World Environment Day

The Kibera community was not left out in celebrating the World Environment Day, an annual event that is aimed at being the biggest and most widely celebrated global day for positive environmental action. The day presents several activities taking place all year round that climax on 5 June every year, involving everyone from everywhere.
 
Local residents from Makina village had an opportunity to participate in this global day that saw some of them come out to clean the drainages alongside their homes. This was done by using some rakes to remove dirt and litter along the banks of the streams of dirty water. The cleaning exercise was organized by one of the organizations known as Umande Trust.

Kibera residents participating in a clean up

Fred Amuok, the communication officer of Umande Trust noted that it was important to come out and join local residents in sensitizing them on importance of having a cleaner environment.“We are trying to educate our people to take care of the environment, by even planting trees besides doing clean-ups,” noted Fred.

Fred Amuok of Umande Trust

One of the participants Mr. Jacob Mudaki a member of Jasho Letu self help group also shared his sentiments, that they came to educate the community on how they can preserve the environment as the world marked this important day. “There is need to start educating our brothers and sisters that it takes individual commitment on how we dispose litter, garbage and how we preserve the environment,” says Jacob.  Jacob also urged some of the local non-governmental organizations to look for ways of partnering with each other in helping preserve the environment.

Jacob Mudaki, left, of Jasho Letu Self Help Group talks to Thomas Bwire of Uweza

World Environment Day celebration began in 1972 and has grown to become  one of the main vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action.  Through World Environment Day, the UN Environment Programme is able to personalize environmental issues and enable everyone to realize not only their responsibility, but also their power to become agents for change in support of sustainable and equitable development.

World Environment Day is also a day for people from all walks of life to come together to ensure a cleaner, greener and brighter outlook for themselves and future generations.  Everyone counts in this initiative and World Environment Day relies on you to make it happen!

Aspire Football Dreams Selection in Kibera

by Mathew Musyoka Muema 

On Thursday 31st May, Kibera football players gathered at Uweza's field at Toi Primary School in hopes of being selected to receive a scholarship to the Aspire Academy for Sports Excellence in Qatar.  The Aspire Football Dreams scouting program is the world's largest-ever football scouting program.  It began in Africa but has since spread to 16 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The Aspire program is run in East Africa by Vision 21 Sports Consulting.  Uweza met one of Vision 21's staff in 2009 and was able to become one of 100 centers in East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda) tasked with recruiting players to go to Qatar. 2012 is Uweza's second year of participating in the program.

Aspire staff member, Uweza Assistant Team Manager, and Aspire scout

Aspire scouts visit each of the 100 centers to select 50 players to attend the Final 50 Camp, held at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi from 6th to 9th June. This year, a very impressive four Kibera players (including one from Uweza's team) were scouted from Uweza's center to be part of the 50 to move on to the next stage.  Only a few players will be selected from the Final 50 to travel to Qatar.

Players participated in a series of matches to showcase their talent

I had the chance to interview some of the people involved on Thursday, here is what they had to say:

Coach Said, Uweza Aspire Center Coordinator: 

"We have held this Aspire program for two years now and I am happy our center produced four players.  Last year, only one player was selected so this means we are working hard and we have talent."

"We did have challenges, like the event being held on a school day, which meant that the turnout of players was low.  The program asks for players who are 13 years old but if you bring players that age, they are too young so we learned the lesson from last year and brought older players this year.  All of the players should continue to believe in themselves and coaches should encourage them."

From left: Uweza Sponsorship Coodinator Mathew, Uweza TM Stam, Kibera Stars Coach Ken, Uweza Aspire Coordinator Said, Uweza Aspire Physiotherapist Mobi, Uweza Aspire Assistant Coordinator Joash, Uweza Assistant TM Tilen

Charles Omondi, Uweza Senior Team Assistant Captain and Selected Player

"I enjoyed playing today and being selected to go to Kasarani," Charles told me with a big smile on his face. "The advice from our coaches was the best advice.  I am disappointed because some of the best players from our team were not selected and they deserved to be. I wish all the players would always follow the coaches instructions, because it helps."

Coach Stam, Uweza Team Manager and Senior Team Coach

"Charles is very lucky but I will express my feelings if he becomes one of the top three at Kasarani.  I'm happy our center was able to produce four players and have a lot of talent.  The scout mentioned that we have a good team of players which was very encouraging." 

