Re: NYC : IT'S TEAMWORK OR NO NYC -The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!

Dear Comrades,

From the start, we have had lived the life of Comrades. Every day when I contribute anything positive to the life of fellow comrades, I always do it looking forward to an end of the day when we will toast our cups for the feast of comrade life.  Then we would be able to reflect and look back to the times when we tried to be part of this world shared by millions of young people. At the end of the day, do we want to look at ourselves as victorious as a team or divided as individuals?

Thus far, history has taught us that a divided Government will never head Kenya on the right path.  We seem to have forgotten our values as NYCeers (Comrades) and have started aping what is going on in the current Government where everybody wants to shine as an individual forgetting that he/she needs a full cabinet to make any reachable goals or reality.  Or have we given up on teamwork?  Why is the trust we had for our fellow comrades fading away all of a sudden? And are we converting our dreams into a Utopian dream or a realistic possibility?

NYC is not about fighting or solving out our differences.  It has always provided an opportunity for mentoring one another.  Today, for a Kenyan youth to find a mentor is never easy, especially when everyone around is diseased to a level where they feel chronically insecure of you just by virtue of being a youth.  When the NYC bill came around, I mean, we realized it needed some ammendments and this was for the benefit fo all the young people whose lives were men't to be improved by that bill.  Due to the limited time that we had, the best way forward was to approach some of those who were meant to pass this bill in parliament, reason with them and share some of the ideas on how best the ammendments would be made without interfering with the whole process.  This worked out very well and so far there seem to be some light in the tunnel.  Kudos to those who tried!  One of the reasons why things happened this way was because most of us realized that our Members of Parliament meant to pass this bill are busy people and without making a move, the chances of them passing a bill without even going through it was so high.  Reasons being its a bill that doesn't even touch any of them, i.e. apart from the money matters.  To date, nobody has come up with an alternative approach and that is why I want to believe the majority of us are in for what has worked.  For now, we have a bill to ammend and once its done, we have a task ahead to operationalize this bill.

Secondly, let us not forget that whatever we share or whichever actions we take, we do  it for the benefit of all of us.  We all don't come from Nairobi and therefore depend on the mails or phone calls to level up with those on the ground.  So, when we shun others from sharing their actions and best way forward, how are we going to ensure that we are singing the same song?  And where are we supposed to merge our ideas and ensure that all our needs are taken into consideration during major decision making processes?  Besides, we need those updates to know who is doing what where in order to decide on how best we can contribute from a distance.

Working harder, putting the best into the game and solving the puzzles as a team, could do wonders for us all.  Growth is something natural to everyone, and nobody ceases to grow simply because others are growing.  So lets not fear giving others a chance to grow but instead fight for perfection, honesty and commitment to make our little world big for us!  This could be done only through perserverance, sincerity and resolutness.  Certainly, we cannot afford to lose our past now, but whichever actions we take either as individuals or as a group, the world is watching. If we truly have a dream to pass on the legacy to others then we must learn to appreciate as well as acknowledge others.  For our Society would be better if we shun our false ego and develop deeper sense able to look into the fruition of time! 

We have come from far and are doing a good job.

Regards,

Carole.

---

From: Emmanuel Dennis <emmanuel@yesweb.org>
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com
Sent: Saturday, September 26, 2009 12:47:14 AM
Subject: NYC Re: The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!

My Good Friend Fwamba NC Fwamba "The ROCK",

Thanks for the questions. I will attempt to shade light on the issues you raised.

Several suggestions have been mooted on the ending mandate of the YEDF Board and also the pending National Youth Council Bill both in this forum and off line. We have been searching for answers. 

Refer to the resolutions of NYC IV at Bomas of Kenya for the mandate as given to the NYC. Since this is an emerging issue, you are most welcome to suggest. Otherwise we will be making noise again after the Bill has been passed and the board has been appointed. The approach is to have as many youth groups in Kenya submitting their proposals to the Ministry independently. This will will show that young people in Kenya care about processes that are geared towards their welfare. It will also show the interest that the youth have in national processes. 

The NYC's mandate is to promote the full participation of the youth in the national agenda. If we the youth keep quiet someone will do that duty for us and am sure we wont make merry when the news finally dawn on us.

On your issue around legitimacy,

We are all Kenyans and should have an inherent right to voice our concerns on issues that affect us without any one questioning the legitimacy of those concerns as long as they are for the good welfare of society.The inaugural YEDF Board will be reaching the peak of its term as per to the constitution. A new one will be put in place. It is about responsive citizenship to make sure we the youth have a voice in this only issue that concerns us. 

Fwamba is one of the most responsive kenyan, citizens based on the track record of what you have done and experienced as you fight for the good welfare of Kenyans. It would be foolhardy for any one to ask you questions as to Who gave you the mandate? or Were you legitimate to do what you did?

I think it is clear that all  processes taking place on this NYC forum, are open with the participation of all. All suggestions are welcome. So is yours.

May the forces be with you.

ED. 

On Fri, Sep 25, 2009 at 12:17 PM, crispus fwamba <fwambanc@yahoo.com> wrote:

What method do we use to ensure that we have the right names.and what gives NYC mandate to carry out all these activities such as meeting ministers and the ilk.I hope its not selfish lobbying games.and who has the authority to submit the so called list?I hope this is not a conspiracy of self imposed leaders of the youth.What is the legitimacy of whoever is supposed to compile"the list".This is because many people have done a lot about this without necessarily shouting about it.
FWAMBA NC FWAMBA.

