Touch A Soul: 2019 Valentine Edition

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Dowe Music & Arts Team with the children

With all the fuss on social media about the men’s conference on Valentines Day, we at Dowe Music visited beautiful souls in one of the slum areas in Nakuru. Located off town just near the Lake Nakuru Game park is a home with a courageous woman. Elizabeth (a.k.a Mama Ng’endo) is a lady full of compassion and love for the less fortunate. She houses sixteen abandoned children by either irresponsible beings of a human or because of the cruel hand of death.

Soon after our expedition at the coast last week, we embarked on a fund drive to facilitate the visit. Well, before I delve much into this, I must mention that this visit became more relevant because of the Human Centered Design approach we applied. By Thursday, earlier week, we had not yet found a suitable orphanage to visit. Bu suitable I mean a place where we would get all the children at the same time. Most of them had some children in boarding school.

I was privileged to participate in the MWF 2019 interview. It happened that the panelist came late. Instead of each of us minding our own business and rehearsing what to say as it always happens in most job interviews, I told the group of five sharp looking ladies and one Gentleman to turn the chairs around. We did our introduction and that’s how I knew Susan.

Susan

Susan is a soft spoken lady graced with empathy for the underprivileged. Despite having growing up in a middle class family and currently having a good job (Things I came to learn later after the visit), one can only wonder why and how she has a heart to take occasional visits to Mama Ng’endo and do shopping for the children. It was after everyone had shared their stories that I told Susan about my interest in her visits to the home.

For the past one year, I have come to appreciate the power of story-telling and connecting with people. Little was it known to me that the lateness of our panelists (We all know that it is not in an American to be late) was a divine chance for me to make contacts with great change makers. Thankfully, I have contacts of all of them: Orpah, a volunteer with G-Unite, Sakuda a founder of a High School, Birir a fellow Yali Nakuru Alumni and the founder of Go Green and Linda.

Back to the top story. We did chat with Susan and on asking how we might help the home, she had every detail on her fingertips. Normally, we always think of bringing clothes and sadly (or is it fate), those that are torn and want someone to take them instead of turning them into dusters. Susan gave me a list of things that the home was in dire need. On top of the list was that there’s a need for well- wishers and sponsors to help Elizabeth educate the children. Well, this would be beyond our scope as our company has barely broken even and it’s still taking off. However, what if by you reading this story you can give it a shot. You can get our contacts at the Dowe Music &Arts website.

Reaching out to the current class of students, they suggested a budget so we can do a one-month shopping. I was so excited for a bout ten seconds then a thought came. Who was going to foot that? These young people? Long story short, we set a target which was surpassed by about $20 (Ksh.2000). We are grateful to everyone including friends of Dowe Music &Arts (Those who are neither alumni or current students) for the support you gave.

Elizabeth "Mama Ng'endo at her home,
Sewage Area, Nakuru

We arrived safely on Thursday evening, 14 of February.  Mama Ng’endo gave a story that made all of us appreciate life. Her husband was brutally murdedered in 2007during the Post- Election Violence. They found his lifeless body lying in a trench. Well, I have been preaching peace and singing about it for long but for once I felt a deeper unction to do this more and more.

She picked up herself and thought about life and what lessons God had for her in the new status of widowhood. A thought of taking care of orphaned children came in. Being a Christian, she thought so little about her meagre resources and how she would cater for the children. Elizabeth narrated how sometimes she wakes up to a toddler as young as a month old abandoned at her doorstep. This was so heart breaking especially as I remembered Susan telling me a testimony of how a child was almost dying of malnutrition and now she was a bundle of joy, months later, in the hands of Mama Ng’endo!

After introduction and short speeches from both the visitors and the host, we had an awesome moment of acoustic guitar music. Our repertoire was graced with Paul Clement’s Amani, Angel Benard’s Siteketei and Kuliko Jana by Sauti Sol. This was the first for one of our students. As we went back to office, Ms. Waigi had a comment to make.

 I didn’t know it’s this nice to help someone less fortunate…thank you so much for organizing this.

Touch a Soul will be here again in a year’s time. Remember, at any point in life, there is always someone less privileged than you. Dare to touch a soul!

The writer of this post is the founder of 

Dowe Music & Arts and the 

frontier of Art4Leadership. 

