PROVERBS

“The one married to lightning shouldn't be afraid of its flashes” A Chewa proverb sent by Sandfor Sean Kay Banda and Peter Yona Phiri, both from Malawi “The person who spends time on the seashore does not eat dry rice” A Swahili proverb sent by Boss Flex K'Ochido, Nairobi, Kenya “Lions that do not work together can be defeated by a limping buffalo” A Sepedi proverb sent by Victor Rasha, Pretoria, South Africa “The house rat tells the wild rat that there is fish in the cupboard” Sent by Chinedu Eze in Abia, DR Congo and John Ene in Lagos, Nigeria “Patience puts a crown on the head” A Buganda proverb sent by Kasozi George in Kampala, Uganda “A home without a mother is like a desert” A Somali proverb sent by Muxamud Takoy in Bunia, DR Congo “One by one makes a bundle” A Runyankole/Rukiga proverb sent by Enfumu Zaitu Page, Uganda, and Kakuru Joseph, Mogadishu, Somalia “Bend the stick while it is still wet” Sent by Ssentongo Leonald, Mbarara, Uganda “Water cannot be forced uphill” A Kenyan proverb sent by Foreverhadiza Deezygurl Babagana, Nigeria “He who urinates in a stream must remember his family drinks from the water”
Sent by Mawien Maring, South Sudan

“A hasty hyena bites the horn”

A proverb from Ethiopia and Eritrea sent by Tarek Mo Alemseged, Glenville, US

“Even the hyena has a friend. His friend is the darkness”
Sent by Murad Ali Baig in Lilongwe, Malawi

“Even the best dancer on the stage must retire sometime”
Sent by Don M Dasan, Kampala, Uganda

“There are many paths to access the market”

A Yoruba proverb sent by Godfred Nettey, London, UK

“Follow the river to find the sea”

A Swahili proverb sent by Thokozani Sainani, Mangochi, Malawi
 “The tears of the cow being slaughtered are the happiness of the dog expecting to enjoy the bones”
A Buganda proverb from Uganda sent by Geofrey Lusaggi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates  

 “By being grateful, people make themselves deserving of yet another kindness”
Sent by Zaidat Ibrahim in Abuja, Nigeria 

“You do not teach the paths of the forest to an old gorilla”

Sent by Buhendwa Mema, South Dakota, US

“The world is permanent but we human beings are not”

A Luo proverb sent by Rage Moi, Mombasa, Kenya

“A loose tooth will not rest until it's pulled out”

An Ethiopian proverb sent by Dibora Elias Kemal in Springs, Gauteng, South Africa

“What is to kill the dog will first block its nose”

Sent by Bahati Alexi Tumusiime in Rukungiri, Uganda

“Every trickle of water follows its own course”

A Bambara proverb from Mali sent by Edgar Matandala Luhanga in Lilongwe, Malawi

“Crying eyes still see the road ahead clearly”

Sent by Tony Itete in Lagos, Nigeria

“A cock does not crow beyond its border”

An Acholi proverb sent by Justine Frances, Kampala, Uganda 
“If you go blind because of your enemies you will not have the eyes to see your friends”
Sent by Monrosa Monzee Ihasee, Oslo, Norway, and Frank Fredericks, Linz, Austria

“The wind does not break a tree that bends”

A Sukuma proverb sent by Deo Sylvesterssen, Mwanza, Tanzania 

“Borrowing is like a wedding, paying back is like mourning”
A Swahili proverb sent by Layla in South Africa

 “No matter how wise you are, you cannot trace footsteps in water”
Sent by Mohamed Alie Kamara, Freetown, Sierra Leone

 “Two hundred needles can't stop a rag headed for the refuse dump”
A Yoruba proverb sent by Samuel Fayiah Johnson, Ibadan, Nigeria