Mama Shujaa

Come look at this face... Come, even closer... Now, check the skin. Not bad, huh? I use AMBI skin cream, And you are looking at skin AMBI helped beautify. You see, AMBI helps get rid of blotches, dark spots...the works! AMBI conditions and softens your skin too. And AMBI blends your skin into one beautiful glowing tone, all over... That AMBI . It is something special! Credits Text: From Hydroquinone (skin bleaching agent) advertisement regularly aired on Kenya Television in the 1970s-80s. Illustration: Watercolor by Hana Njau-Okolo (Feb. 2007) Tuongee? [Thoughts?] Kwaheri. Mama Shujaa. All content, images Copyright © Hana Njau-Okolo 2009. All Rights Reserved.

Salaams of the New Year! As we bear witness to the creative hopes, challenges and joys of the New Year, I am thankful for the generosity of spirit I have encountered here, a dynamic meeting point of diverse minds and collective voices. A place where we find inspiration, we string together ideas and comments as we dedicate ourselves to a wholesome new way of tackling maisha [life]. Suffice it to say that this apprentice blogger is hooked. And as the year begins, I am consciously aware of the source of my inspiration, my Utu, an intangible source of strength. I grew up in an art gallery in Nairobi , Kenya . My trailblazing parents founded Paa Ya Paa Art Gallery in 1965, just two years after Kenya ’s independence from British colonial rule. The rest of their graduating class became doctors, veterinarians, politicians, you know, the usual safe occupations. Today, Paa Ya Paa is Kenya ’s oldest African-owned art gallery and holds a unique place in the preservation and promotion of a...