Kenya’s 4th annual Jamhuri Extravaganza was a Blast
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By EADM Correspondent
In Summary: This years’ 4th annual Jamhuri Extravaganza for Kenyans living in the DFW area was a blast and revelers left the Grand Finale Banquet Center in Irving not ready to wait another long year before a repeat performance.
Irving, Texas—The 4th annual Jamhuri Extravaganza for Kenyans living in the Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) area was a blast and no reveler; child or adult, left the Grand Finale Banquet Center, attached to the Irving Mall, venue of the gala ready to wait another long year before a repeat performance, a veteran of the 4-year old annual Jamhuri extravaganza said Sunday. Held last Saturday December 12 in Irving, Texas, the extravaganza was attended by over 500 adults including Kenyans, Ugandans, Tanzanians, Rwandese, Burundians, Mexicans, Americans, and others from across the world, organizers told the EADM Thursday.
“While the Jamhuri was held to celebrate Kenya’s independence from Britain on December 12, 1963, the festival was an open invitation to, primarily, all people hailing from the East African region, our neighbors, our hosts here, and friends from elsewhere, Alex Karundu, chair of Kenya Diaspora Organization in DFW told EADM in an interview earlier. The DFW metroplex hosts the largest number of Kenyans living in the United States. It is estimated that over 75,000 Kenyans live in the DFW area.
The guest of honor at the fourth annual Jamhuri extravaganza was Ms. Ouma, a retired police chief of the City of Arlington whose story of hard work, resilience, excellence, and commitment to her profession was an inspiration to all. “She was simply fabulous and awesome. We couldn’t have asked for anyone better,” one of the guests from Uganda who attended the festival told the EADM correspondent a day after the event.
Benson Kasue, a founding chair of the Jamhuri Ya Kenya Extravaganza said that “While this annual event is a social gathering to make-merry, the leadership of the Kenyan community in the DFW area provides mentorship in all fields of human endeavor to our Kenyan sisters and brothers here in the Diaspora,” he said. “Our efforts are complemented by services extended to our members by the East African Chamber of Commerce which we frequently approach to extend mentorship in business ventures,” he revealed.
Elsa Juuko,the newly elected chairwoman of the East African Chamber of Commerce of Dallas saluted the Kenyan community for organizing the Jamhuri Day Celebration and inviting fellow East Africans especially Ugandans to join them on this day when Kenya got her independence from Britain. In an earlier statement that encouraged Ugandans living in the DFW area to honor an invitation by the Kenya Diaspora Advisory council of Texas to attend the Jamuhuri Day extravaganza was a way of celebrating the community spirit of East Africa in a positive way.
The guests dined, wined, and danced till the wee hours of the morning. The children were not left out either. The organizers had programs for them that kept them occupied from the time the fete started at 6:00 pm to the end.
(More details and images to follow)