Milly Barteka

public health practitioner

[ㄖchibo @0chibo_]

Natoka hizi concrete blocks, na kwa ground I want to make some wrongs right.

Mzungu came and renamed our healing plants “weeds.”

Nabuild sth smart to reverse that, a way to identify Afrikan plants by their real names, use cases etc.

Wazee watachangia. The dataset starts empty. One plant at a time, itakuwa slow but sovereign.

[BRAVIN YURI @BravinYuri]

There are things I observe, and I don’t need anyone to explain to me that something is off. You just see it and you know, this is not as natural as it is being presented. It is constructed, it is intentional, and it is meant to guide how you think without you realizing it.

Someone begins by saying “I did not prepare anything” then proceeds to deliver something that is profound, structured, layered and almost too clean to be random.

That statement alone, "I did not prepare anything”, lowers your guard. It signals honesty, it signals spontaneity, it makes you feel like you are about to receive something raw and truthful. And because of that, you don’t interrogate it the same way. You receive it, you internalize it, and if it touches something emotional or spiritual, especially something tied to belief systems like Christianity, it settles even deeper without resistance.

That is how subtle influence works. It does not force you; it disarms you.

And if you question it, just like if you question the genocide in Gaza, you are asked "Does Israel have a right to exist?", to disarm you. In other cases, they claim you are a flat-earther. Like it is some kind of insult.

Questioning these days is a problem. In fact, if you question, you will be branded as devious. And that is how you know that something is off or you are being manipulated. When you are not allowed to question or insulted when you do.

The same way you will notice certain visuals or symbols being used repeatedly to create a specific feeling before any message is even processed. Things associated with innocence, family, or familiarity are not random choices. They are selected because they soften you. They make you trust. They reduce the instinct to question. Once that emotional door is opened, whatever follows walks in much easier.

Dolls for example. They are often used to emotionally bring in the aspect of children and family and in some cases, these are usually not even family-oriented people, but they will have to appeal to emotions to manipulate you. So, you don't question much.

Manipulation is quite interesting.

In politics, the mention of family is more of sacred. When families are mentioned then things are out if control. There is often a silent rule in politics to always keep family off. Some weaponize that to manipulate crowds.

Just like Kasongo used it against Uhuru. "Usiue watoto wangu" and boom! The emotional, family-oriented Christian flock was just cursing in prayer against Uhunye and "mganga".

And the truth is, not all of this is evil or malicious. Some of it is just communication strategy, branding, storytelling. But the effect is the same. It shapes perception. It directs belief. It influences reaction.

What becomes dangerous is when you stop noticing it. When everything that feels natural is automatically accepted as truth. When you forget that even “natural” can be designed.

That is why I pay attention to how something is said, not just what is being said. Because manipulation is rarely in the message alone, it is in the delivery, the framing, the timing, and the emotion it is trying to trigger.

Currently in Kenyan politics, manipulation is being used to manipulate the United Opposition into believing that a certain candidate, you know who, is very popular and the better option.

You see, for the TUTAM merchants, they don't see it as so. That is the best candidate for them to beat because both their politics is not issue based. It is ethnic based. You are getting there. Hence, if they pick that guy, kwisha.

Sadly, if you don't, I doubt he will be too humble. He will be very stubborn. Could stick to vying. But his influence is performative. Not really organic but more imposed. But I like the energy. Well positioned to be a too risky of a person to be ignored. You can pretend too much until you become something. After all, the brain tells no difference, does it?

The real awareness is not just hearing, it is seeing through. Observe brethren. Don't just see.

Class dismissed.

[Brian | AI @ndukoB]

I want a job which will involve a lot of travelling, I want to explore the world as much as possible.

[Joan Thatiah @JoanThatiah]

Mad? Maybe. Misunderstood? Definitely.

Mad Women is coming to a bookstore near you on Tuesday 7th April 2026.

