It may be humble, but ours will also be season to cheer

By Joe Ombuor

Ms Martha Wanjiru sells vegetables in Nairobi’s Dandora Estate.

Her customers fondly call her Mama Mboga.

A single mother of four, two of who still live with her, Wanjiru’s life revolves around Gikomba Market where she buys her wares, and her vegetable kiosk in Dandora.

"I do not earn much from this business, but I pay my bills and meet parental and social responsibilities to my children. Christmas and the celebrations that go with it is among these responsibilities," she says.

There is no Christmas without chapati as John McCain Otieno shows us here at Ukwala supermarket in Kisumu, on Thursday. Photo: Titus Munala/Standard

With a smile, she adds: "My children expect something different from sukuma and ugali that day. I have saved something small to treat them to a different menu."

She says she has enough money to buy some wheat flour for chapati, some rice and chicken. For breakfast, she says the tea will be thick with milk, unlike the black one they normally take.

"I have bought blueband and that day, bread will not be dry. I have done that every Christmas," she said.

Wanjiru says Christmas for her family will not be complete without soda and has set aside money for a crate.

New clothes

Going to church is synonymous with Christmas, according to Wanjiru. When business is good, she buys new clothes and shoes for her children.

Do they go out for fun? "Last year, we went to Uhuru Park and I paid for a family ride in the canoes. It was worth every penny and I plan to do the same this Christmas," she said.

Jerry Omondi is a mason and lives in Gitari Marigu, a stone’s throw away from the Nairobi River.

He says: "Christmas this time round will be minus the excessive smell from the river, thanks to the efforts of Environment Minister John Michuki.

He says his Christmas, as usual, will not be complete without a beer after having supper with his family, comprising his wife Mary and three children.

"I normally take Tusker on that day and keep away from my usual dose of chang’aa," he says.

Like Wanjiru, Omondi too will treat his family to a different menu from ugali and sukuma or omena. "We shall eat chicken or meat, since I have kept aside money for my family to feel like Christmas," he says.

Omondi has also planned to take his family for a walk in the city centre.

"The bomb blast site, Kenyatta International Conference Centre, Times Tower and Uhuru Park are among the places I intend to take them," he says.

Rural home

For George Mutua, a father of one, whose family lives in Mwingi, there is no Christmas outside home.

The high fare notwithstanding, Mutua has planned to be home before Christmas, where he will attend the local church with his family and join his parents for a sumptuous meal that includes tearing succulent goat ribs.