Lead Where You Are

What comes into your mind when you here the word Leadership? For many, it’s a figure of someone in a top position privileges, capable of issuing commands and one who stands aloof from the common man. They imagine of a commander, and the ones being led as subjects. This, however, is not the case for youths in Nakuru county. Last week the 2^nd of May 2019, we had a great event at the Kenya National Library as our Art4Leadership Episode II of the year. If you are just reading this blog for the first time, this is musical concert in which we invite professional speakers from various spectra of life to inspire youths towards positive social change. In January, we tackled a topic on Education for peace where our guest speaker was Mr. Winnie Machila, the Head Teacher at Milimani Primary School. You can read about the event here: African Dream

Joseck Addressing Youths

The facilitators for the last week’s event were Mr. Joseck Olala a YALI Alumnus and ICT Officer at the Nakuru Knls and Dowe Music & Arts director, Mr. Douglas Ogutu. The eagerness in the faces of the youths and their timely attendance as well as their abundance is enough to tell you that young people long for a better Kenya, if not Africa at large. The event, themed “LEAD WHERE YOU ARE: The Africa We Want” was graced by Dowe Music Band with the main song being “The African Dream.” This song is not only easy to sing a long but thought provoking through it’s proactive message. Written in the first person, listening to or sing this tune especially the chorus challenges one to reflect on one’s actions and pledge to do what is right. Here are the words of the chorus in Swahili:

Nitatenda mema (I will do what is good)

Nitahesabika (I’ll stand to be counted)

Eh Mungu wangu (Oh My God)

Nisaidie (Help me out)

One can see from this words that the listener is being called to action. The call is for one to shift the paradigm from just delegating responsibility to those in positions of power but realize we all have a role.This tied in so well with the messages from the Speakers. Youths were taught on the effects of poor governance and shown the benefits of sound governance. It was made clear that our actions for or not voting directly affect our lives since governance holds all sectors of livelihoods be it health, economy, infrastructure, education etc. 

Youths participating in the discussion

Mr. Olala reminded the youths that the constitution gives them a right to public participation, questioning actions of the elected leaders as well as demanding that they deliver what they promised. He emphasized that we all must in one accord Say no to PoorLeadership in word and action.

 The second speaker, Mr. Ogutu talked about Servant Leadership. He enlisted qualities of a good leader as expressed in the image below from his presentation. Of the 7 characteristics, “Self-Awareness” came out as the most critical.

“When you get a position to lead, you give the people a chance to know you. They can relate with you easily if they have no difficulty understanding who you are. It becomes a tragedy when you don’t know yourself in the first place,” He said. From the discussions with the attendees, it became clear that poor leadership spearheaded by corruption in Africa is an enormous problem to even think of tackling it. However, they all agreed that it is not impossible. They pledged to be “bold enough to fight patiently even if we ourselves don’t live to see the fruits.”

One of them said, “We have to develop a long-term strategy, not limiting ourselves to election time periods.” It was Impressive seeing such a discourse led by youths themselves. Indeed, it is noble to fight for something that will outlive you. Thank you for taking time to read and hopefully this will spark hope and a desire for a greater Africa than we have now. To listen to the recorded version of the theme song of the day click this link.African Dream

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Touch A Soul: 2019 Valentine Edition

Touch A Soul Banner Made By
Activate Graphic Solutions

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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Wrap it Up: 2018, Welcome 2019!

January 19th 2018

October 12th 2018, YALI Commencement Day

AFLEWO Night, Friday 17th, Oct.2018

Art4Leadership Nakuru

Youths listening ardently

Mavuno Church

Dowe Music Band in Nairobi during the
 Art4Leadership at the American Corner,
Moi University, Nairobi Campus

Receive our warm regards

Right from the registration of the students in the first week of the year, through the Art4Leadership events which kicked off on 19^th January, to the participation of our director in the Transformational Leadership training at Yali Regional Center East Africa, Kenyatta University which made him an alumni, we can only say thank you to everyone that made it possible.

The year started on a top notch with everyone at the academy working towards one goal: Excellence. We are grateful to the many partners that have joined Dowe Music & Arts amnong whom include New Life Home Trust, Kenya National Library Services, AFLEWO Nakuru, American Spaces, Nakuru Youth Bunge, Yali RLC EA, Yali Nakuru and the most recent Credit Bank. To the individual persons that we may not mention names in this post, we want you to know that your immense support made us stand tall.

Special regards go to Oxygene Company and by extension to Njoro Inuka Youth Group for according the opportunity for participation in the Future of Food Conference at Safari Park Hotel. Check the post There are sensible youths out there for details on the same. We are really grateful for the UN through their United Nations On Drugs and Crime for the conference at the Kenyan UN offices where the director was part of the team drafting a framework of resolutions by youths to foster positive change in the country. It was in this that Credit Bank awarded Dowe Music & Arts an innovation award.

The year ends up with a promise of presenting a success card to 2019 as we joined Yali Nakuru team in the end year party, of course, providing live music entertainment. Our last performance was a presentation at Nakuru Girls High school during a wedding of one of the celebrated South Africa’s dance, by the name Maki. The colorful wedding saw the congregants enjoy violin music with romantic titles such as Pachelbel’s Canon in D Major, John Legend’s famous All of Me and Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

What more can we say? To the team at Dowe Music & Arts, we haven’t reached yet; thank you for the resilience.  Much thanks to our new content writer and student for making it eaven easier. Anita, God bless you. Our ultimate gratitude goes to the almighty God! See you all in 2019!

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WHAT’S HAPPENING IN NAKURU?

