Paukwa? Pakawa!
Paukwa is a place dedicated to positive stories about Kenya. Our story house is named for the Swahili word that is an invitation to a story – Paukwa. It’s an age- old term, well known across East Africa. Paukwa invites one to remember the joy of stories from their childhood days and to get lost in new, familiar or unknown ideas about the daily things that surround us.
Each day ordinary Kenyans are pushing our nation forward. As volunteers, as SME owners, as creatives, teachers, farmers, counsellors, techwizards and more. There is a bigger story as they build our nation each day through their tenacity, hard work, positive attitude, search for excellence, and sheer hustle.
Through their efforts we all grow.
At Paukwa, we shine a spotlight on the everyday builders of our nation and the history we almost forgot.
This digital storybank celebrates memory, culture, modernity, but most of all, the positive. Dive in and discover a story of Kenya you didn’t know you never knew!
#KeHospitals
Healthcare is the very pulse of a nation, and the facilities in which this service is delivered reflect a country’s commitment to the well-being of its people. Kenya’s healthcare industry has grown in leaps and bounds. However, like the gnarled roots of a mighty tree, its foundation extends to a past where access and equality were far from assured. The colonial era was characterized by the stratification of health
Paukwa? Pakawa!
Paukwa is a place dedicated to positive stories about Kenya. Our story house is named for the Swahili word that is an invitation to a story – Paukwa. It’s an age- old term, well known across East Africa. Paukwa invites one to remember the joy of stories from their childhood days and to get lost in new, familiar or unknown ideas about the daily things that surround us.
Each day ordinary Kenyans are pushing our nation forward. As volunteers, as SME owners, as creatives, teachers, farmers, counsellors, techwizards and more. There is a bigger story as they build our nation each day through their tenacity, hard work, positive attitude, search for excellence, and sheer hustle.
Through their efforts we all grow.
At Paukwa, we shine a spotlight on the everyday builders of our nation and the history we almost forgot.
This digital storybank celebrates memory, culture, modernity, but most of all, the positive. Dive in and discover a story of Kenya you didn’t know you never knew!
#KeReads
There is nothing we love more than a well told story. At Paukwa we are enamored by the power stories have to shape our aspirations, take us to new worlds, open up unexpected realities or simply enable us to disappear from our daily lives. Stories build us, give us hope and spark our imagination. The 23rd of April is #WorldBookDay and in honour of all the writers that help us
Remember the story of...
Surviving The Tsavo
If you had told me that I would become famous, I wouldn’t have believed you. What for? All Ghost and I ever did was try to survive. But now we are studied around the country, the continent, and even scholars and historians from around the world use us as case studies. I’ll admit, some of the stories written are funny, others are outright disrespectful – why hate on lions when...
Our audio stories
A note from our team
CULTURE AND HERITAGE
One of our favourite things about writing stories at Paukwa is that there’s always something new to learn about Kenya. Sometimes it's through retelling the narratives that we have come to accept, and other times it's just about appreciating the people and the places that make us proud. We’re constantly challenging the norms and asking ourselves how we can celebrate different facets of Kenyan history and culture. Through our #OnlyInKenya story series, we learnt that one of the reasons that Kenyan communities told stories was to explain the unexplainable. Take the Crying Stone for instance, Ikhongo Murwi. The Luhya community has a story that explains why it cries from time to time. Creativity at its best, we’d say. And that’s just one of many incredible stories from Western Kenya. There are more of those in Paukwa’s repository which have been specially curated to spotlight trailblazers, hidden gems, and creations that hail from this region.
TEAM PAUKWA
A note from our team
LUGHA ZETU
Languages are the vibrant threads that weave together the tapestry of human existence. They are the essence of communication, connecting individuals and communities, while also serving as the key to preserving culture, heritage, and knowledge. African languages have long been underappreciated and overshadowed by colonial ones. However, times are changing, and with increasing efforts to promote cultural diversity and inclusivity, they are finally gaining the recognition they truly deserve. Kiswahili, in particular, has emerged as a leading example of this linguistic renaissance. At Paukwa, we have long been champions of different facts of Kenyan culture. Through #KeProverbs and #MisemoYetu we celebrate the rich diversity of our linguistic heritage.
TEAM PAUKWA
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