LI PEICHUN: Art of belonging: Why I am learning Swahili

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”

This iconic quote from Nelson Mandela has resonated across countries—and though I didn’t set out with this mantra when I began learning Kiswahili after arriving in Nairobi in 2021, it now feels etched into my journey—a compass guiding me toward belonging.