Learning Power

by Rebecca Musanga, Phenny Nyanchama,  Jenipher Awuor, Aisha Mohamed and Ruth Ijaika

As the Bible phrases,”My people perish because they lack knowledge.” It was a knowledgeable day at Uweza Foundation Center at 4.00pm where the senior Uweza journalism club members were learning more about WordPress.com and how one can start a free blog page to post information relevant to  people they are targeting. This exercise was conducted by Mr. Thomas Bwire, our journalism trainer.

As we start our August holiday break from our normal school routine, we could not wait to join our other journalism members and get to catch up with them on how they have been doing. For some of us who have been in boarding schools, it is another opportunity to learn new skills for the journalism career in our later years.

Back to our lesson of the day, Mr. Thomas took us through the initial steps  of setting up a blog page using WordPress.com for free. The site allows one to post stories of one’s choice that can be read globally. We learned some insights on how we can write a new blog, how to preview, publish, link a story to any given blog and even edit our own blog stories.


Mr. Thomas also visited some other blogs to help us understand the different formats of how we can post our blog stories and also insert any accompanied pictures. As we were busy trying to come up with different ideas, our junior members were sharing the latest stories they encountered or witnessed during the week. As they were still discussing, Mr. Thomas came in to assist them so that they may finalize on our upcoming media  first ever visit  this coming week to Royal Media Services, one of the local broadcasting media houses with Television and Radio.

After the learning session, we went through the previous blogs that were posted by some of our members and got more ideas on how to write interesting stories.  We all look forward to start writing our own blogs and in the coming weeks.

After a long afternoon, we were treated to a cup of porridge, known as uji in Swahili, as we assembled together so as to share more about the visit and also the next meeting.

This is our first ever blog piece written by five people and we are happy that you read it and got to know the kind of skills we are gaining gradually.

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Rebecca, Phenny,  Jenipher, Aisha and Ruth are members of the Uweza Journalism Club.  They will be starting their own blog in the coming weeks so stay tuned!

Press conference in Kibera

by Thomas Bwire

The weather is cool today and in the outdoor courtyard of the Uweza center, journalism club members are having their session.  Seated on the brown benches and listening attentively are some of the members as they watch representatives of their groups engaging in a press conference exercise.

Today's session includes 32 participants. As part of their learning experience, the session is aimed at enhancing their skills as journalists in the near future and providing an example of what they can undergo should they find themselves in a media press conference.

Journalism Instructor Thomas gives instructions to a team of reporters

First they got to know what a press conference is: press conference is a media event in which news makers invite journalists to hear them speak and, most often, ask questions depending on the topic at hand.

Our press conference was held by club members acting as researchers.  Club members were divided into groups acting as journalists and each group chose representatives tasked with asking questions. The exercise required maximum participation for each group to earn points. The researchers played the role of explaining in detail their research findings on a controversial topic at hand touching on the social aspect of life. This topic was: “Annoying habits that women dislike in men.”

The press conference set up

Prior to the exercise, everyone had an opportunity to read through newspaper cuttings on the topic and get an idea of what the press conference was all about. Once this was accomplished in 20 minutes, each reporter armed questions challenged the researchers to explain their point of view.  The exercise turned out to be like a real media event as some of the reporters proved their interview skills as they kept questions coming on board.

A team of reporters follows through the presentations

Strong points emerging from the press conference were some of the major reasons women don’t like in men like heavy drinking and abandoning children, among many other issues. It was truly an eye opener as all the students had a hands on experience at the end of the session on what it takes to prepare for a press conference, should they find themselves in such a situation.

Champions for an HIV-Free Generation

by Thomas Bwire

The Kibera community today played a key role in hosting key former African Presidents from three African countries, who caught the attention of the locals upon their arrivals at KICOSHEP Primary School in Kichinjio village. Today their mission was not just to come and see the slum, but as champions for a HIV–free generation.

