AGAINST ALL ODDS

Kawangware primary school pupils and their two teachers pose for photo session at their school

The joy of emerging the best in the concluded 2016 Kenya National Music Festival in the girls’ set piece category cannot be hidden from the team of girls that saw them change the image and perception that has been there about the school in the informal settlement of Kawangware, Nairobi. The talented girls performed uniformly to the rhythm of the violin keenly following their choir conductor Mr. Edward Namiti`S instructions all the way from sub county level to national level held at Kasarani stadium in Nairobi where they were announced the winner of the 2016 girl`s set piece.

Read also: Engineering field now dominated by female

In an exclusive interview at Kawangware primary school, Mr. Edward Namiti who is music composer, arranger, director, adjudicator and trainer in the primary school category said that, Ron de ley ho class 201 Girls` set piece is the song that made the year 2016 very different and special for their school

Edward Namiti: Kawangware School Music Trainer

“Kawangware School was crowned the best choice in Kenya and for the first time we did a song in Latin, unlike past years, this year I have not really struggled because the team had a very good musical background. I didn’t struggle to train them and in fact, we spent very little time training especially during lunch hour and not every day and we still won! So I must say this year was very special year”.

Four trainers including patrons worked very hard to see that the girls took the trophy to their school. As per why we only did a girls` set piece, Namiti says that is about specialization `every music trainer/director in Kenya are known because of entering into certain classes. We are a group of about five schools in Kenya and Kawangware School is among those that perform girls` set pieces very well.



The school head teacher Mrs. Milliam Kelonye, (pictured below) motivates talented children to use their talents as she says this does not affect academic performance as perceived by many.
`Many good things are happening with our children, actually, we are developing an all rounded child because many of our children are participating in different events` says Mrs. Kelonye.

Read also: Need for civic education to female voters


If you thought working with children is difficult then you got it wrong, these young ones just need to be guided on the direction one wants and they will follow. The team that represented Kawangware Primary School in the 2016 music festivals was not auditioned. Many of them naturally have interest in singing and are determined. This team took the girl set piece trophy from Precious Blood Girl’s High School that won it in the year 2015.

BY TEBBY OTIENO
Tebbyotieno62@gmail.com , @TebbyOtieno
Photographer; Edwin Nyang`au

DOES A WOMAN NEED A JOB OR EDUCATION?

NOT ONLY WOMEN EMPOWERMENT...
So many organizations have come up to support women empowerment projects all over the world, with an aim of improving the female lifestyle in different angles. This however raises question as to why we still have house wives, jobless ladies and those looking for `sponsors`
A Kenyan man Jonah Grant Oreno, certified procurement officer and marketer by profession says that women do not necessarily need higher education as much as they need jobs; he says that it is not also a must that these organizations keep dueling on empowering women in various skills but should help them create job opportunities. He further says that basic education is compulsory to women
"Personally I do take it as, women need jobs more than (that high) education, am not saying that they don’t need education as per say but they do need jobs as well. Some of us were even born knowing that women should get education, but yes I`ve given you the education, where will you get the job if we live in a society which is man first woman second, so how will we help our young mothers and women secure jobs?" He says.

Jonah Grant Oreno pictured above.

Jonah who also studied psychology says that "Complexity of a woman makes it difficult for employers to consider them unlike men, therefore he challenges women to put into consideration how they handle themselves to secure the few chances outside there".
"Look at the ratio on how women are getting employed out there, it’s so alarming and that’s why our legislators had to put a bill in place that women should be considered in top positions, two third gender rule. They saw something is lacking in our society which comprises on many women and more unemployed women to be precise.We want to be the people championing projects that ensure women get employed. That is the key thing. You might be passionate about doing something but you don`t have the education, if I give you the skill and resources to start a business I will have empowered you. This is the right time to give jobs" he added.
If women are given basic education they will learn to survive but should not be discriminated just because they have no higher education, we even have many female graduating annually but are still jobless as men continue getting more job opportunities
"If I have a wife and she is employed, am not employed unfortunately or lost my job, this woman will support me, the family and even the community but for men it will be opposite, give a man more money he will look for more women; you see, so for this money to stick in the community and help households positively, we will have to give these ladies jobs" he concludes.

Jonah Grant Oreno

As learning institutions continue to admit fresh students and releasing graduates to the outside field, there is need for more job opportunities and current employers extending the employment rooms. Gender balance should also be considered when it comes to employment. To organizations supporting women empowering projects, it is not only women empowerment.
Just like the Chinese say, “give a man a fish, you have fed him for a day. But show a man how to fish, you have fed him for a life time.”

BY TEBBY OTIENO
Tebbyotieno62@gmail.com , @TebbyOtieno

ENGINEERING FIELD NOW DOMINATED BY WOMEN

SAME BRAIN MATTER, SAME BRAIN CAPACITY WHY NOT SAME JOB?


