Staff and students of the Institute of Computer Science in 1985. Prof. R. J. P. "Bob" Scott is the white man on the left. Next, in the blue jacket is an instructor, Ms. Kayondo, a Ugandan, whose father had been murdered by Ida Amin. Next to her is an Asian woman, Panna B., a student. We visited her family in Mombassa.
The rest are students. The other white face belongs to a prof from the U.K. who came to review our grading processes.
These were my colleges and friends.
(Click on the photos for larger images.)
The Institute of Computer Science taught post-graduate students and was located on the Chromo campus west of the main campus.
We had an ICL mainframe computer, primitive even for the mid-80s.
The building and program are still there, but with new equipment, new staff and a new name (see link above)
This isn't a very clear shot, but it is all I have of my students. They were very serious about their education. I taught master's students (shown here) and undergraduate classes as well.
The main campus was a mile or so off. This is the main library building and quadrangle of the campus. Graduation was held on the lawn at the left.
We lived here, in this university-owned apartment complex. We had a two-bedroom unit on the lower right end of the building. Servant quarters were around the bushes to the right. It was not as grim as it might look.
This is what a portable computer looked like in 1984. The Compaq. 30 lbs, two floppy drives. I still have it. We had all kinds of problems with power supplies and traveled all over Nairobi trying to get someone to fix it. Eventually had to purchase a Kaypro to get any work done.
(Auto body repair shop). These guys were a mere 100 meters from our flat, which was good, since they got a lot of business from me. Some of that business was them fixing things they broke the previous time. But they were charming and cheap.
And they didn't just replace things like in the U.S. Rather, they'd put the panel on the ground and a guy wearing rubber flip flops tapped with with a tiny hammer until all the dents were gone.
See that wood building on the left? Apparently they never got a permit to build it because one day some police showed up and smashed it right down to the ground.
We stayed there at first until our "flat" was ready. The UKC was justly proud of being the first organization in Kenya that had accepted members of all ethnic groups.
Note the veranda at the right center. We spent many wonderful afternoons there conversing with fellow expatriates and Kenyan friends. It was an ongoing, swirling conversation where anyone just in from the field was quickly sucked into the group and we all became instant friends.
I was pleased to learn that they are still around, and, of course, have advanced and developed greatly over the years. (Up 7/3/11)
Going on safari is one standard thing to do in Kenya. At this lodge north of Nairobi, you overlook a watering hole and can see a lot of animals right from your room.
It was a wonderful gift that my parents came to visit us. We took them around the country.
| Last modified 7/3/11; posted 10/15/07; original material © 2011, 2007 John P. Nordin |
