Last Thursday I took my girls to Nabongo Cultural Centre in Mumias to study about the Luhya culture. I wanted to encourage them to trace their roots because we have been covering the theme "Who Am I?".

The girls are learning. The kingdom first existed in Egypt, moved across Sahara to what presently is Cameroun, traversed Sahel to Ethiopia, and from there moved to present Kenya and Uganda.

Nabongo Kingom existed right before being annexed under colonial British rule, the area in East African Rift Valley from River Nile and Lake Victoria, along the border of Ethiopian Empire, and in South along the Northern Masailand to Naivasha and Aberdares. The kingdom ruled through monarchy, councils of elders in the subjugated tribes and provinces, and a supreme court which settled all matters.

We are seated in a traditional hut. It has clay walls, and a grass-thatched roof supported with wooden poles. It is a chief's or a nobleman's hut, where traditionally receptions take place.

The girls eating their picnic lunch

Going on this trip allowed the girls to have some time away from the normal routines of school and work, and breathe a different kind of air. Some of these girls have never been anywhere else but their homes and school. It was an amazing experience.

Written by Rose Mureka, Girls Club Facilitator in Bungoma, Kenya