Maua

Maua is on the East North East side of Mount Kenya. and due East of Meru. Most maps don’t have Maua shown, but do show Meru. Maua is just north of the equator, approximately 17 Km. The elevation is around 6,000 feet, so temperatures are mild and nearly constant year around.

"The main street that we walked every day from the Maua Basin Hotel to the Maua Methodist Hospital, was dirt, dirty, rocky, filled with holes and large bumps. Among the debris scattered about the street were hundreds of shoe soles. Thus the nickname “Street of Lost Soles” had been given by someone."

Kenya

PEOPLES

Kenyans are descended from the main African ethnic groups: Bantu, Nilo-Hamitic, Sudanese and Cushitic. Numerically and culturally, the most significant groups are the Kikuyu, the Luyia and the Luo. Others include the Kamba, Meru, Gusii and Embu. There are Indian and Arab minorities.

RELIGIONS
73 per cent of the population are Christian, 6 per cent are Muslim and 20 per cent practice traditional religions.

LANGUAGES
English and Swahili are the official ones. The latter is the national language. Kikuyu and Kamba are also spoken.

POLITICAL PARTIES
Kenya African National Union (KANU) founded in 1943 by Jomo Kenyatta. A Constitutional reform allowed the formation of new parties in 1991. Forum for the Restoration of Democracy (FORD), split into two branches in 1992 (FORD-Asili and FORD-Kenya); Democratic Party (DP), Kenya Social Congress (KSC); Kenya National Congress (KNC).

OFFICIAL NAME
Jamhuri ya Kenya

CAPITAL
Nairobi

NATIONAL HOLIDAY
December 12, Independence Day (1963).

ENVIRONMENT

Kenya is located on the east coast of central Africa. There are four main regions, from east to west: the coastal plains with regular rainfall and tropical vegetation; a sparsely populated inland strip with little rainfall which extends towards the north and northwest; a mountainous zone linked to the eastern end of the Rift valley, with a climate tempered by altitude, and volcanic soil fit for agriculture (most of the population and the main economic activities are concentrated here); and the west which is covered by an arid plateau, part of which benefits from the moderating influence of Lake Victoria. The principal environmental problems are soil exhaustion, erosion and desertification; deforestation; pollution of drinking water supplies, especially near such large cities as Nairobi and Mombasa.