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piqer for: Global finds
Ciku Kimeria is a Kenyan author "Of goats and poisoned oranges" - (https://www.amazon.com/goats-poisoned-oranges-Ciku-Kimeria-ebook/dp/B00HBBWPI6), development consultant, adventurer and travel blogger (www.thekenyanexplorer.com). She writes both fiction and non-fiction focusing on African stories that need telling. She has worked on diverse pieces for various international and local publications including Quartz, Ozy, The East African etc. She has travelled to 45 countries – 16 of them in Africa. 153 countries to go and 63 territories!
"Of goats and poisoned oranges" has been extremely well received in Kenya and beyond. It tells the story of a Kenyan middle aged power couple and their complicated marriage. The novel explores issues of greed, revenge, betrayal and murder. It runs from the 1960s to 2013. It has been described as “Wicked, funny, poignant, wacky, human, a big ball of fun and danger”, “A unique and captivating book”, “Fun and intriguing”, “Impossible to put down once you start reading.”
She recently moved to Dakar, Senegal from Kenya to work on her second novel. She also works at as the Africa Communication Manager at a leading global strategy consulting firm.
She holds a B.S. in Management Science from MIT with minors in Urban Planning and International development studies.
Africa - The Next China?
I’m only thirty, but I personally witnessed a time when China’s now car-clogged streets were full of bicycles instead. Such has been the rapidity of China’s transformation, sparked by the rise of Factory China. In the quarter century since I first sat in that car, China has gone from producing 2% of global manufacturing output to 25%.
Over that time China’s GDP grew thirtyfold, and 750 million people were lifted out of poverty—the most ever achieved in a single period in the history of the world. China went from being poorer than Kenya, Lesotho, and Nigeria to rivaling the United States for the title of largest economy in the world.
In this article, a 30-year-old Chinese lady draws parallels between what China was like when she was born and the current growth on the African continent. She looks at the trajectory of China's transformation into a manufacturing powerhouse.
As an African reading this article, it is one that inspires me. Within a decade, the Economist's cover has moved from Hopeless Africa to Africa Rising. The reality of the continent is that we are 54 nations and at any given point, some appear to be rising while others appear hopeless. This however is not just the African condition, it is the way of the world. Change is constant.
We have seen the US – the leader of the free world – descend into confusing times of economic stagnation, politics of fear, a country where white supremacists feel free to roam the streets and black men fear for their lives. We have seen the rise of xenophobia in countries that were initially receptive to migrants and refugees: Germany currently has no government as coalition talks have reached a deadlock.
The only thing we can predict in the future is that a lot will change. The world of the next decade won't be recognizable. There will be good and bad change, but for Africa we wonder – will our future be brighter than our past and present? Are we the next China?
