THESE FLAMINGOES TRAVEL ALL OVER EAST AFRICA AND NOW YOU CAN SEE THEM FROM OSIRI BEACH

One more reason you should tour Osiri Beach Resort, Homa Bay County: the flamingoes are back and they long to be domesticated in homes! These flamingoes come with tales from Lake Natron in Tanzania, Lake Nakuru and many other places. According to the Luo myth, they are the domestic fowls that the Lady of the Lake (Nyanam) turned into wild birds as the Simbi village was being sunk as punishment for her slighting. But they have a photographic memory of where they came from, and so return often to Simbi and the outlying villages. Do they want to be domestic fowls again? Probably, judging by how close they are to the houses. The last time, they were here was in April this year. If you come to Osiri, we can perform for you the story of Simbi Nyaima.

Lake Simbi, also known as Simbi Nyaima, is scientifically a crater lake, but mythically a drowned village, whose domestic fowls turned into flamingos and other water birds currently resident there. Tradition has it that Min Koth or Nyar Nam from the Lake Lolwe (Victoria) wanted to bestow the power of rainmaking to the people. From the Womb of the Lake she came disguised as a hag and went to find the Simbi village in festive mood. But the people did not welcome her, for her sorry state. She was only welcomed by a widow, whom she advised to accompany her for she would destroy the village with floods. She caused a storm which drowned the village. In one version, she takes the rain-making power to another people, known as the joka- Nganyi, hence the saying, Sunga Joluo nomiyo koth odhi ne joka-Nganyi (The pride of the Luos made them lose the power of rain-making to the Nganyi people.)

THE SEVEN THINGS THAT ATTRACT THE SUCCESSFUL

The seven things that attract the successful to Osiri Beach Resort:

Why chances are that if you are not already successful then you are on the sure road to success if you visit

Well, it happens that the measure of success can even be found in the places you visit, like Osiri Beach Resort and Adventures. This affordable place, accessible to the ordinary person, is a hide-out as well as breeding ground for the successful. Probably, you may decide to test this fact by visiting Osiri Beach, Homa Bay County, this week-end. Problem is that by the time you decide, chances are that you are already a successful person, or having the germ of success.

There are hundreds, but here are some seven things that successful

people do, and why they choose to visit Osiri Beach Resort and Adventures.

Recharging

We live in a busy world, and sometimes the stress of this may just burn you up and out. How then do you recharge? Get to a place where you can just watch a large mass of water and the waves rising and falling and then literally washing away your stress. Whether stressed or not, the recharging still takes place in amazing ways. The magic of water is that your body is 70% water, and so you are actually an aquatic animal. You feel best when you are at Osiri Beach cottages, or on the canoes or just on the hill watching the scenic Lake Victoria, the landscapes and soundcapes around it. It is part of what you’ll discover is a therapeutic experience.

Disconnecting, and reconnecting

The most successful people need time, especially the week-ends, to disconnect with the mundane and technology, and at the same time, reconnect with the vital links in nature and society. Osiri Beach cottages and Osiri Botanic Garden, formerly the abode of magicians, stretching from the hill to the beaches, is just the right place to reconnect with nature, and super nature, if you like. Sports, professional, intellectual and spiritual people come here because they find this place is most ideal for a profound self-dissection and reflection. The inventors, discoverers and the thinkers come for their own activities as well as for nature walks, canoe rides, bird watching, sports and to reconnect with villagers, if they like. There are even Inspiration Trees in the resort compound and also on the hill.

Exercising

Successful people know that exercise is just as important as taking meals, and so they come to Osiri to do it in various ways. First, exercise is a must in Osiri, because when walking here, you are either climbing up or down, an exercise that will always leave you trim, even if you indulge. But there are more real exercises, like rowing a boat, mountain climbing, taking a plunge in the deep waters, beach volley ball, cycling, jogging, walking…the list is endless. There are also, within the compound, exercise tracks that will take you steeply up and downhill and burn up the extra fat you don’t need.

Socialising

We are social animals; that’s our nature and you go against it at your own peril. Osiri Beach Resort is itself a cultural centre, and also next to a cultural and educational centre run by a CBO and an NGO. Here you are at your best engaging in dances, songs, chants and connecting with some of the most sociable people on the planet. The Luos here have a great sense of the community and will not hesitate to adopt you, and even claim you as one of their own, if you like.

Successful people know the importance of socializing, from the family down to the society. And so they come to Osiri Beach, Homa Bay County, with their families, friends or relatives, for quality time; sometimes they return, having adopted some more family members.

