The Great Turkwel Race and Beauty Show was about to happen, and although I was not so excited about travelling the over 500 km there by road, I knew I needed to honour my invitation. So off I went, in the company of 24 other journalists from different media houses in Kenya, plus BBC; at 8 am.
Contrary to my expectations the long ride on the raised outback track popular with adventure tourists was enjoyable. The guys on the track made things interesting with their out-of-this world stories and plenty of laughter. The driver kept our spirits high with popular local and international songs which he played on the tracks CD player.
After two stops, one at Eldoret town for lunch and another at a trading centre in Kapenguria town, we finally rolled into Turkwel (in Pokot) at 10 pm. Dinner was served and off we went into our designated tented accomodation, to rest clean our now fatigued and dusty bodies, and rest.
The Race wasn't anything that you have come to associate with Kenyan athletes, despite the fact that some of Kenya's top runners like Richard Limo and Tegla Lourupe were present. Most of the race participants came as far as Sembei (in Uganda), and from neighbouring counties of Turkana and Marakwet; they were warriors. While a few of these warriors are still involved in occassional cattle rustling activities, most of them have since changed their ways and engage in alternative livelihoods such as trade and sport (athletics). Another interesting fact was that most of the young women who participated in the race have ambitions to become Kenya's next top models! These queens run like their lives depended on their feet. The winners received medals and cash prizes.
The event organisers then gave us a ride to Turkwel Dam and Turkwel Gorge. There's only one word to describe the scenes at these locations. Wonderful. Wonder+ful, if you see what I mean.
The day ended with a traditional/cultural beauty show. There were 26 contestants from three warring communities of Turkana, Marakwet and Pokot. Each one of these contestants had only about five minutes to charm would-be voters with their smiles and personalities - they didn't have a chance to speak the the mostly "foreign" audience.
The winner of the beauty show was awarded a cash prize of KSh 30,000. All the wanna-be models received KSh 5,000.
The following day we travelled back to Kenya's capital, Nairobi, stopping to take pictures along the way, and to have lunch.
My hope is that this idea of fostering peace efforts through sports and beauty pageants will become an annual event; if only because I would like to visit Turkwel again!
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