 His Excellency Kenneth Kaunda, former head of state of  Zambia, His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa, former head of state of Tanzania,His Excellency Festus Mogae, former head of state of Botswana, Zambia and Professor Miriam Were

His Excellency Festus Mogae, former head of state of Botswana, His Excellency Kenneth Kaunda, former head of state of Zambia and His Excellency Benjamin Mkapa, former head of state of Tanzania and Professor Miriam Were drew the attention of the locals here upon their arrival.  His Excellency Festus Mogae had the opportunity to inspect the guard of honour mounted by the scouts of the school who stood neatly dressed in their scout’s uniform.

Guard of honor

AIDS represents one of the greatest leadership challenges of our time. Champions for an HIV Free Generation, a group of former African presidents and other influential personalities, have agreed to meet this challenge by advocating for a renewed and revitalized response from regional leaders, with a focus on proven HIV prevention measures in countries they visit.

KICOSHEP is one of the founders of HIV/AIDS support care in Kibera as it works with persons living with HIV virus and aims to ensure they receive good care despite their status.  According to the Executive Director of KICOSHEP, Dr. Anne Owiti Awour, their aim is to help the community fight against stigma and discrimination which is a major contributing factor among people living positively especially in informal settlements.

His Excellency Festus Mogae, Chair of Champions for an HIV Free Generation

Present guests were also treated to an entertainment, from Kibera children dressed in lessos.  In his address speech, His Excellency Festus Mogae and also the chair of the group noted that they were here as they visit African countries to plead with African leaders to give priority to HIV/AIDS in their budgetary allocations to help its citizens who are engaged in helping all those who are sick and orphaned.

Entertainment provided by Kibera youth

Their core mission is to lobby political leadership of the African countries, in fighting stigma and spreading treatment and care, especially giving a priority to community health workers in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

His closing remarks ended with a call, “please to our African leaders, please do more in helping our people overcome HIV/AIDS and together in the whole world we can and together as Kenyans we can.”

Discipline counts in what you do in life

She is busy and very keen when with the girls on the pitch as she gives instructions during her soccer training. As a female coach, she has the determination to nurture talent among the Uweza girls soccer teams.

Meet Coach Joyce Khoyi who has come a long way in matters of soccer on the pitch. Just last month she was selected to be the Team Manager for a girls team representing Nairobi Province in the nationwide Copa Coca Cola tournament. She had the privilege of travelling to the coastal region and leading the team against girls teams from throughout Kenya. Two of the soccer girls from Uweza Foundation were also selected to travel with her to Mombasa to represent Nairobi province. Though they lost to Mombasa province in the finals of the tournament, this did not deter them from keeping their focus.

Coach Joyce leads all age categories of girls teams for Uweza

How has she found herself in love with the ball on the pitch? Her inspiration was realized from her father who was a strong soccer player with one of the local clubs. She used to escort her father to matches, and noticed that most of the coaches were male and kept thinking to herself whether one day she can also make a name as a female coach in the country. Her love with the ball started when she worked as a coach volunteer an organization known as Vepa in Dagoretti.  Here she stayed for a period of 4 months before being taken for a course to gain more skills as a coach. There on she formed her own girl’s soccer team in the Dagoretti area.

Besides coaching, Coach Joyce also participates as a coordinator and in involved in coordinating senior teams within Dagoretti.  During our interview I did pose a question to her, “how she came about to join Uweza Foundation?”   “I joined Uweza last year in April 2011 and got myself a chance to train girls under 16 years of age,” she notes. One outstanding thing I noticed during her training session is that she starts with prayers, before anything else.

Joyce leading the girls in a prayer

“I want to empower girls and besides coaching them on how to play soccer, I also incorporate life skills in my coaching. Life in Kibera can be very challenging and there are many challenges that girls do face and if they cannot get someone they can trust to guide them right, then they will really struggle in life,” says Coach Joyce.

Instructing the girls

Her advice to girls, “discipline counts above anything else, do not be cheated because of your talent, and end up wasting your God given talents, have an objective in life and be principled in whatever you do, and remember to always thank God for your being alive.”

Road to Success

by Nicholas Gisemba

Dennis Odhiambo is a slum born guy who has been brought up in Kibera slums his whole life. The 19 year-old joined Uweza Football Club three years ago. Uweza Foundation is an NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) that supports youth and young children by creating and nurturing talents as early as possible. Examples of programs running in the organization include Journalism Club, Art Club, Soccer Club and lastly Tuition for both Primary and Secondary Students.

