Tales From Lodwar

Now you Know I wasn't going to just Not tell you how fabulous Lodwar was, I mean aside from the fabulous Women leaders we met, Lodwar is just wonderful.

The team and I had a great time trekking about and discovering Lodwar, though I must admit almost half of it was from standing at a point and looking off into the landscape ;-)

My top things about Lodwar were:
1. The weather
If you love sunshine, well I'll tell you  Lodwar is for you, let me tell you what that sun does to you is equivalent to spending the day at the Spa! I kid you not.

2. The People
The people there are so friendly and open to everyone, and the culture that runs through the town gosh! Its absolutely beautiful. I just loved the way the women wore intricate beadery there is just no forgetting where you are when you are there.

3. Mlima Lodwar
This is the highest point in Lodwar, (it really isn't very high) but... the best part is they have their own version of 'Christ The Redeemer'  atop the hill. It's really what inspired us to want to go up the hill. If you want to go all the way up you better check with the catholic church first since they are the caretakers of the site

4. The Basket Market
The market covers a small area in Lodwar town but there is no shortage of lovely steals from this market. The Turkana women make the most beautiful baskets and woven crafts. From laundry baskets to friut baskets and mats you will be sure to find something just right for you.

For my short stay, that was as far as my explorations led me, but I hear Eliye Spring and the Lake Turkana Beach are a treat, I'll be sure to visit next time

Until the next exploration, stay fit and remember #VoteADada

THE DEADLY "DISEASE"

Today the society has been inflicted with a 'disease' that is unstoppable and now in my opinion worse than the most common diseases known to lead to death.This disease has been slowly moved from window period to full blown stage,this disease is corruption. Since the 90's it has always been there but with time,it has not been cured but disseminated widely in different regions.

According to statistics; our country is one of the most corrupt this is due to power which affects everyone.This basically includes from rich to poor,corruption has eaten up approximately 65% of the Kenya's economy.What has really irritated youths like me, is the poor usage of funds provided by the government.Other than that lets look at the latest incidents that has happened in Kenya that is;Huruma tragedy after the downpour of rain that occurred last week on Thursday.

This tragedy literally brought the economic development to a halt. This is because;money will be used up to compensate the victims affected by this event.At the same time lets look the main cause of this tragedy?CORRUPTION simply because,a few people feel they are willing to consume huge sums of money unfairly at the cost of millions of lives at a risk.
This broke my heart to see the little babies and their family members helplessly being carried out of the rubble with dust on their faces and nothing could be done.Some were fighting for their lives in hospitals for the future awaits them.

Another occurrence that has led to so many lost opportunities, is the mishandling of funds within the government.Look at the Youth Enterprise Funds they literally have misused funds,this includes irregular tenders and the board self interest.This scandal has been going on for sometime and now,it trickles down to the youth being affected by just the top officials misusing funds for their own use. This is one of the reasons most organisations in Kenya are not acquiring donor-funding.It is very unfortunate for such events to occur,look at the youth who were hoping for little capital to start up their business enterprises and also those who needed that amount of money for farming per say.What happens to them?

This question keeps lingering in my mind,why do the top officials have to misuse funds yet the youth in the society need it more?For development to occur we need to FIGHT CORRUPTION and this starts with us,as the youth.I believe that INTEGRITY is being able to say no even when no one is looking,but unfortunately when i talked to a few of the youth they felt its a challenge.Their reasoning is ;if they are eating why not us?That caught my attention and made me realise how, power and leadership can really influence how the youth behave in their day to day activities.

For this disease to be cured we need to work together to stop it.A famous writer Ted stated that; the most deadly disease is corruption and the cure is transparency.

Growing talent for development in Kenya

The national youth policy (2006) of Kenya defines youth as between 15 to 30 years. The majority of Kenya’s population falls in this gap. Youth in Kenya are talented in sports, the arts and entertainment. The youth unemployment problem is on the increase as Kenya’s universities churn out thousands of graduates each year. Realistically, the number of graduates produced every year cannot be absorbed into the labour force of Kenya. This seems to be the development dilemma every government faces.

With the coming in of the Jubilee government in 2013, the jubilee manifesto focused mainly in investing on the youth through improvement of education, infrastructure, and access to opportunities such as SMEs for the youth. However, most of the policies proposed are yet to be implemented 5 years on. The unemployment levels are on the rise as more youth engage in crime and drug abuse as a result.

Many youth engage in talents that is earning them respect from their peers and self-employment. The jua kali sector is a great example of young people using skills and talents to create employment opportunities. Young people are coming together to form bands for example Hart the band, Sauti Sol, Elani among others who use their musical talent to create their own employment and help others coming into the music industry.

Talent is inborn and can also be developed as a result of passion and interest. Other developed nations for instance the United States of America encourage the development of talent potential that eventually drives the economy. Many young people for example in the United States are in the acting industry and earn millions through film production and acting. Education is important and is the foundation of key skill development. However, Talent cannot be overlooked in skill enhancement and development in developing countries such as Kenya.

Africa needs to focus on developing of talents for sustainable development. A talent does not cut off creativity rather enhances it and the youth have a lot of energy that can be put to good use. For instance many graffiti artists are making a living off painting public service vehicles.

If we put this into figures, it results in huge percentages of profit for government.  Many families can afford healthcare, better housing, access to education, food and eventually overcome poverty. Talent development will ensure that the crime rate is reduced as more young people will receive an incentive from using their talents in a positive way to enhance their lives and those of their families.

Talent no doubt drives innovation which leads to sustained livelihoods and economies. There have been innovations in ICT, healthcare, mobile money,among others and still others are coming up. Talent can so easily be used to train others for example ladies who engage in basket weaving, or making of bags and other accessories as a talent can train others hence we have a self-sufficient society and community.

