The vibrant Seychellois, Mauritians

 

Seychellois, Mauritians

Once upon a time in Kenya

 

Gillian Burke: a talented filmmaker

DRAFT

Someone else will chronicle their histories, I would like to remember their parents and grandparents who were forced to come out of Africa or never left Africa. We must remember them.

THERE WERE several lapses of mind while I was growing up and even in adulthood in Kenya. I did not even think of chronicling the history of the Goan community in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. I never thought that many decades later I would get an insatiable itch to do just that: write the two stories of the two communities I sort of belonged to, the Goans and a combination of Seychellois and Mauritians (there were not too many of them). I made a minor effort with the Goans story by writing three books.

It would have been much easier to write the stories, especially in Kenya. I could have visited their homes and interviewed various members of the family. With all three communities, I would have been able to get the historical elements from Goa, the Seychelles and Mauritius. I might have even visited the three countries with the specific purpose of gathering background material. Being a fool that I am, the thought never entered my mind. I was too busily occupied with East African, African, Commonwealth and International politics.

Now that I am in the twilight of my life, I offer this rather pathetic effort in celebrating the past and present histories of the Seychellois and Mauritians as we remember them in Kenya of a forgotten past.

It would be wonderful if my readers would share this with Seychellois and Mauritian exiles from Kenya who now live around the world for them to add to this story. Ideally, it would be great if they could send me their family trees and any stories they would like to share.

I am indebted to William (Bill) De Silva and his sisters Allison Rodrigues and Virginia Worrell that with the passing of their sister Enid Burke in Diani, Mombasa, it was indeed the “end of an era.” The last Seychellois matriarch who left us before Enid was the somewhat majestic Julie Laval. I am not sure if there are others of that era left in Kenya. Please let me know so I can add to this story.

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THE DE SILVAS (draft)

THERE WERE eight children in a dynasty founded by Rhea (Seychellois) and William de Silva (Sri Lankan).

I remember Rhea as quite a gentle person but a firm one when she needed to be. She was loved and admired in four schools: St Teresa’s Eastleigh, Catholic Parochial School in Nairobi, Dr Riberio Goan School in Parklands and at an Indian school, I forget the name.

Bill told me recently: Dad was an accountant. Always worked for someone. Never got involved in any side business. His last job in Seychelles was for business lady Mrs Oliaji. There is a business centre with her name. I once suggested that he take some of her cash. She would never know and she would never miss it. He got upset but I was just kidding. He was such an honest guy.

(Virginia Rodrigues: This particular time my father had gone out of his way chasing down persons who owed Mrs Oliaji money following up with lawyers' letters and so on. Due to his considerable efforts, Dad was able to recover large sums of money owed to Mrs Oliaji

In turn, Mrs Oliaji did not thank my father with one dollar more, than his normal fees. That is  when Bill made the famous statement "Rob her...." Which shocked my honest Dad.)

 

Dad was in both world wars: In WWI he was too young and in WWII he was too old. But duty called. He was on the list to be on a ship that went down. But for some reason boarded another. Mum was told that he had died and people were making arrangements to split us up. I was not born then.

 

Ah, then he appears one day!  

Mother and father made sure six of their own children (the eighth was adopted from the Congo) graduated from universities around the world. I doubt that there is another Seychellois family Or any other family for that matter) that can boast of that achievement.

Sybil was personal secretary to Obama (senior?)  in Kenya and Paul Getty in the US.

 

Enid went to the University of Columbo, Sri Lanka and Wisconsin. She later worked for UNEP in Vienna and made several forays into Bosnia.

 

Rosemary went to the University of Aberdeen, University of Western Australia, PhD in Psychology.

 

Alison Worrell (nee Di Silva) married a West Indian from Barbados related to the legendary cricketer Frank Worrell. She says: “I have travelled extensively all around the world. Received a Commonwealth Award in Nursing (Seychelles for reducing Maternal and infant mortality) and was presented to the Queen at Buckingham Palace. In Australia,  I have done extensive Nursing Management Roles in Rural and Remote areas. Received an award from the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council for a 3-month tour of the Pacific islands and USA with the First Nations people.