Pursuing a Hobby

Successful people always get into the passion they pursue didligently. There are drummers, singers, farmers, fishermen and writers here at Osiri Beach Resort, and also at the nearby cultural centre, willing to impart to you their knowledge for free. There is also a library, small but well stocked with significant books that you may not find anywhere else in East Africa. Just to show you the importance of the library, half of the books in this bbc site: http://www.listchallenges.com/kaunismina-bbc-6-books-challenge?ref, like The Chronicles of Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Madame Bovary, War and Peace, Winnie the Pooh, The Kite Runner, the Harry Potter series, Life of Pi, and are found at Osiri Beach Library. Many more books in the African canon, like Things Fall Apart, Mhudi, The Ozidi Saga, The Epic of Gor Mahia, A Grain of Wheat, So Long a Letter, Nervous Conditions, Song of Lawino, Song of Be are also found in this library, and you can connect to the internet for more. Reading is fun in this wilderness, and you can do it on the lake, under a tree, in the sand, or in your room. Writer Adrian Onyando spends almost all his week-ends in this hide-out, minting words and ready to help someone else do the same.

Romance

Romantic love can greatly extend the lifespan of those involved in it. Unfortunately, romantic love itself has a very short lifespan. Its average lifespan for humans is one year. But it has been proven beyond any reasonable doubt that visiting some places can extend this span forever. How do they do it? Many answers, but one is: adventure. Osiri Beach is one such place for adventure; even the lovebirds (real birds and humans) have made it their residence. Couples pack up and come to this blessed wilderness.

Volunteering

Do you know that charity can be fun? And iit is also healthy according to Oprah Winfrey. Just by spending a holiday in an African village, you could be assisting some students go to school besides many other things. How? Because Osiri Beach Resort—through its activities in camping, culture, sports, farming and hospitality—helps fund the projects of Osiri Beach Education and Career Forum and Education Help Foundation, two orgnisations that help to rid this part of the world of poverty, ignorance, disease and despair. 

So would you like to spend your week-end or holiday making a lasting impact on community education, health and development in rural villages in sub-Saharan Africa? Have you always wanted to experience and learn about the culture, nature, sports and landscapes of the African Great Lakes region? Do you like adventure and eco experiences?

If so, please consider staying at Osiri Beach Resort sooner rather than later. There are special rates for volunteers and charities. A volunteer need not be a conventional one coming to stay here for some time. It may even be someone who has got an experience or a skill to share for  even a day. Just phone the contact and say, ‘Hi, I’d like to volunteer at Osiri Beach.’

Contact: call +254722690603; e-mail: osiribeach@gmail.com.

Osiri Beach Resort and Adventures

Hotel and Adventure Village

On Lake Victoria

Osiri Beach Resort and Adventures

offers luxury accommodation and camping facilities on the shores of Lake Victoria. Situated six kilometres north-east of Homa Bay town, it overlooks the whole Winam Gulf and the Huma Mountain, the highest peak on Lake Victoria.

The complex consists of tents, rooms, self-catering units, furnished lounge, bar and dining area.

 The beach is host to rare species of water plants and birds, reptiles, hippos and occasional crocodiles.

Safaris--including Lake Victoria beach trek--across or around the Lake are offered.

Nature walks, picnics, mountain climbing (mount Huma), canoeing, cultural festivals and tours in the nearby villages are special activities at the hotel.

Either, you can relax and watch the special Osiri adventures and sports, including Lwenj Nam (the Battle on the Lake), Orindi-ni-chik! (water polevault), Tero Buru (a cultural reenactment), Ox racing--dangerous but sweet, swimming with the crocodiles and how to ride a hippo! Or you can get involved.

Special offers include the Luo dances and songs, tero buru, drama, customs, arts and crafts, the story-time in the famous Story Museum, the only museum of its kind in Africa.

Sporting activities, such as beach volleyball, boat racing, and fishing are offered.

Exclusively Osirian is the water bike racing (the only one of its kind in the world).

Plus the village camp sites nearby.

Visits to the Ruma National Park (25 km away, home to the rare Rhone antelope), the mythical Simbi Nyaima crater lake and home to flamingoes (16 km away), the Mount Huma and its hot springs (10 km away), Koguta swamp (15 km away, home to rare sitatunga) and to any of the many Lake Victoria islands (the nearest is 10 km away) can be arranged.

Osiri Botanic Beach Garden is one proud part of Osiri Beach Resort/Osiri Beach Adventures. It stretches from the Osiri Hill, the hill of the magicians, to the Osiri beach, which hosted the legendary extinct lukwata beasts.

As a place where only magicians used to reside, the garden is home to medicinal plants and rare, unclassified tree and animal species that are endemic to Osiri (i.e. they grow natural

ly only in Osiri and may be found nowhere else).  Above all, it is the only garden where indigenous flowers in great diversity, are preserved. It is ideal for a retreat, its tree shades and rocks are shrines where, Adrian Onyando got inspiration to write his famous stories. There is even an Inspiration Tree there!

How far must you go to find real solitude? Not farther that the Osiri Botanic Beach Garden. Only the singing of birds and the stunning beauty of the Lake and landscape may be a distraction. 

A viewing deck on top of the hill provides a panoramic view of the Lake and the famous golden sunset on its waters.

