Mr. Imran (Right) Awards YaliNakuru
Most Active Chapter 2018
November 2014 is the month I got a link from a High School friend
for Mandela Washington Fellowship. Now if you have ever applied for this
program you know well that this was an expired link. Let me just say I
discovered this after days of gathering thoughts on what to write. I was
however happy that there was an option to join the network through email.
In November 2017, while working on my brand Dowe Music &
Arts and the Art4Leadership Initiative, I saw a poster about a program in the
Kenya National Library Nakuru Branch.The facilitator was Maureen Changawa (MWF2017),
and there were YALI Logos. I recalled then that at some point while I was
training a music band at Geothermal Development Company, Maureen had mentioned that she’d be away from
June. This brought to a halt a recording project we had started. Learning that
in fact what she was leaving for was MWF made me more interested in the
program. Well, I had signed up for all platforms on social media and even done
courses in YALI but I had never thought there was anyone in Nakuru who knew
about it.
Maureen (MWF 2017) addressing youths during
Art4Leadership Concert
As it is my custom, I carried my violin and thankfully to
the moderator, Mr. Joseck Olala (YALI RLC Cohort 25), I got an opportunity to
perform. This opened the next uncountable opportunities. We discussed after the
event and he was enthusiastic about an artiste who had an agenda for sound
leadership.
Towards the end of the month, the US embassy organized an
information session headed by Mr. George Kamau (Chairman, American Spaces) on
YALI LEARNS that I must say helped me understand the program better. That is
the time I reached out to Christine (one of the Facilitators) asking her whether
YALI could accommodate a musical event. The response I got was so welcoming
that I immediately started planning for the concert a month before. With her
help in inviting participants through mail, the attendance was so overwhelming
that the chief Librarian asked me to limit the number to sixty in future
events. This was on 19th January 2018.
It suffices to say that this event was the start of a
broadened network both within and without Nakuru county, and by extension
without Kenya. As Dowe Music & Arts we have carried out more than eight
Art4Leadership events in partnership with YALI and the Kenya National Library. One
needs to know that I did not wait to become and alumni to start the events. It
is actually almost impossible to become vibrant just because you have graduated
from a fellowship. The drive needs to be in you.
Yali Nakuru Chapter has become a family that I never had.
Since February, every cohort has had three to four participants from Nakuru. We
have grown not just in numbers but in impact. If you are active on social media
especially the YALI Network, we don’t let a week go without an event. We are a
team. We are formidable. We are selfless. We are servants and we are deliberate
in our actions. If you think I am just blowing fetish kisses, dare to visit us
in any of the events. We understood what commencement day meant.
After Setting 2019 Strategy
As we wrap up the year, we just did a successful tree
planting last week on Jamhuri Day. We planted over four hundred trees in Ngata
and Milimani Primary Schools. The video in this post will show you the kind of
energy these young souls exhibit. Thankfully, God has given us talents which
are really appreciated. We always have music in our events. Who would think
that a Design Thinking Workshop would require music?
A tune for the seedling?
Just yesterday, I was among the panelists evaluating Design
Challenge Prototypes by 47 youths from Nakuru, courtesy of Knls. Other
panelists were Oliver Jemuge (Chairperson) and Catherine Lagat (Events
Coordinator) The facilitators of the three week program were Joseck Olala (cohort
25) and Joseph Njinju (cohort 28). Apart
from other awards, one participant got a partial scholarship to learn any
musical instrument at Dowe Music & Arts. Isn’t life getting better?
After Tree Planting, More sense through Music
We are not missing out on cohort 29 commencent coming Friday
21st 2018. Njinju and I will be welcoming the new leaders in the
Yali Alumni. See you there if you make it. Stay tuned to this platform for more
inspirational stories.
The writer is the founder of Dowe Music &Arts
Niiiiiice!!!!! Good work team Nakuru. Continue with the good work you are doing of impacting lives.
ReplyDeletewow! 👏Douglas, what you do is admirably, passionately amazing!...You are going far!🙌
ReplyDeleteI must say you are an inspiration Daggy,,, commonly known to us during the time i met you in primary school while you were a time keeper, great singer and you liked cu more... Kuddos sir...
ReplyDelete