[BRAVIN YURI @BravinYuri]

People rarely think about time when they make permanent decisions about their bodies. Procedures like a BBL might look fine today because youth has a way of smoothing over many things. When you are young, the body heals quickly, the skin is firm, and everything still sits where it should.

But life is long. Oh yes, it is. Bodies change and sadly gravity never loses.

The real question is not how something looks at 25. The real question is how it will age with you at 50, 60, or 70. Youth is temporary, but the choices we make in youth often stay with us for decades.

Many people make decisions today without imagining the future version of themselves. The older woman who will carry that same body, the same alterations, the same consequences of choices made in a different season of life.

Vision is not just about tomorrow. It is about understanding that one day you will wake up older, slower, and more reflective, and you will have to live with the decisions you once believed were harmless.

That is why wisdom is not just about freedom to do something. It is about the foresight to ask whether it will still make sense when time has done its work.

For humor’s sake and just for the sake of thought, imagine you with a walking stick and BBL at 70. Quite a tale of tales.

[𝒽ℯ𝓁𝒾𝓊𝓂 @waithera_jk]

the person who’ll figure out how to get kenyan women ready made high quality stylish modest dresses at affordable prices will be deep in their bag. especially if they can get the colours right!! hit me up if you’d like to explore this and partner up 🥰

[griffith gitau @gitau_griffith]

A couple of universities should go to Nyeri, Kisii and Voi.....Zitoke Nairobi kabisa.

Some places would do well as student hubs. Which would ultimately drive businesses there because they want an educated workforce. While also supporting local economies.

[BRAVIN YURI @BravinYuri]

There has been a great increase in the number of unroadworthy vehicles on our roads. These are moving coffins.

[OCTOPIZZO @OCTOPIZZO]

It is worth noting that we have never witnessed Members of Parliament, Senators, or MCAs in Kenya demonstrating over delayed salaries or unpaid benefits. This raises a critical question: why should ordinary citizens face such challenges, while elected leaders remain insulated from the very hardships affecting those they represent?
Every year, doctors, teachers, and lecturers, the backbone of our health and education systems ,are forced to protest over delayed pay and unresolved issues. Their demands are legitimate and vital to national progress.

Leaders are elected to protect public interests, uphold the Constitution, and ensure government services work for all. They must address these systemic challenges and deliver for every sector, not just themselves.

#DON 🐐

[Dr Branice Munyasa @Branicemercy]

😂😂

[Silas Nyanchwani @nyanchwani]

You get to a point in adulthood when you have so much in your mind, your heart is heavy, and you really want to open up to someone, then you look around and realise there is no one to talk to.

It is intimate stuff that is eating you up. Gobbling you up like an aggressive cancer. You need a confidant. You need a comforter. A mentor. A spiritual advisor. Someone who can make you see life from a different dimension, or at least introduce new perspectives or lenses to view life with.

Typically such person could be a parent, an uncle or aunt(senje, in that traditional affectionate sense). It could be that wise friend who seems to have figured out life.

Then one day in your adulthood, your parents are gone. The uncle or the aunt who could pump some hope into your life is gone. And you have drifted apart from your friend, or he or she is dead. Another worse situation is when they exist but now your existential problems are misaligned with whatever advice they may offer you. Say, you want to divorce an abusive spouse but your trusted parent or uncle/aunt only believes in kuvumilia. You don't exactly hate or despise their advice. If anything you see their point, but their adamant stance is completely anti-thetical to your angst. You need different gears and levers to move your life forward.

This particular problem can smack you any time after 25, but it gets objectively worse as you age. And then, later in your 30s, the problems become deeply personal. Every man or woman you open up to, is either battling their own demons, or is ill-equipped to offer you the padded shoulder to lean on in such times.

As an adult you will battle a lot of problem. Some could be frivolous, some serious, and some life-threatening. From infertility problems under the probing eyes of relatives and friends, to a diabetic man with other attendant problems causing all manner of problems in his marriage, to unemployment, unrealised and unfulfilled dreams, unmet expectations, disappointments, relationships that didn't work, jobs that didn't deliver the high hopes they promised, can only ruin a person.