Dennis Odhiambo, Uweza senior team Captain

Today, I am interviewing Dennis about his experience as the Captain of Uweza FC, the senior team of uweza Soccer Academy. Life was not good for Dennis as he was growing up.  Things changed for him when he landed in the hands of Uweza Foundation. “In the second year after I joined Uweza FC, I was chosen as team captain due to my availability and contributions to the team. Being a captain is not an easy job,” he adds.   “I have to make sure that everything is in good order, which something that I was not used to. But now I am a responsible person not only on the team but also at home.”

Dennis talks with Nicholas Gisemba, Uweza Journalism Club member

Uweza FC plays in the FKF (Football Kenya Federation) Nairobi County League where the club is position 10 out of 20 teams in the league in their first year of participation. The team is provided with everything, so the players are divided into groups to wash the jerseys and boots after their matches.  Dennis organizes the washing every week. Beside the Nairobi County League, the team also participates in friendly matches and tournaments such as the upcoming East Africa Tournament. The team contains more than 20 players and 17 of the players are high school students.

“It is normally said that an idle mind is a workshop of the devil and the Soccer Academy was created to prevent idleness among youth in the Kibera community who might otherwise engage themselves with bad company or abuse of drugs and waste their lives at young age,” concluded the Captain.

Well, a winner never quits while a quitter never wins. Dennis promises that he will not stand to see his dream vanish like smoke in the air without any success.  In the future, he wants to see himself perhaps in the national team or another recognized team so that he can create vacancies and opportunity at Uweza FC for other young stars like himself.

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

Previous stories by Nicholas:

Uweza FC vs. Githurai United
Celebrating World TB Day

Determined to Excel

by Thomas Bwire

He is just 13 years of age and one can easily think that his paintings are done by an adult. This is not the case, meet the self spoken Wesley Osoro. His seriousness shows all over his face that he’s a young person determined to see that he excels in what he does. Being a member of Uweza Art Club, he never misses classes on Saturday, when not attending school.

Wesley with one of his completed paintings

A first born child in a family of 2 brothers and a sister, he shares with me his sentiments that his passion with the paint brush started while he was 5 years old. “I used to see photos in salons and shops whenever I walked around the neighborhoods. Slowly by slowly I then started small by drawing some houses, cars, and anything that came to my mind,” says Wesley as he works on his most recent painting.

Working on his most recent painting

I take a few minutes to just sit back and watch as his hands move on the painting he’s currently working on of a landscape. The landscape image is taking good shape and one can clearly see the background full of clouds and standing hills neatly done. To find out why Wesley loves painting landscapes, I pose the question to him. “They look nice and are easy to draw,” is his response.

According to his art instructor Joseph Wanderi, Wesley is a boy who has the greatest passion in what he does. “Art is in him, and he’s born artist I must say,” Joseph tells me.  “I am now looking at how I can introduce him to an advanced stage of painting on a canvas which will be more professional and his work can now be showcased in bigger exhibitions to market him out there.”

 

Besides painting, Wesley also plays soccer on the Uweza team. Before parting ways, he tells me that his parents are very supportive of what he does and that is what makes him have the heart to excel in the near future.

Do you know where to get news?

by Thomas Bwire

Having to learn about journalism in a classroom set up might be boring, as it involves a teacher standing in front of a class and lecturing the students. This time, I wanted it to be the other way around, having my students become the teachers themselves.

Well to start off the day’s session was our weekly editorial session, which lets everyone read one news story from the national newspapers then later on share it with team members.  This didn’t take long and everyone had an opportunity to share their stories which helps in getting to know a new story from the other sources. Upon finishing the first task, I divided the participants into groups and asked them to brainstorm a list of the sources of news.

"What should we write?"

Working in groups of was very interesting as the groups were comprised of people students had never before interacted with on a day to day basis, which gave the lesson a wider dimension of having to cope with new ideas and suggestions.  Once in their respective groups, the ongoing debate was also very interesting as each team put down to paper their ideas, some put stronger suggestions as others noted points written.

