Way back in 1979, aged only thirteen, my parents retired. You see, I come from a polygamous home, and my mother was the eighth wife of my father. She was much younger than my father.

Upon their retirement, I moved from our rural home in the lakeside region of Kendu Bay in Nyanza Province, in Kenya. At first, I stayed with Uncle Sam in Nairobi. He and aunty Anne were very kind to me. I truly had the time of my life at their hands. They moved me to a VERY GOOD school, at grade six. Coming from a school in the rural areas, it took me a bit of time to adjust, and I started off at position twenty-six out of forty. With the encouragement and support of my foster parents, I rose, and, by the end of the year, I attained position fourteen!

In 1980, at grade seven, I was set to do my elementary examinations. With the continued support of my foster parents, I got grades A: Maths, B: English, B+: General Paper. This landed me to a very good school in the city of Nairobi.

Unfortunately, my foster parents had gotten transfers to the coastal city of Mombasa. I therefore was moved to stay with Catherine, my step-sister. Catherine hosted four other step-siblings. I was happy there. Steve, seventeen, was quite kind, and would help me with homework. In addition, he would buy me sweets as well as tell me stories.

My attachment with him was incredible! One Saturday afternoon, in mid-April 1981, when all the other family members were away, Steve introduced me to a game which friends play. This is a game he told me would be secret between only the two friends. “It is a VERY enjoyable game”, he told me.

Steve: Would you like me to teach you how it is played?

Myself: Yes, why not, if it is such a good game?

We played the “very good” game, and I really enjoyed it. Naive as I was, I thanked him for introducing me to such an enjoyable game. He rewarded me with a chocolate.