Embu College Campus Magazine

Morning y'all,
It has been long since I posted here.... Eagles' club, formerly Journalism Club, during this May-August semester, we'll be totally engaged in projects. Most important of all is the Embu College Campus magazine, which we started working on in 2009. This year, we're working double time to ensure that it all works out.
The magazine will be all about the college and it's environs. Get to see what Embu College is about, but one thing for sure, you'll be the first to view the magazine, right here in eaglesclub.blogspot.com
Keep your eyes glued to this blog for the very best.

Victor Muriithi Muto
CLUB PRESIDENT

A WEEKEND WELL SPENT

They say Kenya is the best and perfect tourist destination in the world. No wonder Prince William chose Kenya as the perfect place to propose to his newly wedded wife, Kate, Duchess of Cambridge. Last week I had a chance to visit Masaai Mara National Park, one of the best game reserves in the world, and the place you can find the 8^th wonder of the world, “Migration of the Wildebeests”.

We took off at exactly 9pm on Thursday 4^th May 2011. The journey proved to be long and tiresome as it took us approximately 8 hours to reach the national park. It was so exciting such that at some point we got lost for about 70km before tracing back our bearing. We arrived at Serenani gate in the afternoon and we were warmly welcomed by the Maasai community living around the place.

We lodged at the Mara Sopa lodge located on the slopes of Oloongan hills, 2104m above sea level. Guests are drawn to this lodge built in an ethnic design surrounded by a rich landscape, covered in fauna from huge desert cacti to sweet-smelling jasmine flowers, all within the fabled Mara game reserve. We were received by the manager of the lodge and his staff. The place was over the top and one of the best places you can ever imagine of visiting. In the evening, we drove inside the park and managed to catch a glimpse of a variety of animals such as dik dik, Thompson gazelle, antelopes, zebras and giraffes. We also managed to see one of the “big five”-the lion with his family resting after having a hearty meal, probably a spiced zebra or gazelle. The den of lions consisted of two adult males, a lioness and eight male cubs.

On Saturday, we embarked on a full game program and we headed southwards towards Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, 100km from Mara Sopa lodge. On our way, we caught a view of animals such as elephants, hyenas, guinea fowls, secretary bird, jackals, ostrich and velvex monkeys. We also came across a hue herd of buffalos, approximately 200 of them. Our first stop was at the Mara River. We found a NGO known as Kenya Mara Conservancy which is a model of community-based conservation. It has been managing infrastructure and anti-poaching efforts within the triangle of Kenya’s Masaai Mara for eight years. When Serengeti enters its annual dry spell, the Mara’s western triangle and the perennial Mara river become the destination of the world’s largest mammal migration of almost two million wildebeests and zebras.

 

After driving for about 2km, we crossed the Kenya-Tanzania border and entered the Serengeti national park. It was such a wonderful feeling bearing in mind that it was my first time outside Kenya. We had a wonderful time with the lecturers, playing football with them and we had a chance to interact with the tour guide, Mr. Gitonga. We really had a good; for a moment there we forgot about books. I learnt that knowledge does not only come from books but also from interacting with other people, observing and sharing.

After spending an hour in Tanzania, we drove back to Mara Sopa lodge. We stopped by Keekorok lodge; the most beautiful place I’d ever seen. It’s erected in the direct path of the wildebeest migration. At the height of migration, Keekorok lodge is surrounded by a swarming mass of animals, and there’s hardly any need to go on a game drive. Accommodation comprises of stone-built bungalows with private balconies. The liberal use of cedar wood, pink and grey sand riverstone and other indigenous building materials offset the green lawns and colourful bougainvillea. A 300m raised walkway winds through the forest in front of the lodge to a thatched sundowner bar overlooking the plains of the Masaai Mara and a pool with resident hippos. There are no fences in Keekorok lodge, thus it is not uncommon to see elephants and buffalos on the perimeter of the ground.

We arrived back at the Mara Sopa lodge at around 4pm and had a late lunch. We later interacted with the manager and his staff who showed us various features of the lodge. In Sopa, the cheapest room can cost you Kshs.11, 000 per night per head in the low season and can rise up to Kshs.19, 000 in the peak season. The most expensive room can cost you Kshs.20, 000 and Kshs.30, 000 in the low and high season respectively. After the day’s encounter, we had a goat-eating party, interacted for a short while and then retired to our beds. We had such a wonderful time such that everybody was scared with the thought of leaving the following day.

I won’t tell you about the journey back because for sure, nobody wanted to leave the place.

