First beep: Majuu was never waiting
Alumnus and author Florence Mukiria presents her debut novel, "First beep: Majuu was never waiting", a tale of North African diaspora, self-discovery, and passion for football.
Hello, my name is Florence Mukiria I'm an Alumni of the University of Portsmouth. This is my first novel, it's titled The beep, Majuu was never waiting.
So basically, the context of the book is, you look at the word Majuu, Majuu is a word used, It's slang in Swahili, which generally Africans use to refer to the Western world or the global world or going abroad. And people look at being abroad to foreign countries as something good, as a better life actually, they don't look at the challenges that come with it, it just reads to their minds that it's going to be a smooth sailing journey. But the difference, of course, is when you land in a foreign country, it's totally different. There's nobody waiting necessarily to receive you. There is no money waiting for you at the airport as sometimes people imagine. So that's basically the context of the book, that Majuu was never waiting.
What's the story about? So this story is about a young boy called Butwaa, Butwaa is a Swahili word that means shock or surprise, something like that. So he's the main character of the book. He's a young man who learns from an African village that's by the Mount Kilimanjaro, a Maasai village. A normal village where he does lots of cattle rearing, raising and living simply with his parents, friends, playing football, going to school. And then he crosses over to the UK for a football scholarship. He goes to Manchester and the first peep then is where he actually gets to, you know, everything is about technology. He's having to scan things around the airport. He's having to take planes from home to here. He's having to use toilets that sometimes self-flush.
So, it's a very interesting read to both young readers, to children in secondary school or primary school, to parents who also want to look at stories of migration, of resilience, of adaptation, and just seeing the difference in the two worlds.
In Swahili Language, “majuu” is a common informal expression used to refer to “overseas, abroad, or foreign countries”, generally referring to the Global North, in the context of a better world. So if someone says, they "live in Majuu”, it mostly sends the message that they live abroad and are therefore better off. Part of the story takes place in the UK, projecting diaspora themes, but it begins from an East African perspective and reflects Kenyan cultural experiences, particularly through Butwaa's upbringing, language, and worldview.
What inspired you to write this book?
For as far back as I can remember, especially post-secondary school, I have always scribbled short stories in exercise books. I never intended to publish; it was just something to make me laugh in retrospect or appreciate times gone by and reflect on the growth therein.
When I crossed over to Majuu(University of Portsmouth) for studies, I appreciated how different reality is from what we imagine back home in Africa. I wrote short notes in some of these experiences that we would eventually laugh off with my friends. But as I attended lectures, visited our library, I continuously got challenged to attempt to publish them as a book. The idea of Butwaa was born.
Who is it for - who should read it?
I believe pupils, students, adults, educators, and parents across continents can all appreciate the themes of adaptation, learning, and cultural transition in the book.
You mentioned its creation was interwoven with your time at university. Could you tell us a little more about that?
Somehow, since my studies required critical thinking and research, the book gave me an outlet to explore those themes through fiction. The more I studied at university, the more depth I was able to bring to Butwaa's experiences.
Was it all plain sailing or were there moments you wanted to abandon writing the book altogether?
Initially, I just did the fragmented versions of Butwaa alongside my studies, but when dissertation time came, I especially had to focus on it and put the creative fiction aside to make room for the more critical school research. The hardest job was editing and re-editing to make the story flow, then teaching myself the self-publication process. Some nights, I would be so frustrated that I would only go to sleep at 2 am, still very unhappy with myself. I am glad it's here now!
What are the key messages of your book?
I made it a story about a young person navigating unfamiliar environments and learning to adapt. People back in Africa focus on Majuu (abroad) as a destination, but I wanted to bring out the learning that happens in the journey itself. This is an educational story about migration, identity, cultural transitions, friendship, and personal growth. The book also shows how different subjects in school are interwoven in real life, for instance, how knowledge of geography and climate change relates to football.
Book one ends at the beginning of Butwaa’s football academy adventure, which gives a good beginning for book 2!
Read the novel yourself!
Florence has very kindly donated two copies of her book to the University Library.
Find them on up the wooden staircase on the second floor at classmark 823.92 MUK
Synopsis
Butwaa is learning to move through a world that does not always slow down for him.From a Maasai village on the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro to crowded stations in London and unfamiliar places in Manchester, every sign, every instruction, and every journey becomes something to decode. With guidance from Lily, and later Kofi, he begins to understand that progress is not only about arriving, it is about learning how to move.At school, a simple assignment about hobbies and the environment grows into something much bigger. Football becomes more than a game. Geography becomes more than maps. Life skills begin to take shape through questions that do not have simple answers.As Butwaa steps into a new academy and new expectations, he discovers that learning is not only about intelligence or talent but about patience, observation, and the courage to keep asking questions.The First Beep: Majuu Was Never Waiting is a coming-of-age story about adaptation, learning, and finding direction in unfamiliar spaces. It is about the quiet moments where understanding begins, and the spaces between instruction and independence.
So there we have it - a journey of self-discovery and cultural exploration of the global North from the perspective of a Kenyan football enthusiast, written, edited, and published by one of our own African alumni.
Contributed by
Florence Mukiria, Alumnus and author