My hands speak for my mind

by Rebecca Musanga

In the hot afternoon of a beautiful Saturday, the Uweza Foundation Art Club was busy speaking more using their hands than their mouths. Their creative colours blend their intelligence with the help of the art work tools which are the paint brushes, different paintings of different colours, and  a canvas among others.

This form of painting brings an inspiration to their daily lives since they are young and vibrant and full of great ideas. They receive the help of their professional artist Mr. Wanderer, who guides them in the best way to lay down their ideas. Their form of art speaks a lot ranging from world life, landscape sceneries, vegetation and human culture. These are just a few of the selected paintings they do.

The art class normally meets every Wednesday and Saturdays for their training which normally lasts for two hours. I spoke to some of them and the said that they really enjoy painting since to them it looks simpler and comes out as an expression of their thoughts, ideas and feelings surrounding them.

A talent is a skill, which if well focused on and nurtured, can do wonders. I was totally amazed by their beautiful work, making me feel like I needed some tuition in drawing. Their creativity was awesome and the output was just the exact visual one can see with the normal eyes. I was so impressed by the way they blended their colours to create a phenomenal output. Their drawing is worth a thousand words and even more. Their talent is original. Bravo Uweza Art club.

You can support the students and the sustainability of the art program by purchasing their paintings every Wednesday on Uweza's Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/uweza) and on the Uweza website: http://www.uweza.org/shop.html. 

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Rebecca Musanga is a  member of the Uweza Journalism Club.

My Story: Yvonne Chanzu Jandi.

By Yvonne Chanzu Jandi.

"My Story" gives beneficiaries of Uweza programs the opportunity to tell their own story about their experience with Uweza.  Today's story is written by  Yvonne Chanzu Jandi, a 13 year-old student participating in Uweza's after-school tutoring program since May.  She plans to become an engineer and also wants us to know that she loves her best friend, Catherine Achieng.

My name is Vyonne Chanzu Jandi. I live in Kibera Kambi Muru near Darajani village. I live with my mother who is a single mother. At the age of 10, I lost my father and my mother has been the one taking good care of us. I am 13 years old and in class seven at Kibera primary school.

Yvonne Chanzu Jandi

I used to look for a place where I can settle my mind well after school and learn many things that I have never understood in the class.  When I heard my friends talking about the good things that Uweza Foundation has done for them, I tried to look for a way that I can talk to my friends because I was so desperate to join the Uweza Foundation.

Getting help on her homework from Uweza teacher Isaiah

I decided to talk to them and they directed me how to get a registration form. I took the form to my mother and we filled it together. She was so happy and encouraged me to join the tuition program at Uweza Foundation.

Yvonne, left, with her best friend Catherine

Uweza has led me to become a very nice person. It has led me to a life that I never imagined. The tuition program has helped me improve my marks from 250 to 300 marks. I have always prayed that I can pass my compositions so that I can help the needy in my country and I know that I will pass my examinations come the end of the year in the name of the great God.  I am sure Uweza will make my dreams come true.

The School Visit

by Mathew Muema

20th October in the Kenyan calendar is a holiday known as Mashujaa Day, meant to celebrate our heroes. At P.C.E.A Musa Gitau primary school, this day was celebrated in style as it was their school visiting day and business was not as usual. As I entered through the wide opened gate there was at least someone to say “karibu” meaning welcome. Students were eagerly a waiting for their parents at a certain corner where I entered straight looking for my two sponsored students Mercy Nelima and Bramuel Makoha.

Uweza sponsored students Bramwel Makokha and Mercy Nelima

I could also see a crowd of other parents who came to pay a visit to their children as a way of motivating them while in school. Before I knew it, I saw Bramuel running towards me with excitement over his face. Soon after we embraced, he took my camera bag and he showed me in to look for Mercy who he referred as sister. Immediately we spotted her at a corner reading through her books at the school dining hall and as soon as she saw us, she came to say hi.

Today’s weather was a little bit hot as it was approaching 1pm and we had to look for a better shelter from the scorching sun. Having found a place to sit, Mercy went out to wash her hands and soon came back with an unexpected visitor.  Makaki is her name, whom I was informed was Mercy's class mate and best friend at school. We shared a meal together of chips, chicken, cake, crisps, and other snacks.

Mercy is a very bright student who has always been top overall in class six.  She is expecting at the end of this term to attain 450 and above over 500. She finds school cool with no challenges.
I posed a question to Mercy whether she found any subject challenging and after a little pause, she answered with authority. “All subjects are equal so if one is easy then all of them are and I don’t find any of the subjects that we are taught tough,” were Mercy’s sentiments.