---

From: Emmanuel Dennis <emmanuel@yesweb.org>
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 5:58:44 AM

Subject: NYC Re: The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!

Good people,
Susan, your issues are spot on. We need to point them out and ensure we have all the support in terms of numbers and voice to ensure those amendments are carried into the bill. The problem is that only limited amendments are permissible. Lets carry on the lobbying.

Stella raises key issues and i think, we have the voice and will to ensure we determine what kind of Council we will get. If we continue the discussion and engage the MPs then they will give us what we want. I am in agreement with Mwalulu that we should directly target the War lords. I am volunteering my self, and i want more volunteers so that we can purpose to meet Raila, Uhuru, Ruto, Balala, Kalonzo. In the first and second week of October in order to drum up support for the council. I am also availing my self to
be part of the team that will meet Hon Sophia Abdi as they meet with the Minister MOYAS and deliberately make the recommendations at the Committee Level.

I second Sonia's suggestion that Youth Agenda and AYT keep us in the loop on all the developments so that we are able to make the necessarily objective voices into the debate. Engaging the youth at the mashinani is critical, we have a number of local initiatives going on, let us make those forums, encompass the NYC discussions.

Mungatana was not out of order, I was also having the same feeling when I was reading Oparanya's contribution.

Sonia, on the suggestion of compiling names for the YEDF Board, can we come up with a mechanism to do that, and can we give our selves a timeline to have the names submitted to the Ministry? They say Fortune favors the bold. Let us all be bold on this, we wont lose it.

I am giving this process my all.

ED

........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.nyckenya.org

On Thu, Sep 24, 2009 at 8:41 AM, Stella Agara <stella@africayouthtrust.org> wrote:

Thanks, I try.

 

From: nyciv@googlegroups.com [mailto:nyciv@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Ochieng kh
Sent: Thursday, September 24, 2009 11:30 AM
To: nyciv@googlegroups.com

Subject: NYC Re: The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!

 

Thanks Stella for sharing very useful resources. I salute your efforts and commitment with honor and humility. From the Hansard report, it is evident that there is good-will for the establishment of the national Youth Council. There is need therefore to build on the gains generated so far not by blaming or criticizing but rather by expressing gratitude to the members of parliament who supported the bill and secondy by continued engagement and dialogue around issues germane to the refinement of the Bill. I suggest NYC should write to these exemplary members of parliament as well as possibly host a further consultative meeting on the next steps in so far as the bill is at issue. All in all, kudos for the good progress. Best wishes always,   Ochieng M.K Phone Number (Office) +254-20-3861530/1 Cell Phone Number:+254-723-745-817 Email:ochykheyr@yahoo.com "We can nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth" Abraham Lincoln --- On Thu, 9/24/09, Stella Agara <stella@africayouthtrust.org> wrote: From: Stella Agara <stella@africayouthtrust.org> Subject: NYC Re: The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya! To: nyciv@googlegroups.com Date: Thursday, September 24, 2009, 12:22 AM ED,   Your answer lies in the results of the discussions this guys had in parliament. I wouldn't ask whether the youth council thing is a mirage, I would instead be asking whether policy makers have internalized the concept of NYC.   Kindly find attached the Hansard for 27th August 2009 for the proceedings on the motion for the passing of the second reading. Refer to pages 32-48 for the discussion. I thought the discussions were quite positive to the extent that the politicians themselves were fronting grass root elections for the council however they were equally shall with a lot of people generalizing the council with other matters pertaining to youth e.g boda boda, cleaning up Nairobi River and staff. I like the direction the discussions took though. At least we are assured of elections.   Mungatana was however disappointing…! Read and you will see what I mean…..     From: nyciv@googlegroups.com [mailto:nyciv@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Emmanuel Dennis Sent: Wednesday, September 23, 2009 9:05 PM To: nyciv Subject: NYC The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!   The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!  Emmanuel Dennis  September 23rd 2009 I was following the discussions around the national Youth Council bill in parliament and the turn of events left me wondering how on earth are we going to protect and promote the values of our young generation. This thought has left me wondering for the longest time. I am confused and I need some help here.   The National Youth Council should be  an independent oversight body that ensures all young people in Kenya are given the opportunities to excel. Politicians are however trying as much to overtake the process and make it work for themselves and their short term political interests. I was researching on the developments in Singapore, a country that overtook Kenya in its economic development a few years ago and has continued to prosper in all fields as Kenya walks back into history of the yester years. I made a few discoveries, may be we have a few lessons to learn from Singapore in creating a path for our own council here in Kenya:   The National Youth Council (NYC), a division of the People's Association, was set up by the Singapore government on 1 November 1989 as the national co-coordinating body for youth affairs in Singapore. Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Transport is the Chairman of the National Youth Council. The Council comprises members from various government ministries, youth organizations, academic institutions, voluntary welfare organizations, the media and private sector organizations.  It is the Advocate, Connector and Enabler for Youth. Together with other partners, the council develops a vibrant and supportive environment for youth who are inspired to dream and committed to action. The National Youth Council: (a) Advocates active youth citizenry - engagement, leadership and voice for issues - through programming, resources, funding and recognition.  (b) Connects the youth sector for increased youth outreach, through creating opportunities and access, both local and overseas.  (c) Enables the development of youth and the youth sector, through training and capacity building.  NYC is the administering body for the Singapore Youth Award, Outstanding Youth in Education Award, and is the liaison body with ASEAN and international organizations on youth development.  We are closing in slowly on the year and the bill is scheduled for the second reading in parliament sometimes this year. We still have an opportunity to salvage the situation and make recommendations at the committee stage. But for sure we have a few lessons to learn from. But the question is  Are we going to save the situation from the hungry politicians that have characterized our political scene?  On the other hand, the Youth Enterprise and Development Fund Board is supposed to be replaced by the end of this year. My question to the youth is have we made recommendations on what we need the board to look like? Or are we waiting until they appoint a board with retirees then we begin to wine and complain about it once the executive decisions have been made?  Let us step up our quest to make our voices heard.  --   .......... Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo P.O. Box 8799 - 00200 Nairobi Kenya Cell: +254 722619005 http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/ Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis www.yesweb.org