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 19^th 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 21^st 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

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Youths on The Frontline: UNODC Kenya

Mrs. Pamela Mutembei, Head of Business and Marketing,
Credit Bank awards Dowe Music &Arts

A rare opportunity it was to represent Nakuru County, YALI Network as well as DoweMusic & Arts in the United Nations on Drugs and Crime initiative targeting the youths in Kenya. The conference, themed as NATIONAL YOUTH WORKSHOP ON GOOD GOVERNANCE, INTEGRITY AND ANTICORRUPTION took place between 5-7^th December 2018. I must confess that this is a spectacular move by the UN organizations and must needs not stop. 250 young people were selected from a pool of 2000 aspirants to spearhead the unanimous resolve of embracing good governance and saying no to corruption, a menace that has eaten up Kenya so bad that it is still classified as an underdeveloped country.

Nairobi Governor (Left) Arriving

We have always stated in our Art4Leadership Events that the youths have all it takes to course positive change that will last not only in Africa but the world at large. It was a great honor to meet young people who organized this event led by Ms. Wambui Kahara. Throughout the event, one could only admire as well as get inspired by the synergy, unction and the zeal exhibited by the young leaders as they ran up and down to ensure that the delegates had a conducive environment. ‘Life' between the UN setting and the choice hotels was amazing as the participants interacted freely, aired their opinions and provided valuable feedback whenever required to.

Dignitaries, including Nairobi’s Governor Mr. Sonko applauded the youths for their efforts. His testimony on the past criminal life was moving and at the same time motivational. He reminded the youths thus:

Your past should not dictate your future.

Madam Charity Kagwi, an expert on matters Criminal Justice shocked us with statistics on the number of youths in jail. Isn’t it a concern that 68.5% of the cell occupants are 35 years below of age? Isn’t it even more disturbing that the youths are leading in the population of drunkards and a rendered-useless populace generation? Who shall save us if not our own resolve? The point is, we as the young people have the energy to say no to vices. We have the drive to channel our energies in the right direction. We cannot rely on the passing generation entirely anymore since some of them could even be worse. We are the hope of our time. Let us arise. Now is the time, what are you waiting for?

Mrs. Charity Kagwi, On Urban Crime and Criminal Justice

Being an artiste, I must say it was impressive of the organizers for the opportunities they gave musicians, poets and visual artistes to teach the youths. Teardrop made it clear that most of the spaces we see labeled as CORRUPTION FREE ZONES are in fact Corruption FEE Zones. As J.F. Kennedy would put it, an artiste’s work is the lens through which the society can see itself. One can quickly recall Sauti Sol’s Tujiangalie vis a vis the current scandals in Kenya. This begs the question, what do you listen out for in Music, a drawing or a poem? We were also happy to wrap the session with the celebrated songbird WAHU who led us in Eric Wainaina’s Daima Mkenya before public demand dictated that she does her Sweet Love tune. I mentioned the other day that artistes are not just empty shells. They are reliable people that can give counsel to the society. This is what Juliani did. His message was clear that we have to go beyond eloquence and academic accomplishments to provoke change. We must get tired of the norm! The same message would be echoed later by a another artiste in the paint world, Mr. Mukabwa.

Since I hadn’t asked prior to the conference as to whether i would perform, there was no way I’d be slotted in the program because I was just a delegate, known by none as an artiste. However, attire will always tell, especially accompanied by a guitar or violin. One of the correspondences, Mr. Timothy asked me whether I’d play during the conference. I’m sure you know the answer.  Well, thanks to fellow YALI Alumni from Nakuru and cohort 28 who joined me at Trade Mark Hotel on the second night. 

With time, we had a crowd singing to some of the compositions like Say No to Poor Leadership, Mimi Na Wewe and Carry On. Out of nowhere, someone spotted Hon. Amb. (Dr.) Amina, Cabinet Secretary for Education. She joined us listening to the message we put across about the resolve to cause relevant change in Africa. The following day is when I got an opportunity to sing the same song to 130 youths tackling Urban Crime and Criminal Justice.

By mid-morning Friday, the framework document we had been working on was ready for presentation to the UN and the Government. This is a sign that we have sensible youths in this country. News about appointment of a 91-year-old in a board kept disturbing the youthful champions. The president’s remark on the same however taught me something. We both hate each other; the youth and the elderly. No one trusts the other. This must stop. As much as there are errand boys and girls in here, we only remain naive if we box everyone in the same basket of rotten eggs. Conversely, the fact that we have senseless and foolish old chaps in this country does not invalidate the existence of wise, considerate and reliable old folks, regardless of their age. For a mutual coexistence, the elderly and the youths must create an ecosystem of trusting each other. Seeking to understand the other party is the antidote to the many fights that this world continues to experience.

Mr. Peter Moll Presenting the youths' resolutions

I was not prepared for the Recognition of Dowe Music &Arts by Credit Bank. I remember applying for the $500 grant shortly after completing a course from YALI dubbed Fundamentals of Grant Writing. You can access the course by clicking here The lecturer had quoted the famous line:

One must have written close to 15 applications to win the first one. 

This was my third. I didn’t qualify for the Google Impact challenge, and I am waiting for results for the second one. Besides the boost from the funds, I wish to let Credit Bank and the UN to know what the recognition meant to us at Dowe Music & Arts:

•     We are doing something positive in the society
•    Someone is always watching, keep doing what you were meant to do
•   The only shortcut to success is determination for she never stoops

My heartfelt gratitude goes to the ALMIGHTY GOD. YALI NETWORK, UNDOC, CREDIT BANK and DOWE MUSIC &ARTS Team.

The writer is the founding director;

Dowe Music & Arts

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