Bramuel, on the other hand, is social and outgoing; he says that his favorite subject is English. “Being in school is the best decision any young person can make in their life. I am happy to be in school and want to work towards getting good grades at least above 400 at the end of this school term, ” noted Bramuel.

With Bramwel's teacher

 Bramuel’s teacher appreciates them and says they are disciplined and hardworking students and assured me that they usually support the students in case they feel challenged. For me it was an exciting day spending time with the kids.

I was encouraged to hear Mercy say, after receiving her motivation prize from Uweza for good grades, that she will buy a present for her mentor who is a student in form 2 and who stays with her at Tunza Children's Centre, a children's home for orphaned children. Both of them are writing inspirational new stories of what they called a sad story of their past life and are an inspiration to all kids out there.

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Mathew Muema is Uweza's hard-working and dedicated Sponsorship Coordinator.

 

Getting ready for the exams

by Thomas Bwire

They all sat quietly in one of the rooms at the center as they read through their continuous assessment exams, given by Uweza to monitor the effectiveness of our after-school tuition. These are some of the students who are high school candidates making final preparations for their exams. After four years of hard work in high school, candidates are required to undertake a national Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exam that determines their life path. The Kenya National Examination Council (KNEC) is the examination body in Kenya is mandated to examine students at their last year of their studies, be it in primary and high school.

I got to interact with some of the candidates taking advantage of the Uweza center to study and get to know how they have adequately prepared to handle exams which are already on–going.

Edmond Bwire, Francis Namale, and John Kidagwa are some of the high school students who study at Uweza's center

Edmond Bwire Peter, aged 19 years old, is a candidate at Langata High School, and notes that he has been reading hard to be well prepared for the national exams. “I have been working with groups of fellow students for revision purposes, ” notes Edmond. His dream is to become an aeronautical engineer.

Francis Namale, aged 19 years old, also a form four student at Jeremic Adventist Academy is  optimistic that all will be well. He says that he been doing lots of revision and the teachers strike at the beginning of the school term will not affect his performance. "These exams mean a lot to my life and I want to join campus to study computer science since technology advancement keeps having an impact on our lives and there is need to embrace it,” are Francis sentiments.

Francis Namale taking the Uweza tuition continuous assessment exam

John Kidagwa, aged 18 years old, is motivated to become a business entrepreneur  “My motivation comes from my late father, and that’s why I have to work hard and pass my exams well."

John Kidagwa

In total, ten students from Uweza's programs are taking the exams this year. From the Uweza family, we want to wish all candidates sitting for their national exams success and may their life desires be realized come next year!

Nairobi Show

by Thomas Bwire

Last Friday was an adorable day as it presented an opportunity for the kids under the sponsorship program a chance to visit The Nairobi International Trade Fair, an annual event held in Nairobi.  The walk from the center was full of energy as all the kids present, dressed in their respective school uniforms, walked steady fast as they anticipated what the day ahead was going to be like. It didn’t take long and in less than 20 minutes, we all arrived at one of the entry gates at the Trade fair, famously known here as Nairobi Show.

Mathew Muema, Uweza Sponsorship Coordinator, paid our entry tickets and thereafter we had access to have fun and enjoy to the fullest what was in store for us. Before entry, security personnel did check through the bags as a way of enhancing security for everyone’s safety.

Once in, our first stop was at the stand where cows were displayed in their stalls, amazingly they were bigger than most of us thought this made some of the kid’s curious and want to touch them. Later on we moved to the see other animals like goats, and sheep, here too some of the kids fell in love with one of the sheep as they wanted a photo of this rare animal.

Posing with a sheep

Thereafter, we moved to others stands like the ministry of Agriculture, where we got to know what foods are grown in Kenya and how they are supposed to be preserved right from the farm to harvest time.

High school students learning about flowers

Learning sign language

Time was flying so fast that we had to take a small break and had small bite of sausages which were delicious.  Next we went to the merry-go round area which had many people than we never thought. Some of the kids decided to enjoy the merry-go round while some choose to have something else.

Later on we all got a place to enjoy our meal and also all the kids got their faces painted. The moment of the day was at one of the local stand and a few of our kids had a chance to show case their dancing skills. Winners were awarded key holders and pens to motivate them.

Uweza students dancing in front of a big crowd

Just before the day came to an end, we also visited the arena, and got to see some performances from the local police on how they curb insecurity issues in the country. To close the day, some cows were paraded past our stands showcasing farmers efforts in raring them.
 