 

--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org

--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
Groups "NYC" National Youth Convention where ideas are born.
To post to this group, send email to nyciv@googlegroups.com
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
nyciv+unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/nyciv?hl=en?hl=en or www.nyckenya.org
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---

The "Youth" in Reworking the "World"

The Place of Youth in Reworking the World

Emmanuel Dennis

September 25th 2009

Somewhere in the world a story is told of the many young people languishing in poverty, lack of water, food and other basic necessities in life.

A story is told of multi million companies competing for th top spot in the fortune 500, 1000 and so of who is who in the business world.

A story is told of millions of children dying of malaria and malnutrition.

A story is told of how much food reserves some few families in Europe have for their pets.

A story is told of a world in danger of extinction because of the destruction of the forest cover, and shear emissions in the ozone layer.

A story is told of world leaders travelling every day to meet and resolve the same problems that the world faces.

A story is told of countries ruled by the gun.

In this world we have billions of youth who are idle and don't have a livelihood. 

In the world where i live in.......

I am told in the next 10 years we will have 500 Million Young People looking for Work. 

They will want to find any kind of work. As the world is a dangerous place, some will find comfort in war like opportunities. 

Others will find one Job.

                                   To rework the World.

Come June 2010, The world's attention will focus on the 5th Global Youth Employment Summit themed "Rework the World"

We are searching for sustainable opportunities for the youth and the next generation that will take on the leadership of the world.

Strategies are changing. What worked before works no more.

The world needs practical solutions to be able to quench the need that the very energetic young generation is having.

At a global scale world leaders are talking about sustainability.

At the local level, young people are talking about how they will put food into their stomack, and how they will find an opportunity to earn some money to take care of their welfare and that of their offspring and the communities they live in.

This is a dangerous scenario the world is moving towards.

How can we act big, global and yet resolve the basic issues that affect those dying youth in sub Saharan Africa? Asia? The Middle East? Latin America and everywhere else?

Is the G8, G20, LISTENING to the crying and dying voices of the worlds fastest growing generation?

Or are they just going to ignore as humanity sinks to its lowest?

Unless we all get concerted efforts of every one, the super powers included!

None of the current Agenda will see light of day.

We need to rework the world together.

From Washington, Copenhagen, London, Itally, Greece, Melbourne and all the global confederates of world meetings.... there is need to touch base with local realities!

From Talking to Tasking at the core of the grassroots where it matters most. "Jobs, Enterprises, and innovation for the local youth"

Then we will have started reworking the world.

The rest are stories... tell the tales to the dead.  

www.reworktheworld.org

The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!

The National Youth Council a Mirage or a Reality in Kenya!

Emmanuel Dennis

September 23^rd 2009

I was following the discussions around the national Youth Council bill in parliament and the turn of events left me wondering how on earth are we going to protect and promote the values of our young generation. This thought has left me wondering for the longest time. I am confused and I need some help here. 

The National Youth Council should be  an independent oversight body that ensures all young people in Kenya are given the opportunities to excel. Politicians are however trying as much to overtake the process and make it work for themselves and their short term political interests. I was researching on the developments in Singapore, a country that overtook Kenya in its economic development a few years ago and has continued to prosper in all fields as Kenya walks back into history of the yester years. I made a few discoveries, may be we have a few lessons to learn from Singapore in creating a path for our own council here in Kenya: 

The National Youth Council (NYC), a division of the People's Association, was set up by the Singapore government on 1 November 1989 as the national co-coordinating body for youth affairs in Singapore.

Mr Teo Ser Luck, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Community Development, Youth and Sports and Transport is the Chairman of the National Youth Council. The Council comprises members from various government ministries, youth organizations, academic institutions, voluntary welfare organizations, the media and private sector organizations.

It is the Advocate, Connector and Enabler for Youth. Together with other partners, the council develops a vibrant and supportive environment for youth who are inspired to dream and committed to action.

The National Youth Council:

(a) Advocates active youth citizenry - engagement, leadership and voice for issues - through programming, resources, funding and recognition.

(b) Connects the youth sector for increased youth outreach, through creating opportunities and access, both local and overseas.

(c) Enables the development of youth and the youth sector, through training and capacity building.

NYC is the administering body for the Singapore Youth Award, Outstanding Youth in Education Award, and is the liaison body with ASEAN and international organizations on youth development.

