Social Day Out

During the recent long weekend, my investment group of 19 members decided to take the families out for some inter family mingling. The basic criterion to join this seven-year-old all male group is friendship. You must be a good friend of at least four of the existing members. In trying times that friendship has been the saving grace. With four members overseas and one in Mombasa, the other fourteen members get together for formal meeting once a month and socially every other weekend. In our calendar of events, we aim to have at least four annual dates for the spouses and children. There is a Valentine dinner for the ladies only, an all-family weekend during the Tusker Safari Sevens weekend and another one lunch for all. Apart from these occasions, we also get a chance to meet as families during another three outings under the banner of our community and charity activities. We have developed a partnership with a children’s home in the Lukenya area of Athi river area, which sees us going “out” of town as a unit. During the recent outing, we had booked a lodge on the outskirts of the city for a group lunch complete with a full goat choma. The venue was excellent. Set on the river bank of the Athi river, it was serene even as one enjoyed the sense of “wildness” that the uninhabited savannah plains imposed. With 32 children in the fraternity, the focus of such gatherings is usually centered on ensuring that the kids are happy. So as is usual, the fathers were outdoing each other in trying to impress the young ones. The ladies were busy catching up since they don’t interact as regularly as the men. In a week’s time, the group gets together at the safari sevens for the Sunday family outing. This is mostly a fathers and babies outing since most of the ladies are not very keen on the rugby scene. The weekend after that, we are off to Limuru Club for a Sunday lunch courtesy of one member’s generosity. I know this one will be an interesting one since members, spouses and kids are all coming. In the years we have been together as a group, no one can fault us for lack of socializing. As individuals we know how to entertain and as a group we sure know how to have ourselves a good time. In fact we have seen many different parts of the country in the last six years under the pretext of attending our AGM in quiet surroundings. In the next two or so years, we hope to take the AGM out of the country. Despite the group’s penchant for good times, a big challenge exists of how else the members can be beneficial to each other and to the group. Coming from diverse backgrounds and careers, have we realized that this wonderful group is a network that can be utilized for business and therefore material gains? We are sitting on a goldmine, but for as long as the party continues; it will be hard to see the gold dust that lies on our feet.