Abraham Block: The penniless refugee who built a hotel empire in Kenya

Abraham and Sarah Block visiting Nairobi for a shopping expedition by mule cart in 1908 [Courtesy]

Contrary to popular opinion, the men and women who built Nairobi, and indeed the country, had little or no financial resources. They were armed with no more than ambition and sheer determination to make it in a country European powers had designated as part of a ‘Dark Continent.’