On Monday April 8th, just after dusk on a crowded road near my flat in Upanga, Dar es Salaam, a man was shot dead. A man that survived the 1982 bakery fire in Moshi, which killed my grandfather. A man that I conversed with every day after early morning prayers. One shot to the heart, […]
I lost my phone. I suppose it was inevitable at some point to lose a phone in East Africa. I just didn’t think it would happen to me. And to my Blackberry. So today, after surviving only two days of complete disconnection to the world in the phone-dependent hub of Dar es Salaam, I decided to buy […]
Two years ago today, I endlessly searched my then-‘home’ of Mombasa, Kenya for the slightest sign of Valentine’s Day, and unfortunately came up empty handed. Ili kwa kuweida kama leo: (http://sabrinapremji.com/2011/02/18/valentines-day-is-not-a-real-holiday/). A year ago, I was in full day meetings in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania to develop a project implementation plan for a maternal and […]
The time had come. This was it. A new chapter. A new beginning. I stepped off the plane onto the platform of Julius Nyerere Airport and could instantly feel the heat envelope my body – a welcomed change from the minus 20 degree Canadian cold I had left. I quickened my pace through the airport, […]
On Sunday March 18th, while the rest of the world was in bed recovering from St. Patty’s Day partying, 50 students were in a lecture theatre at the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, talking about social development. The Build-a-Change Symposium, an initiative developed by Smart Solutions Inc., challenged students to brainstorm ideas to real-world […]
…not knowing where the dead rat is. I can sadly say this with conviction, for I have been joined by a family of rats over the last week in my Nairobi flat. Big, black, furry rodents with tails that double their size. As I worked at the dining room table, I could see them stirring […]
For the last 6 months, I have spent countless hours looking at social innovations in primary health care settings in Kenya. I have come across leading organizations harnessing the capabilities of entrepreneurs in rural communities. I have read case studies on the next ‘big thing’ in water purification, alternative energy and agriculture, and listened to […]
As I grapple this year with setting New Year’s resolutions, the crux of confusion lies not in what I want to do, but rather in who I want to be. Perhaps fittingly after living in East Africa for the last year, the antidote to my befuddlement lies hidden amongst the vast plains and treetops of […]
A moment. It is the smallest possible denominator in life. We plan our lives in years, we set goals based on months, we have to-do lists by the day, but everything eventually comes down to the moment. Life is an endless string of moments and I have a tendency to get swept away in them. […]
We all have flaws. Small imperfections built into our design plan. They tend to teach us something, or help us grow in some way – and for the most part, are innocuous by nature. But we also all have the flaw, that one glitch in our DNA that holds us back from becoming the people […]
My name is Sabrina Natasha Premji and I am a lottery winner. The genetic lottery, that is. I am a 23-year old woman born and raised in Toronto, Canada. I grew up playing t-ball in a recreational league and going to pottery classes after school. I have had access to good quality education and health […]
One year ago, I sat in the Amsterdam airport, hours away from beginning an 8-month journey in Kenya through the Aga Khan Foundation Canada International Development Management Fellowship programme. I was anxious, I was scared, I was excited by the possibilities. One year ago, I was sitting in the Amsterdam airport reading the introductory sections […]
After living in Africa for nearly a year, there are very few things that phase me. Even without electricity, air conditioning and running water, life always seems to sort itself out. Just like Robert Frost said “In three words, I can sum up everything I’ve learned about life: it goes on.” I suppose Frost’s mantra […]
My feet were soaking wet; my toes covered in mud. My meticulously straightened hair lay curly and damp on my shoulders, already beginning to frizz. Just as I was approaching the gates of my work, a tuk tuk raced by, splashing puddles of water across my newly washed dress pants. Pants that were just two […]
Dear Mr. Matatu Man, I wait for you longingly Along the side of the road. For minutes or sometimes longer With my heavy workbag load. You operate without a schedule, And have trouble keeping time. As I wait, I curse with malice Words unrepeatable in this rhyme. But then I hear your music Reverberate through […]
