#WeAreOne

It was supposed to be a normal Saturday for me. You know…wake up, go to work, meet up with my friend later on in the evening and go back home and re-cap all that with my family. There were so many activities lined up for this weekend. Even though I was not taking part in them, I knew so many people who were and they were more than excited when this day dawned. There was the Safaricom 7s which almost everyone was rumbling about, there was the usual football craze, if I am not wrong there was the Oktoberfest going down and apart from that, there was nothing for those who intended to just use these two cherished days to relax after a long tiring week. It was meant to be a good weekend and no one in Kenya had any inkling just how dark this 21^st day of September would turn out.

Kenya, Our Land

On this particular day, I had a lot of trouble trying to wake up! This was unlike me but then again I had slept very late the previous night so I only had myself to blame. The first thing I did was tweet just how much I wanted to go back to bed. My eyes were so heavy and I was really struggling. I wasted a lot of time trying to get ready because I was so sluggish. And this in turn made me chose to forgo my breakfast so as to leave the house and get to my place of work on time which is located in Westlands. I thought to myself, ‘I can grab something on the way there with so many cafes in that place’

Westgate Shopping Mall

But as fate would have it, I ended up boarding a really slow matatu to town. I could have walked faster! And to add in salt to injury it kept making random stops to collect people who didn’t even want board it. When I got to town, I grabbed another vehicle and decided to just go straight to my work. I was already late. I didn’t want to be the one who kept people waiting. So I got there at around 10.30 and it was business as usual.

A couple of minutes later, my boss went out. She had some errands to run. I thought she would take long, like 2 hours or so but in like 30 minutes she was back. She was frantic. She kept asking, “Have you guys heard that? There has been a shooting!! Oh my God, there was a blast!! It was a grenade.....”

An armed policeman saving a child

None of us inside had heard anything. But at that particular moment, my brother called me. And he was asking how I was doing. The news about the gunfire and attacks was already being aired and I reassured them that I was fine. So many phone calls followed after that to and fro in order to either inquire if loved ones were safe or to warn them to keep off from the area. The rest of the afternoon was very slow. Not a lot of work was done, at least not as much as I wanted to. I couldn’t wait to get home. And when I did, is when it dawned on me how I could have easily been in that mall as well.

Child running towards safe hands

I saw my first big screen movie in this mall. It is also in this mall where I had some of the happiest days this year with my colleagues and friends among them the +Google Student Ambassadors Sub-Saharan-Africa. I am sure almost the same can be said for some of you. This mall is a beautiful piece of architecture. It is a landmark. But from now on, this mall would hold some of the worst memories for many people.

Rescue underway

Prior to getting home, I was only relying on ‘twitter tv’ to know what was going on. I couldn’t believe it! “What do you mean terrorists? 4-6-10-17-20 people dead? Nooo! Ruhila Adatia as well? They have hostages?” So much information was just bombarding me at once and I couldn’t confirm any of it. I hoped it was just a joke because it sounded just like a movie I had watched the previous week. But it wasn't and everything sank in once I saw it on the news. This was truly turning out to be one of the saddest and darkest days this Nation has ever faced.

A child saved by a red cross official

Almost 48 hours down the line, the death toll stands at 69 while those injured is at 175. There are still hostages in the mall but I hope they will be rescued soon. It is at such times of adversity that one realizes just how united a country can be. The attackers had an aim of tearing the country apart. But what they do not know is that it is making us stronger and more aware of our brotherhood!

Multitudes of people woke up early on Sunday morning and thronged all the blood donation centers to give the precious liquid that many in hospitals needed. It did not matter to which tribe, creed, age, gender or race the blood one donated would go to. What mattered the most is the fact that we were all Kenyans at this time. And now our blood runs through each others veins. We are one! 

Multitudes of people at kencom to donate blood

There are the volunteers who took it upon themselves to offer assistance like the medics and nurses, the police force, the +Kenya Red Cross Society, the women cooking and feeding the people on site, the counselors who are there to calm the bereaved and the traumatized, the companies providing snacks and soft drinks and so many others.

Drinks and refreshments for the blood donors

Messages of peace and togetherness have flooded the social media. They are from civilians urging each other to keep praying for the country, from our leaders promising to do all that they can to make the situation better and there are those from other people/leaders in other countries just giving moral support to our country. All I can say is thank you! A friend in need is a friend indeed. Just a glimpse of some of the messages:-

Let us have a moment of silence:

• For the many people who have lost their lives in this tragedy. It is so painful that they had to leave us so soon. Whenever I came across the handle of these departed, I opened it and went through their timeline. They were so happy in their last twitter, facebook and instagram posts. It is deeply saddening to know that we will never hear from them again. We have been robbed of very beautiful souls. May God rest them in eternal peace, until we meet again.

• For the ones that have been left behind. We send you and your families our deepest condolences. It is not easy to lose a loved one. But I hope you will get the strength you need to go through this trying time. May God be with you.
• For those who are hurt and injured. We wish you all a quick recovery. Hang in there! We hope to see you out of the hospitals soon.
• For the ones still trapped inside. Help is on the way. We pray for you safety. Nothing will make us happier than to watch you walk out of the building. We know you are scared and afraid. Faith is what you need. God is still on the throne and he will see you through this.

Keep praying guys. There is power when one is on their knees. We are stronger than this and we will defeat this by a mile. We shall overcome this adversity. We shall triumph. No weapon forged against this country will prosper. This is not the time to give up!

Kenya, the heart of Africa

Monetary donations to go towards the people affected by this attack can be sent to M-Pesa pay bill number 84 84 84. The collected figure currently stands at Ksh. 24 Million.

Blood drives are still going on at hospitals and at Uhuru Park. B (-ve) and O (-ve) are the most needed blood groups.

It has been a sad couple of days for Kenya but #happydays await us.

God bless our land and nation.

Images are courtesy of twitter and Google.