My father was very interested in star formations. I still remember how he would explain the stars, planets and constellations to us children over and over again.

From the roof terrace of our house in Malindi, you could see the stars beautifully at night.

As a young boy, much to my father’s chagrin, I couldn’t remember the difficult names of the stars. My older sisters were much better at it and could recite what they’d learnt perfectly.

What I have never forgotten, however, are the three stars ALNITAK, ALNILAM and MINTAKA. They form a straight line and are a striking constellation belonging to Orion’s Belt. Orion is one of the brightest and most recognizable constellations in the night sky - easily identified by Orion`s Belt - three bright stars lined up in a neat row.

No matter where in the world I look up at the night sky, I search for these three stars and remember my father, the astrologer of our family, and my childhood in Zanzibar.