The four selected players, from left: Felix Onyango, Charles Omondi, Joshua Kitheka, and Douglas Nyangareli

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Mathew Musyoka Muema is Uweza's Sponsorship Coordinator. He formerly coached the Uweza Under-16 team and still volunteers as a coach regularly.

Uweza FC versus Githurai United

Story and photos by Nicholas Gisemba

Although the most watched soccer league, the English premier league, is over, Kenyans are now getting a treat from the local league that involves local soccer clubs. Last Sunday our boys of Uweza FC traveled to a Githurai for an away match. Our boys were upbeat that they would do well just a few moments before the kick off time at Githurai  Primary School against Githurai United.  

Warming up before the match

11am sharp and the whistle was blown to kick start the match.  From the start, our opponents seemed to be hard on our boys as they dribbled the ball across the field, that kept all players alert and chasing the ball.

Uweza FC in action

On the 22^nd minute, the home team netted their first goal against our Uweza FC boys. And just before half time, another score was recorded by our opponents. At half time, the score remained 2 nil against our boys.

During the break, Team Manager Charles Kaindi, also known as coach Stam, had to give words of encouragement to his team, asking them to remain focused and never lose hope of overcoming their opponents in the coming second half after the break.

Team talk at halftime

The second half went on smoothly during the initial time, but come the 68^th minute, Githurai United had another chance and scored a third goal.  Despite the loss, team captain Dennis had to encourage his team members that all was not lost and that they need to practice more and work hard in their up-coming matches.

Uweza FC is currently ranked 9th out of 20 teams in Zone D in the Nairobi County League.

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 The author and photographer of this story, Nicholas Gisemba, is 22 years old and a member of the Uweza Journalism Club.

Adapting to the climatic change

Mr. Peter Ombega is a Kibera resident who has been living here for more than 20 years. I paid him a visit at his home in Katwekera village early this week with a mission to find out how he has adopted to the impact of climate change.  Upon arrival at his home, I quickly notice a black gadget mounted on one of the rusty roof tops of one of the houses in front of his. The gadget is called Solvatten (Swedish for Sun Water) and black in color. After exchanging greetings, he takes me through its use. “The gadget looks like a jerrycan, and how it works is that one needs to open all caps and fill water using the black openings. You press the yellow button, then make sure all caps are tightly closed and place the open Solvatten gadget facing the sun. Treatment takes 2-6 hours and an indicator will turn green in color meaning that a treatment is complete as simple as one two three,” were Ombega's sentiments after taking me through this gadget.

Field Coordinator Phanice Maina and Peter Ombega

In a move to sensitize local residents in adopting to climate changes trends Solvatten came in with special jerricans that can heat water for purification purposes. This being one of the ways of preserving the environment by giving safe water to the users. The Solvatten project is a Swedish invention and funded by Nordic climate facility which is a group of countries including Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden that have been working with different countries of the world.

Solvatten on a Kibera rooftop

This project came about in Kibera following a research that was conducted in the year 2008 on disaster risk analysis on some of the contributing factors that affect the community in relation to climate change impacts regarding water. According to the Geoffrey Kimiti, Programmes Coordinator of the Institute of Environment and Water Management (IEWM) the major factor in Kibera included environmental hygiene. “When you look at the state of sanitation, the state of waste management, and the infrastructure around makes people more vulnerable, were some of the major reasons we thought of Kibera,”says Geoffrey Kimiti.

The motivation behind targeting the Kibera community was to adapt to the impacts of climate change.  Secondly, the device highlights the resident’s role in mitigation of climate change by cutting usage of charcoal and paraffin in high quantities to boil water.  This reduces the amount of carbon put up in the atmosphere so as by the end of the day the environment remains safe. By doing so, less trees are cut down and less carbon dioxide goes up in the skies.

The gadget also provides a livelihood strengthening project in the sense that, some few community based organizations involved are allowed to nominate their own distributors whom receive training and thereafter sell Solvatten jerricans in Kibera. “For every Solvatten sold, at a price of Ksh 1,000 ($12 USD), the distributors will earn Ksh 200, Ksh.700 goes back to the manufacturer, and Ksh.100 goes to the community based organization,” notes Kimiti.