We are closing in slowly on the year and the bill is scheduled for the second reading in parliament sometimes this year. We still have an opportunity to salvage the situation and make recommendations at the committee stage. But for sure we have a few lessons to learn from. But the question is

Are we going to save the situation from the hungry politicians that have characterized our political scene?

On the other hand, the Youth Enterprise and Development Fund Board is supposed to be replaced by the end of this year. My question to the youth is have we made recommendations on what we need the board to look like? Or are we waiting until they appoint a board with retirees then we begin to wine and complain about it once the executive decisions have been made?

Let us step up our quest to make our voices heard.

Fortune Favors the Bold

Fortune Favors the Bold

Emmanuel Dennis

September 23rd 2009

They say fortune favors the bold. I am an ardent fan of Curtis 50 Cent. In his quest to invest money in a few selected young men and women, he takes them through a 10 weeks lesson of how he got where he is going against the odds from the streets and gangs to become one of the leading corporate individual in the history of rap music as well as the who is who in the American corporate world. His lessons can be emulated by any one.

Which takes me to the madness that is currently in the air in Kenya where all manner of people are trying their luck in finding the possibility of ascending to the Presidency come 2012 general election. The experiences from the united states of america help us to understand that the presidency is not an easy task and especially for those pro change pro reforms personalities. No wonder many people rise up and get the opportunity but fail in the long run to live to the expectations of the populace.

Someone has argued that people have allot of expectations from the president and their leaders and that is why they fail. True in one sense and false in the other. It is important that people have expectations out of their leaders and especially if the leaders promised many things, I think it is just normal that the expectations are high. But when the leaders fail to produce results, the people have an inherent right to become angry and even throw insults at their leaders. 

On the other hand it is not good for the people to have too much expectations from the leaders because this are just human beings and their level of performance is optimal given natural facilitation. When there are no resources change is difficult to come by. If there is no god will it is a dream far too fetched. There must be mechanisms to check and verify the kind of information that is released to the people. The people must be informed of realities of the day o that their leaders do not take advantage of their ignorance. But the leaders must be accountable to the people.

One f the lessons learnt is that Fortune Favors the Bold. If you are bold enough to ask the people for an opportunity to lead. The people will dissect you and make the right decision. Once one immerses themselves into the race, they must be bold enough to run the full course and live up to the consequences. The other lesson is that the TRUTH is the shortest distance to the MONEY. If one goes around peddling lies, the lies will come to haunt you. If you say the truth, you shall be judged in accordance to what you said. Stay on the truth and as the good bok says.... the truth shall set you free. Many a times we have been cursed by very strange untrustworthy and untruthful leaders. That is why we have to live with consequences of chosing leaders who cant serve us because they know they lied to us and they think the people are stupid. 

Because knowledge reigns supreme, the people must be on top of their game. The leaders must be knowledgeable of the issues affecting the people and how to tackle them. Watch this space for more of the lessons for life.

The Future of Freedom By Fareed Zakaria

The future of freedom: illiberal democracy at home and abroad

 By Fareed Zakaria

Book overview

Democracy has reshaped politics, economics, and culture around the world. This provocative book asks, can you have too much of a good thing? Today we judge the value of every idea, institution, and individual by one test: is it popular? Or, more practically, do the majority of those polled like it? This transformation has affectged not just politics but also business, law, culture, and even religion. Every institution and profession in society must democratize or die. Democracy has gone from being a form of government to a way of life. Like any broad transformation, however, the trends that democracy unleashes are not uniformly benign. Democracy has its dark sides, yet to question it has been to provoke instant criticism that you are "out of sync" with the times. No more. With an easy command of history, philosophy, and current affairs, Zakaria reinterprets our past and outlines our future. Woodrow Wilson said the challenge of the twentieth century was to make the world safe for democracy. This penetrating book challenges us to make democracy safe for the world.

See more: http://books.google.com/books?id=b4Trw_i-xE0C&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q=&f=false
--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org

Peace makers

Peace Makers

September 19, 2009

What is it your legacy?

How do you want to be remembered after this life? What kind of reputation do you crave in this hurting world? 

Happiness comes from caring about your reputation for the right reason. And how do you build a reputation in a world full of corruption, death, hunger, starvation, a world ravaged by man made wars and many other problems?

We see breaches all around us. Laws are being broken by those entrusted to protect them. We see them in families, between labor and management, between nations, and between political parties. Being a peacemaker is risky. But it's essential if breaches are to be repaired. 

In whatever condition that we are in, everyone fights to be happy. And as we have the quest to become happy, let us not trample on others. The only challenge is what legacy do you want to leave behind that others will remember you for as having had a positive contribution to society? 

That's a big question?

Once again I ask my favourite question.... What is it that you would do if you knew you would not fail?

Think about it.

Smokin Wanjala Resigns

I would like to applaud the move by Dr Smokin Wanjala who has has resigned as Assistant Director of the Kenya Anti Corruption Commission (KACC) following nearly three weeks of controversy surrounding his irregular reappointment alongside with those of Director Aaron Ringera and fellow assistant Fatuma Sichale.

Dr Wanjala announced his resignation a while ago at a press conference at which he said it follows Wednesday's decision in Parliament which adopted a joint committee report that declared the reappointment illegal.

The ball is now in Ringera court to do the honorable thing and follow in the nyayo of Dr. Smokin Wanjala.

Emmanuel Dennis

--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org

21st century...What a Leadership!

