The Winning Team: MWF 2021 Part I

 

Mercy and Philip Olilo (MWF 2021)

Wednesday night. Fellows are all over Zen Gardens. Some taking contacts you would think none of us is in the same WhatsApp group we all belong to…but we know what that means; someone is being intentional about keeping in touch with you or the tingling effect just happened…or is it a spark? Forgive us, it is the first time we are meeting physically since we started applying for Mandela Washington Fellowship and made it. I think it’s two years now. A few of them have their eyes shining, eyeballs widening as if in readiness for an eyeing match with owls. I tease one of them to stand on one foot and you know how it goes with every tipsy champ, “You think I can’t…?” Okay, let me digress a little.

Trizah, Lenah and Paul (MWF2021)

I love engaging people. I move a way from what seems to be a dance floor where fellows are trying so hard to make moves. Annette, the Cultural Specialist at the US Embassy-Kenya, and the lead organizer of this event is present. I wish I captured the video. Well, it suffices to affirm that she’s good at it.  I go to Phillip Olilo’s table. The tall dark young man (MWF 2021 Alumnus) smiles at me with a good mastery of eye contact. I realize though, he must be busy on phone, perhaps with an ongoing online meeting. Anyway, he’s a colleague, we can catch up later. I’m interested in Mercy, his sign language translator. She is a teacher at Farther Auderaa School for the Hearing Impaired, at Nyangoma village, Siaya County of Kenya. We had introduced each other earlier so our chat can take any angle.

Mercy: I am so humbled. It is just amazing what young people can do. Everyone is creating impact till I’m left wondering where I’ve been all these years.

Douglas: I think you are doing more in your space. By the way, what drove you into Special Education?

The professional sign Language educator smiles and one can tell how passionate she is about teaching children with disability and in this case, those with hearing impairment. After a brief history…

Mercy: To this end, I don’t think I can trade this profession for any other. The world I’m in is so peaceful. I want to do this every day, anytime.

We discuss the challenges facing children with disabilities among which include the long journey that most governments in Africa are yet to accomplish as well as the unpreparedness among families. I marvel at how she brims with joy while describing the fun she has with the children at the school, saying challenges are everywhere and like every other person, we ought to address them as opportunities to make the world better.

For a moment we talk about the differences in the sign language curriculum across the world and that’s how I recall a Swahili short story I wrote in 2013 as a tribute to the late Nelson Mandela. We both laugh at my sign language translating character who was saying things that were in no way related to what the speakers were saying, messing a trip for a deaf child whose Father had given a treat to attend a funeral of Africa’s first President, Rufomuze. We end up agreeing that there is a long way to go on matters disability preparedness. The bus is arriving, we must go back to the boarding hotel… everyone wishes we just stayed here. I wrap it up…

Douglas

Fellows pose with Charge D’ affairs

: I think you are best fit for MWF. This fellowship is about winners, and by that, I mean people who are resilient, passionate about; community service, purpose driven life and seeing positive change in themselves and the environment around them. Be sure to apply when the time comes. Philip can help you with essay reviews, I mean, all fellows here are willing to help if you get in touch. You are a great leader.

Mercy: Oh yes! This is something I’m waiting for. Thank you!

Douglas: Thanks for your time, I can see the bus is ready.

Annette and Mr. Machin

Everyone gathers their gift hampers, and the driver is aware of such a night, so he is patient with the few who must stagger as they walk, talk and sing to the bus. The event has been a great one. The kind that has somehow soothed the disappointment brought by Covid-19 hindering us from travelling to Washington DC for an in-person fellowship. Thanks to the Embassy officials under the leadership of Mr. Machin Christopher.

To be continued….

All photos by Douglas and Saumu Idd (MWF2021)

The writer is the founder of Dowe Music &Arts. He is passionate about sound leadership and social positive change in Africa. Art is a tool he uses to transform lives in Kenya and Africa.

