Alex Kuria
@alexkuria.bsky.social
Research on the interaction of Africans, missionaries, church and education in Kenya between 1840 and 1970
Enjoy almost all sports + FPL
Coffee + Jazz = Bliss
Enjoy almost all sports + FPL
Coffee + Jazz = Bliss
Operational trials for the RAF Bristol Sycamore helicopter were done in Kenya in early 1955. It was then used on missions to evacuate casualties, of which two were inside the forest area. Taking off from then highs of 8,500 - 10,000 feet. [Kenya Weekly News Jan 28 1955 and UK Hansard Jun 22 1955]
December 12, 2025 at 12:07 PM
Operational trials for the RAF Bristol Sycamore helicopter were done in Kenya in early 1955. It was then used on missions to evacuate casualties, of which two were inside the forest area. Taking off from then highs of 8,500 - 10,000 feet. [Kenya Weekly News Jan 28 1955 and UK Hansard Jun 22 1955]
Thrilled to find the names of the students enrolled at Alliance High School (AHS) from 1926 - 1932. From a copy of the schools 1987 - 1988 Souvenir Magazine. AHS was the first secondary school for Africans in Kenya. It was established in 1926.
December 12, 2025 at 8:22 AM
Thrilled to find the names of the students enrolled at Alliance High School (AHS) from 1926 - 1932. From a copy of the schools 1987 - 1988 Souvenir Magazine. AHS was the first secondary school for Africans in Kenya. It was established in 1926.
'Preservation of Order by Night' an edict by Charles Eliot. HM Commissioner and Consul-General, Mombasa, EAP. [Sep 26, 1901] No ngoma, kinanda, maulidi, native dancing or drumming from 9pm - sunrise without a permit. In Mombasa, Lamu, Kismayu, Malindi, Takaungu and Rabai. Ngoma ya Pepo - 2 rupee 😱.
November 30, 2025 at 11:27 AM
'Preservation of Order by Night' an edict by Charles Eliot. HM Commissioner and Consul-General, Mombasa, EAP. [Sep 26, 1901] No ngoma, kinanda, maulidi, native dancing or drumming from 9pm - sunrise without a permit. In Mombasa, Lamu, Kismayu, Malindi, Takaungu and Rabai. Ngoma ya Pepo - 2 rupee 😱.
Sameni Ole Kivasis (aka Justin Lemenye (Ol-omeni)) was born in the late 1870s in Mandala near Lushoto, Tanzania. His childhood was filled with difficulty. Which led him to the CMS station at Moshi in 1892. He went to school there and then at the CMS Mahoo Boarding School in Taveta. (1/5)
November 27, 2025 at 8:47 AM
Sameni Ole Kivasis (aka Justin Lemenye (Ol-omeni)) was born in the late 1870s in Mandala near Lushoto, Tanzania. His childhood was filled with difficulty. Which led him to the CMS station at Moshi in 1892. He went to school there and then at the CMS Mahoo Boarding School in Taveta. (1/5)
The Taveta Chronicle was the first periodical published in East Africa. It was printed at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) station at Taveta. All the 25 editions from 1895 to 1901 are in this book version by Helen Averley.
November 25, 2025 at 11:59 AM
The Taveta Chronicle was the first periodical published in East Africa. It was printed at the Church Missionary Society (CMS) station at Taveta. All the 25 editions from 1895 to 1901 are in this book version by Helen Averley.
Heinz Tomato Ketchup advertisement in a Kenyan newspaper in January 1955
November 15, 2025 at 12:21 PM
Heinz Tomato Ketchup advertisement in a Kenyan newspaper in January 1955
Rebuilding Kikuyuland, The Scope And Purpose Of Close Administration, Measures to Solve the Agrarian Problem. By Jack Ensoll on page 24 of the Kenya Weekly News 1955 No. 1462 on February 4, 1955. The article includes the blueprint for the future Provincial Administration in Kenya.
November 15, 2025 at 10:21 AM
Rebuilding Kikuyuland, The Scope And Purpose Of Close Administration, Measures to Solve the Agrarian Problem. By Jack Ensoll on page 24 of the Kenya Weekly News 1955 No. 1462 on February 4, 1955. The article includes the blueprint for the future Provincial Administration in Kenya.
Now reading 'A Kenya Childhood' by Christine Nicholls. She lived in Kenya, with her family, between 1947 and 1960.
