Into Africa with Canadian author Maureen Ulrich
Travel and Culture Guest Author Series: Maureen Ulrich takes readers on a journey into Nairobi, Kenya for her new middle-grade novel
Maureen Ulrich is a children’s writer and retired teacher from Treaty 4 Territory in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada. From 2007-2012, Coteau Books published her girls’ hockey series (Power Plays, Face Off, Breakaway). She relaunched the series with Wood Dragon Books in 2020, adding Shootout—a fourth instalment—in 2021. She has self-published the first three books in a YA historical fantasy series (Gabrielle and the Rebels, Gabrielle Rouge, and The Outlaw Gabrielle), as well as Sam and the Big Bridge, her first picture book; and Kimeto’s Journey, her first middle grade novel.
Kimeto’s Journey: Eleven-year-old Kimeto has never been more than a days walk from his Maasai village at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. On his way to school one morning, Kimeto helps rescue a baby elephant from an abandoned well with the help of two park rangers. Later, worried that the calf will not survive the ordeal, Kimeto begins a journey by himself to the wildlife sanctuary in Nairobi. Will Kimeto find his elephant?
Full disclosure: Marie Powell for Travel and Culture:
Several years ago, I read early chapters of Maureen Ulrich’s middle-grade novel about a boy and an elephant in Africa. We’ve been part of an online critique group for the past ten years. The story stuck with me, although it’s been years since I read it. Last month, I spotted her Facebook post announcing the publication of the book. Naturally, I contacted her immediately. She graciously agreed to write this article for Travel and Culture about her experience in Nairobi, Kenya, and how that led to the book.
Here is Maureen’s story…
My inspiration for Kimeto’s Journey was sparked in 2014 when my youngest daughter Blaire embarked on a six-month internship with ACCOSCA (African Confederation of Cooperative Savings) in Nairobi. I landed there three weeks later.
The trip was life-changing. When Blaire’s driver Moses picked me up at the airport, he enclosed my hand in his large one and made me feel as if I had been waiting my entire life to meet him and to experience Kenya firsthand.
My first excursion was to Nairobi National Park. Here’s a quotation from my journal, “Blaire and I thought the sign indicating that children and warthogs have the ROW was funny. . . We entered the park through dense forest. When we emerged onto the savanna, our driver stopped and cried, “Hyena!” We saw three golden-eyed beauties sitting beside the road and staring calmly at us. They were not hyenas! We were too dumbfounded to take a picture of the three young lionesses, who still had speckles on their bellies. Our driver backed up slowly as they ambled into the tall grass, graceful tails switching. Our day was made before it had truly started.”
Later, Blaire and I watched handlers feed bottled milk to baby elephants at the Nairobi Elephant Sanctuary (Sheldrick Wildlife Trust). When two tiny calves wearing plaid blankets trotted into the enclosure, I knew I would write a story about them.
The food in Nairobi is both delicious and nutritious. The milk, meat, and vegetables are especially flavourful; the tea is full bodied, not bitter. Blaire and I had a memorable meal at a restaurant called Carnivore, where we sampled crocodile. If you guessed that crocodile tastes like chicken, you would be right!
The second week I flew to Amboseli Park at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro. Besides two daily game drives, I also visited the nearby Maasai village where the young men danced for me and made fire. Eric, the chief’s son, invited me into his hut where we had a conversation about what changes he hoped to undertake when he became chief. He also walked me to the school where the teacher Mister Simon introduced me to his hardworking students.
When I returned to Nairobi, I visited an orphanage for children with HIV/AIDS and spoke to the nun in charge. In addition, Moses drove me through Kibera, Africa’s largest slum and home to over a million people. However, apart from their tin shanties, the residents could have been living, working, and greeting their neighbours anywhere in the world.
It became clear to me that there were many locations I wanted to include in my manuscript, and so began my own trek to complete Peter and the Little Red Elephant, which evolved into Kimeto’s Journey. The opening line has not changed in ten years: “There once was a boy who walked to school and met an elephant.”
What a privilege it was to spend a little time in Kenya, which faces the challenge of balancing the demands of a growing population with conservation of wildlife and wildlife habitat. It is my sincere wish that I have accurately and fairly depicted these challenges, as well as the magnificence of the animals and landscape, and the generous spirit of the Kenyan people.
Asante sana.
Maureen Ulrich is a children’s writer and retired teacher from Treaty 4 Territory in southeast Saskatchewan, Canada. Her first middle-grade novel, Kimeto’s Journey, takes place in Kenya, Africa.
Kimeto’s Journey by Maureen Ulrich
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Thanks so much for this opportunity to shine a light on a beautiful nation and my middle grade novel!