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WAKE UP! IT'S MORNING

Bishop TD Jakes Addressing Entrepreneurs 

“I hear people from outside talk about opportunities in Africa more than I hear Africans talk about opportunities in Africa…the globe today is ready for your Idea,”

NunuNtshingila, the Regional Director Facebook Africa pointed out this truth during SOAR AFRICA 2019 as she stood up to address enthusiastic entrepreneurs.

SOAR AFRICA is a platform for African Leaders to get peer mentorship, knowledge sharing and executive engagement that embraces servant leadership. 5^th-6^th September 2019 mark the inaugural dates for the event that has been the talk of the day at least by many in the country for the past one month. The event brought together admirable leaders not only in the business world but also from the Public as well as the Spiritual aspects of life. 

The main speaker being Bishop TD Jakes from the US, the audience were surely blessed by his colleagues of the day including Strive Masiyiwa, Joshua Oigara (KCB), Sylvia Mulinge(Safaricom PLC), CS Fred Matiang’I to mention but a few.

There had been a fuss all over the media about the charges to the event but some of us just chose to focus on the main thing, which was, “SOAR AFRICA.” I was not going to afford this summit but was positive that at least I could get some nuggets of wisdom even if it meant through leaked videos or the social media titbits. 

You can imagine the joy when I got a message to express interest in attending the summit through the YALI alumni email. KCB had decided to sponsor a few of us. That is one of the mails I normally respond to first, doing the necessary before asking questions. Doesn’t Steve Covey advocate for pro-activeness in his 7Habits of Highly Effective People?

Let’s just say I had to attend this no matter the circumstances. I had been down with a fever and I once thought about cancelling my travel plan but… Years ago I read a book with a title “THE PRINCESS WITHIN” by Sarah Jakes which made me admire the man, her husband. I looked forward to becoming a resilient husband, open and honest as well as God-fearing. 

So, when an opportunity comes to hear and see the man you read on paper and/or watched on electrons, what more can one ask? The fact that he is a man of God showing the world that business can be clean and money after all was meant to serve man and not the other way is inspirational and maybe for once…I had to pause because I think the statement needs its own sentence break.

For once, young Christians (and even believers of other religions) have evidence that being religious is not a license to foolishness and poverty as it is always shoved down our throats right from primary school by some who believe in nothing. 

According to TDJ, the success of a nation is like a table. The four legs are Entrepreneurship, Religion, Political Leadership and Technology. Knock any of them off and there you have a crisis. He advocates for an inclusive society where children, the youths and the elderly are part of the cake baking process.

I could see the passion he has for Kenya and the longings for the rising of the black continent. We danced to the beat led by the stamping of his foot encouraging Kenyans to start marketing their products.

“Success is no longer a local Idea…business is a brand. A brand is a promise…a promise is built on trust. Make it easier for people to trade with you…It is not about who’s next…find people who do what you can’t…collaborate…” 

A few months ago, during the National Youths and Devolution Summit, the speakers emphasized on the need for young people to advance from noise to voice. TDJ called on Kenyans to channel their energy into marketing their products because,

“We (outside Kenya) need your products, we need your music, your normal to us is amazing…the wind is right for your dream…wake up! Wake up Kenya, it’s morning!”

To sum up this write-up, my salutation goes to Joy Wachira, the founder of SOAR AFRICA for dreaming big and helping us get the motivation we needed to forge ahead. To KCB and the Yali Fraternity, one day books will be read as people overseas will be looking for the formula that made Africa arise, these titles shall be remembered.  Meanwhile, let me finish reading my copy of SOAR authored by Bishop TD Jakes. You can order it online at Amazon 

A section of young Entrepreneurs after the summit

Dear reader, thank you choosing to read this post under Art4Leadership with sponsorship of Dowe Music &Arts. We endeavor to highlight the positive change taking place in Africa as we rebuke the stench of evils that thwart her progress. Please stay tuned.

The writer has sole responsibility for the post.

Douglas Ogutu is a gifted 

musician and writer

 at Dowe Music & Arts

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How Much is a Guitar?