I woke up to a question from one of my young friends on email. He said this

Leaders are thought to have a number of skills and qualities that help them in achieving great results. As a future leader, which skills and qualities do you think will help you the most in achieving leadership positions? Which skills do you feel need to be developed further?

 

This was my response

 Innovation and Entrepreneurship are the keys to dispersions of power, the prerequisite for economic and political stability….Inspiration from Iqbal Quadir

 

As a leader if you don't have skills to empower your people economically then you do not have a space in the leadership of the 21st century. That leadership for economic development is only oiled with innovation and entrepreneurship whichever angle you want to look at it, it may be political, social or whatever but at the end of the day it boils down to livelihoods for the people.

 

People need money to improve their livelihoods and live a fulfilling life.... how do you make it sustainable? You need to be innovative but true to smart work.

 

We must develop our entrepreneurship skills to fit into the ever growing dynamics of life. We need to fix our education systems to comply with the needs of the 21st century. It then takes me to my earlier response to a friend on what ails our education system. We MUST Invest in the children and youth for they are the epitome and conscience of a society.....or else we perish as a generation!!

 

Does our education system address the challenges of the 21^st century right from nursery school? Do the handlers of our children portray the quality of a developing society or they are the same old skills that we went through decades ago?

 

If our education curriculum is static, how then do we expect the people with skills of the yester years to lead us into the future? How do we expect our very old leaders to give us advice about the future when they aint gone be here?

 

No Freedom shall come without a cost. We are the ones to cause it to happen if we want to be free. The current leadership is a status quo and wont lead us into the promised land. We got to remove them at whatever cost as along as we keep our society on the pedestal of peace.

 

Emmanuel Dennis

 

--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org

Freedom has a cost: even with Semenya

 

South Africa's teenage 800 metres world champion Caster Semenya gestures to her fans at the O.R Tambo international airport in Johannesburg August 25, 2009. Semenya victory has been overshadowed by a gender testing row. 

By REUTERSPosted Wednesday, September 16 2009 at 22:30

S.Africa athletics officials "humiliate" Semenya: report

JOHANNESBURG

Runner Caster Semenya was subjected to humiliating tests in South Africa even before a gender row erupted over her world championship victory last month, a south African newspaper reported.

South African athletics officials have accused the IAAF, athletics' world governing body, of creating controversy by ordering gender tests on Semenya, who crushed opponents in the women's 800 metres at the world championships in Berlin.

"The tests took almost two hours and Semenya became frustrated and even angry over the humiliating nature of the tests," Afrikaans daily Beeld quoted Athletics South Africa's (ASA) former head coach Wilfred Daniels as saying of the tests carried out in South Africa.

Beeld said Semenya was "bitterly upset" when photographs of her private parts were taken during the examinations.

"Her feet were in stirrups when the photographs were taken," Daniels said.

ASA officials were not immediately available for comment on the report.

No decision is expected until late November but the IAAF has declined to confirm a report last week in Australia's Daily Telegraph newspaper which said she had both male and female sexual characteristics.

Semenya was led to believe she would undergo drug tests in South Africa, Beeld said.

Semenya called and sent text messages to friends from the hospital to tell them about her ordeal, the newspaper said.

Some South Africans have accused the IAAF of racism for ordering the gender tests on Semenya, saying her broad shoulders and imposing musculature were common in women's athletics.

Retired American track and field star Carl Lewis blamed ASA officials for Semenya's predicament, saying they had failed to protect her and deal with the issue.

"To put it out in front of the world like that, I am very disappointed in them because I feel that it is unfair to her," he said during a visit to Tel Aviv this week. "Now, for the rest of her life she'll be marked as 'the one'."

Semenya has said she is focusing on training, a local radio station reported on Wednesday.

"She wants to avoid public scrutiny and instead focus on her training," said Talk Radio 702.

"She refused to be recorded, saying her deep voice has been used by the media to fuel the gender controversy."

South African President Jacob Zuma has decried the invasion of Semenya's privacy and what he called the violation of her rights.

Daniels resigned last month over the way the Semenya matter has been handled by ASA.

"Do you think anybody can recover from the emotional hurt and humiliation she has undergone? What do you think will go through her head when she walks out on an athletics track after all her intimate details have been sent out to the world?"

Freedom has a cost

Friends---

 

Its Thursday 17^th September 2009, at 1:57 Bostom Time. I am sitting at a tranquil and quiet house in Lexington working on a multiple of tasks to be accomplished before the day breaks. I am convinced that world freedom will not come in the traditional thinking that freedom has a cost beyond what we imagine. While talking with Poonam Ahluwalia the President of YES Inc. on many things that have happened in her life as she fights to ensure that the world youth get a livelihood, she meets many roadblocks on her way. The journey has not been easy for me either and I am just wondering, what the world has come to.

 

I have seen many young people surfer because some one in a Board room didn't think that they had a good idea to get out of their poverty. A door is slammed on them. When the best ideas are shot down by status quo, we always think they are right. But they are wrong. The World has changed so much that the ideas of the past no longer thrive in our world today. The problem is the holders of the powerful offices and decision makers on critical issues like poverty alleviation are driven by ideologies that do not conform to the realities of today. But because they are afraid that change is going to sweep them off the floor, they cling on to power with reasons that our ideas are not realistic. That is why no one among those people in the status quo want reforms. But I have news for you….. We will not reinvent the will. We renew our energies and we are going to use very new tactics. The ground has already shifted.

