Maskini Jeuri: Broke by Admission, Wealthy in Audacity
An illustration of the modern day Relationships. Image/AI Generated. A few days ago, I came across a WhatsApp exchange that forced me to put my phone down, drink water and reconsider everything I thought I knew about poverty. I have encountered broke people before. In Kenya, being broke is not exactly breaking news. It is practically a national weather condition. You can wake up financially stable on Monday, then by Wednesday a relative falls sick, school fees become urgent, your car develops a gearbox problem and the landlord sends that deceptively peaceful message: > “Good morning.” By Friday, your bank balance looks like the last three digits of a phone number. So being broke was not the issue. What shocked me was the confidence with which this particular poverty conducted itself. The lady in the conversation casually described herself as: > “Mh nae ni maskini jeuri.” A maskini jeuri. A stubborn poor woman. Broke, but unwilling to let insufficient fun...