Retrived from Aruna Musical Store

"Hello sir, I want to buy a guitar, I was wondering if you can help me choose the best..." This is the message I hear quite often from guitar lovers ranging from admirers, beginners, amateurs to experienced players. My first question has always been, "What do you want to use it for?" In this post, we'll look at recommendations of the ranges that you can consider before purchasing a guitar. Disclaimer, when it comes to prices, you are free to do as your pocket allows but if you're like me as in you like counting every single coin and ensuring none goes to waste, this post will help you. I will categorize the prices basing on the levels of guitar players:

Admirer's Guitar 

Souvenir Guitars
Image c/o shutterstock.com

Just like we have people who love watching the Rugby sport but cannot stand the imagination of injuries the players go through leave alone playing the game itself, the guitar has more admirers in the world than aspiring players. In this category, the features of the instrument are more aesthetic than musical. The user goes for color, shape and the general appearance as opposed to sound quality. 

Have you ever visited a friend and found a guitar hanging on a wall and you know very well they can't even tell how many strings the guitar has? Well, that is what am talking about. Most of these are usually souvenirs for birthdays, anniversaries of some sort and so forth. If you plan to buy such, I bet the smaller the size the better. Budgeting from $50 (Ksh. 5000)  can get you a good colored guitar. You don't have to worry about which musical shop to get it. Supermarkets all over the place can sort you out. One more thing, the brand doesn't matter as long as you got the right color for the occasion.

Beginner's Guitar
You have been searching for a music tutor for long and someone just hinted to you about Dowe Music and Arts and how their trainers handle students with utmost excellence and expertise not to mention respect. After a tune or two they showcase you get convinced that you should give it a shot but you must buy the guitar first. Which way to go? There is a wide range of acoustic guitars that you can get from the market. By acoustic I mean those that don't have Pre-amps to connect to a PA system. At this stage, you want to focus on ensuring you have a good grip of the guitar itself. Trying to play on PA at this stage will horrify not only whoever cares to listen but yourself as well. So, let's begin where we are. What is our budget recommendation? $80 (Ksh. 8,000) and above will solve your current problem friend.

Acoustic Guitar
Image c/o melbournemusiccenter.com.au

Amateur's Guitar

Guitar with pick-up Image c/o ebay.com

This belongs to people who have been playing the guitar for say two years (notice I said playing not owning). Chances are they have started having a clear picture of the notes on the fret-board and are not slaves of the Capo. I mean, they use it when they want and not as an escape from the barre chords. Though not  yet veryclear, they can a tleast discover the key in which a song is being played and can tune a guitar without dependance on electronic tuners. They own the above Beginners guitar. 

 If the above guitar is in good condition, get a gadget called Pick-up and mount it on the guitar just near the sound box opening. The pick-up acts as a pre-amp for converting analog signals from the guitar strings to digital to be sent to the PA. This should cost between $20-50 (Ksh. 2,000-5,000) inclusive of a cable say five meters long.

Semi-Acoustic Guitar
Image c/o audiomart.co.za

Alternatively, one can decide to buy a semi-acoustic guitar. At this stage, chances are that the player still has little or no gigs at all to enable them purchase a higher quality guitar. This means you have to outsource money elsewhere. Most people on such a lean budget as I was then decide to sell the beginners guitar (of course at a lower price than they bought) and top up the savings to buy a semi-acoustic guitar. Where are we at? Now that you've began to enjoy your own guitar playing, it's time to let the world feel a taste. Your budget needs to upgrade to something like $150 (Ksh. 15000). At this point we start mentioning brands like Yamaha, Fender. Sadly though, you may only afford the Gibsons which has some good invigorating sound vibrations.

Professional Guitar

Yamaha SA2200 Semi Acoustic Guitar
Image c/o rimmermusic.co.uk

We call you a professional guitarist because you are no longer confused with the music theory rules/rudiments. In fact, you are outgrowing them to a point where their boundaries make sense but not enough to limit your exploitative fingers. You bend a few like using a Major Chords where your teacher said you shouldn't. Yes, you can run a number of scales beautifully to any given song or create a chord pattern given just a monotonic melody. The point is, you find no problem understanding this paragraph.