He is a Yali Alumni based in Nakuru.

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YES MOMBASA: Dowe Music Band at the Coast

Dowe Music Band arrives at Mombasa Terminus

The weekend started with a wonderful journey on Friday 8, February 2019 from Nakuru to Mombasa. A team of four, (two gents and two ladies) had been preparing for the Entrepreneurship Summit organized by the YouthEmpowerment Program Initiative (YEPI) for about a month. Tasked with a duty as the guest artists, the team under the leadership of the director knew this was an event to put their best foot forward. From the feedback after the event, you can be sure, they never went wrong.

Mr. Amani (Center), CEO, YEPI

The two nights were spent at Garden Park hotel while the event took place at Sai Rock Beach Hotel. Upon arrival, the team made sure that the clients at Garden Park had a snippet of what was in their package. Little did they know that they would be needed the following day due to public demand. However, this couldn’t work as the main occasion of the weekend ended almost midnight and the songbirds had an early train to catch up with.

Late Night Performance at the Dinner, Sai Rock Hotel 

We must applaud Mr. Amani Katana, the CEO of YEPI together with his team for the transformative work they are performing at the coast. This is one among the many young people who are on cause to transform Africa. Looking at the invited speakers, the idea pitching competition, panelists and the whole meticulous organization of the event, one would think this was a foreign company with fifty years of existence in Kenya. On the contrary, YEPI have embraced the art of collaboration, team work and synergy. This is a big lesson to all of us, especially the youths who have grown up with a competing attitude. Leveraging on others’ strength makes one formidable. A force to reckon with.

From Left: Douglas, Mitchelle, Juliana and Antony

Dowe Music Band was on stage starting with a performance from Asa’s beautiful tune ‘Jailer.’ As the audience seemed to settle, the sizzling violin tune on ‘You Raise Me Up’ arrested every one as if to command them to pay attention. This was followed by Eric Wainaina’s Daima Mkenya in which the violin leads the verse while the singers take on the chorus.

In what seemed as a fresh reminder of the recently departed hero Mr. Oliver Mtukudzi, his international tune Todii engulfed the audience as they could resonate with the guitar plucking and the organized vocals. 

Ms. Mitchelle and Douglas on Jailer

You could see from the audience that the worth of a man is actually in his work, which lives on even after he leaves the earth. The team then sang Siteketei with the energy that the siong commands of any performer. The MC, known as Mr. Good Stuff signaled the team to do the last piece. No other tune does the curtain raising better than No To Poor Leadership and own composition that gets everyone singing along or better still nodding in agreement with it’s simple but provocative message.

The various speakers challenged young people to rise up and be on course. One, Ms. Carol Odera, MWF2018, Tony Elumelu Fellow and a Yali RLC Alumnus reminded the young entrepreneurs that Financial Capital is important but its not the main reason people fail to start businesses. One must invest in knowledge search.

During the tea break, the hall was jammed with cool live Jazz performed by Mr. Ogutu. The guitar was on point and it sort of reminded people that this is February, a month of love. With his favorite phrase Babu Kanambia ( Grandpa told me), sipping coffe has never been easy and fun than at the time whenyou hear words of widom fused in tunes made of guitar strings. One of the Idea Pitching Judges would later say, “Wow, I loved the Guitar plucking.” Mrs. Julie Mwinyi is a business Coach at the YALI RLC, East Africa Region and an MWF alumni.

Douglas, Solo Jazz Performance

The pitching competition premiered five participants in which the winner will receive $1000 (Ksh. 100, 000) to boost the initiative. The top three entrepreneurs will get a one year mentorship program from Hazina Trust Organization which is one of the partners with YEPI. Moving forward, we can only say that such activities should be encouraged and if our leaders are looking for youths to support ( as the claim has always been), then it’s time they acted on their quest. We shall do it even if they don’t showp though.

Team at the Terminus

In conclusion, we are grateful to the YEPI fraternity for inviting Dowe Music & Arts the opportunity to entertain the guests. We look forward to bigger engagements and call out to any other organizations to emulate the same. Our music is live and authentic, relevant and least to say sound. Doesn’t our tagline command us so? It reads, Dowe Music & Arts: RIDING ON EXCELLENCE!

The writer is the founder of Dowe Music &  Arts

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