Nearly 50 years after Mr. & Mrs. Ngugi passed on, their legacy of love is still witnessed through family gathering.
When we met up with the family during their 50th celebration in Bahati sub county , one of the family sons Mr. Kiragu Gichaga says the genesis can be traced from 1968.
The family have been holding the annual gathering every second Saturday of August.Mr.Gichaga says the legacy that their dad Mr.Ngugi and their mum Nyaguthii left behind is that of love which they have continued to ensure.
While noting that family gathering is a good platform for extended family members to know each other,Mr.Gichaga narrates a scenario that faced the family in which two members cousin related were almost getting married.
The story has it that the two members of the family fell in love without knowing that they were related only to be realized at the dowry stage.
He says it was turf situation that they had to engage the elders as per the Kikuyu culture to ensure the matter is addressed amicably to avert any abnormalities in the family.
“We started the family gathering after a scenario in which cousins were almost getting married without knowing that they were related. At the dowry stage it was realized that they were related and the matter had to be addressed” said Mr.Gichaga.
He however says the children had difficulty in accepting the same and they had to be counseled and accepted.He adds that it is due to the scenario that they took it paramount to the family gathering which helps to avert similar scenarios in future.
His appeal is to the families to emulate the same and ensure family gatherings as it is a platform for family members to interact and get to know each other.
“My appeal is to the families to embrace gatherings as they help shape the families as far as history is concerned” said Gichaga.
Sentiments echoed by Mr.Mwaniki Gerald Mwangondu and Mr.Ngugi Mbugua who are also sons of the family of the late Mr.and Mrs Ngugi of the Mbari Ya Muriu clan.
They say to ensure the legacy of love left by their parents,the family which has reached the 5th generation do meet yearly and rotational in all the 9 households of the family.
During the gatherings, they get to interact but more importantly plant trees as one way of teaching the younger generation in the family the importance of environment conservation.
During this year’s family gathering, they also launched a book titled ‘Legacy of Love Book’.
According to Mr.Gichaga,the Book has the genesis of Mbari ya Muriu clan with chapter one elaborating on the history of the family.
The following chapters focus on the 9 children of the family.
To them,this is the only way to preserve their history for future generation in the family and the clan of Mbari ya Muriu.
Indeed,theirs is a story to emulate that family gatherings can help address some of the challenges facing families as well as preserve history and culture.
PHOTO/Pristone Mambili:Mr. Kiragu Gichaga(left), Mr.Mwaniki Gerald Mwangondu(centre) and Mr.Ngugi Mbugua(right) during the launch of the book on family history.