Africa calling (5/5) - Natasha Elva Wanyeki

Centuries ago Africa was forced to dispel its children to what is no the Caribbean. But some daughters of the soil are returning to find welcoming arms and their place in the sun. Five Caribbean women talk to Lisa-Anne Julien about making Africa their home. "Really, Africa is not that far, just look across the Atlantic from the Caribbean. You can almost see it," urges one of the new arrivals. Source: New African, April 2008

Natasha Elva Wanyeki, a social researcher and consultant. From St Lucia to Kenya.

Natasha Elva Wanyeki's childhood in St Lucia was filled with all things innocent and all things Caribbean; the rolling hills above the meandering rivers which eventu­ally emptied into the emerald waters of the Caribbean, were her playground. Little black girls were dark, fair, brown and all the colours in-between. They had nappy, kinky or wavy hair. No further stratification was necessary; they all belonged to the Caribbean family.

Then Natasha left St Lucia in 1994 for undergraduate study in the UK, and life (and the issue of identity) suddenly became very interesting, albeit a little more complex.

"My linkage to an African identity was developed away from the Caribbean while at university in England and France," Natasha says. "I explored theories of Negritude, Antillanité and Creolité and dived into writers such as Senghor, Rodney, Cesaire and Fanon and started to realise alternatives within my understanding of my identity as a black St Lucian woman."

Natasha, 34, met her Kenyan husband, Ian, while studying in Grenoble, France.

Natasha Elva Wanyeki's African Identity was I developed away from the caribbean while at university in England and France. They trotted the globe for a few years, taking in South America, England and Canada before deciding in 2002 to move to Kenya.

Although Kenya is many times the size of St Lucia and much more cosmopolitan, the mood, energy and spirit of the country reminds Natasha of home. "I had previously visited Kenya with Ian and I liked it very much," she says. "I love the rich, vibrant red of the soil, the beautiful landscapes, the breathtaking Rift Valley and Mombasa."

Natasha's Swahili is now good enough for her to confidently claim to be Kenyan, although this claim is never easily digested by locals, despite their warmth and welcoming gestures. A fact which doesn't bother Natasha too much, as her Caribbean identity is as fierce as it has ever been.

"The longer one stays away, the more important it becomes to link one's identity to the place left," she explains.” And the easier it becomes to forget the reasons for having left; my childhood and early adulthood are constants, reminding me that home is still essentially St Lucia."

When Natasha is not spending quality time with her husband and two young children, Muchemi and Wanjiku, picnicking, camping and exploring the great Kenyan outdoors, she works as a UN consultant principally in planning and conducting research and analysis on the impact of HIV/Aids. She focuses primarily on orphans and vulnerable children.

"This is a very crucial area of development programming for Eastern and southern Africa," Natasha explains. "It becomes increasingly important in the context of HIVIAids, given its deleterious effect on families." Consulting at this time is convenient for Natasha since she wants to focus on being a mother. "My most notable achievement has been my ability and willingness to suspend full-time work to take care of my two children," she says. "Especially since society judges women poorly if we choose to be employed in the home."

St Lucian, Kenyan, globetrotter, stay-at-home mother, consultant, wife - Natasha has proven that the world is her canvas where she paints her reality the way she likes.