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People always ask me why I love travelling so much. Truth is, I’m a product of travelling. My mother conceived me while travelling. In fact, all five of us were born from different destinations. We are five in total, five children, five fathers, five flags, and one very adventurous mother.
Mum is a proud Luhya woman from Western Kenya. She never believed in marriage, but she strongly believed in having children. So instead of collecting rings, she collected passports and nationalities. When we ask her for marriage advice, she tells us, “Go ask your aunts. I don’t know that life, mimi sijakaa na mtu.”
Our family is so international, even the United Nations gets confused. My sister’s dad is German. My dad is Brazilian. My three brothers’ fathers are Russian, British and Chinese. We call Mum the Mother of All Nations. She taught us Bukusu, not English or Portuguese. So when you visit our home, prepare yourself. You’ll hear a Chinese boy saying “okhola sina!” and a German girl replying “Khukhupa khukhupa!” or Russia “khendekha”
At 60, Mum still travels, now as a minister of the Gospel. We always tease her, “Mum, which nationality are you bringing home this time?” She laughs and says, “Now I travel because of Neno, not Neno John.” She’s a loving mother but still very strict. In her house, lateness is a crime. If dinner is at 7:00, you better be seated by 6:59 or fast and pray for forgiveness. Even to post this story, I had to ask her for permission. That’s how serious she is.
Growing up, our nicknames were our countries. You’d hear her shouting, “Brazil, wash the dishes!” “Germany, stop eating all the sausages!” “Russia, don’t start a fight!” “UK, stop pretending you don’t understand Kiswahili!” “China, stop fixing things that aren’t broken!” When she finally built her big house, she engraved our nationality names on each bedroom door. Visitors think they’ve entered the African branch of the United Nations.
Now, about our fathers. Let’s just say most of them disappeared faster than Safaricom bundles. They were present during the conception conference but absent during the parenting seminar. But there’s one man who changed the narrative — Father Number Four. He stepped up and made sure we never lacked anything. He treated all of us as his own without any form of ubaguzi. To date, he remains the best dad ever.
My Brazilian dad passed away in 2022, may his soul rest in peace. But Father Number Four filled that gap in ways I’ll forever be grateful for. He became the backbone of this multicultural circus we call family.
Our firstborn is 31 and the lastborn is 20. We’ve all grown up disciplined, focused, and blessed. My sister got married in 2023 to an Eritrean, and when Mum stood up to give her advice, she simply said, “If my son-in-law doesn’t treat you well, come back to your bedroom — Germany.” The whole crowd burst into laughter. Today, she’s a happy wife and mother to twin boys.
As I write this, Mum is in Windhoek, Namibia, preaching the gospel. The real gospel, not the other one. Haha.
So when you see me travelling, just know I’m not running away. I’m simply continuing the family legacy.
#WanderlustDiaries #MotherOfAllNations #TravelFamily #MadeInTransit
