The first day I was admitted to high school, I was served beans and Ugali.Immediately I tested beans, I realized the food was smelling paraffin. I immediately rushed to the kitchen prefect to raise my concern only to be told,”kijana,rudi mahali ulitoka,hii ndio chakula utakuewa unakula hadi umalize shule”.i quietly returned to my seat and painfully filled my stomach with the meal.
Over time I realized paraffin was almost constant in meals and I came to understand the thinking of teachers and authority in the school. Teachers believed that Paraffin was a strong neutralizer of hormones that accelerates the sexual urge.They strongly believed that when paraffin was mixed with meals like beans, cabbage,sukuma wiki and githeri,the meal could cool down students and make them less active in sexual matters.
Few years ago it was a norm for schools to encourage kitchen staff to mix paraffin with food but over time the idea has faded away.
What I can confess is that nearly every adult in Kenya took meals mixed with paraffin while in high school.