Tugo-The Osiri Beach Festival 2012: A Unique Festival on Lake Victoria! Featuring: Performances, reading parties, exhibitions, book launches, nature trails, and heritage shows

Tugo—The Osiri Beach Festival (28-31 December 2012) will officially be opened on the 29^th December 2012. As usual, it will be quite a unique affair featuring traditional sports, performances and drama, discussions and exhibitions as well as artist delegations from all districts in Kenya. This will be the only festival in Kenya and probably in Africa that revives and showcases traditional African sports like swimming with hippos, and performances like the creation procession and the Luo tero buru. Tours of the Winam Gulf of Lake Victoria (including a visit to the Ruma Natinal Park, the prehistoric walls—some of which are at Osiri Hill, the mythical landscapes, Obama’s Kogelo Village) will be available at any time, but must be prearranged with OSBECARF. We strongly urge you to go and see at least some of the events. Staying at Osiri Beach cottages is highly recommended. Enquiries at: osiribeach@gmail.com  or addyonyando@yahoo.com. Please ask for the calendar of events for the Osiri Beach Festival courtesy of Osiri Beach Education and Career Forum (OSBECARF).

About OSBECARF and 2012 Festival

Osiri Beach Education and Career Forum (OSBECARF), a registered CBO that seeks to rid this part of the world of poverty, ignorance and despair (and to that effect has already sponsored over 100 students in schools and colleges with the help of IBBY Finland, Utdanningshjelpen, Pangolin Publishers Ltd and individual sponsors.
The December 2012 festival is special as it will be celebrated under the theme: Culture for Literacy and Global Cooperation. There will be book launches, reading parties and celebration of education in general. In the full glare of nature—the flora and fauna—we shall also climb Mount Huma  as one fundraising activity for the Osiri girls, who will be for the first time—FOR THE FIRST TIME—attending college.

Come one, come all!

Acknowlwdgements

We fondly acknowledge all our sponsors and supporters for this annual event, namely, IBBY Finland, Utdanningshjelpen, Pangolin Publishers Ltd., Hon Martin Ogindo, Mr Isaiah Ogwe,  Mr Achacha of Wiobiero Secondary School, Mr Jasper Oduor, Dr Caleb Mireri of Kenyatta University and Professor Meshack Owino of USA.

Osiri pays tribute to Her Excellency Elisabeth Jacobsen, and Ann-Kari, the two ladies who have made history by being the first diplomats to visit Osiri. They had the courage to tread this remote corner which is not even on any map.

We pay tribute to Maija Karjalainen of IBBY Finland for raising the profile of Osiri girls who would not have seen the inside of a classroom, let alone secondary and college, without the help of IBBY Finland.

We thank Felix Omondi Osok and the Utdasnningshjelpen group, who have always attended the Festival and fundraised school fees for our students.

Some Highlights

Lake Victroria is the most conspicuous landmark at Osiri. Aiti-Maija of IBBY Finland has always exclaimed about it: ‘Ihaana!’ meaning more than the English word, ‘wonderful’. Her Excellency, Elisabeth Jacobsen said that Osiri has ‘the view’. Actually Lake Victoria is the largest fresh water lake in Africa, and the second largest in the world. It is home to the first humans, especially on Rusinga Island and at the foot of Mount Huma, where the remains of the first human-like creatures have been found. 

Osiri Beach, though not on any political map, is conspicuous in the mythical map of the Luo people. The beach and hill were residences for some reclusive magicians who left in a huff when other groups of people joined them—in their estimation, they were invaded. This sordid tale involving the burying alive of an old woman, lightning strikes, and the scattering of seeds of beautiful flowers is told to guests under the breeze-breathing Inspiration Tree on Osiri Hill. The visible marks of these magicians are the many medicinal, magical plants and animals and ruins of stone houses and enclosures that can still be seen in Osiri today. Osiri in this instance is closely linked to the prehistoric sites like Thim Lich Ohinga stone walls in southern Nyanza.

The Global Bay University, Osiri

The Luo epic hero, Gor Mahia, is reputed to have rowed in a dug-out canoe up to the Osiri (Mawigo) headland and proclaimed that ‘something big’ would happen here. At that time, it was unimaginable that something important would happen there, unless the crocodile and hippo attacks and the presence of the mythical lukwata beasts were any events to take note of. Well, since then things have happened, but would they rival the TUGO? Only one thing whose vision was launched in 2010 at Osiri: The Global Bay University.
TUGO—the OSIRI BEACH FESTIVAL is now scheduled for December of every year, depending on the availability of funds. Mini-festivals and cultural researches can also be arranged for visitors at any one time. . Already, university students, like Egerton University students of folklore and literature, primary and secondary schools, have since visited Osiri and had a special Festival organized for them. The proceeds from the Festival will go towards educating the needy students of Osiri.  Enquiries can be made at: E-mails: addyonyando@yahoo.com or osiribeach@gmail.com. Cellphone: +254722690603.