For the 52nd National Day celebrations, Kenyan expats in Doha organise various activities, including health awareness camps. By Anand Holla

As all of Kenya on Saturday reveled in its 52nd National Day celebrations, known as the Jamhuri Day – Jamhuri is Swahili for republic – the vibrant Kenyans in Qatar joined in the festivities, marking another big day in a slew of their recent community activities.
Kenyan expat Zacchaeus Njuguna, who is often at the forefront of his community’s events, kicked off the celebrations on Friday along with 60 other Kenyans, as they cheered their team at the domestic Kenya vs France football match at Aspire.
“I had painted a huge poster featuring the Kenyan national flag and the Maasai spears and a shield, which are part of the Coat of Arms of Kenya. The shield and spears symbolise unity and defence of freedom,” said Njuguna, who helms the Kenya Green Maasai Troupe, “The flag was flanked by two giraffes, and I wrote a line that sums up our collective feelings: One Kenya, One Love.”
Jamhuri Day is an occasion for Kenyans to express their gratitude for their freedom through dance, feasting, parades, and other public events. At the Religious Complex on Saturday, more than 100 Kenyan expats gathered at the church to talk, bond and reflect on the occasion.
“We discussed how we must share our history, culture, and art better,” Njuguna said, “We involved the children with activities such as drawing and sharing books. Later, we gifted them toys as early Christmas presents, to buy which the Church and our group gathered funds.”
Kenya gained independence from Britain on December 12, 1963. Kenya’s population has grown from about 10mn in 1963 to an estimated 40mn in 2014. The Jamhuri Day is the day when the country reflects on the gains made since Independence.
Since all the activities scheduled on Jamhuri Day are representations of the way Kenyans view life, and the values that stand within their society, Njuguna finds the occasion vital to unite the community. “I am happy to see that Kenyan expats in Qatar take our messages and campaigns in a very positive way,” he said.
Only last month, Njuguna and his group held a special diabetes awareness camp at Aspire, distributing brochures and even sharing them in Church. His six-member dance troupe is as much a window into African culture as another avenue to promote love for nature. “At the camp, we danced to traditional African music to encourage people to stay active and convey to them that sedentary lifestyle might invite diabetes,” Njuguna said.
To celebrate the power and potential of volunteerism on International Volunteer Day, Njuguna and his friends gathered the Kenyan community and told them of “the need to involve ourselves in community service” and take greater responsibility. That’s nothing new for Njuguna though. On all the weekends of October, Njuguna and his group swung into a voluntary breast cancer awareness campaign.
“To generate awareness, a Qatar Petroleum staffer named Hend Aleidan provided us brochures filled with crucial information on breast cancer,” Njuguna said, “I mobilised Kenyan ladies and we started meeting at Al Arabi Park every Friday afternoon. We then visited many others’ accommodation, briefed them about it, and handed brochures and even put some on the notice boards of the buildings. We even spread the word via social media.”
As the year comes to a close, Njuguna looks back fondly. “I have kept myself involved in some event or the other, every weekend. This helps me to learn new things and meet different people of different nationalities,” he said.
 Njuguna is greatly influenced by Wangari Maathai – Kenyan environmentalist, founder of the Green Belt Movement (GBM), and the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Last September, to mark her third death anniversary, Njuguna and some other Kenyans in Mesaieed planted trees to continue her legacy. Njuguna, a member of GBM which has planted more than 51mn trees in Kenya, had initiated the tree-planting drive at Mesaieed.
“Maathai had said that if we continue destroying our environment, nature will never forgive us. Be it climate change, soil erosion, pollution, or global warming, I have seen that happen. We are the ones causing it. But I try to show people that we are also the ones who have the solution,” Njuguna said.

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