 

I have seen and experienced this year which has been one of the most rewarding year in the movement for change. The US saw a black president rise to lead the nation, many revolutions are now starting off in many parts of the world. Young people are inspired. Even though it is going to take long, change is surely coming in a manner that the world has never seen. Young people are coming up with innovative ways in which they will transform the communities through enterprise development with ideas of the 21^st century. A revolution is in the making.

 

I believe the growth of the youth movement that will transform our communities must include more diverse economic opportunity for all. I also believe a consolidate government utilizing the energies, brains and strong will of the youth is paramount to the growth and development of our country in order to be more sensitive and available to the needs of the citizens of Kenya.

 

It's time for you to become more involved. Its time for you to become a member and a participant in the National Youth Movement family. My challenge to you is to break the silence and show you care by becoming more involved.

And that is the cost for our freedom.

 

Emmanuel Dennis

 

--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org

ED-The coice is all the above for your son.

ED,

Am afraid your son may not have a choice but do them all. The thing is Kenyans should learn to accept and be proud of their own.  It's about time we stopped behaving like some nagging man whose wife always tried to please with no success.  It so happened that the morning that the wife gave him boiled eggs for breakfast, he always wished he had his breakfast eggs fried, and same applied on the days he was given fried eggs for breakfast instead.  So one morning, the wife got tired and prepared both but served him with boiled eggs first!  When he complained about them, he was given fried.  Surprisingly, he still wished he had been service with an egg which is half boiled and half fried for breakfast!  Am a little worried about whether American or the British would do where the local ones are not accepted.

The current unemployment situation may also have pushed employees to the wall such that most of them seem to have run out of excuses to give when overwhelmed by the number of qualified job seekers streaming into the job market every time that there is a vacant position.

That reminds me of one of my past jobs where they needed a young graduate to employ as an Admin. Assistant.  I didn't have the qualifications but I applied anyway.  Surprisingly, out of the 17 who were interviewed for the same position, I got the job.  And for the 3 years that I worked for this organization till I opted for greener pastures, I never understood why they insisted on a graduate in the first place for I never came across any challenges that I couldn't handle.  Neither did I understand why they never picked on any of the young graduates who were interviewed on that day.  YES, any of us could.

All in all, local or international, education is very expensive, it is very disturbing and painful when ones efforts and sacrifice to achieve whatever level goes unappreciated simply because they are either local or international.

Another case where employers are not being honest is on the job standards.  The other day I spotted a position re-advertised in the local newspapers.  I thought it would fit my brother's qualifications and before I went ahead and contacted him, I decided to google more about it where I noted it required somebody with background on The Prince2 project management methodology.  I went out of my way purchasing the prince2 software plus all the other related materials online to find out more about it.  To my disappointment, after spending all that much, I have come to realize there is not much difference between the Prince2 thing and the normal PMBOK (Project Management Book of Knowledge) methodology that we study back here in Kenya.  Only that Prince2 is the in thing right now and every organization would like to have something to do with it.  I mean, instead of re-advertising for the same position twice, why would they not just take in somebody with a management background and train on the difference?

So, employers, are we really being honest with ourselves before we start undermining our own?

Cheers.

Carole.

Stop this Modern Day Western Imperialism

1st Series

46 Years ago, Kenya attained its independence from the brutal British Rule. Earlier on, the Brits had come in Kenya with a bible in one hand and a gun in the other. What followed was unprecedented land grabbing in the fertile highlands in Kenya which they changed to White highlands as still known today. Thousands of indigenous people lost their land and relocated or made to become domestic workers for the Colonialists.

While using the Bible and the gospel as a bait to lure the locals into believing what their intentions were in Kenya, they also used the gun to discipline those who did not readily accept were forced to condone. 

As an incentive they built a railway line, schools, churches and other amenities to appease the locals at the whims of their dictatorial impunity. While at it they excavated minerals and smuggled them back into their country. They stole our very good hard wood and erected mahogany furniture in the Queen's palace[1]. Then they brought us cypress trees that have made us suffer from the current water crisis depleting of our water reservoirs. 

A few African leaders were later taken to Lancaster in the wake of the new revolution that the British could not sustain. After depleting our virgin mineral resources, they took off, some of them remained and still own large tracks of land, and then they claimed, that they had given us Uhuru. 

One saddening fact is that when they came to our rich country, Africans were living side by side in peace harmony and tranquility. They introduced borders, divided our people and incited us against our neighbors. That problem still haunts us today with the current ethnic stereotypes and hatred. 

They introduced the West to East Partnerships, but all we did was to get services from British companies that won huge financial tenders to develop our countries. They manipulated our leaders to accept odious debts from the Breton woods institutions that have continued to clog down our development. 

When our leaders came back from Lancaster, they had been brainwashed. What they did is to take over from the British and manipulated fellow country men and started ruling. The grabbed land was never returned and the indigenous land owners continued to suffer at the leadership of the Kenyan Colonialists. 

Illegal Sect or Squaters?

The end result was a grouping of young people who started to champion their quest to reposes back the land that was grabbed. This group rubbed some people in the establishment the wrong way and what started as a human rights championing group for the many landless people ended up being labeled an illegal sect.