Unfortunately, sometimes you may reach this level but your pocket is still at the admirer's level. I once attended a christian mission where we were amazed that there were three old acoustic guitars but the players distinguished them as Lead, semi-acoustic and Bass. In essence, for a professional guitarist, you can turn any of the above into what you want. However, some audiences are very judgmental. You don't want to lose your show just because of your stinginess. Get a good guitar, with a guitar case that takes care of the instrument well. You should be ready to spend $300 (Ksh. 30,000) and above for the guitar alone while the case chops $30-100(Ksh.3000-10,000) depending on whether you want a bag or a wooded/metallic case.

Electric Guitarists

Lead Guitar Image c/o jiji.nj

Bass Guitar
Image c/o stagefrontmusic.co.au

These are majorly the bass and lead guitars. There are also acoustic electric guitars. For these, we not only mention Yamaha, Gibsons and/or Fender, rather, we work ourselves out to purchasing them since our ears have precision to understand what sound we want. Budget? Anything less than $200 (Ksh. 20,000) will not serve you for a desirable duration. Remember, the reason I have placed this category here is that the players are assumed to have basic music theory and have good musical ears. It will be a bit problematic to learn these if you don't have the basics. However, nothing is impossible in this world. Also, these guitars come with the budget of a PA system. So unless you are buying for a church/band which already has the PA, realize that your budget can not be any less than $50(Ksh. 50,000).

Conclusion
  As stated earlier, sometimes it is your pocket that speaks for you. However, as you can see, you can not start from the last to the first. Life itself doesn't work that way. Even if it does, no one wishes it does. Hopefully, this post will help you in purchasing your next guitar.

The writer is 

a guitar trainer at 

Dowe Music & Arts

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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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Tune Your Guitar in Less than one Minute

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There are Sensible Youths out There

Part of Inuka Njoro Youth Group with YALI ALUMNI-Nakuru

A section of Panelists

Delegates from Nakuru

Unruly, careless, sexually hypersensitive, unstable, unfocused and confused are perhaps just some of the adjectives that run in the mindset of many an old folk when asked to define who a youth is. This could explain why some cling on the wings of political power as they console the young aspirants thus: “You are the leaders of tomorrow.” Well the fact that much of the misconduct in the society is propagated by the youths can- not be gainsaid. 

However, what if the stereotype is locking up our ears and shuttering our sockets of vision to most young people who indeed have a sense of direction? What if those who err do so for lack of real mentors who are too busy amassing wealth in cartels? I am reminded of a verse by King Solomon in the Bible who said, “Better a poor and wise youth than an old and foolish king who no longer knew how to take advice…” Eccl 4:13.

It was a privilege attending Future of Food Conference 2018 organised by Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). The invite was courtesy of OXYGENE company which is an event organizer. Are you curious about how a musician got into such an Agricultural based forum? This is how: One of my fans has been attending Art4Leadership events and discovered that despite the fact that I am a music creator, the discipline is just a tool through which I mentor youths. In other words, the concerts deal with various topics that are geared towards youths empowerment- employment and job creation.
 Secondly, I have been active in promoting agribusinesses for the larger part of this year through helping youths (majority of whom are famers) create blogs and make their work known to the world. So, if you just thought that a musician is just an empty shell or like a sounding gong for enticing the rest of the universe then I’m glad you are reading this. Some of us are deep.

Lenah Mwangi, the leader of Njoro Inuka Youth Group and an upcoming YALI Alumni (cohort 29) extended the invite which I could not give a second thought. I mean, food security is a universal matter. The event, graced by various dignitaries from the ministry of Agriculture and CEOs of renowned brands such as Mr. Vimar Shah of BIDCO Africa was very informative especially to me who is still green in matters Agroeconomics. Mr. Maina from the Transnational Bank sensitized the farmers to work from the market point of view as opposed to the farm-market traditional approach. This is the essence of design Driven Entrepreneurship, a course facilitated by YALI Network. Dr. Kalibata, the president of AGRA challenged the delegates not to stop at initiating; rather, consistency is key in everything one does.