 

Virginia went to University College Nairobi and did her Master’s degree at the London School of Economics.

       

Hazel graduated from a university in the US and then transferred to Liverpool for a social degree. She wrote several books on Seychelles:  including “Black Night of Kilwa” by Hazel Mugo. “Sega of Seychelles” by Hazel de Silva.

 

Bill, graduated from the University of Aberdeen with a BSC. (hon) and became an outstanding builder and major league businessman. I always thought (imagined) he had gone into the space exploration businesses

 

Adopted brother Jonathan from the Congo was about 20 years younger than Bill. He moved to the states and joined the US Air Force. He was stationed in Italy then went to San Angelo, California where he got colon cancer, passed away with honours in 1994 at the age of 35.

 

I know Enid was greatly inspired by her mum, she loved listening to her and seeing the way she went about life. Enid also adopted her considered firmness.

 

I also think she got her love of flowers from her mum.

 

What was it like growing up in a room full of five sisters? Bet you were spoilt as hell?

Bill: “It wasn’t long before the two eldest started to travel so I was really spoilt by four of my sisters.”

 

With her first pay, Sybil bought a gramophone, His Master’s Voice. I was four years old but knew which 78s to put on.

     

Bill says he will never forget driving Enid’s car at night … at the age of 14. He would wear a big jacket and sit on a cushion to make himself look grown-up. Enid could not drive at night at the time. “Never got stopped, always a car full of friends, driving them back from Eastleigh to Nairobi South C. It was a green Ford. I used to drive up and down Zanzibar Road and one day I got the car stuck in a lane and had to call the servants to help me push it out.”

       

 

VINCENT GUNPUTRAV (The Mauritians) My dad was known as Rene Samuel and my mum was Marie Laure (née Logisse) Gunputrav. I say that because not many people know, and you may be the first to know, that my father was born a Hindu. His Hindu name was Ramchandra Sadeo. He converted to Catholicism in 1932, just before he got married to my mum. I found out after he passed away when I saw his birth certificate. I always thought he was the best Catholic I ever knew.

 First of all, a little background and history of Mauritius and Seychelles. As you probably know, Mauritius was colonized by the Dutch, then the French, and last by the British. The Dutch were responsible for making the Dodo extinct by killing and eating all of them. The French left us with their language, their Laws, and an elite class of people that still think they rule the country.

The British also left their language, laws, and a segregated society, which I think was “Official Policy “in all their colonies. As you know, we lived  in “Apartheid” in Kenya before it had a name. I still remember the separate public toilets in downtown Nairobi. Mauritius, being a much bigger island than the Seychelles, which was made up of many small islands wasn’t suitable for development. Mauritius on the other hand flourished after sugarcane plantations were created all over the island.

The result was Mauritius developed a healthy economy. So, there wasn’t much need for people to migrate. Most, if not all the people that came from Mauritius were recruited by the British government to work in the East African colonies. My dad went to work for the Post Office in the capital Port Louis straight out of high school. Between 1928 and 1930, he and about nine other men were recruited to work for the East African Post and Telecommunication company based in Nairobi.

My dad, like most of the others, started in Nairobi and then was posted elsewhere. My dad and the two Laval brothers Max (Roland’s father) and Laurent (father of Rene, Clement and Regis). These two ended up in Australia. Mr Solomalay, Mr Boodnha and Mr Isidore, worked in Nairobi. Mr Soupe went to Thomson’s Falls, Mr Constance went to Jinja and Mr Elahee went to Mbale in Uganda. Mr Sobhee and Mr Soupe stayed a while but went back to Mauritius.

My dad went from town to town setting up Post offices around the country. We know that because of the different places we were born in. Starting in Nairobi, he went to Gilgil, Naivasha, Nakuru, Thika, Mombasa, ending up in Nairobi again where he stayed till his retirement as the Postmaster General of Kenya in 1963. That’s the reason there were so few people from Mauritius. But with the Seychellois, most of the people coming from there were economic migrants. As their population grew, they had to leave in order to make a living. So this is how they ended up in East Africa, the closest British colonies. My mother was one of those migrants. Her family had moved from Mauritius to the Seychelles and then to Kenya. She met and married my father in Nairobi. I have to say, having lived in both communities, though they share a language (creole), it is spoken differently. There are a lot of expressions that are quite different. One I know for sure is, that Mauritians say “Astella “ and Seychellois say “Apresan” for “Now “  I’m not sure about the spelling. But they managed to cohabitate and intermarry. Now we are scattered all over the world.