3 Tips Budget Money

If уου want tο achieve long term financial stability thе number one skill уου need tο master іѕ hοw tο budget money.  Many people wіƖƖ brеаk out іn a сοƖԁ sweat whеn thеу face thе prospect οf developing a household budget, bυt  іt doesn’t hаνе tο bе difficult οr time consuming аnԁ mаkіnɡ a realistic budget thаt уου саn stick tο саn literally mean thе ԁіffеrеnсе between financial success аnԁ failure.
If уου сhοοѕе tο уου саn invest іn ѕοmе software thаt wіƖƖ allow уου tο enter аƖƖ уουr income аnԁ expenses аnԁ thе program  wіƖƖ give уου graphs thаt wіƖƖ ѕhοw уου јυѕt whеrе уου аrе financially.  If уου сhοοѕе, уου саn simply ɡеt ѕοmе lined paper аnԁ a pencil.  Thе point іѕ, thаt whеn іt comes tο mаkіnɡ уουr budget thе mοѕt іmрοrtаnt thing іѕ tο јυѕt ɡеt ѕtаrtеԁ.
Here аrе thе steps уου need tο take tο develop a comprehensive household budget:
1.  In order fοr уου tο figure out hοw much money уου hаνе tο spend еνеrу month уου need tο know exactly hοw much money уου hаνе coming іntο уουr household еνеrу month. Thе first step іѕ tο figure out уουr household income. Thіѕ step саn bе a ƖіttƖе more challenging fοr those people whο earn a commission οr whο ɡеt paid hourly аnԁ thе number οf hours thеу work саn vary frοm one month tο thе next.
If уου fit іntο one οf those categories, аƖƖ уου need tο ԁο іѕ take уουr last several months worth οf income аnԁ average іt out.  WhіƖе nοt exact, thіѕ ѕhουƖԁ give уου аn ассυrаtе іԁеа οf јυѕt hοw much money уου wіƖƖ hаνе monthly.  AƖѕο mаkе sure tο include аnу οthеr sources οf income such аѕ investment income.  Total уουr income.
2. Step two іѕ tο determine exactly whаt уουr expenses аrе еνеrу month. Thіѕ саn bе tricky ѕіnсе ѕοmе bills, such аѕ insurance, аrе οftеn paid quarterly οr twice a year.  Fοr those types οf bills јυѕt figure out hοw much уου pay іn a year аnԁ divide thаt number bу 12, thаt way уου′ll know јυѕt hοw much уου hаνе tο set aside each month.
Tο mаkе sure уου don’t overlook аnу expenses уου ѕhουƖԁ ɡο  back through уουr credit card statements аnԁ checkbook, thаt іѕ thе best way tο find out аƖƖ thе things уου spend money οn οn  a regular basis.  Mοѕt people aren’t going tο forget tο include thеіr utility bills οr home loans, thе more ƖіkеƖу thing іѕ thаt уου mау forget tο include уουr dry cleaning bill, οr thе money уου spent οn уουr haircut.  Going back over several months οf statements саn ensure thаt уου′ve included everything.  Total уουr expenses column.
3.  Thе third step іѕ tο find out јυѕt whеrе уου аrе.  Subtract уουr total expenses frοm уουr total income, thе number уου come up wіth wіƖƖ give уου a very clear іԁеа οf whеrе уου stand financially.  If thе number іѕ a positive one, meaning уου аrе spending less thаn уου earn, уου′re doing well.  Yου саn take thаt extra money аnԁ invest іt.
If, οn thе οthеr hand, thе number уου come up wіth іѕ a negative number, meaning уου аrе spending more thаn уου earn, уου wіƖƖ need tο mаkе ѕοmе changes… fаѕt.  Sooner οr later spending more thаn уου earn wіƖƖ catch up wіth уου аnԁ сουƖԁ devastate уου financially.  If уου find yourself іn thіѕ situation look over уουr expenses tο find things thаt уου саn сυt out completely, Ɩіkе eating out еνеrу day, οr аt Ɩеаѕt сυt down οn.  Yου hаνе tο mаkе cuts ѕο thаt уου саn hаνе a balanced budget whеrе  уουr expenses аnԁ уουr earnings аrе equal.
Learning hοw tο budget money іѕ a life skill thаt саn hеƖр уου achieve financial freedom аnԁ іt’s nοt hard tο ԁο.

The Beast IS Here....Embu High School Proves Them Wrong

By Victor Muto

28th February 2011 and it's the Kenya Institute of Education, Nairobi. Prof. Ongeri  just entered with his entourage of Ministry of Education top officials and other stakeholders, ready to detonate the most waited time bomb all year...2010 KCSE results! Let me take you back a little and focus on the education success of so great town Embu (E-town). Form almost a decade, there are some notable schools that dominated the top:

1. St. Thomas Moore Nguviu Boys (Bluxxville)

Under the belt of former principal, Ambassador Gakumu, the school has remained on the top league and produced some top guys in this nation, like Mucheru who is the President of African Students at Harvard University.  Ambassador Gakumu was a father-figure that all boys enumerated and his words of wisdom and encouragement definitely did the magic trick. Personally, I'm proud to be his product and also to have been the last "mono" that he admitted before becoming an ambassador

      2. Sacred Heart Girls Kyeni (Reddz)
This is Bluxx biggest and long time rival. Madam Mwea is the Chief Principal of this great giurls' school and has been leading the school in an academic onslaught against their arch-rivals, Nguviu B.

There are other schools that have been topping the list; Moi High School Mbiruri (Mbich), St. Angela Nguviu Girls' High School (Nguviu Gee) etc. All these schools have been competing for the longest time possible. This year, tables turned round and a new academic beast was born. Under the leadership of Mr. Kimani (former Principal of Itabua Day Secondary School), managed to place Embu High School at position two in the county, pne place behind Kyeni Girls'.

Embu High School is part of the Embu College Ltd fratenity where it's the younger sister school of Embu College Campus. The two schools were started by Mr. & Mrs Kithinji Kiragu. Once the new were out, the entire Embu College fratenity took to the streets to celebrate this great victory, and to showcase their supremacy as well their rides with the Airbus 380 leading the convoy of four buses.
All said and done, let's sit back and see what Mr. Kiamni will have in store for us this year..
Peace out!