The sounds coming from the village were deafening. The screams of young children could be heard from miles away. They reverberated through the vast fields and were enough to send chills down your spine. Young infants were being poked and prodded in all directions. By the sounds of it, an extortion of catastrophic means could […]
Ili kwa kuweida kama leo. It was like any other day. But it shouldn’t have been. It was Valentine’s Day, and in my books, that’s one special day. Sure, you can argue Valentine’s is a capitalist ploy to generate revenue and stimulate the economy. Sure, it’s a Hallmark invention which has spawned a cult known […]
I was sitting at a bar this past Saturday afternoon. This is a bar I’ve come to frequent quite regularly – partly because their passion juice is divine and partly because Francis the bartender encourages my feeble attempts at engaging in bar talk in Swahili (bar talk is hard enough in English when you don’t […]
I am sitting in the courtyard of the Aga Khan Hospital over my lunch hour scrounging down fresh chips with masala spices – a house speciality! Laptop in hand, I had intended to document more tales of being a young Canadian almost-woman living on the other side of the world…housemaid-less. But instead, a boy came […]
When I was a little girl, my dad used to take me to the horseracing track. We would sit for hours surveying horses pre-competition, picking the ones with the best odds (or I admit, the best names) and root for our favourites til the sun went down. Those hot summer days on the track taught […]
I really like the start of a new year. There’s something liberating about having a completely fresh start; to resolve to do the things you haven’t made time to do (or recover from the things you shouldn’t have done during the break prior!). And every year, there are a few of those sneaky resolutions that […]
I woke up one morning last week and it hit me like a stack of textbooks to the head – I’m in Africa. Three simple words, and yet somehow they rang to a different tune last week. I’m in Africa. No longer a tourist nor an eager graduate wanting to check off ‘see Africa’ on […]
I love Mombasa – the people, the language, the culture, the heat. Everything about this place radiates happiness. But after 10 weeks in Africa, I was craving a soft bed, laundered clothes, a hot shower and most of all, a salad. So I packed my bags and flew to Dubai for a week, no passing […]
Nashukuru. Definitely my most favourite word in Swahili. I love the way it rolls off your tongue – nashukuru. I love the way it instantly grounds you and puts life into perspective. It’s one of those words that cannot be said, but rather must be felt with every part of your being. Nashukuru means ‘I […]
I am a firm believer in the power of a well put-together outfit. After all, a slipper can land you a husband (Cinderella taught us that!), a cloak can solemnly keep you up to no good (think Harry Potter!) and after last week’s events, I’m certain that a ring can indeed combat an entire army […]
For as long as I’ve known him, my brother has been an exceptional hockey goalie. Some of my fondest childhood memories are watching him slide across the crease, making spectacular glove saves, stopping every puck that came his way. Whether it was six o’clock in the morning or eleven o’clock at night, when Shayne suited […]
Every hero has a signature superpower – his claim to fame that takes him from geek to God. Spiderman has his spidey-sense, Superman can move faster than the speed of light, Jack Bauer is just Jack Bauer, and Batman – well, it’s a toss up between the Batmobile and his well-fitting tights. Although nowhere near […]
I am sitting at a departure gate in the Moi International Airport in Mombasa waiting to board my flight back to Nairobi. My 3 week old Birks sit tired on the ground beside me, beaten and scathed from hiking through rural Kenyan villages. My hair is curly and dishevelled from the humidity – a trademark […]
You know that feeling when life is moving way too quickly and you’d do anything to make time stop? Here’s the fine print they forget to tell you about – when your world stops, everyone else’s keeps moving. You remain static, you stop growing. And what is life without CANI: constant and never-ending improvement? That’s […]
Hello world! I had promised myself I’d hold off on blogging until I was on the other side of the world. Seems a tad pointless to be telling the world the happenings of your life when you’re still in the same province! But these last 3 weeks in Ottawa have been so transformative, it would […]