The guy that went to Jinja, Mr Constance had two daughters, Violet and Therese, and I know that Violet is in Australia, I think Adelaide. He actually left the Post Office and opened a bar in Jinja. Mr Elahee retired and emigrated to Canada and then Paris, where a lot of Mauritians end up. He passed away there. His daughter still lives in Windsor Ontario.

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Some of the families I remember: I spent a lot of time with Vincent Gunputrav at his place. His father was the first Postmaster General at the Post Office in the old Delamere Avenue. Eric I always thought was the suavest dude around. Freddy always looked cranked but he was caring anyway. Ronnie was tough but he was my tough friend who grew up to be one of the gentlest people around as did Vincent. Martin I think was the quietest in the family. Great family. The two sisters were Marita and Lina.

The Adelas: Our two families shared part of a house. Mamma Adela was unforgettable but time has dimmed my own recall button. Both families used to get up at four in the morning on Sundays and walk to St Peter Claver’s Church in River Road Nairobi. Along the way, we said several rosaries (we said a rosary every night at home too). I remember the kind and gentle big sister Therese, Camillo who worked for the railways, Francis was not all there in the head, a gentle soul nonetheless. Francis got me out of bed one night and we walked to Juja Road and turned left towards the Railway Quarters. There we dug just before daylight, the imagined buried treasure yielded one bottle of Tusker and nothing else. Francis was convinced that the bottle of Tusker was evidence that he would find buried treasure. I don’t know if he ever did.

Brian Fernandez, God rest his soul, taught me all about mechanics (I remember nothing now) and we bought a car together: A Ford Zephyr Six, KFA 300. Every time the engine crashed on us, we borrow big brother Allen’s car and buy a reconditioned engine in Grogan Road for 50 shillings and we would be ready for the dance that night. Brian always fancied himself as Elvis and he had the moves and the voice but he never made big on stage. We used invent new dance steps and practice before a dance. Allen played the Hawaiin guitar at Sombrero, the strip club and I got a job doing this and that there. I got to Chechee (Raymond), Brian’s brother, his elder sister May and his younger sister Flora. His mother taught me all about Seychell cooking. My favourite was poison sale ave brinjal.  

I remember the gentle Gontiers: Eddy who worked at the Law Courts in Nairobi, married Regina Simon and the two were godparents to my sister Flora Regina. Michael married the star rock n roll dancer Myra and Cedric who because a superintendent of police, married a white woman and was promptly shunned by his community for thinking himself above the rest of them. Silly. However, the Gontiers were outstanding members of the community.

Vernay and Lewis Arrisol, Maurice Kannada D’Silva, Godfrey Agricole, David Lobo, Benjamin Lopez, Steven and Walter Rodrigues, Gerald Bresson, Robert (?) and a few names I forget created some unforgettable experiences with The Wheelers who played at both Goan and Seyschellois functions. Steve was my righthand many in all the variety shows I produced.

The Ahluwalias. Sally Ahluwalia was everybody’s big sister and she taught virtually all the young fellows from Pangani Chini ballroom dancing and jived with her too. Their mother Carmen Mootosamy married a Punjabi, Gandaram Ahluwalia, and they ran Nairobi’s largest charcoal distribution business. Carmen virtually ran the business from her large balcony which overlooked the charcoal yard where the charcoal was filled into gunias (hessian bags) and packed into lorries which toured the various suburbs selling the charcoal. The Ahluwalias were very generous. There was always a cup of rich red tea (Macharia was always making chai, and choruses of “Macharia lete chai (bring tea)”. So there was Sally, Sandy, Gerald, Geoffrey, Geraldine, Jacqueline, Agnes and Peter. Gerald used to be in charge of filling the lorries with petrol at a service station just down the road. He would skim a little off the petrol money and usually take us to the movies and of course for a feast at the Mitaiwallah (Indian tea snack and sweets shop). One Wednesday, they all decided we should go and watch an Indian movie at the local Shan cinema. We did not have a car, so we walked there. We could have caught a couple of buses but we could not be bothered. Sad to say, I could not understand the language and found the dancing and the singing strange. I managed to quietly sneak away. Happily, all that changed with age.