The government needs to create talent development centres for young people to share knowledge and train others to have a self sustaining nation that will drive economic growth through talent development. There needs to be encouragement of talent development over employment. After all not everyone can be absorbed into the market. The alternative plan of action will therefore be to have talent developed and managed properly.

A system of integrity needs to be built to ensure good governance of talent management. There should be a policy on the youth to guide on the institution that will manage the youth affairs in Kenya.

What are your views on talent driving development in Kenya? Leave your views below

Effect Of Climate Change On Youth And Women..

Climate change being one of the most recent included in the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGS).Has become a great concern to the society,which is slowly eating us up.Climate change in easiest terms is a long term change in the Earth's climate.It has a great impact on especially youth and women in the society,the major cause of climate change is ourselves.

Reason being people clear vegetation cover and put up buildings for own usage, the misuse of mineral resources for consumerism.Death of aquatic life due to poisonous gas being emitted in the atmosphere.Timber being used for construction of houses thus lack of tree preservation.A huge population of people who of course cannot live on an empty stomach need food and this is a challenge to agriculture due to misuse of land resources.

Now lets ask ourselves the effects of climate on our youth and women?

• Dependency on natural resources as A source of living,evidently more women and youth are turning to Agribusiness because of lack of jobs and also as a way of supporting family members.This can be hard at times because of climate change.
• Women are vulnerable in that;in the African Context, they are seen to be performing house chores thus most did not get a chance to get education.
• It has also led to more poverty since, the lands are drying up the water is not there for domestic purposes.
• It has largely contributed to low productivity of food since, climate change has affected crops and has led to death of livestock to due diseases.
• Cultural restrictions lead to lack of capacity for women, to access information on how to take care of their crops and animals.
• Increase in Maternal deaths this is because,due to climate change there is higher chances of malaria to spread all over the country.This  pregnant women can not afford mosquito nets and after contracting malaria the immune system becomes weaker and therefore they end up dying.
• The harsh climate can lead to not being able to work because of disease affecting the body.Youth who are said to be the pillars of the nation now find it hard to work because of the different diseases.

WHAT CAN BE DONE THEN?

• Come up with trainings and create awareness to the public on the hazards of climate change.
• Avoid overexploitation of natural resources that is deforestation,air pollution,and many more.In essence take care of the environment.
• Minimize on the usage of electrical appliances.
• Adapt recycling methods because this prevents more pollution in the environment.
• Avoid processed foods go natural at least eat planted crops this processed foods lead to cancer.

We could go on and on but let me leave it here...lets work together to stop CLIMATE CHANGE

Humans breath, tools don't; you are human…

So this morning started on a rather high note. Bumped into mom at the stage which means my bus flight was funded, hehe. And I wasn’t late for work, yaaaaay! Also, the weather was fantabulous, still is actually… you know those days when it’s just about the right among of sunny and the blue sky cloud cover ratio is also set right. Granted I didn’t have breakers, my morning was superb.  I got to work and as usual, I checked social media for udaku and sensible news alike…. My job description requires me to always be up to speed.

Then I came across a story of a man who survived the Mpeketoni attack and I closed all other tabs because this was gonna make a compelling read, unworthy of any looming distraction. So it speaks of a man who was going to cover a story, but was intercepted by a cop who warned his team not to go any further owing to clues of promised prospective danger in the area. The cop was well informed. He spoke of gunmen shooting indiscriminately and indeed it came to pass. So the above stated is a synopsis.

I could go on and on regarding the disempowerment of cops in our country, so much that one of them can have such information but not be able to take action owing to all the unnecessary protocol and bureaucracy involved in police processes. Instead, I will talk about you and I being the cause of most of insecurity in our country.

In the last two months, this country has seemingly adopted waking up to news of terrorism and mass killing as status quo. We are even beginning to be okay with the level of insecurity that has since rocked us. While you may scorn me and make faces at what I just said, but it’s true. We are the cause of terrorism, of communal attacks, of politically fuelled violence, of mass killings and the like.

It is not violence if it has only been conceptualized and envisaged, it becomes violence upon execution. So yes, we are incited, probably enticed with some pocket change and then we proceed to take away lives and make others’ a living hell. At this point, it ceases to be about the perpetrators of these killings or even their reason for doing so. It starts to be about the actual executers of these killings, the youth in particular. We have allowed ourselves to be comparable to a spanner, a screwdriver etc, only this time not to fix but to destroy.

Why risk your freedom, rights and life for a few hundred bucks at the cost of another human being’s life. It is really unfortunate. I feel like the youth are often targets of these instigators because we are hardy, energetic, obedient (well, to a certain extent) and generally broke because we are unemployed. Now, I’m not here to rub it in your face that we are dangling at the bottom of the economical chain but to tell you that the leaders who plan this will not come to your rescue when you are in mad beef with the law. They will be in the comfort of their homes, still leading their lavish lifestyle…watching as you foolishly lead yourself there. The more shy ones will go as far a s masking their evil deeds and intention s with the flimsy excuse of fighting for what is right, ;for what is just, for what is democratic for yours sake, yet somehow it doesn’t worry you that they are never really there to do the dirty job for you.

Real leaders get involved. What, with the likes of Kwame Nkrumah, Dedan Kimathi, Tom Mboya, Nelson Mandela, etc? How can you not question the intentions of someone who wants results without having to get down to the dirty business? We mustn’t be contemptuous and hostile to one another; neither must we be oh so trusting of people, no matter what. Part of growing up is adopting the ability to question and keenly evaluate sitches without obliviously falling for the perils that are almost too obvious.

Jipange.