In 1998 just before I cleared high school, I was running out
of my skin and wanted to conquer the world. Earlier on while in form two, I
joined the Child rights club and the Red Cross Club so that I gain more
experience in doing stuff that matter for the betterment of human dignity.
My journey to a different perspective to life then started
when I made that decision to join extra curriculum activities while in high
school. Looking back memory lane, I appreciate the person that I have become
and quest to even be a better person in the coming days. My learning curve only
got the more interesting. Life’s journey I a learning curve and I find my self,
learning, unlearning and relearning new strategies to tackle the more complex
issues that life brings on my platter.
If I could not have taken the bold step to volunteer my
time, energies, youth, and professional experience, I would not be where I am
today. To me it is more about how much I have given to society that defines my
success in life. The journey continues.
I joined the red cross at the time in life with a very
different expectation, only to tumble on the reality that, it was all a
volunteer opportunity. Staying on, I met many friends that we still interact
with up to today. I learnt how to administer community first aid to emergency
victims and even learnt on what to do during emergency child birth. Later I
went on to start the child rights defeners movement a youth group of young
people who had just cleared high school and wanted to fill up their livelihoods
with something worthwhile before they joined college or University. This very
experience taught me about empathy, compassion and patience.
I remember in very many occasions when we could meet in town
at Central park or jobless corner (the ring around the Hilton hotel and hold
our meetings. In many occasions most of the members who came could not afford
transport back home and as a community, we had to dig deeper into our pockets
to contribute and ensure they reached home safely. Many a times we met and went
to Luthuli avenue to buy chips which we could all share. Life was such fun
looking back in time.
Through the child rights defenders movement, we managed to
talk to our parents, friends and neighbours to donate their old clothing and
food stuff that we later donated to children homes. This we did so diligently every
three month and I still look forward to those days when I can get off and
travel to go visit children in institutions that care for them and do what I
can to make the children feel appreciated.
I went on to college and remember one day sneaking out and
even missing out on one of the continuous assessment tests just to volunteer my
time. To me, the act of giving back to society was more important than a short
term continues assessment test in as much as it contributed to my mean score.
But look who I turned out to be.
Everytime I go out there to speak to young people, my
emphasis is on making sure they find something worth doing for free in order to
appreciate this very challenging life. It is only through giving that we
appreciate that, there are other people who do not have the very basics in
life.
My first job at the Kenya Alliance for Advancement of
children was also another act of sacrificing my ambition to go and carry out
child protection projects in Kuria community away from my city comfort. For three
years, I diligently served and ensured that girl child education was promoted
and that female genital mutilation was understood to be a retrogressive
cultural practice that any modern society should shun by all means.
My experience at the Youth Employment Summit was an eye
opener to the issues that youth go through in different parts of the world. I
got opportunities to interact with global leaders in international for a as
well as grassroots youth who are committed to changing the course of history in
their localities. One of the defining journeys has been the experiences I have learned in my interactions with friends in Sweden, the Tallberg Foundation and its Tallberg Forum has shaped me to understand the deeper rooting of systems and how to do things. My work at the Foundation shaped my understanding of global systems and their overarching impact on humanity and those paths that we must find or create to appreciate ourselves and our role in the larger sphere of the being human.
I had a stint in mainstream civil society activism. My
activism revolved around good governance, anti-corruption campaigns, youth
rights and inalienable freedoms of the citizens to freely exercise their freedoms
and liberties. This is the time I was at the help of the National youth
conventions of 2007 and 2008.
My experience in civil society movements was made even
richer when I finally joined the Open Society Foundation (George Soros
Foundation) as a member of the International advisory board. I spanned a four
year term with designing global outreaches but specifically focusing on the
African region. Through OSF, I managed to learn how large multinationals
operate.
Most of my international experiences were not paid
opportunities but I had to contribute a lot of my resources to gain the
experiences that I have earned over the years. Establishing the National Youth
sector Alliance was yet another very exciting opportunity to reflect on how
policy frameworks are shaped, instilled and implemented.
A couple of month ago, as I was doing my reflection, I made
a decision to transit from the mainstream youth activities and focus more on
bigger issues that affect society at large. I have since moved on and now
serving an amazing organization known as Evidence Action. My current brief is
on supporting the Kenya future Leaders Programme (KFLP).
KFLP aims at promoting National Cohesion, Education Outcomes
and Youth Employment where fresh graduates from universities will undergo a rigorous
application process to be placed as volunteers in communities other than their
own for one year. The programme will go on and expand as a national volunteer
service for the country.
The Kenya future leaders programme therefore is being
designed to be recognized as Kenya’s foremost programme for inspiring,
empowering and unifying a nation of greatness. That young people must unite to
begin to cultivate their personal growth into becoming a nation of greatness. That
in greatness we can make this country a better place. That as we even make this
country a better place, the greatness shall be inborn and en-grained within our
minds and hearts. But for that greatness to be achieved, it has to start with
the values of bigger dreams and getting out there to achieve those dreams for
us and the generations to come. When all is done, we shall be united in
greatness. But it all starts with that first step of volunteering. It is only
through service that greatness is defined.
Through Evidence Action I know I will keep doing what I do best, because evidence action translates research into tangible results, scaling up what works. Because I love evidence based advocacy, I know my now new challenge will be scaling up what works so that it can be effective in making life better for many.
To all those of you I have interacted with, you have made me
what I am today. I celebrate you all my friends. We are all a great people. The
journey to greatness continues.