THE LAVALS were a formidable family. Mum Germaine who ran a nursery at their home in Forest Road must have taught hundreds of Seychellois and Mauritian children, after all, she was a qualified teacher. She also taught at the Dr Ribeiro Goan School and the DAV High School in Juja Road Nairobi. Dad Maxima Laval worked as a teller in the General Post Office in Nairobi and did English/French translations. Most of the boys in the family were formidable football players. One year, Guy Laval joined his good friend Harold Officer and Juventus' Ferretti in the Kenya football team. The Laval children: Serge (in his 90s in Canada), Guy, Phillip, Peter, Marlene, Rosemary, Sydney, Roland, Ivy, Claudette, Cyril, Lizette, James.

INTERNATIONAL HARVESTER Standing are Joe Horan, Ocholla Oloo, George Pillay, Francis Theodore, Sabino Fernandes, Raymond Fernandes and Gunnel..seated are Aziz Bola, Phillip Laval, Guy Laval, Harold Officer and George Hoareau.On the grass are Alex Fernandes and Peter Laval.

Stolen from Roland Laval's FB page. Very historic picture.! Perhaps the only photo of Peter Laval!

Roving Rovers Football Team

Standing Rear  L – R Eric Gunputrav, Frank Cameron, Cedric Gontier,  Lewis Vel, Phillip Laval, Francis Theodore, Front Sitting L - R Guy Laval, Eddie Badier, Michael Gontier, Maxwell Mothe Sitting  -  Dicky Burke with the ball.

I have mentioned this before. I used to sit with the old men: Mr Agricole, Mr Arrisol, and two or three others gathered around a bottom on a large jiikko (charcoal stove) stirring the pot, making creole beer called “bakkaa?).

HERE ARE SOME OF THE FAMILIES I CAN RECALL WITH A LITTLE HELP OF FRIENDS

Ahluwalias, Alvis, Andris, Athanasius, Sequeiras, Confaits, Lucas, Hoareau, Verghese, Boizeson, Renes, Furlongs, Lopes, Sullivans, Theodore’s, Van Rosies, Lovedays, Laurence, Desnousse, Confaits. Preston’s, Price, Agricoles, Arrisols, Gunpatravs, Bressons, Bediers, Gontiers, Fernandez, Peters, Officers, Makers, Michauds, Vels, Burkes, Simons, Adelas, Verbis, Nalathambys, De Silvas, Lavals, Lopez, Rodrigues, Logisse, Labonte, Vidot, , Hoarau, Denis, Stausi (Tony, Andrew), Rival Hetimier, Alvis. Antoine, Barallon, Biscornet,  Delpache, Clarisse, Desnouse, Carmille, Harter, Hermit, Groutche, Horan,  Jorre de Stjorre,  Isidore, Laporte, Lawrence,    Marie, Mothe,  Mustache,  Puren, Pierre-Louis, Laljee,  Theodore, Sullivan.

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From Mombasa: Laval, Sonon, Anton, Preya, Foundameir, Da Silva, Baptiste.

 

Rita Sinon: the first female

Minister in Seychelles.

By her son Peter Sinon

In the 1960s, she met Guy Sinon, her future husband and a Seychellois who had come to Kenya to study the trade union movement. She followed her husband back to the island nation and joined politics in 1970, where she led the Women’s League at its inception.

During her tenure in the Seychelles political scene, she worked closely with France-Albert René who was the second President of the country. Rita was also close with Sylvette Frichot, a politician in the then relatively young country. As a minister, she headed the Ministry of Internal Affairs. 

Rita’s husband served as the Minister for Foreign Affairs between 1977 and 1979. Their son, Peter Sinon, who was born in 1966, also served as a Minister of Investment, Natural Resources, and Industry from 2010 to 2015.

In an interview with a Seychellois publication, Peter attributed his success to his upbringing noting that his mother had a very big influence during his formative years.