Solvatten distributors Phanice Maina and Janye Kariuki

 

Phanice Maina has been working as one of the Solvatten distributors since the month of September last year.  She notes that her task is to walk around Kibera slums and sell it to the locals here. She acts as a sales person in the sense that, she does explain its usage for better understanding so that people can purchase it for environmental conservation purposes. “Even though people would love to own Solvatten, many are challenged economically and cannot afford to purchase it. But I do encourage them that one day they can also buy one of their own,” notes Phanice.

As I finalize on my interviews, Ombega shares his final sentiments, how Solvatten has changed his life and that of his family. “Before I started using it, my family used to fall sick with waterborne diseases like cholera.  Now that is a past history to recall and all water we use is much safer as I also help preserve the environment, and cut costs of visiting the clinic for treatment” notes Ombega.

The Determination of Coach Said

by Thomas Bwire

As I watched the senior soccer team play today during their training session, I found myself drawn into the game as the ball kept running across the field while young energetic young men kept their momentum. Amidst the players was one coach by the name Said Mohamed whom you could easily mistake as one of the players, instead of a soccer coach. He played with his team members to keep the game strong from the opponents who were the senior boy’s category.

Coach Said, left, warming up with Sponsorship Coordinator Mathew and Coach Tilen

Time flew so fast that when the referee blew the whistle for the first break, I got the rare opportunity to grab coach Said for a small interview and get to know how his soccer journey has been.

He shared with me that his passion for the soccer started at a tender age of 7 years while still living with his parents in the coastal region. At that time, he used to accompany his elder brother by going to watch local matches that kept increasing his interest day by day. By the time he joined class seven, he found himself training with a senior soccer team.

Coach Said, on left, playing in a coaches vs. players friendly match

The greatest impact came from his mother who supported him throughout his journey to success as she could sacrifice her small savings from her business selling fish to give him money to purchase any soccer kit he required.

He later moved to Kibera in 2007 and had to stay with a relative as he looked for a casual job to enable him have some savings for himself. While staying in the city, he got to meet Uweza team manager Charles Kaindi, famously known as Coach Stam, who later introduced him to the organization program.  Said started with Uweza as a coach for the girls team and is currently tasked to manage the youngest categories, the under-8 and under-10 teams.

Coach Said Mohamed

Coach Said says that his greatest passion now working at Uweza is that he is happy to be working with the small team of both girls and boys from the Kibera community.  "Kids love to learn even if they see a challenge ahead of them, they keep up with the spirit, they are also flexible and don’t like to lose a game," says coach Said.

If he were to change something in the soccer industry, it would be to create ways of nurturing talent among the less fortunate children.  Most of them have great talents but no one notices them, since most of the soccer officials fail to scout for the best talents that can be beneficial for the country and their respective clubs as well.

Cooking is my passion

by Thomas Bwire

Meet Patience Masaku, age 15, whose dream is to become a top chef in the near future. Dressed in a white apron, I find her busy in the kitchen where she is currently preparing a meal of spaghetti for lunch together with two of her classmates. Their tutor is closely monitoring the on-goings.  I steal a few moments to take a few photos of her, so as to create ample time for our interview.

Patience is one of the beneficiaries of Uweza sponsorship program, which is on its first year of supporting students who are in vocational technical trainings institutions within Kibera. Patience shared with me that her passion for cooking is what drove her to wish undertake a catering course. She appreciates that her tutor Rose Karanja has been inspirational to her as she takes them through their lessons.

Patience with tutor Rose Karanja

Patience is currently undertaking a yearlong catering course at the PCEA Kibera Emmanuel Technical Training Centre. Upon finishing eight years in primary school, she opted to undertake the course with an aim of learning more cooking skills.

According to the tutor Rose Akinyi, the aim of the technical training centre is to build and impact skills in interested students to learn cooking skills. She says that the course offered is tailored to cater to the young people and elderly. “Here you will find that for those ones who are not able to pay for 10 month training course, then we have short courses of three months that they can enroll in to enhance their skills."  She also adds Patience is keen enough and has great potential as she asks for advice whenever she in doubt.  Enrolled students undertake units like food and beverage production, service and sales.