Some people in the establishment ten ordered the killing of the mostly youth who were coming up to fight for their rights. The end result has been mass killings that have continued unabated until today. The more they are killed the more the historical injustice continues to pile. Another group then was created by the system to counter the earlier group but for both political and self interest. This second group was a gang on hire. This created confusion in the quest for human rights and a political brainwashing machine was thus created. The whole country now believes that this group of people is indeed illegal and should not be allowed to champion and pursue their human rights. 

Aid and Corruption

When the Kenyan rulers took over, they had learned the trade of corruption from the white man. They continued to accumulate wealth at the expense of the people. Mismanaged resources. Marginalized those that were not pro establishment and even killed some that were proponents of change. Corruption thus became the order of the government from the word start when Kenya attained its independence. 

Funny thing is that, the West continued to talk about the levels of corruption that the African leaders practice. But at the same time the Breton woods institutions continued to service the African Governments with odious loans and enjoying huge service tenders to provide both weapons and machinery to the East. 

Many aid agencies trouped into the countries promising to alleviate poverty through their programs. They predesigned the kinds of programs to be funded and invested their money where their mouth were. For decades the aid agencies have continued to pump their moneys into poverty alleviation programmes that do not make sense in the African context. The end result has been that poverty has continued to increase while the levels of corruption have continued to increase as well. 

The question then is does aid really work?

Is aid effective?

What if the west stopped pumping its corrupt resources in the developing countries?

Can our states survive without these continues colonization by the West?

Think about it!

 

Emmanuel Dennis

---

[1] http://www.greenpeace.org.uk/files/pdfs/migrated/MultimediaFiles/Live/FullReport/4937.pdf

--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org

Can the Media Save Kenya?

Friends---

The events that have been happening in Kenya in the recent past have a lot to do with how they have been projected on our TV Screens, Radio and News papers. I have heard many of my friends tell me that they no longer watch the news because it makes them sad. Nowadays News has become like horror movies.

 

While that is a fact, there have been lies spread around the country by some stupid politicians. Case in place is the MAU Forest circus where a few of the politicians from rift valley have spread rumors at the expense of the diminishing forest cover that has led to the current energy and food crisis. While the media knows very well that this politicians are spreading lies, they have gone ahead to air those clips on TV. In 2007 the media played a big role in the violence that rocked the country by airing live rumors as spread by short sighted politicians. What was the result?  A total disaster!

 

When a Politician lies, should he be given airtime on TV?

Why are some Media Houses playing the role of Mouth Pieces for some politicians?

 

Why do we have politicians as shareholders in some Media Houses?

 

Will the Kenyan Media Save this country from the anarchy that is being spread around by silly politicians?

 

The power to influence individuals' decisions is the power to change the world. Media has that power - it reaches more than 75% of the national population and the existence of an advertising industry demonstrates it can influence the decisions that we make. No government, no company, no supranational body has both reach and the ability to change our decisions. How can media help Kenya "accelerate out of trouble"?

 

Emmanuel Dennis

--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org

Kenya National Youth Council Bill ... EA Standard editorial

Think through Youth Council Bill flaws

Standard Editorial - Monday 27th 2009

Scepticism has greeted a proposal by Prof Hellen Sambili to set up a Youth Council to pull together Government programmes and policies on young people. The body, suggested by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports in a Bill mentioned in Parliament last week, is also expected to direct research on Kenyans ages 15 to 30 years.

The Youth Council Bill, which was delayed due to a lack of quorum, has been criticised by some as "a means to keep the old guard on top". Accountability and governance non-governmental bodies point out that it not only fails to resolve the key question of just who qualifies as 'youth', it limits their participation in selecting the team's members and chair.

Kazi kwa Vijana and the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, a fair measure of established policy, are open to participation to all Kenyans aged 18 to 35. In the former, there have been reports of exceptions being made for people outside the upper and lower limits. Unemployed people above 35 are taken on along with youth excluded by the need for an identity card. This generous approach leads to confusion and opens the door to possible abuse.

The Bill Sambili proposes has a more accurate definition of the youth, but there is no knowing whether this is as arbitrary as the previous age brackets and whether it will affect them in time.

"In the Bill's preamble, youth are identified as persons between 15 and 30 years," notes the Mars Group in a recent mailing. "However, the United Nations categorises youth as those between the ages of 15 to 24 years old."

Given the demographic make-up of the population, and the fact that State programmes for the 'youth bulge' have limited resources, adopting a stricter definition makes sense.

The question is: Do we switch to a definition that ignores the majority that leaves education early (until they get an ID card) and includes older persons? Or should we lower the minimum and maximum ages so that the resources available can keep up with targeted age groups?

Less accountability

Another area of controversy is appointment to leadership in the council. Both the process and criteria are raising eyebrows. Section 5 of the Bill states that the Chairperson shall be appointed solely by the Minister. She need not consult youth groups. Further, no age limit is set for the Youth Council's Chief Executive.

While one may be inclined to presume ministerial discretion is not likely to be abused, the controversies over appointments of public officials to statutory bodies and parastatals — and specifically in the Youth Affairs ministry — suggest caution. Criteria to prevent the seat going to cronies should be introduced.

Appointments to the council's Advisory Board are the preserve of the President, to be made without any reference to Parliament. Again, this is a move inspired by the tussle between the Executive and the Legislature that errs on the side of less accountability.

A proposal to ensure disabled persons and women have greater participation in the Youth Council is fine. Their insights on youth challenges will certainly be useful in making policy or designing programmes. As for one on registration of all youth groups and youth-focussed community organisations, the object should be to facilitate, not to control.

