on. Then, launder the shirt as soon as you’re done wearing it. It helps to use anti-stain products, but for stubborn discolorations, try making a paste from a super-detergent. Let it sit for a while and then launder as usual.

Sometimes, though, a shirt cannot be saved and, beloved as it may be, wearing a stained T-shirt is mighty unsightly.

This is where re-styling a tee comes in. Check out some ideas below on how you can get creative with chopping up your tee and get inspired today!

Achieve this design by following these instructions.

To get something like this gorgeous black number check out this link!

And for this cute dress follow these directions and keep eyes on you :)

Much love xoxo

Fluid team...

We are United!

Do not follow the ideas of others, but learn to listen to the voice within yourself. Your body and mind will become clear and you will realize the unity of all things. Dogen

We’ve spent the past few days at Fluid Towers reflecting on the deeper things in life (yes we can be deep) and with the wave of positive nationalism and change sweeping Africa, we cannot help but think on our great nation and the agents of change it requires for a better, brighter and stronger future. As we went along, we felt that the strength of the concept of unity was an inspiring  aspect to consider. Unity in experience, in language, in culture, in values and norms. But what we found most intriguing was the religious understanding of unity found in Kabbalah, Islam, and the Baha’i Faith.

These three religions highlight the ‘oneness of man’, emphasising on the equality and the idea that before God all people, irregardless of race, gender and age stand equal before God. Baha’i’s believe in the ‘singleness of humanity’ and this ties in experiences that are felt by one directly impact those of the other.

If we are to take these theories to heart and believe that our brother’s experience results in an impact on our sister’s reality, then shall we as people be more sensitive of our actions towards ourselves and others?

We are all united whether we choose to accept this or not. A drought in one part affects the other, a strong economy in Nairobi does affect Mombasa. Assisting the community in one part allows for one educated and healthy child to change a village, a town, a country. Incrementally the little things we do go a long, long way.

We as a team at Fluid Towers look forward to driving a united and peaceful change. Of all our t-shirt purchases we support Mama Fatuma’s home with 100 KSH per tee. Make a change today with us by supporting this cause or identifying one of your own.

Have a lovely week!

Memories of the good old days

Sometimes the nostalgia of the good old days hits you, the days when all you had in mind was running off at 7am to play Kati with the neighborhood gang. Or afternoons spent pulling at your KCC car, home made with the slippers or bottle tops that were considered 'rubbish' turned into little wheels that flew on the dusty sands.

Remember this?

Yes those were the days, simple, fun and un-pretentious. When the taste of Goody-Goody and Patco in your mouth could not be compared to any other pleasure. When Blue-Band came in a metal container and KBC began way past noon. Remember those days? These were the times of Rambo, who's exploits were trapped in a video tape that sometimes got chewed in your VCR to your disgust and misery.

Sometimes at Fluid Towers we can't help but think that children these days have really missed out on the simple pleasures of life (yes we know we sound old)... While watching them, and many times joining them on their game consoles, we wonder if they will have the same priceless memories that were shared across almost all Kenyan homes, rich or poor?