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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.
The Danger Of A Single Story — How Media Shapes Our Views Of Different Places
Chimamanda's The Danger of a Single Story never gets old. Before "We should all be feminists", and before her recent controversial statements on trans-women, the award-winning Nigerian-American author of Americanah, Half of a Yellow Sun, etc. got on most people's radar because of this amazing TED Talk.
Using examples from her own life as a middle class Nigerian and the single story she had of the family's house boy and his poor family, she expands this to look at the single story people have about Africa and Africans.
Single stories dehumanize us and simplify our existence. Just because someone is poor, doesn't mean that there is only one dimension to them. One can be poor, yet talented, driven, passionate, etc. In the same way, an African country can be both poor but peaceful, have hardworking citizens, be rich in history and culture, beautiful, etc. We need to accept that we cannot fit people and places into tiny little boxes, in the same way that we would not want our own stories to be simplified into one- or two-dimensional stories.
What makes this talk particularly brilliant is how it will make everyone who watches reflect on our own single stories, especially in the context of current media. We each have our own single story of the migrant crisis, migrants, refugees, poor people, different social classes, older voters. Hopefully this video will make those who watch more receptive to other stories that contradict the single stories we have grown to believe.