November 15, 2025 at 7:03 AM
Now reading 'A Kenya Childhood' by Christine Nicholls. She lived in Kenya, with her family, between 1947 and 1960.
This photo on page 50 of 'My Third Campaign in East Africa 1890' by William Salter Price (1898), has the caption Rev. W.H. Jones and Family. Thi photo was most likely made by Price in about 1889 and it looks like the same man seated far right in the photo in Strayer's book. [2/3]
October 1, 2025 at 9:11 AM
This photo on page 50 of 'My Third Campaign in East Africa 1890' by William Salter Price (1898), has the caption Rev. W.H. Jones and Family. Thi photo was most likely made by Price in about 1889 and it looks like the same man seated far right in the photo in Strayer's book. [2/3]
Photo 5 of Robert Strayer's book The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa, includes this caption - Mr & Mrs A. D. Shaw and Mission Agents at Rabai; among them Jonah Mitchell, seated far left and Jeremiah Mangi, standing centre. It does not identify William Henry Jones seated far right. [1/3]
October 1, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Photo 5 of Robert Strayer's book The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa, includes this caption - Mr & Mrs A. D. Shaw and Mission Agents at Rabai; among them Jonah Mitchell, seated far left and Jeremiah Mangi, standing centre. It does not identify William Henry Jones seated far right. [1/3]
Now reading The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa: Anglicans and Africans in Colonial Kenya, 1875–1935 by Robert W. Strayer. It was published in 1978.
October 1, 2025 at 8:27 AM
Now reading The Making of Mission Communities in East Africa: Anglicans and Africans in Colonial Kenya, 1875–1935 by Robert W. Strayer. It was published in 1978.
'An African Pastor (Rev. Wanyoike Kamawe) by Ernest N. Wanyoike' (1973) brought back to print in 'A Pioneer African Pastor - Rev. Wanyoike Kamawe - From Gospel Missionary Society (GMS) to PCEA, by Ernest N. Wanyoike'. Revised Edition by Amos Mwaura Njoroge and Rt. Rev. Thegu Mutahi (2024)
September 1, 2025 at 12:39 PM
'An African Pastor (Rev. Wanyoike Kamawe) by Ernest N. Wanyoike' (1973) brought back to print in 'A Pioneer African Pastor - Rev. Wanyoike Kamawe - From Gospel Missionary Society (GMS) to PCEA, by Ernest N. Wanyoike'. Revised Edition by Amos Mwaura Njoroge and Rt. Rev. Thegu Mutahi (2024)
Now reading 'Founding an African Faith: Kikuyu Anglican Christianity, 1900-1945', by John K. Karanja (1999). An excellent scholarly book, very well researched and yet easy to read. It is based on his Ph.D at the University of Cambridge.
July 13, 2025 at 6:32 AM
Now reading 'Founding an African Faith: Kikuyu Anglican Christianity, 1900-1945', by John K. Karanja (1999). An excellent scholarly book, very well researched and yet easy to read. It is based on his Ph.D at the University of Cambridge.
Chief Karuri wa Gakure c. 1907 portrait by William Scoresby Routledge. William and his wife Katherine Maria (nee Pease) researched and wrote the book 'With a Prehistoric People: The Kikuyu of British East Africa' published in 1910.
July 12, 2025 at 1:25 PM
Chief Karuri wa Gakure c. 1907 portrait by William Scoresby Routledge. William and his wife Katherine Maria (nee Pease) researched and wrote the book 'With a Prehistoric People: The Kikuyu of British East Africa' published in 1910.
Ludwig Krapf began the translation of the Bible into Swahili in 1844 with the help of a Muslim scholar in Mombasa. The first three chapters of Genesis were published in the Proceedings of the American Oriental Society (Vol 1) in 1851.
"Genesis 1:1 Mooanzo alioomba Mooigniazimoongo oowingo na n'te."
"Genesis 1:1 Mooanzo alioomba Mooigniazimoongo oowingo na n'te."
July 6, 2025 at 10:05 AM
Ludwig Krapf began the translation of the Bible into Swahili in 1844 with the help of a Muslim scholar in Mombasa. The first three chapters of Genesis were published in the Proceedings of the American Oriental Society (Vol 1) in 1851.
"Genesis 1:1 Mooanzo alioomba Mooigniazimoongo oowingo na n'te."
"Genesis 1:1 Mooanzo alioomba Mooigniazimoongo oowingo na n'te."