Patience and her classmates

According to Mathew Muema, the Uweza Sponsorship Coordinator, there are a number of factors put into consideration when sending students to undertake vocational trainings. “First we look at the performance of the child when it comes to primary and secondary national exam results.  If they performed poorly or they are challenged academically, then we come in to give advice.  Also through the help of our counselor Becky Gitau, kids are able to understand from their hearts their passions and what they really want to do in life,”  notes Mathew.

Counseling helps both the student and the parent or guardian make a wise choice in the course they will undertake by the end of the day. All said and done, we do wish Patience all the best  in her endeavor.

To learn more about how to sponsor Patience and other Kibera students, click here.

Mothers of Uweza

Story by: Rebecca Musanga
Photos by: Everlyne Nzilani

Many women in the world celebrated Mothers Day in a style today. For some, this created ample time to reflect back on their parenting skills while others spent most of their time with their families as they shared memorable moments together. Some organized parties to their mothers as they presented them with gifts.

As the Uweza family, we also wanted to find out from some of our mothers what the day means for them and possible challenges they face as women in the society.  My camera person Everlyne Nzilani and I got ready at the center where we did the interviews one on one. My role was the interviewer while Everlyne was to take photos to be shared to the world.

Perhaps a sneak preview of the interview was getting to know what Mothers Day meant to these women and what impact a woman has in the community. These were some of their views about this day: many were aware of this day’s celebrations but most said that it had no difference with the rest of the other days since they had nothing to celebrate, saying that the economy was in bad shape hence limiting their joy but most suggested that it was a good day to spend some time to be with their families and friends.

Evelyne Adhiambo, a parent says that she plays a bigger role to mold her family by taking care of the house chores.  “I make sure the children go to school on time, wash their clothes, and cook food so  that everyone has an ample life,” says Adhiambo.

For Hellen Awour, her sentiments were that Mothers Day is just like any other day. However, she shared some of the challenges she faces as a woman. “We are at risks of death during delivery since some of us don’t have enough money to get proper medical care and we are forced to visit traditional birth attendants (TBA).  To me, this is a bigger challenge. As we celebrate Mothers Day, I urge mothers out there to be close friends with their children and instill good values in them for a better tomorrow."

Rebecca Musgana talking to Hellen Awuor

"Despite facing some of the day to day challenges, women should never give up easily.  You find that we do sacrifice a lot for our families for a better future,” notes  Irene Atieno Amollo.

“I am a single mother and take care of my own children, grandchildren, neighbor's children and also at times children of my friends. For me, this is a day to reflect on what role you can play as a mother by not just loving your own children but extending the love and care to others. We need to advise kids all the time so they can be better role models,” were sentiments aired by Hadija Khamisi famously known as Nyanya (Grandma) Omosh.

Thomas Bwire with Nyanya Omosh

As for Harriet Akinyi, all that matters to her is to show love right from our households as that’s where we spend so much of our time.  She told me that this will reflect on your family by the end of the day to have better values in life.

Thomas Bwire interviewing Harriet Akinyi

Lillian Awinja says that mothers should be responsible while at home and that without a mother things cannot go right.”My message is that we need to work hard, take care of the community and the world around us as a whole.”

Lillian Awinja with her sons

At the close of my interviews, I learned that women do experience challenges like unemployment, being overburdened at home, and discrimination from the society.  Others manage as single mothers or widows and some face rape cases amongst many other challenges. Despite all these challenges faced, they all had one common message to the rest of the world: that all women should be responsible in their families, hardworking, never give up, create time to be free with their children and above all to put God first in all their work. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY TO ALL WOMEN IN THE WORLD.        

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Rebecca Musanga and Everlyne Nzilani are members of the Uweza Journalism Club.

Uweza Community Center One Year Anniversary

This past weekend marked one year since the keys were handed over for the property that is now the Uweza Community Center. The space has become the center for all our activities which include  after-school tutoring for primary and high school students, life skills lessons and counseling for youth, art classes, and a journalism club.  The center also acts as a meeting point for a Kibera microfinance group, a support group for HIV-positive women, coaches and players from the Uweza Soccer Academy, and students enrolled in our sponsorship program.

