The Kenyan literature scene, one of the most outstanding in the continent, continues to reminisce the souls of those who physically made an exit, but whose works remain relevant to today’s realities.
On this day, in 1958, Dr. Margaret Ogola joined the world in what was to be a lifetime of excellence. Dr. Ogola served the Kenyan people in many capacities as a celebrated author, visible nationalist, a committed medic and a relentless social justice defender. She immensely brought out the tragic realities around HIV/AIDS and aggressively sought to increase the prominence of Anti-retroviral drugs. It is, however, her communication through textbooks that amplified her presence in the mind of many people around the world.
Dr. Ogola awarded the world with ‘The River and the Source’, a book that contextualized the realities surrounding women. To accurately share her point, Dr. Ogola spread these realities across four generations. It was, therefore, a book that made a lot of sense to people before her generation as it still did to millennials. Indeed, it served as a literature set-book in the early years of the 3rd Millenium. She followed it up with a sequel, I Swear by Apollo, and again reminded the world of her peerless abilities in making silent but powerful life observations.
Today, Google, the Silicon Valley tech giant, honored Dr.Ogolla with a doodle as a celebration of her immense contribution to literature. Such recognition from a global corporate behemoth affirms hat Dr.Ogolla spoke to many, within and beyond Kenyan borders.
The Brief salutes the Kenyan heroine and wishes her continued and deserved rest in the lands that consistently featured in her authorship works.