"Let's put our most interesting points here"

 A test of time came during their presentations as the best team was going to be rewarded for the following: clear points, good handwriting and well presented facts. The activity spurred lively discussions and debates and ended with the most convincing group winning sweets. Students were encouraged to challenge each other and ask questions. I was amazed at how knowledgeable the students were as all stronger points came from them knowing where we can get news from.

Listening to presentations and thinking of counterpoints

 A secret vote for the best presentation had to be carried out to determine the winner of the day. The winner with the many votes happened to be represented by team members of Group 2 led by Jenipher Awour. “Yeeeees we did it!” shouted group 2 team members as they all got a sweet as a way of motivating them in their presentations.

Jenipher Awuor, leader of the winning group, presents their findings

With that, the day was over as we all went back home knowing that we can all get news from our community elders, government ministers, church leaders, special occasions such as weddings, managing directors, sports events,  and many more areas.

“This is how we do it” says Kibera Agenda Chairperson

by Thomas Bwire

During her visit to Kenya recently, Amy Auguston, Uweza Foundation's Board Vice President, had a rare opportunity of attending one of the weekly meetings of Kibera Agenda 4 Business Savings. Sitting with the members was very thrilling as they all looked calm.

The attendance was full house and group members, the majority of which were women, sat patiently as the chair of the meeting Mr.  Tom Odumo briefed them on the day’s agenda. “First we have an important visitor with us called Amy from the US who is also the Vice president of Uweza Foundation. She is here to learn more about us, so don’t feel intimidated by her presence," says Mr. Odumo.

From left: Kibera Agenda Program Manager William Moi, Chairman Tom Odumo and Project Coordinator William Ochieng

A sneak preview was given by Mr. Tom Odumo regarding the aim of the group which targets people of integrity and self commitment to enable their small scale businesses to grow gradually. “Our objective is to uplift our own people so as they can be self sustainable in what they do."

Kibera Agenda Program Manager William Moi addresses the group

Members can also apply for a loan, and for one to get a loan, many factors are looked upon like how they have been active and also shown some commitment in repaying earlier loans given to them. This is done through assessment of their progress records on how they have been paying previous loans.
The interesting bit about the loans is that if one fails to repay given loan on time, then a small fee of ksh.4 shillings is collected as a penalty for defaulters. The group also focuses on giving support to struggling members whose businesses are not flourishing as they receive a top up amount to continue with their businesses.

Agenda member receiving a loan for her business

However, the group also has a major challenge when some members request huge some of funds, that cannot be given out and this takes a while before they can be given amount requested.  In such forums, members are also reminded to keep track of their daily earnings, so as to facilitate proper remittance of records. In her remarks, Amy appreciated the group’s hard work in each one of them and that she was happy to see them all and participate in one of their meetings just to get a better understanding of their operations.

Kibera Agenda members with Uweza Vice President Amy Auguston

And just before the meetings adjourns, the secretary takes note of all transactions carried on the meeting day to help keep track and also for safe record keeping.

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Related stories about Kibera Agenda:

Hard Work Pays: http://uwezainkenya.blogspot.com/2012/04/hard-work-pays.html
Interview with Chairman of Kibera Agenda http://uwezainkenya.blogspot.com/2012/02/interview-with-tom-odumo-chair-of.html
Empowering the Community: http://uwezainkenya.blogspot.com/2012/01/empowering-community.html

Kenya hosts a major summit on Citizen Media

by Thomas Bwire

Just imagine yourself in a pool of so many foreigners at one of the local hotels in Nairobi, I almost thought that I was out of the country.  But in fact I was right in Nairobi earlier this week attending an international summit on Citizen Media organized on by Global Voices. I was one of the lucky five grantees from East Africa who received a free travel and registration to attend this summit.

Nairobi, Kenya was a host to this special summit that is a biennial gathering, which brings together bloggers, activists and technologists from around the world for public discussions and workshops about the rise of online citizen media movements worldwide.  All new visitors were warmly welcomed and made to feel at home.