To commemorate the occasion, we thought we'd take a look back at the transformation that has occured through photographs taken in May 2011 and May 2012.  We've also asked Uweza program participants and staff about how the creation of the center has impacted their life.  We are all so grateful to the Uweza supporters that have helped make the center possible and we look forward to seeing what the next year will hold for us!

  
Office:

Kitchen:

Classroom/Meeting Hall:

 
“The center has helped me with tuition because the teacher at school has many pupils in class but at tuition, the teachers can help us one on one with our questions.  The center also offers art classes. Before I attended, I didn’t know how to draw but now I can draw.”

- Elizabeth Teresa, Class 7, Ayany Primary School

"The center helps with tuition. Teacher George has helped me in reading Kiswahili and with many other subjects.  I didn’t know how to speak well in English but now I can write and speak English well."

- Elizabeth Atieno, Class 4, St. Juliet Primary School

Saturday reading program

"Uweza has assisted me in many ways. Outside in Kibera, there is peer pressure to do drugs but we can spend our time to use the center and play soccer.  Sessions with coaches help in building discipline and reducing tribalism among teammates. With schooling, some parents in Kibera can’t afford to pay, like my dad is retired and does casual jobs.  Uweza has helped provide school fees so I can gain academic knowledge."
- Thaddeus Otieno, Form 3, Highway Secondary School

  

"At home, it is noisy and hard to study but I can concentrate at the center.  The center gives me a place to go to avoid getting into bad company with boys who idle around.   I have learned a lot of new skills like how to socialize with other friends."

-Charles Omondi, Form 3, Olympic High School

High school students studying at the center

"I am happy that there is good management at the center and I’ve seen role models in Jen and Moi.  The center has helped in nurturing talents in playing soccer.  The program has helped provide me with school fees and uniforms."
- Michael Kubasu, Form 3, Olympic High School

 
"The center provides books that we don’t have at home so we can come to read. The counseling sessions with Becky help us learn how to choose the right friends."
- Aisha Mohammed, Form 1, St, Anne's Girls High School

 
"The center has helped with books for learning.  It has helped identify talents. Like I am in Journalism Club and we are learning many useful skills so that if we go to college, we will learn faster. We also get a chance to associate with people."
- Everlyne Nzilani, Class 8, Ayany Primary School

Journalism club reading newspapers

 "It has created a job opportunity for me and opened my mind through interactions with kids and other staff. We need have big dreams and think outside the box.  Kids get porridge at the center and many of them don't get enough to eat at home. As staff, we are given the freedom to implement ideas and do what is right for the growth of Uweza, which is rare in other NGOs."
- Mathew Muema, Sponsorship Coordinator

"I am happy to be here because I prepare porridge for the kids who come to the center after a long day in schools. Providing them with cup of porridge to add their strength is what satisfies me by the end of the day."
- Agnes Adongo, Cook

To continue supporting the Uweza Community Center, click here.

Family Reunion

by Lydiah Olendo

Uweza sponsorship students had something to smile about last Sunday when they had their monthly meeting at the center. Their expectations were high as it all read on their smiley faces. Each of them, dressed smartly, sat in one of the classrooms waiting eagerly for Mathew Muema, Uweza's Sponsorship Coordinator, to finalize his interview with me as Uweza journalism club member Nicholas Gisemba took photos of the kids already present. My one on one interview with Mathew was very interesting as he got to share vital information about his group.

The group now includes about 24 primary school students under the sponsorship programme. This kind of meeting is very significant; it comes every last Sunday of the month and in normal cases meetings take place in the afternoon.

I posed a question how the sponsorship program idea was born and Mathew shared his sentiments. “The sponsorship program came about after Uweza found out a bigger gap in kids failing to attend school, since their guardians, and parents are unable to pay school fees for them.  That’s where we come in,” says Mathew.  The sponsorship program was initiated to ensure that all educational and health needs are covered for students in need from Kibera.

“When we meet at the center like today, our sessions are very interactive. Kids start by getting to know each other. interact, and have some fun games for motivational purposes as it’s not routine for them to have fun.” noted Mathew.

Sponsorship Coordinator Mathew Muema instructs the group at the start of game time

The group playing a game

I also learned that this forum offers room for academic discussions among all the students. Here they share how they fared in school the previous term and possible ways of improving in grades for the ones who are having challenges academically.