As the National Youth Council Bill makes its way through Parliament, legislators should pay heed to the rising criticisms. In particular, the argument that the council is a weak body whose usefulness can be enhanced if it were modelled on councils elsewhere which have representation in the National Assembly.

Kenya is, and will continue to be, a nation of young people. The idea of involving the youth more in policy formulation and leadership is, thus, a no-brainer. However, it cannot be mere tokenism or, worse, a public relations exercise. The 'youth bulge' in African and Asian nations is classified as a growing threat to instability. It is, therefore, important to have a reasoned approach to youth matters. Without one, such initiatives as the Youth Council will appear ancillary to ad hoc measures like the Youth Marshall Plan and others embraced in recent years.

And that just won't do.

Read all about: ministry of youth Kazi kwa Vijana Youth Enterprise Development Fund

Rework the World

Rework The World - building towards the Global Yes Summit, June 2-5, 2010, Leksand, Sweden

We're looking for new ingenious efforts that drive sustainability and create green jobs.  Because the world needs them. We're looking all around the world. Will you join us?

Towards the 5^th Global YES Summit

June 2-5, 2010, Sweden

This initiative builds towards the 5th Global YES Summit in Leksand, Sweden, June 2–5, 2010. Throughout four days, 2000 entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, investors, and global policy makers across generations, continents and sectors will come together to advance collaborative efforts and develop innovative partnerships that can take existing ventures to a much larger scale.

The Summit will combine a marketplace of ideas and ventures with conversations, arts, nature and music in a festive manifestation that a sustainable future is possible. The Swedish Government acts as official host.

The Summit is the fifth in a history of Youth Employment Summits, all part of the YES campaign that is driven by YES Inc. This campaign was launched in Alexandria, Egypt, in 2002 and has been followed by global summits in Mexico (2004), Kenya (2006) and Azerbaijan (2008). The Tällberg Foundation adds to the momentum through its 30 years of experience in convening global leaders to help form new strategic responses to global challenges.

Clusters and partnerships: Rework's focus on results

The aim of Rework is to create new awareness and vision about opportunities for youth 'green' employment, and to increase the synergies between the existing efforts of business, civil society, government, and international organizations.

Through local meetings organized in partnership with others, Rework is advancing the agenda by:

• Identifying and giving visibility to exciting approaches to create youth green jobs in different sectors and countries

• Connecting clusters of business, cross sector networks, public institutions that are interested in exploring shared value.

• Inspiring mainstream actors to improve their strategies and rethink their approaches towards youth green employment agenda.

The approach is grounded in systems thinking and aims to increase the impact of existing efforts by linking green entrepreneurs and business models, with local youth networks and supporters, such as investors and government.

These efforts are expected to have generated tangible results already at the Summit in June 2010, where a much larger group, networks, investors and policy-makers will come together to celebrate youth green employment agenda, and help take specific ideas and efforts to the next level.

CLUSTERS AND PARTNERSHIPS: REWORK'S FOCUS ON RESULTS
Among the collaborative efforts that have joined Rework's agenda:

- Housing for All initiative in Egypt

- The International Youth Water Movement

- Chinese youth leadership

- The Adabpta Sertao Initiative in Brazil

- Solar Lights for 15 Million People in East Africa

- Scaling rural livelihoods in India

- Bio-charcoal in Tanzania

- Using Mass Popular Media to Inspire Young Entrepreneurs

Solar Lights for 15 Million People in East Africa

Coming out of the Rework meeting in Tanzania, D.light Designs, a solar lighting product for rural areas in East Africa, is partnering with the youth network YES Kenya, and the multi-media platform Femina HIP in Tanzania. By leveraging existing mass-training schemes with the International Labour Organization, and advanced efforts with financial institutions, the aim is to encourage youth entrepreneurs to set-up distribution networks for solar energy lighting in East Africa. The partners are currently planning the pilot phase of the scheme, which aims to roll out in 8 regions in East Africa, eventually reaching 15 million people and generating 50.000 youth green jobs.

Join us to Rework the world

---

We are interested in your ideas!

Submit your ideas or give us names of people and organisations that have the solutions to our global challenges. At the 2010 YES Summit we will gather the world's leading changemakers. We are looking for entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, investors, policy makers who want to be part of the solutions to green the economy and find new jobs for young people. We will work together to advance collaborative efforts and develop innovative partnerships that can take existing ventures to a much larger scale.

• Engage to develop new strategies for driving change and explore opportunities to connect with business, investors and government.
  

• Explore the business landscape of tomorrow where new products, new organisations and new expectations from customers and employees help move business beyond CSR and into sustainability.

• Support your entrepreneurs through Rework with connections, access to investors, partners and government agencies, so as to accelerate their impact.

• Increase the impact of your investment by supporting collaborative efforts, as well as individual entrepreneurs, and help engage today's youth in a positive effort to build the green economy of the future.

• Rework the World needs support for the process and the event, for specific thematic workshops or areas and to enable individuals and organisations from developing countries to take part.
  

Please contact us if you would like to find a way to collaborate!


--
..........
Emmanuel Dennis Ngongo
P.O. Box 8799 - 00200
Nairobi Kenya
Cell: +254 722619005
http://emmanuel-ed.blogspot.com/
Twitter: http://twitter.com/Emmanueldennis
www.yesweb.org