There were quite a number of youths on the panelist table. I will mention two for the interest of your time. Ms. Marion Moon, the founder and MD of WANDA Agriculture stunned all of us with her eloquence and masteryof the topic : Women. Youth Enterprises in Corporate Supply Chain as Diverse of Agriculture-led Industrialization in Africa. Using her own story to highlight some of the challenges faced by women in the quest of attaining economic prowess, one could see that it is possible to rise against all odds. She finished her presentation with a challenge to all and sundry thus; “Do what you can, with what you have.” I quickly paraphrased this in my active brain; boy, you’ve got to start where you are.

In the same panel was Lenah Mwangi, the young vibrant leader I described above. She is a post graduate student at Egerton University pursuing Msc. Agribusiness. We would only marvel at the real success stories she narrated about her youth group. The team outsources knowledge from industry experts then disseminates it to the local farmer who would otherwise just remain in ignorance resulting in perennial poor yields. Indeed, a candle loses nothing by lighting another one. Lenah and her group are such examples of sensible youths.

Inuka Njoro Youth Group Officials: Lenah and Ciru

A midst the group was a representation of YALI Alumni Kenya, specifically, the Nakuru Chapter. It was an honor sharing this platform with my chapter chairlady, Ms. Oliver Jemuge. Her passion for entrepreneurship and youths empowerment can not be compared to anything. During our briefings with the team for the two nights, Oliver shared nuggets of wisdom in various aspects of youth leadership and general personal development. One thing that makes me hopeful about real change is interacting with youths of such calibre who use their own stories to impact change. “Guys, I have failed a number of times but that doesn’t deter me. Failure is part of the process,” she said.

Oliver Jemuge:
YALI Nakuru Chairlady

Was there music during the two days? Yes, why not? I never miss my guitar or violin, wherever I go. If worse comes to worst, thankfully, my vocals are always aligned for singing. The first night was more of catch up as some of us were total strangers. As a matter of fact, Lenah had just seen Oliver and I on the podium most of the times we facilitated events. We had never spoken in person. The following night, she asked for permission for me to use the instrument in the hotel. By the way, it is my nature to find out from the environment whether or not I am allowed to perform. Not everyone likes what you do. With the go a head, it was unbeknownst to me that the team couldn’t wait for the guitar music after our debrief. Lenah said; “Let us pray and then those who want to listen to music can remain.” The response was unanimous. Prayers would be made after the musical. This was warm. I felt honoured. That is when I realized that the song Mimi na Wewe was gaining populace. If you have been following you will recall the post “THIS IS AFRICA” which I put up a few days after composing it. My friends and I sang our hearts out upto around midnight.

During the conference, the interlude sections were lubricated by a great jazz collection by the DJs. To say that the event was pure bliss is an understatement. Isn’t it a wonder how youths come together in a short-while and just bond, doing things like they were siblings in a world before this? Our journey back to Nakuru made me experience déjà vu. I became nostalgic of one Christian Union trip from Lubinu High to Namirama Girls School (about 10 years ago) as well as an Evangelistic tour to Garsen, the coastal region of Kenya. I remember us singing on the way. 

The difference however was that in the previous expeditions I was with a group of People we often worked together. Yesterday, I was with friends from diverse denominations, majority of whom are Catholic. I continually learn that when Jesus talked of praises being in the mouth of babes, he did not mention any religion, leave a lone denominations.
My Beautifier by Chris Shalom was one of our praise tune. Check the video below.

Next time you think about a youth, remember this post. There are sensible young people out there!

The writer is the founder of Dowe Music & Arts 

and the frontier of Art4Leadership

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