Brian Mulinge attends Olympic Primary School in Kibera and is in class four. He attained the fourth position in his class with 453 marks out of 500.  Mathew notes that Mulinge is always one of the highest performing students, though he has dropped a little bit this term.  Mulinge also admits that he’s sometimes too playful but he is working hard toward his dreams of becoming a doctor.

Vincent Otuoma is also a member of the group and attends Toi Primary School in Kibera. His target is to become a pilot one day.

Lydiah interviewing Vincent Otuoma

All said and done, the group’s meeting came to an end with some snacks shared equally to all just like one big family.

For more information on how to support a student in Kibera through the Uweza Sponsorship Program, please visit our website:  www.uweza.org/sponsorship.html.

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Lydiah Olendo is a member of the Uweza Journalism Club.








 

Celebrating Success

by Jenipher Awuor

Today’s soccer was very different from the one known to each one of us, the traditional soccer played on the pitch with players running after the ball for 90 minutes to get the 3 crucial points awarded for a win. Well today’s soccer treat was a special one of its kind as all of the Uweza Soccer Academy players from the under 8 category to senior category all sat in one of the classrooms at one of the local primary schools in Kibera, Toi Primary. Sitting in the front rows were their parents who all came in large numbers to oversee the achievements realized by their kids.

A section of the parents present

This prizegiving event is held three times a year during the last Saturday of the month when schools are on vacation.  The exercise involves awarding kids in the soccer academy with certificates of awards on different areas ranging from the best disciplined, best timeliness, the best goal keeper, best defender, and best midfield and many other achievements. The last on the list are the third, second and first place awards for participation in the Uweza Soccer Academy's Points Program.

Earning points doesn’t come that easy for the players, their coaches carry out observations and write their reports at every training session and determine the points they award to their kids in areas such as discipline, effort, and attendance. The three players with the highest number of points from each category also receive prizes for their education such as school bags, uniforms, and payment of school fees. All active players in the program receive school notebooks and pens to hep with their studies.

The day started with a parents meeting, led by the Uweza Soccer Academy parents committee.  About 20 parents of players from different categories met to discuss issues such as the Points Program, community fundraising, and following up with coaches to discuss how players are doing in the program.  The meeting was led by Baba Faith, the elected Chairman of the committee who has three daughters participating in the girls team.

After the meeting, the prizegiving ceremony started with a word of prayer from one of the parents, followed by introduction of all the soccer coaches. The awards were first given to the girls’ team appreciating success, as each player received a certificate for having been active members of their club. The award for first place in points went to Sharon Chadota whom during my interview informed me that for one to be in her current position of success it takes so much hard work have patience and be presentable at all times as people look upon you. "I am very happy to have been awarded to day and I feel very much honored.  I know there is a lot to be done in order to still maintain this position,” Chadota told me.

Julia Adoyo receives the award for Most Disciplined on the girls team

Laurence Migele receives Leadership Award for boys Under-8 category

The next presentations that followed were for the boys categories, under-8 then the under-10, under-12, under-14, under-16 and finally the senior category. Alphonce Otieno took center stage by receiving a certificate of appreciation as the team's best player. "The fact that I have been chosen as the best, it doesn’t mean I shall stick on the same spot forever. I am looking forward to maintaining the same achievements come next time,” says Otieno.

Alphonce Otieno displays his Best Player certificate

With that the day came to an end after Mr. William Moi, the Program Manager took center stage in appreciating all the kids present including their parents for creating time to be here today.  "Working with the kids requires a joint effort both from our side as Uweza and also your side as parents. These kids playing soccer is not all in vain but for a purpose and that one day, they can all benefit,” noted Mr. Moi.

Mr. William Moi addressing the parents

Refreshments were served to all present after which everyone was at liberty to go at home at their own pleasure. I guess everybody was a winner in their small way as a victory in soccer needs combined efforts and the spirit of teamwork to get the most needed 3 points.

Uweza senior category

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Jenipher Awuor, pictured here with Journalism Club Instructor Thomas Bwire, is a Form 2 (second year) high school student at Gigiri Lions Secondary School.  She is a member of the Uweza Journalism Club.