The fair which opened its doors on 2nd October-7th October 2012 had this year's theme as, 'Enhancing Technology in Agriculture and Industry for Food Security and National Growth.  The trade fair, formerly called the Nairobi Agricultural Show, began in 1901 when the agricultural and horticultural society was founded in Nairobi. The show became a trade fair in the year 2000 giving opportunity to local and international exhibitors to promote their services and products.

The Finals

Finally the day came for the young footballers to show the results of their hard work to everyone. On 6th October at DC grounds in Kibera, the Uweza FC Under-10 team was playing against Marren FC Under-10 in the finals of the Young Generation Englightenment Programme (YOGEP) tournament .They had earlier on played against Katerlands FC and won 3-2 which made them qualify for the finals. They were shining in their blue jerseys as they warmed up under the supervision of their coaches Said and Joash.

Uweza Under-10 team lines up before the match

At 10.00am, the game kicked off as the two teams made several attempts to net goals in their opponents’ goal posts. At the 10th minute, Uweza got their first goal through their dangerous player Samwel Fredrick who drove the crowd  wild and immediately after the celebrations, he scored a second goal making the team celebrate even more.

Uweza Under-10  in action

At the end of first half, Uweza had a 2-0 lead. One yellow card was given to Marren FC player after a foul.  In the second half, Marren FC made efforts and were able to get their first goal through Ali Munyi hence making the game end at 2-1. Uweza FC had won the game!

Shortly after the Under-10 match finished, the Uweza FC Under-12 players played against Salama FC for the finals. Earlier on in the semi-finals, they had played against African Heroes and beaten them 2-0 to qualify for the finals.

At first the two teams were afraid of each other as each played carefully in the first half. In the second half, Salama FC scored their first goal which made Uweza up their game and in the last five minutes, a super swap of Ferdinand Leo made Uweza score a goal hence it ended with a draw of 1-1, leading to penalties.

Uweza Under-12 player scores a goal in penalties

In the penalties, Salama FC were able to score 3 more goals while Uweza scored 2 making Salama FC the winners of the Under-12 category. The Under-12 team from Uweza were disappointed, considering the fact that they were playing in their new yellow, dazzling jerseys but at least they were in the second place position.

Uweza Under-10 with their first place trophy!

Uweza Under-12 captain Wycliffe Odhiambo accepts the team's prize voucher

After completion of the final matches for all categories, Uweza Under-10 players were officially handed over their precious cup through their captain while the Under-12 players received a voucher for 500 Kshs, making the day end it joyous celebration.

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Rebecca Musanga is a member of the Uweza Journalism Club.

Embracing technology

by Thomas Bwire

Everyone’s hope in the current life is to become computer literate, as the global world keeps moving on the fast lane on matters to do with technological advancement. This was evident among young members of the Uweza Journalism Club as each one sat in front of a laptop computer last Sunday at Lit World computer laboratory in Kibera slums.

With eight laptop computers in front of them, all seemed eager and ready to learn as much as they could. Being their first formal computer class, I did some introductions of computer basics. Some of the sentiments from the members were that life has become better and one can easily communicate through the computer with friend globally, unlike in the years back when letters were the order of the day.

“Not so bad” I thought to myself how information is power with the sentiments coming from young members of the journalism club.

According to statistics from Lit World, a non-profit organization in the United States  (http://litworld.org/about/ ), globally at least 793 million people remain illiterate. Two-thirds of them are women. All over the world, children are hungry for learning and for the power it brings. Research shows that children learn to read and write best by writing and telling the stories of their own experiences. Yet it is rare to find safe spaces where children feel fully comfortable to do so.

Our partnership with Lit World is a great step in empowering the community through our youngsters that one day, they will be computer gurus and able to drive the economy of our country to greater height. The partnership allows members of the Journalism Club to freely use their computer lab every Sunday between 11am to 12.30pm. 

To sum it up, literacy is the foundation for emotional and physical well-being, intellectual growth, and economic security. The right to read and write is a fundamental human right and belongs to all people.

Hope is not gone forever

by Nicholas Gisemba

The sponsored primary school going kids of Uweza family all looked happy and adorable last Sunday at their monthly meeting. This meeting comes every last Sunday of the month as they all gather together and talk about what is going on in their lives. In one of the classroom. Mathew Muema, Sponsorship Coordinator gave the kids a simple task of having to draw the people that matter most to them in their family.

