According to the Kamusi Internet Living Swahili Dictionary, saidia is a kiswahili verb meaning to help, as well as to assist, to favor, to aid, to defend, to approve, to protect, to promote, to sanction. I can’t think of a better word to describe my own aspirations for this blog and indeed my life.
SAIDIA is also the clever acronym of a Kenyan organization called Samburu Aid in Africa that I remember visiting as a high school student back in 1988. That visit left a lasting impression on me and is probably a leading factor in me devoting the last 20 years of my life to helping African organizations.
I also happen to already own the saidia.org domain name, which I first registered in 2002 and have used off and on for blogging and other side projects.
Saidia.org, as you may have gathered by now, has nothing at all to do with the Moroccan beach town Saïdia.
Let me know if there are other meanings I should know about.
