Mum on being Kenyan Diaspora

"Kenya is much more natural the countryside isn't manicured it's wild and wonderful and hilly and dry school was a ten minute walk through rough grass in the middle there was a stream and in the rainy season the ground was clay soil and it would become really slippery you carved out a path and put a plank across the stream tricky to cross over I'm sure I fell in a few times your socks would be full of mud the stream would fill up with tadpoles all the kids used to collect them in jars frogs prancing around the place I think I've been defined by Kenya more than anything else I think the most important thing in our lives is to be free I hate being constrained we want to give freedom to our children life was very strict and there wasn't always money or a plentiful supply of food you didn't have many clothes but at the same time it was an idyllic existence which was less materialistic but sheer luxury I think the older you get the more you feel nostalgic but I've always loved Kenya even when I was young it took me years to get used to this country I hated this country all the houses looked the same you just thought God is this supposed to be one of the most progressive places on this Earth people were living a decrepit life in hovels everything was very grey but gradually you get used to the ideals of a country "