Traditional Kenyan Prayer
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The Kenyan FlagThe Kenyan flag contains 3 major colors: black, red, and green.
The Black represents a Black African majority. The Red represents the bloodshed and struggle that occurred to have freedom. The Green represents the abundance of natural resources within the country. In the center of the flag, there is a Maasai shield. The shield represents the country's rich culture, but it also symbolizes the protection of the Kenya people, their freedom, and their natural resources. "Kenya Flag." Maps of World. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. Kenya's LandscapeKenya's landscape transitions from coastal plains and lowlands in the East, to high plateaus with deep valleys in the center and southwestern part of the country. The Great Rift Valley occupies much of Kenya's territory and is referred to as a "6,000-mile crack in the earth's crust. The valley literally cuts Kenya in half" due to the rugged terrain. The boundary that separates Kenya and Sudan is unclear. This area is known as the "Ilemi Triangle."
Kenya's lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m Kenya's highest point: Mount Kenya 5,199 m The Kenyan Highlands are the most successful agricultural production regions in Africa. The glaciers that are found on Mount Kenya, the second highest peak in Africa, support abundant wildlife. "Kenya Facts, Kenya Flag -- National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. "The Great Rift Valley." Journeys By Design. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2014. Central Intelligence Agency. Central Intelligence Agency, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2014. Timeline and History
Evidence
of some of the earliest human settlements has been found in Kenya, suggesting
that it was the cradle of humanity from which descendents moved out to populate
the world.
600 - Arabs begin settling coastal areas, over the centuries developing trading stations which facilitated contact with the Arab world, Persia and India. 16th century - Portuguese try to establish foothold on Kenyan coast but are driven off by Swahili states and Omani Arabs by late 17th century. 1830s - Omani Arabs consolidate control of coast. 1895 - Formation of British East African Protectorate. Early 1900s - British settlers move into highlands, railway built from Mombasa to Lake Victoria. 1944 - Kenyan African Union (KAU) formed to campaign for African independence. First African appointment to legislative council. 1982 June - Kenya officially declared a one-party state by National Assembly. 1987 - Opposition groups suppressed. International criticism of political arrests and human rights abuses. 1992 - Approximately 2,000 people killed in tribal conflict in the west of the country. 1997 - Demonstrations calling for democratic reform. World Bank withholds disbursement of $5bn in structural adjustment credit. 1998 August - Al-Qaeda operatives bomb the US embassy in Nairobi, killing 224 people and injuring thousands. 2002 July - Some 200 Maasai and Samburu tribespeople accept more than $7m in compensation from the British Ministry of Defence. The tribespeople had been bereaved or maimed by British Army explosives left on their land over the last 50 years. 2004 March-July - Long-awaited draft of new constitution completed. Document requires parliament's approval and proposes curbing president's powers and creating post of prime minister. But deadline for enactment is missed. 2004 July-August - Food crisis, caused by crop failures and drought, dubbed "national disaster" by President Kibaki. UN launches aid appeal for vulnerable rural Kenyans. 2004 October - Kenyan ecologist Wangari Maathai wins the Nobel Peace Prize. Controversy over jail conditions amid intense media coverage of inmate deaths at Meru jail in the east. 2005 January - Clashes over land and water rights leave more than 40 people dead. 2006 April - Three days of national mourning are declared after an aircraft carrying several prominent politicians crashes in the north. 2006 October - UN says some 35,000 Somalis escaping drought, Islamist rule and looming conflict have arrived in Kenyan camps since early 2006. 2006 November - December - Regional flooding renders thousands homeless. Some 100,000 Somali refugees cut off by floodwaters in the north-east are supplied by air drops. 2007 May - A Kenya Airways plane crashes in Cameroon, killing all 114 on board. An official investigation finds pilot error was to blame. 2007 December - Disputed presidential elections lead to violence in which more than 1,500 die. 2010 July - Kenya joins its neighbours in forming a new East African Common Market, intended to integrate the region's economy. 2010 August - New constitution designed to limit the powers of the president and devolve power to the regions approved in referendum. 2011 June-September - East Africa hit by worst drought in 60 years. 2011 November - High court orders arrest of Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir if ever he visits. Sudan orders Kenya's ambassador to leave. 2012 March - Oil discovered. President Kibaki hails it as a ''major breakthrough''. Launch of Lamu port project which is to become South Sudan's oil export outlet. 2012 May - More than 30 people are injured in an attack on a Nairobi shopping centre, allegedly by Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist militia. 2012 June - Internal Security Minister George Saitoti is killed in a helicopter crash. 2012 July - Fifteen people are killed in an attack on two churches in Garissa, near the Somali border. Al-Shabab is again the prime suspect. 2012 August-September - More than 100 people are killed in communal clashes over land and resources Coast Province. Junior minister Dhadho Godhana is charged with incitement. He denies the charge. Five people die in riots by Muslim protesters in Mombasa after the shooting of preacher Aboud Rogo Mohammed, accused by the UN of recruiting and funding al-Shabab Islamist fighters in Somalia. Muslim cleric Abubaker Ahmed is charged with inciting the protests. 2013 May - Court sentences two Iranians to life imprisonment for plotting to attack Western targets in Kenya. Somali al-Shabab militants seize a Nairobi shopping mall and kill more than 60 people, saying they want Kenya's military to pull out of Somalia. 2013 October - Radical Muslim cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Rogo killed by gunmen in Mombasa. Supporters allege the security forces killed him. 2014 April - Radical cleric Sheikh Abubakar Shariff Ahmed, alias "Makaburi", is shot dead. Some accuse the government of the slaying. 2014 May - Several countries issue travel warnings following several attacks over the past few months blamed on Somali al-Shabab militants. 2014 June - At 48 people die after Islamist militants attack hotels and a police station in Mpeketoni, near the island resort of Lamu. 2014 September - Kenya revises the way it calculates growth, making the economy 25% bigger than previously thought - and fourth biggest in sub-Saharan Africa. 2014 October - President Kenyatta appears before International Criminal Court (ICC) where he faces charges of crimes against humanity over 2007 election violence. "Kenya Profile." BBC News. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014. |