Footprints on the African Savanna

Footprints on the African Savanna is the story of a Sikh woman, Amrita Kaur Dhillon, who wrote fifty pages in her own handwriting about her childhood, her parents, her in-laws and her life growing up and then surviving in East Africa. Unfortunately, she passed away before she could finish writing and publishing her story. Amrita belonged to a generation of pioneering Sikh women in East Africa who were born there in the early part of the twentieth century, and worked tirelessly to raise their families. This is her story, from birth to a glorious childhood which ended abruptly when she married at the age of fourteen and was thrust into the busy and demanding life of a large Sikh family who were one of the early settlers in East Africa. The manuscript narrates the intriguing life experiences of Amrita's father and father-in-law, who were pioneers, professionals, hunters and business owners. The reader will be engrossed in her struggles, hardships, and daring adventures as she attempts to support her husband, his family, and her own children in the vast, raw, and often turbulent countries of Kenya and Tanganyika. She was a big game hunter, ran businesses in the nomadic Maasailand and drove large trucks to transport goods through the roughest terrains in East Africa. The story narrates her father's life who was a surgeon, was born in India and then spent his life in Somalia and Kenya. The story also encompasses her father-in-law Mehar Singh was also born in India and then moved to Kenya to work on the Railway line in Kenya from the coastal town of Mombasa to Kisumu, the town on Lake Victoria. Mehar becomes a successful entrepeneur and then goes into politics. The storyline reflects Amrita's inner strength and willpower when with all the odds against her she fights her way through and ensures the survival of her extended family and her children.