But there are higher spiritual problems that we battle with. The question of identity. Who are we? What are we doing here? Is there a point to life? After all this suffering, we die. Just like that. Gone and forgotten.

The internal battles, away from those problems that can be fixed(e.g, if broke, we can fix that if you get a job or money), have a way of isolating us. Hence the friend who stops picking calls. The friend who disappears under the radar. The poor choices like alcoholism or drug abuse, as an escape from the harsh reality of life.

The worst poverty is to be in a place where you have no one to confide to your worst fears, whatever their nature.

Hence later in life, you will learn a certain sad fact about a friend that will break your heart.
"You mean he was going through all that and we didn't know? Poor thing..."

People say when something tragic happens to a friend and with hindsight you start to think it was completely avoidable. It wasn't. We only confide things to people when we feel safe.

That is why kujitia kitanzi is something that I understand. Someone who does that means whatever that that was troubling them, in their assessment, no human being was capable of understanding their pain. People could trivialise the pain, laugh at it, or fail to understand the enormity of the problem. As human beings we are very poor at assessing people and what they are going through.

I don't know if I am making sense.
But I know many adults have so many battles inside them, some they will win with time and creative adjustments to their situation. But some, may take time and unfortunately the pain may never be resolved.

Resentment is permanent human condition, and mastering how to handle it is not an easy thing.

To understand the loneliness of internal battles, allow me to use the example of Jesus.

Remember when he went to Gethsmane to pray.

I often think about his last days before being crucified.

He took three disciples with him to pray. When he moved away from them to pray, asking God to take the cup from him, he asked the disciples(John, James and Peter) to pray so as not to fall into temptations. Two times he came back to find them asleep. Later that night, Peter even denied him, and Judas did betray him eventually.

Sometimes you can tell your friends what you are going through and they can laugh at you, deny you, or betray you and now that we live in the tea culture, you become the hot tea.

Motivational speakers will tell you to be there for yourself. But what if the self is scared, afraid and inadequate?

We used to seek refuge in family, but family in some cases the source of the pain you are going through.

A believer can turn to God. What A Friend We Have in Jesus? the old beautiful hymn asks, and answers more profoundly what a friendship with Jesus means.

But what does a non-believer do when walking through that Valley of Darkness?

By and large, we get by, human beings are surprisingly resilient.

What we never talk about is the mental scars we accumulate as we age. From the heartbreaks, the betrayal of friends, the unmet expectations, unfulfilled dreams, the realisation that there isn't so much to life, unless you assign meaning to it, and the many things beyond our control that are thrown at us.

But finding a comforter, a confidant, a trusted friend, is truly one of the most blessed gifts life can grant you.

Not all of us can be stoics( though I encourage it).

Count yourself lucky if you do become a stoic. Count yourself lucky if you escape crippling internal battles.

Blessed Sabbbath.

[Milly Barteka @barteka_milly]

@polo_kimanii @Bookten8 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Milly Barteka @barteka_milly]

@LemayianLeiyan 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Milly Barteka @barteka_milly]

@Linda_Jemutai 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Milly Barteka @barteka_milly]

@ahmednasirlaw 🤣🤣🤣

[Milly Barteka @barteka_milly]

@userkarugah 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Yoko @Kibet_bull]

During maandamano period we created a website with my pals which tracks stalled projects and keeps on record all corrupt leaders. If one day we got some powers we will make them accountable for the looting.
Search citizens of Kenya, or HakiHack on any website Kenya ni yetu wote ✊🏿

[Milly Barteka @barteka_milly]

@AllanNyash 😅😅😅😅

[Milly Barteka @barteka_milly]

@osoroKE 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

[Rodgers Kipembe Mpuru @RodgersKipembe]

Youth unemployment in Kenya stands at a staggering 67%.