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!

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!