Something that kept me thinking, that all the kids can easily identify the people they love and what it means for them. This exercise took like 15 minutes to accomplish. Later on they all went out for an outdoor activity, where one student acted out different creatures and objects such as a kangaroo and a spoon while the others guessed.

Maurine acting as a kangaroo

The most interesting part of the day’s session was when all the kids had to speak up for themselves on their needs. Some of their sentiments were as follows: some had only one pair of school uniform and requested to be added an extra pair. While others noted that their uniforms were old and needed replacement.

Sponsorship Coordinator Mathew organizes the students for a game

The forum offered a space to let them speak up their minds as a way of growth into becoming responsible adults in the near future. The exercise also gives students the confidence to express themselves and their needs. Challenges faced at school were also shared and possible ways of overcoming them to excel better this new school term.

Snack time

The day came to an end with a small snack shared among all the kids present, A cup of juice and cookies were served from the kitchen and all queued as they waited for their chance to get a piece and ate just like one family.  The kids also had a chance to make their funny gestures while taking a group photo.

As the kids left the center, I had an opportunity to speak with Mathew whom shared his thoughts that his greatest motivation is to see all the kids grow in their lives and to overcome the life challenges that in many cases create barriers that can hamper their growth in life.

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Nicholas Gisemba is a member of the Uweza Journalism Club. 

Quest for Knowledge

by William Ochieng

A famous scholar once said ‘if you want to go far, go alone and if you want to go further, go with people.’  This quote is relevant during the three week long teachers strike that paralyzed learning in all public schools countrywide. Despite the teachers’ strike, students need not sleep on their knee to search for excellence to better their lives.

In the Kibera slums a group of eight young students both high school and primary used to converge at the Uweza Foundation center to discuss mathematics, English, chemistry and other subjects.  One of the students stands up who is bright in mathematics and shows the rest how a sum is tackled when brought in the question paper. He leads the rests step by step on the methods and formula followed to arrive at the answer.

After that, each one them is assigned to bring similar questions.  They then discuss other subjects like English and the rest.  What I discovered was that the students made sure that each understood well the concept, and if you are a slow learner, sessions are more repetitive in order to tackle the problem.

I posed a question to one of the boys “Has the teachers strike brought an end to learning?"  His take was that with or without the teachers' presence, learning must continue.  The teachers work, he said, is only to supplement and much of the work that should be done by the student himself.

All of the students aspire to be engineers, pilots, doctors, lawyers, etc. and they are determined to meet their goals.  I advise them that in order to succeed, they must work entirely in all subjects so that they join better campuses and colleges both locally and abroad to study.  I noticed that the students are motivated to succeed to fulfill their dreams and I was happy with the ideas and encouraged them to forge ahead.

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William Ochieng joined Uweza as an intern in September 2011.  After receiving a diploma in Community Development in September 2012, he joined the Uweza team full time as our Administrator.

Are you informed?

Story and photos by Rebecca Musanga

In this current generation, if you're not in the game of knowing what is happening around you then you must be missing something and to be specific, life as a journalist. On one fine Sunday afternoon 24th September, Uweza Journalism Club members were discussing the qualities of a good journalist.

We were divided into four groups and each group had to choose a group leader and a presenter under the supervision of our journalism teacher Mr. Thomas Bwire. Everyone was keen to understand the topic of what it takes to be a good journalist. Some of the major points brought up by the presenters were: A journalist should be hardworking, highly educated, fluent in both Kiswahili and English, self disciplined at heart, accurate, very first with news, trusted, easy to understand, straight, alert and also realistic.

One of the groups shares what they think makes a good journalist

To add on what we learned, we were also given tips of a becoming a good journalist which included:·   

• Be right by building trust with your readers, listeners or viewerss
• Be first and timely in the news to be delivered.
• Stick to what you know and not to be biased
• Keep it simple hence avoid using fancy sentences that are unnecessary.
• Play it straight to maintain your standard.
• Know your market i.e. their age, occupation, residence and target audience.
• Be aware of your competitors.
• Keep in touch.
• Be realistic
• Be disciplined.

Club member Dorcas Kirwai shares her findings with the group

Everyone had a chance to share what we had learned over the past week and as we went home, we had at least two hints in mind hoping to become the best journalist ever. The presenters from each group were also awarded for their good presentation skills as a way of motivation to become better presenters in years to come ahead.

The day’s lesson helped me have a reflection on some of the aspects in becoming a journalist and what it takes to be to edge out the competition when that time comes.

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Rebecca Musanga is a member of the Uweza Journalism Club.