Shirleen Warui left her native Kenya in pursuit of the American Dream, choosing Maricopa for its affordable housing and warm temperatures. But she stayed for the overwhelming spirit of community […] This post HAKUNA MATATA: Kenyans find ‘harambee’ spirit...

Shirleen Warui left her native Kenya in pursuit of the American Dream, choosing Maricopa for its affordable housing and warm temperatures.

But she stayed for the overwhelming spirit of community she found.

“The Maricopa community has demonstrated a strong sense of solidarity and the genuine significance of the phrase, ‘It takes a village,’” said Warui, a registered nurse who moved to Desert Passage in 2016.

She recalls the story of a Kenyan elder visiting family in Maricopa. While on a bicycle ride, Warui said, he became lost because in his eyes “all the houses had the same designs.”

“When I say the city came together, it did,” she said. “We posted a missing person (sign), we had search parties on foot, in cars, and even using drones to find him.”

A neighbor found him safe and helped him return to his loved ones.

It was then, Warui said, “We felt the affection as the Kenyan community in Maricopa, and we are grateful.”

Such a unifying event might be called harambee in Kenya, which “signifies the spirit of cooperation or pulling together,” said Warui.

While harambee sweetens the lives of many Kenyans in Maricopa, according to Warui, it was the skyrocketing cost of housing in major cities that drew Warui and her husband, Samuel, to town.

They have two daughters, ages 6 and 4. Samuel Warui is a production machine operator.

“I spent eight years living in Silicon Valley, Calif., after migrating from Kenya to the United States. My husband and I realized very fast at the end of 2016 that we needed to move out of our one-bedroom apartment in the Bay Area as our family grew.”

The Waruis came across Maricopa Realtor Adam Leach on social media.

“He had a major role in our decision to move to Maricopa as he was able to ease us into the transition, and for that, I will always be thankful,” she said. “After we became homeowners, we were relieved of the burden of the high expense of living.”

Fellow Kenyan transplant Rebecca Githinji agrees with Warui’s assessment and adds Maricopa is the ideal place to raise a family. She called the city of some 70,000 a “perfect” place for kids to grow up.

“My two sons, who were new immigrants back in 2018, found it easier to settle in and focus in school because of the quietness in the Maricopa city and their limited exposure to the major city hype,” Githinji said.

Many other Kenyans who settled in Maricopa cited housing affordability.

The community developed a local support network because so many Kenyan families are moving to Maricopa.

“The Kenyan community is incredibly supportive of one another and we get together to commemorate important life events like holidays, marriages, birthdays, housewarmings, and new businesses just to name a few,” Warui said. “When one of us needs assistance, that becomes a community need.”

Welcoming new Kenyan families to Maricopa’s neighborhoods is a frequent occurrence, Warui said.

“Most of the adult Kenyans in Maricopa were born in Kenya, and a good number of the younger kids were born in America,” she said, adding the first Kenyan to move here was around 2006.

According to data from the 2020 U.S. Census, as many as 1 in 10 foreign-born Maricopa residents could be from Kenya, compared to just 1 in 200 in the previous census.

The growth in Maricopa’s Kenyan community has led to the formation of a local organization called Maricopa Family’s Keeper. Warui said it’s a sort of message board that exists specifically for Kenyans to communicate.

Shirleen Warui and her husband, Samuel with their daughters, Savannah and Saisha. [Jenece Mordt]The local Kenyan culture is kept alive through many traditional activities, such as weddings and dowry payments, traditional music performances and maintaining the Swahili language at gatherings. That helps preserve the culture of the East African country, Warui said.

“We also celebrate Holidays like Mashujaa Day, Swahili for Heroes Day,” she said. “Every year, Mashujaa Day is marked to pay tribute to individuals who significantly aided Kenya’s fight for independence from colonial authority.”

Kenyans in Maricopa also celebrate with worship gatherings in the city.

While her native land is a world away, some things remind Warui of home. Take traffic on State Route 347, for example. “We encounter the same issue in certain Kenyan towns as well.”

But you don’t drive on the lefthand side of the road as they do in Kenya, she said. It can be confusing.

Upon moving to Maricopa, Warui said it was the heat that surprised her most.

Located on the equator, the average temperature in Kenya’s capital city Nairobi is 63 to 70 degrees year-round, according to the World Climate Guide.

She explains how you can recognize a Kenyan in Maricopa:

”It’s a funny truth that practically every Kenyan we know wears a bracelet with the national flag’s colors — black, white, red and green. This makes identifying a Kenyan easy,” Warui said.

Recognizing the bracelet, she said you might greet a Kenyan with, “Jambo,” meaning “hello.”

An oft-used Kenyan expression made more familiar in the U.S. thanks to Disney’s 1994 movie “Lion King” — hakuna matata.

English translation: “No worries.”

Kenyans favorites

In Kenya
FOOD – The usual Kenyan favorite is ugali, a staple of the country’s cuisine. Made from white or yellow cornmeal, salt and hot water, it is served at almost every meal. Shirleen prefers chapati, a flatbread with a mild nutty flavor from whole wheat, and beef stew.
SNACK – Kenyan bajias are a popular street food item of thinly sliced potatoes seasoned with turmeric, cumin, chili powder, garam masala, coriander, ginger, salt and black pepper. Fried until golden brown. Shirleen Warui prefers Kenyan samosas, triangular fried flour pockets with beef, peas and lots of spices.
DRINK – Banana beer, sour porridge and Kenyan tea
GUILTY PLEASURE – Watching trashy soap operas instead of doing home chores. Shirleen prefers a 5 p.m. nap and reading the comment section on funny videos
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION – Public buses
MUSIC – Folk music based on 50 regional languages. But Kenyans also listen to Zanzibaran taarab music, hip hop, reggae, soul, soukous, zouk, rock ‘n’ roll, funk and Europop. Shirleen prefers gospel or reggae.
SPORT – Soccer, known as football in Kenya, takes the trophy.
TEAM – National football team, the Harambee Stars

In Maricopa
FOOD – cold beer and cheeseburgers
DRINK – Oreo cookie milkshake at Jack in the Box
GUILTY PLEASURE – New York cheesecake and pineapple dole whip at Yogurt Jungle
MODE OF TRANSPORTATION – Car
MUSIC – Sunday morning worship at Church of the Celebration

The December edition of InMaricopa Magazine is in Maricopa mailboxes and available online. 

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