The name Wajasiri was not chosen lightly. It stems from a deeply rooted personal journey that began during my first trip to Kenya, my introduction to Africa. During my exploration of the land, I met a woman who other locals said resembled my mother. I politely thanked them, figuring that they were simply making a kind gesture. After I returned to the United States, I showed the photograph to my mother, and she paused and acquiesced, "Yes,  I could pass as her daughter."

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At the time, this coincidence felt magical. I even joked, "Wouldn't it be funny if we were Kenyan?" That passing remark took on a whole new meaning when a DNA test revealed that my maternal lineage, indeed determined that our roots did trace back to Kenya. The connection was once deemed dismissive, but became an undeniable root.

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People often remarked on my courage to travel solo to remote places, and the phrase "the brave one" became a theme in my journeys. In Swahili, Wajasiri means "the brave ones." Wajasiri is a tribute to that spirit of fearless exploration and the ancestral connection that guides it.