“I was introduced to this great continent at a very young age. My mum hailed from Kenya where dad, Guy Sinon, went in search of better job opportunities that were not available in Seychelles in the early and mid-60s.

“My principles have been nurtured to full maturity by Guy and Rita Sinon (his parents). They implanted in me the belief in myself and the Seychellois people,” he stated in an interview.

Rita succeeded in the country despite the 1981 Seychelles coup d’état attempt on her close confidant France-Albert René who was President at the time.

The coup was reportedly initiated by South Africa and was supported by some prominent Kenya politicians including Charles Njonjo and then-Police Commissioner Ben Gethi among others. A plane had been chartered to transport the coup plotters from Mombasa to Seychelles – but the plan never materialised.

The two leaders were sacked the following year after embarrassing the then President Daniel Moi who did not know about the coup plans.

Since then, the two countries have improved their bilateral trade with a visit in 2017 of the then Seychelles President Danny Faure who flew to Kenya to meet Uhuru Kenyatta. The two signed a number of agreements. (With thanks to Peter Sinon).

More than anything else the thing that gave me a kick up my backside to try and write something was when I joined the De Silva family in a zoom session in which we tried to paint a picture (with words, of course) of the life of Enid Burke. It was an enriching experience. However, the eulogy that Enid’s daughter Gillian delivered filled me with a lot of pride as did her brother James’ vote of thanks to all who helped in one way or another.

 

Thank you all for joining us today, both in-person and online, to help us say a last farewell to our beloved Mum, Enid.  

We have been overwhelmed and comforted by the many messages from friends and family as well as Mum’s former colleagues, who have taken the time to share memories, anecdotes and the many milestones that marked Mum’s extraordinary life.

Mum was born in Eldoret.  She was a Sri Lankan/Seychelloise growing up in what was then British East Africa so she learned to negotiate her complex background while growing up under colonial rule. 

Hearing stories from her siblings, she had natural mothering instincts, rocking her baby brother Bill to sleep.  Her sister Alison fondly recalls she would also produce family plays for Christmas and Easter “she would get us to rehearse, make our costumes, set up a stage in the house complete with curtains and tickets for the audience made up of family, friends and neighbours.  It was an exciting time for us kids.”

Perhaps her greatest start in life was being born into a family where education was prized above all else.  Unusually for the time, her parents gave equal importance to educating their five daughters as they did their sons.

Mum’s sister Virginia writes, “Enid was a woman before her time. She was the first student of Asian/African descent to get a Top Grade in the Senior Cambridge Certificate”.  The was to be the first of many ‘firsts’.

Accompanied by her oldest sister Sybil, Mum sailed to Sri Lanka via Mumbai (then Bombay) to earn her Bachelor’s in Arts in Sri Lanka.  She later earned a Fullbright Scholarship to study for her master’s degree in journalism in America. 

She eventually returned to Kenya, to a country that was being energised by the independence movement and the end of colonial rule firmly in sight.  In this atmosphere, she took up her role, as the first woman journalist in Kenya, at the Daily Nation newspaper.

She was quoted in one interview as saying “ I stubbornly resisted working on the women’s pages and was quite firm that I should cover the same stories as my male counterparts”

Fellow writer, Cyprian Fernandes recalls that Mum was not afraid to ‘represent’ as we would say these days.  She put her hand up for women’s rights but also for her Seychelles heritage at a time when it was not trendy to do either.

She would talk fondly of the excitement of working in the newsroom as a Feature’s Writer – no two days were the same, long hours and quick turnarounds.  She secured exclusive interviews with Kenya’s founding father and first president Jomo Kenyatta as well as visiting dignitaries including John and Jackie Kennedy. 

Mum would go on to use her love of writing to work in various roles in the United Nations.  She was an advocate for the environment with UNEP, worked as information officer for the UN Decade for Women.  She served various roles in the UN from independent observer at Namibia’s first ever general elections to serving as civilian peacekeeper during the Bosnian War – a harrowing experience that Mum absorbed with compassion by using her writing to tell the stories of the civilian casualties in her manuscript “No Hiding Place”.

