The unit detailing life on the urban fringe of Nairobi is essentially the work of Olita Ogonjo. He took all the photos and later explained them to me. All I contributed was a camera or two and a list of the images I needed. The photographs he was able to collect reflect the community’s trust in one who had long since identified himself with their just desire for improved living conditions. As a visitor from a very different world I could not have taken them myself. And Olita was also able to update my coverage of conditions in northern Kenya among the Samburu and their neighbours – and provide additional pictures.

I flew to Kenya in August 1982  -- when the residences of my university in Brisbane were commandeered for athletes competing in the Commonwealth Games. I spent two months among pastoral tribes in the north, courtesy of the Rural Development Centre at Maralal, and visited a number of Samburu settlements within walking distance of the town. In the account that follows the lines between the cultures of the Samburu in the north and the Maasai in the south have been blurred because they have so much in common.

I followed this up with two months in the Western District courtesy of Richard Ong’anda, principal of the school at Ingotse and a former student of mine in Canada. With his home as my base I was able to spend time with several different families, notably the Mudanyis. After that I invested several rolls of film and a great deal of energy in documenting the zonation of vegetation types on Mount Kenya (from tropical forest to snow-capped peaks) before I left Kenya for the Sahara.

• The Origin of Cattle
• The Women's Cattle
• Elephant and Hare
• Two Brothers Who Were Friends
• The Girls of the Knee
• A Woman's Prayer Song
• Why People Have to Dig
• Why Zebras Have Stripes
• The Story of Kalisanga and Kaliteyo

• Chai (tea)
• Uji (porridge)
• Njugu Karanga (peanuts)
• Viazi Vitamu (sweet potato)
• Githeri (maize and beans) 
• Chapati (pancake)
• Ugali (a stiffer form of porridge)
• Wali (rice)
• Mchicha (spinach)
• Maboga Machanga (pumpkin)
• Maharagwe Makavu (dry bean stew)
• Nyama Chemsha (meat stew)
• Nyama Karanga (fried meat)
• Samaki Chemsha (fresh fish stew)
• Muduya Mix (mashed potatoes with beans)