http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/4 Wed, 08 Apr 2026 02:47:48 GMT 2026-04-08T02:47:48Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/4506 Effects of Animal Source Food Supplementation on Neurocognitive Outcomes of HIV-Affected Kenyan School-Aged Children: A Randomized, Double-blind, Controlled Intervention Trial Ettyang, Grace Assess the effects of animal source food (ASF) versus soy versus wheat biscuit supplementation on the neurocognitive performance of HIV-affected, nutritionally at-risk school-aged children in rural Kenya. Fri, 01 Jan 2016 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/4506 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/1681 The Kenyan Aquaculture subsector: Perspectives on potential Impacts on Food and Nutrition Security and Poverty Alleviation Rasowo Joseph Ouma Wed, 25 Nov 2015 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/1681 2015-11-25T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/1527 Literacy, Language and Liberty: The Cultural Politics of English as Official Language in Africa Kembo Edward Sure The debate on the value and appropriateness of English as the language of governance and education around the world has been going on for many decades and it is not going to end any time soon. The lecture tries to link literacy (primarily the ability to write and read), liberty (the fundamental individual and group rights) and the language in which literacy is taught and utilized, and the medium in which liberty is expressed and exercised. In situations of linguistic diversity as is the case in most of Africa, the choice of language for vital public functions entails competition among interest groups and hence the need to probe the link between language choice and the distribution of power (economic and political) over different sectors of the society. The use of English as official language in countries where it is not native is associated with cultural, political and economic domination and has been dubbed as a perfect example of cultural imperialism, what Phillipson (1992) calls Linguistic Imperialism and Ngugi (1986) refers to as colonization of the mind. The strong negative reactions to English in Africa and elsewhere sound very convincing and on moral grounds, wins a lot of hearts. However, the fact that English has continued to expand its territory in the former British colonies as well as other African countries colonized by other European countries, calls for a more critical examination of the complex issue of language choice. The other thinkers consider the anti-English crusaders as practicing ‘inverse snobbery;’ that is, now that they have succeeded because of the enabling power of English they would wish to keep the rest on the other side of the River Jordan, what Edwards (1985) terms ‘ghettoizing’ of those without proficiency in English. According to Bamgbose (2000) the ‘linguistic rightists’ are being ‘idealistic’ and as long as states do not commit themselves to enforcing international treaties, calling for these rights is useless. The lecture discusses the Ethiopian and Tanzanian experiences with English and compares their cases with Kenya to try to find an alternative language policy for Kenya. The paper proposes a rational language policy that avoids extreme views but tries to harmonize the pragmatic (which may only provide short- term solution) and the ideal (which may sound unrealistic now but hold the only key to a lasting solution). According to Fishman (1985) this is possible when we allow ourselves to be ‘re-linguified and be ‘re ethnified’ by embracing multilingualism and developing what he calls ‘panhumanism’, a state in which diversity is celebrated and the best in all languages and cultures are exploited for the good of all. Not any one language can do this. Tue, 01 Jan 2013 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/1527 2013-01-01T00:00:00Z http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/1496 (Re)constructing Gender: A Holistic Strategy to Controlling HIV/AIDS in Kenya Kamaara, Eunice Karanja If power is as fundamental to our understanding of the human social world as energy is to our understanding of the physical world, gender is the gravitational theme around which human development revolves. From the moment of birth, individual human persons are socialized on power dynamics as they observe gender relations within the most basic social unit, the family. Thus, gender injustice, basically manifested in sexual encounters, is the archetypal distortion from which all other forms of oppressive social structures and systems proceed. Traditionally, socio-cultural definitions and expectations of masculinity and femininity (gender) expect men to dominate and women to be subordinate in sexual encounters. Thus, men are expected to be sexually aggressive and active towards meeting their sexual needs by making decisions on when, where, how and with whom sex takes place while women are expected to be passive and respond to male needs without expressing their own. In spite of modernity and gender empowerment programs, at the dawn of the 21st century gender relations remain largely unaffected. Findings from my research since the early 1990s, concur with others from various parts of the world that unequal gender relations are positively related to sexual activity and consequently to HIV and AIDS spread. From an African Christian ethical and theological perspective, I focus on unequal gender power in youth sexual activity and profess gender reconstruction for the control of HIV/AIDS in Kenya. Additionally, I profess gender reconstruction as a means to overcome endemic poverty and drive the attainment of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) but more specifically for achievement of the goal on combating HIV/AIDS. At the national level, I operate within The Kenya Vision 2030, the national blueprint for development towards a better Kenya. Gender justice cuts across the three pillars of the vision: economic pillar, social pillar and political pillar, all of which are founded on individual and social morality, the central concern of this lecture. Imperative to development is the academy. Moi University Strategic Plan: 2005-2015 focuses on the pillars of Vision 2030 to invest in the education of the people of Kenya. Among the prioritized strategic issues and objectives of the plan is achieving excellence in academic, research and extension programs. Within the University, the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies focuses on enhancing understanding and promotion of the positive role of religion, a pervasively influential phenomenon in contemporary multicultural world. The call for gender reconstruction derived from my study of religion from interdisciplinary perspectives contribute to our society’s development agenda as envisioned in both Moi University Strategic Plan and Vision 2030. This inaugural lecture is divided into four parts. In the introductory part, I locate my journey in search of knowledge in the Study of Religion from interdisciplinary (socio-anthropological, ethical, theological and gender) perspectives thereby illustrating human attempts, successes, and limitations to knowledge and knowledge creation for development. I begin the second part of the lecture with a presentation of the complex socio-cultural and religious contexts within which young people in Kenya live. Against this background, I then present the sexual behaviour of young people showing how gender is embedded in it thereby bringing out the positive relationship between gender relations and HIV/AIDS spread. The third part provides a solution towards addressing the undesirable situation of gender relations and youth sexual activity by presenting what I profess: gender reconstruction. The practicality of gender reconstruction is demonstrated in the last part of the lecture which presents a local community based and community participatory initiative that has a holistic strategy towards transforming the situation of bad news of HIV/AIDS into good news. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT http://ir.mu.ac.ke:8080/jspui/handle/123456789/1496 2012-01-01T00:00:00Z