Harambee
Harambee is a Kenyan tradition of community self-help events, e.g. fundraising or development activities. The word means "all pull together" in Swahili, and is the official motto of Kenya, appearing on its coat of arms. The word was assimilated into the Swahili language from Hindi at the time of the building of the Uganda Railway from Mombasa to Kampala. Indian labourers used the phrase "har har Ambey", or, "hail Ambey"–an exhortation to Amba, another name for Durga, the Hindu Goddess – when performing difficult tasks that often required more than one person to be involved, such as lifting heavy  loads. Harambee events may range from informal affairs lasting a few hours, in which invitations are spread by word of mouth, to formal, multi-day events advertised in newspapers. These events have long been important in parts of East Africa, as ways to build and maintain communities. History. Following Kenya's independence in 1963, the first Prime Minister, and later first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta adopted "Harambee" as a concept of pulling the country together to build a new nation. He encouraged communities to work together to raise funds for all sorts of local projects, pledging that the government  would provide their startup costs. Under this system, wealthy individuals wishing to get into politics could donate large amounts of money to local harambee drives, thereby gaining legitimacy; however, such practices were never institutionalised during Kenyatta's presidency. Etymology. The etymology of the term is cited as genuinely Bantu, from the Miji Kenda term "halumbe" "to pull or push together". The word Harambee was assimilated into the Swahili language from Hindi at the time of the building of the Uganda Railway from Mombasa to Kampala. Indian labourers used the phrase Har Har Ambey or Hail Ambey – an exhortation to Amba  the Hindu Goddess – when performing difficult tasks that often required more than one person to be involved e.g. lifting heavy loads etc. Criticism. The word "harambee" and the concept of harambee fund-drives have received criticism. The word was originally adopted by Jomo Kenyatta as the signature Kenyan national philosophy to mean "pulling together" or cooperating in community projects. Historical abuse and poor performance. Due to repeated abuse, the word is often perceived to refer to manipulative or deceptive collection of monetary funds from the public. Harambee fund-drives have been repeatedly abused through:- Religious criticism. Kenyan Christians have criticised  the use of the word harambee as an official term due to its apparent Hindu origin. Harambee is neither a Hindu god nor a Hindu word; it is a Swahili word and Kenyan. The objections have also been dismissed on the basis that even if the supposed derivation from "hare Ambeh" (hail Ambeh) were true, it has become irrelevant to the term's modern usage and meaning. Attempted replacement. In January 2002, the Risk Advisory Group Ltd commissioned by President Moi's administration as part of the anti-corruption efforts recommended the abolition of harambee, or the spirit of pulling  together. In 2003 when the National Rainbow Coalition NARC took over from the Kenya African National Union KANU, President Mwai Kibaki enacted the Public Officers Ethics Act which prohibited members of parliament and cabinet secretaries from presiding over harambee events. In February 2018, a petition was presented to the Kenyan parliament and senate, seeking to have the word "harambee" removed from the public seal on the claim that it represents a Hindu god.