Despair spurs social change in set book Fathers of Nations

Christine Naiputa from Action Aid reading the newspaper with students during the NIE launch. [Collins Oduor/Standard] When faced with loss, people always find a way of coping. Often, we take on a new pastime or see mundane problems in a different way and solve them passionately. Characters Fiona, Kimani, Melusi, Chiamaka and Tahir do exactly this in the novel Fathers of Nations. Incidentally, a likely question in Paper 3 of the KCSE English is an essay based on a commentary on the hardships that these characters go through. In the novel, the pain of Kimani losing a daughter and being blamed for the death makes him find new purpose in life. Tuni, his daughter, dies in a freak road accident. At his wits end, Kimani joins a new project that demands that he leaves home at dusk one day and, without informing anyone, head for a brighter future somewhere beyond the darkening horizon. He joins Path Alpha for a new challenge. Melusi, another character, finds new purpose in Path Alpha after being taken through hell by a government that he helped put in power. The Shona-led government of Zimbabwe presides over ethnic cleansing that is responsible for the death of his wife Ziliza through a gruesome slaughter. The pain of losing a wife makes him join the Gambia based African Great Development Agency (AGDA) in the hope of challenging the Zimbabwe leadership. In Banjul, he seizes the chance of avenging his wife's death by lunging at a Shona leader attending a summit in one hotel. Furthering the thread of misfortunes in Fathers f Nations, Tahir, a Libyan, loses an eye and sinks in self pity. He is steeped in strong religious and cultural beliefs that led to the loss of his eye, but this injury leads him to a second lease in life by joining AGDA, where he finds hope and purpose once again. The loss of parents at a young age does not stop the rise of Fiona. She is taken in by some Scottish missionaries when she is less than a year old after being orphaned. She overcomes the loss of her parents to become a successful journalist in Gambia. While answering the essay question, candidates are required to show how these characters collectively tackle poor leadership, poverty, corruption, betrayal and the plight of women. They must connect the characters to the fight against flawed governance and moral decay in society. Moraa Nyakeyo is teacher of English and Literature at Nyabururu Girls High School, Kisii. (edinahnyakeyo1982@gmail.com)

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