Her colleague and friend, Tess Desa, says “she rose in her career in very competitive environments at a time when women were not given their due and she did it all with an inner strength”.

 

To inner strength, one could perhaps add ‘grace’. 

Mum didn’t believe in stepping on people to get ahead.  Instead, she negotiated this competitive environment with generosity of spirit, believing that a rising tide would float all ships.

Her dear friend Mary Ngithii writes, “your mom was incredible, beautiful inside and out.

She was a high achiever and loved dearly by all those who knew her. She encouraged all of us to be the best we could be, and she showed us how to be kind and generous, by her own generosity.”

This is so beautifully conveyed by Judy Wakahiu, who worked with Mum at the Refugee Consortium of Kenya; “she took care of me when I joined RCK at a young age and a green-horn in matters of management. She held my hand and walked with me for 8 years. I will truly be indebted to her.”

Hearing these accounts make us immensely proud of our dear Mum.  I know her grandchildren, Vincent and Imara, watching this all the way in the UK will also cherish these accounts of their Granma.

 

It is also Judy Wakahiu who helps us move our attention to the other things Mum loved – her family. 

“Mrs Burke was such a lovely lady, full of love for her husband and children. I truly admired your parent's relationship.  I realized how heartbroken she was for the loss of Jim. Sad as the conversation was, it was a true reflection of true love between man and woman.  They will always be indeed my reference love heroes when I think and talk about true love.”

What is extraordinary about Mum is she managed to do so much, for so many while always remaining an attentive mother.  She was a terrible cook (and she wouldn’t mind us saying) but she always had time for us. 

She was caring, gentle, unhurried with her affection and always full of empathy and compassion. 

She did all this while making sure she could use her writing and passion for the written word to advocate for the environment, for women’s issues and human rights to do all she could to make the world a better place.

If Mum’s legacy teaches us anything, it is that strength, power and true wealth can be delivered quietly, with grace and through the written word.

May she rest in peace.

 

VOTE OF THANKS

 

Once again, thank you to each and every one of you that have sent messages and shared precious snapshots of our Mum.  We wish we could have read all of them aloud.

We would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to Mum’s carers and Nurse Kevin who looked after her so conscientiously and tenderly during her last months. 

A thank you to Dr Raj and all the wonderful staff at Diani Beach Hospital, to Tonny Funeral Services in Mombasa for all the assistance in bringing Mum to Nairobi, and Umash Funeral Home for receiving her.

A special thanks to Mum’s brother Bill and her dear nephew Raymond for the beautiful flowers, and HUGE thank you to our aunties and cousins for messages of support. And finally to our good friends Joanie Nesbitt and Nicole Laval for holding our hands through this difficult time and without whom we would have been truly lost. 

Thank you. Gillian and James Burke

Nonna!

JULIE LAVAL

1935-2021

Mystic Gardens in Westlands. L to R front row Jimmy, Ligia , Julie Laval, Nicole (Tootie) Laval, Sam Butler

L to R back row: Floyd Laval, Ken Laval, Gordon Butler, Gavin, Patrick Butler and Jackie Fernandes.

 

FOR ALL OF HER LIFE Julie Laval charmed everyone she met. With that heavenly smile, it was easy, but it was not a put-on. She never lost that smile either. She loved people, especially the very, very young people. The Julie I knew in Nairobi was a fabulous dancer and an even more fabulous singer. She was one of the first women to sing on Voice of Kenya television, I was the show’s MC. She had all of her children to worry about, yet she never said no to anyone who needed help. Life was never easy but Julie never lost that smile. She once told me that it was her smile of hope because there was no point in putting any creases in her face, so she smiled and the world smiled with her. I spoke to her many times from Sydney Australia and our conversations always left me feeling that much better about the world. Anyone who knew her will never forget her. She is always in my prayers. She is in Heaven. Skip Fernandes

The Eulogy

 

By Kenneth Laval

Julia Philomena Laval was born in Mombasa in 1935. Her mother was Celeste Máure and her father was Joachim Chaves. Grandma Celeste was born in Seychelles and -- as with most parents searching for a better life and future for their family -- emigrated to mainland Africa. After the death of her first husband Christian Rusteau, Grandma Celeste married again. Joachim Chaves was Portuguese and was born in Malindi. Joachim and Celeste married in Mombasa. Mum was the 10th child of grandma Celeste.

