MBT PASII

 

MBT PASII

By Jeremy Leariwala

Schooling in MBT was, always, an enviable privilege! I was only 17 years old when I set foot on the magical land of MBT (Short for Marsabit). But recently, many years later, my work took me back there.

As a dream destination, MBT has quite a lot to offer. The town sits atop Marsabit Mountain in a picturesque location surrounded by the forest. Inside its national park, a short drive away, is the iconic ‘Lake Paradise’, with its different species of butterflies, birdlife and wildlife. The Kenyan Camper talks more of this. Historically, an elephant named ‘Ahmed’, renowned for its tusks, lived here. Legends say that ‘Ahmed’ (King of Marsabit), might have been the only animal, ever, to be accorded VIP protection for its significance. Then again, MBT is richly endowed with diverse cultures: it is here that I first met/interacted with members of the Shangila and El-molo communities.

Photo by The Kenyan Camper

 

Now, about my tour of duty, we cruised through the town in a ford-ranger, thrilled to be back again. The damp, misty air, heavy with the scent of algae-clad trees, was however missing. The pestering, brownish mud of the backstreets wasn’t there too. But the old roads; with their new tarmac cover, streetlights and pavements, gave the town a new, exotic image of some sort.

Come evening and I thought of taking a stroll; just to relive my high school memories, I nearly lost my way. The old-formerly outstanding structures, now dwarfed by the newer ones, were hardly recognizable.

Then I came across an aerial photograph, online, by ArtBeat Photography Kenya. What a shot!

Photo: ArtBeat Photography Kenya.

I walked 24 kilometres, from my school and back, to this stadium, to attend prize giving ceremonies or to ride a bicycle at 1.00 shillings per minute on Sundays. This picture stirred the nostalgic memories of those wonderful days in MBT. Such a beautiful place...