Bøger udgivet af Manqa Books

Accustomed to navigating a world of medical emergencies, institutional politics, and donor-driven projects, two doctors-one Kenyan, one American-unexpectedly find themselves on the edge of an isolated refugee camp near Somalia at the wrong end of an automatic weapon. As the tale unfolds, an eclectic cast of characters grapples with challenges both delicately spiritual and abrasively physical, and in the ensuing dust storm, worldviews and agendas clash. Personal and humorous, Downing's carefully woven story is warmly human and deeply engrossing.

Pheroze Nowrojee's family came to Kenya in 1896 to work on the railway. In rich, layered prose, this book examines how that voyage from India became a Kenyan journey, how the railway became the family's own journey as Kenyans. Against this backdrop of the family's story, the book reflects on Kenya's history over the last hundred years and the chequered Asian African story within it. The family story interweaves with the country's major events, including the building of the Uganda Railway with indentured labour from India, the First World War in Kenya, the Emergency, independence, and the 1982 coup attempt, to result in a book that offers fresh insights into the national story.

'Zanzibar plates' have been in the East African region since the second half of the 19th century. Porcelain and ceramics from Persia and China had arrived ealier, imported to East Africa over many centuries. This book explores the cultural significance of these early imports and that of their replacements, the so-called Zanzibar plates out of Europe. Though these latter plates were low-cost utilitarian ware in the local European market, they were transformed in usage, value, and design upon interacting with the people of the Indian Ocean littoral, becoming an integral part of Swahili culture.

In his second volume of diverse reflections drawn from a fifty-year sojourn on the African continent, Harold F. Miller examines the "African liberation century," ecumenical movements, paradigms of church and state, examples of and models for peace and reconciliation, the roles of nongovernmental organizations in Africa, and global ethics. These writings were produced over a number of decades, each representing a subjective temporal vantage point. They offer glimpses from a lifetime of engagement on a lively, complex continent during a momentous century.

In this collection of stories, Pheroze Nowrojee takes his readers on journeys into varied Kenyan, East African, and other landscapes, delving into lives and personalities equally diverse. Whether actively transforming their surroundings or being transformed by what is around them, his complex characters reflect our common humanity in sometimes ordinary and sometimes surprising-but always compelling-ways. Exquisitely told, laden with humour and beauty and poignancy, these stories are a vital addition to the East African anthology.

In this volume of eclectic reflections, Harold F. Miller looks back on fifty years on the African continent. Much of that time was spent in service positions within Christian organizations in Tanzania, Sudan and Kenya. The pieces range widely in theme and geography: they include encounters with the luminaries of the independence movements as well as conversations with the local wood seller; excursions to Indian Ocean islands and strolls through a Nairobi neighborhood. They include meditations on trees and sand dams, peacemaking and art. Encounters in Africa offers glimpses of a lifetime spent in Africa, and documents a pivotal transition period in the history of the continent.

At the turn of the century, international health development refashioned itself with a new name: Global Health. In these collected writings, Raymond Downing reflects on his thirty years working in health in Africa and considers the need to listen...mostly "to the people we have come to serve." Dr. Downing notes that global health is not focused on how people used to do things and tends to listen to statistics more than people. His insights are a crucial contribution to the unfolding conversation: "Global health has the opportunity to expand its knowledge base significantly by listening to ancient and indigenous wisdom. It can enhance known interventions by listening to the priorities of local people. Global health can help to ensure its relevance and effectiveness by continuing to monitor not just what happens to people, but especially what those people think about what's happening to them."

In his third volume of eclectic reflections drawn from a fifty-three-year sojourn on the African continent, Harold F. Miller looks at peacemaking, ecumenism, grassroots development, competing views of African realities, understandings of relief and development, and impactful publications and individuals.