Mum's siblings were 1 Henrietta 2 Gilbert 3 Phyllis 4 Paul / Paula 6 Lucy 7 Emmanuel 8 Sonny 9 Floret (who live in the UK) 10 Mum 11 Sheila. Mum went to school at Star of the Sea in Mombasa.

Her first marriage was in Mombasa to Aslam Hafeez Jamil from which Schera was born in August 1953. Unfortunately, Aslam died tragically in September 1954. Mum later married Guy Laval and had five more children: Mary-Anne now living in the UK, Ginette now living in NZ, Floyd (aka AAGH SON?!) hahaha Nicole aka Toots, Ken now living in Ireland. Mum first worked as a telephone operator in GPO Mombasa and later got promoted to GPO Nairobi where she met Guy Laval. Mum also worked as a secretary/receptionist at various well-known companies.

 At one time, Mum held three jobs working as a receptionist, hostess at restaurants and cabaret singer. In her vast working experiences. Mum also worked as a ground hostess at Air France and that's how we got to visit many countries with her. Mum's last jobs were at the UK and Canadian embassies before she retired in (1993 - confirm this).

In August 1973, Mum became a grandmother when Schera's son Alessio was born. From that year, Mum was fondly called Nonna (which is Italian for grandmother).

Nonna's other grandchildren are Samantha, Yasser, Thureya, Adrian, Daniella, Julie, Malorie Germaine, Jamie, Gavin, Floyd Jnr, Rachel, Samuel, Guy, Jacob ... and Nonna lovingly embraced many other children who came into our family. At her time of passing, Nonna had nine great-grandchildren Dylan Gianni Liam Zara Kyle Bella Amare Kenneth (Ireland) James (Ireland).

Both communities produced some great football players: Seychelles United and Roving Rovers.

Seychelles trivia

The first Seychellois, 800 men,  in Kenya were brought there by the colonial government during World War 1. What happened to them?

When did the first Seychellois women come to Kenya? And why?

Seychelles was uninhabited throughout most of recorded history. Tombs on the island, visible until 1910, are the basis for the scholarly belief that Austronesian seafarers and later Maldivian and Arab traders were the first to visit the  Archipelago. Vasco da Gama and his 4th Portuguese India Armada discovered the Seychelles on 15 March 1503; the first sighting was made by Thomé Lopes aboard Rui Mendes de Brito. Da Gama's ships passed close to an elevated island, probably Silhouette Island, and the following day Desroches Island. They mapped a group of seven islands and named them The Seven Sisters.^[14] The earliest recorded landing was in January 1609, by the crew of the Ascension under Captain Alexander Sharpeigh during the fourth voyage of the British East India Company. Wiki

The British frigate Orpheus commanded by Captain Henry Newcome arrived at Mahé on 16 May 1794, during the War of the First Coalition. Terms of capitulation were drawn up and the next day Seychelles was surrendered to Britain. Jean Baptiste Quéau de Quincy, the French administrator of Seychelles during the years of war with the United Kingdom, declined to resist when armed enemy warships arrived. Instead, he successfully negotiated the status of capitulation to Britain which gave the settlers a privileged position of neutrality.

The islands went under British control in 1814 after the Napoleonic wars. Seychelles became a crown colony separate from Mauritius in 1903. In 1976, Seychelles became independent from the United Kingdom as a republic within the Commonwealth.

Well, it turns out that the Seychelles islands were named after Jean Moreau de Séchelles, Louis XV‘s Minister of Finance, in 1756 when the French set a Stone of Possession on the islands Mahé. Before then, it was a transit point for trade between Africa and Asia. The first visitors to the island were probably Arab traders, but the earliest recorded sighting by Europeans took place in 1502 by the Portuguese Admiral Vasco da Gama, who passed through the Amirantes and named them after himself (islands of the Admiral). The earliest recorded landing was in January 1609, by the crew of the “Ascension” under Captain Alexander Sharpeigh during the fourth voyage of the British East India Company.