Thomas Otieno Bwire, Uweza Communications Officer, at the Global Voices Citizen Media Summit

A start to the program was Global Voices Southeast Asia Editor, Mong Palatino, who took us through various social media campaigns from the region, including the Thai floods. In his presentation he also did explain that both offline and online mix of activism could affect real mobilization and change. Tea break followed after a few other speakers had their presentation centered on the global rise for citizen media.

Let me take you through the Kenyan presentation which was done in split groups.  Here the panelists addressed how online tools and channels are not just for airing opinions affecting it's people but also act as a source of latest breaking news.

Panel of Kenyan bloggers

Lunch break was a good time to get to meet new people of whom we heard from their experiences from different countries one on one and why this summit was of great importance to them.  Afternoon sessions allowed audience members to suggest and lead discussion groups on a wide range of themes, such as 'How Facebook spies on you.'

Later on Bob Boorstin from Google, Max Schrems (Europe vs. Facebook) and Ramzi Jaber (onlinecensorship.org) joined GV's Ivan Sigal for the panel 'Giants of the Internet: What Role and Responsibility?'.  The audience was made aware that Facebook declined an invitation to attend, and a Yahoo! representative could not come at the last minute.

Presentation on the use of social media as a source of news

Bob Boorstin declared that the Internet is not borderless - that if you cross borders, laws change - and also shared his belief that technological monopolies don't last. Ramzi Jaber announced the launch of onlinecensorship.org, a website on which you can report if your account or content is censored.

Ory Okolloh, the original Global Voices Africa editor and a co-founder of Ushahidi who is Google's current Africa policy head, answered an audience question about whether African net users are aware of how to protect their online rights. She spoke about her concerns regarding local capacity and mentioned how she is working with local groups to raise issues. “I must say I am extremely excited, all the more so since I am hardly a year old as a Global Voicer yet being part of the online community as a Kenyan author has proved beneficial in so many ways. I am eager to meet the very many faces of fellow authors and editors of whom I have had opportunity to work with online” noted Okolloh.

The two day summit was really gave me a better understanding of the power of usage of social media and felt special among a pool of talented people I was able to meet through Global Voices community. The summit could not just pass by as I was also lucky to personally meet the Global Voices Director Eddie Avila.

Thomas Bwire, Global Voices Director Eddie Avila and a grantee from Uganda

 To wrap up the day, there were some dances from one of the Kenyan youth group as they show cased their dancing techniques as the audiences cheered them on.

Spotlight on Sponsorship

by Amy Auguston

Today is the last day of my visit to Kenya. I am sad to leave, but I am returning home freshly motivated and determined to advance Uweza’s mission. Seeing Uweza’s programs up close has been inspiring.

In my previous blog, I wrote briefly about meeting the two girls that I sponsor through Uweza. Spending time with the girls, visiting their homes, and meeting their families have been some of the best and most meaningful moments of my trip. I’ve also been able to meet other sponsored children and their families, and I’ve witnessed the power of the sponsorship program firsthand.

Amy with Dorcas, who she sponsors, and Dorcas' mom Beatrice

For example, one day last week, a mother of a sponsored child came to the office, her sick son in tow. He had been suffering with a bad cough and a sore throat for a few days. His mother knew that he needed medicine, but she could not afford it on her own. Uweza staff was able to send her immediately to a local chemist, where she could get medical advice and medication, paid by the Uweza sponsorship fund. If her son does not feel better soon, she can bring him to a local doctor for consultation and tests—again through the Uweza sponsorship fund. Such simple and powerful acts occur each day at the Uweza Community Center.

Uweza Sponsored students play a game at their monthly meeting

Last Sunday, I attended the monthly meeting of the sponsored children, led by Sponsorship Coordinator Mathew. At one point each child stood up and introduced him/herself, and then told the group what he/she would like to be when he/she grows up. The children spoke confidently of their dreams to become doctors, lawyers, pilots, bankers, and nurses—and it was incredible to know that Uweza is helping them to reach their goals.

Lizzy Akinyi, in Class 2, wants to be a doctor

By sponsoring a child, you help to break the cycle of poverty in Kibera. You make an investment in the health and education of an individual, and in turn strengthen the larger community of Kibera. Learn more about Uweza sponsorship and how to get involved here.

Uweza Sponsored Students