Proper cold July day by Kenyan standards. Overcast all morning and 18°C at 12.54 PM
July 5, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Proper cold July day by Kenyan standards. Overcast all morning and 18°C at 12.54 PM
Bombax (Chorisia Tree)
Photos taken on 22 Jun 2025 and Mar 30, 2025.
Photos taken on 22 Jun 2025 and Mar 30, 2025.
June 23, 2025 at 9:22 AM
Bombax (Chorisia Tree)
Photos taken on 22 Jun 2025 and Mar 30, 2025.
Photos taken on 22 Jun 2025 and Mar 30, 2025.
Bun & Beef make burgers my youngest daughter really likes. Their packaging lists their social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Not sure if this is based on the profile of their customers or just the preference of the owners of Bun & Beef 🤔
June 23, 2025 at 9:11 AM
Bun & Beef make burgers my youngest daughter really likes. Their packaging lists their social media accounts on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Not sure if this is based on the profile of their customers or just the preference of the owners of Bun & Beef 🤔
Two hours of rain on Friday afternoon = drama on Nairobi roads at 5.02 pm
June 21, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Two hours of rain on Friday afternoon = drama on Nairobi roads at 5.02 pm
William Price, CMS missionary, was one of the first photographers in present day Kenya. He wrote in Jan 1875, of setting up his 'photo apparatus' to get some photos. Like this one of an unfinished house in which Rebmann had lived from 1861 or 1863 in Rabai, at the CMS mission station.
June 21, 2025 at 8:47 AM
William Price, CMS missionary, was one of the first photographers in present day Kenya. He wrote in Jan 1875, of setting up his 'photo apparatus' to get some photos. Like this one of an unfinished house in which Rebmann had lived from 1861 or 1863 in Rabai, at the CMS mission station.
Heavier rainfall than usual in Kilifi and Mombasa this year, which is great for farmers. The main water body in the photos is the Tudor Creek, with Mombasa Island in the background. From 1850 to 1900 CMS missionaries used boats on this creek when travelling from Mombasa or Frere Town to Rabai.
June 14, 2025 at 6:35 AM
Heavier rainfall than usual in Kilifi and Mombasa this year, which is great for farmers. The main water body in the photos is the Tudor Creek, with Mombasa Island in the background. From 1850 to 1900 CMS missionaries used boats on this creek when travelling from Mombasa or Frere Town to Rabai.
In 1874 Queen Victoria expressed a wish to see Jacob Wainwright, David Livingstone's 'faithful African servant'. Jacob was taken by a Secretary of the CMS to Windsor Castle. She presented him with an autographed copy of her book, 'Our Life in the Highlands'. Jacob was one of the Bombay Africans.
June 2, 2025 at 9:57 AM
In 1874 Queen Victoria expressed a wish to see Jacob Wainwright, David Livingstone's 'faithful African servant'. Jacob was taken by a Secretary of the CMS to Windsor Castle. She presented him with an autographed copy of her book, 'Our Life in the Highlands'. Jacob was one of the Bombay Africans.
Nyondo returned to his wife Polly in Rabai. She and her sister Priscilla, were 'Bombay Africans' - freed from slavery on the Indian Ocean as children, educated and raised as Christians in Bombay. They and two other couples were sent by the CMS to Rabai in 1864 to assist Rebmann. (3/3)
May 24, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Nyondo returned to his wife Polly in Rabai. She and her sister Priscilla, were 'Bombay Africans' - freed from slavery on the Indian Ocean as children, educated and raised as Christians in Bombay. They and two other couples were sent by the CMS to Rabai in 1864 to assist Rebmann. (3/3)
Now reading 'Johannes Rebmann; A Servant of God in Africa Before the Rise of Western Colonialism' by Steven Paas. The other man on the cover is Isaac Nyondo, the son of Abraham Abbe Gunga, the second person to become a Christian in Rabai. (1/3)
May 24, 2025 at 9:54 AM
Now reading 'Johannes Rebmann; A Servant of God in Africa Before the Rise of Western Colonialism' by Steven Paas. The other man on the cover is Isaac Nyondo, the son of Abraham Abbe Gunga, the second person to become a Christian in Rabai. (1/3)
Martyn Percy who wrote the book 'The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England'
May 13, 2025 at 8:32 AM
Martyn Percy who wrote the book 'The Crisis of Colonial Anglicanism: Empire, Slavery and Revolt in the Church of England'