Today we celebrate Mashujaa day, an opportunity for Kenyans to remember the women and men who shaped history by fighting, tenaciously for their communities’ land, freedom and spiritual well-being. By telling their stories, we get to honour them for believing in and living for something bigger than themselves.
Monday, 19th October 2020, Google Arts and Culture in partnership with the National Museums of Kenya, launched Superheroes stories to mark this year’s Mashujaa Day and enhance Kenya’s heritage. If there was ever a good time to be surrounded by superheroes, it’s definitely now at a time of global crisis and uncertainty, to remind us of our resilience and the importance of unity.
These moving and inspiring stories will remind you of why you should be proud of your culture and in the same breath be very appreciative of the influences and contribution from other cultures because that is what makes us all Kenyan.
At the launch event held at the Museum’s headquarters, H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta, in a video message, said, “We must look for our common vision in the dreams of our ancestors. We must seek out their wisdom and preserve their memory. We must bring them to life in a way that present generations can relate – through technology. “
“As we celebrate Mashujaa Day, I am delighted to announce that we now have at least one superhero for each one of the 44 communities and I invite you to explore, read each of the stories, and be inspired by the achievements and bravery of each superhero” said Amb. (Dr.) Amina C. Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary for Sports, Culture and Heritage.
Google’s Country Director for Kenya, Agnes Gathaiya said, “This project is part of Google’s commitment to preserving and promoting Kenya’s cultural heritage and communities noting that it is in line with Google’s primary mission of making the world’s information more accessible.”
“While conducting research for this project, we discovered that there are numerous untold stories of Kenya’s heroes” noted Dr. Purity Kiura, Research Scientist at National Museums of Kenya. “I believe this project will continue for years to come to capture all the legendary heroes and heroines from our communities”.