The perception that female go for soft jobs in the market while men go for the more technocrat ones should not hinder female from pursuing those jobs. This is according to Felicity Mecha, a female technical engineer currently working as a manager with Fab Lab at Kivuli Centre within Dagoretti in Nairobi. She says gender should not limit people from pursuing careers of their interest,
"Not really, our brains are the same, we have the same brain matter, you know the same brain capacity so might not all have the same IQ but I don’t think your gender should limit you, if you are capable then you are capable" she says.
The interest Mecha had since her childhood in mathematics and the desire to combine it with something helped her to develop interest in physics that saw her through scoring a grade that later helped her study electrical engineering, a course that some female students shy from taking because of their technicalities. She says that engineer as a course requires interest in science subjects
"I can`t say that it is easy, most good things are not easy. I like the fact that right now, people are embracing the idea of women and technology, more women are being nurtured to become engineers and everything and if anyone wanted to fit in, they would have somebody to mentor them and everything, so I would say it is somewhere in between hard and easy" she says.

Mecha (pictured above during a site survey )

She further says that people who come from school whether secondary or university are a bit lost and want to get a road map, the best place to get it, is find somebody who has gone through the same experience and share their story. This might not necessarily mean that the person will take the same course but will help in getting advice depending with what happened to them at given junctions and what they did that one needs to and don’t need to do but rather give one prospect of how to think and what to do. During mentorship, graduates discover what technology is all about and what is outside there, some of these things are a mystery, some of these technologies are new, so mentorship helps them discover until they find the niche. At the same time she says that the more graduates, the lesser the job opportunities. This situation makes it difficult for people to be employed. She advises graduates to be willing to even volunteer in organizations that offer internships to avoid creating gaps in their curriculum vitae, CV.

"Sometimes it is not that you just get out and somebody takes you. Sometimes work on a project. Sometimes when you have something to show what you have done, it shows initiative so that even if you go for an interview somebody tells you, you know what, we can see that you have initiative so we`ll take you in but if you have been doing nothing for a whole year just applying for jobs, you might miss out" she added.

Mecha,after graduating from university

Felicity Mecha volunteered for medical camp after graduating from campus, children program in church teaching bible studies, Fab Lab in University of Nairobi to grow her skills. It was the connections she acquired during these programs that landed her in her current job as the manager of the Fab Lab in Kivuli Center. She says it is always better to volunteer than be busy applying and looking for job vacancies. She advises those who have pursued engineering course as a career that she understands that engineering field has a lot of intimidation and some people would back off because they feel like others are so much better than them, but this should not be the case since one should meet the challenge head on by using challenges as places of growth.
This comes as The World Literacy foundation creates an innovative campaign that aims to eliminate the digital divide for students in the developing world and increase student engagement via an exciting digital learning platform.

BY TEBBY OTIENO
tebbyotieno62@gmail.com , @TebbyOtieno

THERE IS NEED FOR CIVIC EDUCATION TO FEMALE VOTERS

THERE IS NEED FOR CIVIC EDUCATION TO FEMALE VOTERS

BY TEBBY OTIENO.
tebbyotieno62@gmail.com; @TebbyOtieno

Kenyan politics has been termed as being male dominated; this could be a thing of the past if only civic education could be conducted at the grassroots levels especially to female voters. It is their constitutional right to vote whether during party nominations, by elections or general elections.


Nairobi`s Ngara ward Member of County Assembly, MCA 2017 aspirant Mercy Akinyi, popularly known as Okinyo Lady says women can always use their number and beat their male counterparts by voting for their fellow female political aspirants only if they get civic education. In an exclusive interview, Akinyi says the belief that women are their own enemies and the opinion that they cannot vote for their fellow women can be changed. She urges women to use their huge number to vote for fellow women.


"I would love to change the mentality that women cannot make it, because when I look at the prior records of the previous female leaders, I see that they have done a great job. The fact that a mother knows the pain of a baby, she will not fail to pay attention to you when in trouble unlike men. Women lack civic education on importance of participating in voting exercise. It is our responsibility to vote and elect the leaders we want. We need to educate women on their civic rights" says Akinyi


Akinyi who is vying for the position of Member of County Assembly (MCA) on an Orange Democratic Movement, (ODM) party ticket further says that the party recognizes the importance of women and organizes training for their candidates; she also acknowledges the efforts of organizations that support female political aspirants. "My party has given women first priority, it has organized training for female political aspirants, which help us a lot because we later go to the field and exercise lessons learnt when we meet our voters"

Mercy Akinyi poses for photo session outside Mtaani Radio station on Monday September 5, 2016 Photographer, Chege Kamau.

Being a female aspirant, she encourages fellow women to unite and have confidence in themselves because they too have the capability to deliver. "As a woman, you don’t need to underestimate yourself according to the type of work you do, lets get rid of the fear in us since if we support each other even our male counterparts will support us through to the ballot box.

"Men too need to be educated so that they give women a chance and the support they need. Just as we are able to lead our families, we can support the whole country, all we need is your support". She added

Even as various aspirants in Kenya have shown interest in various political seats ahead of the 2017 general elections, party nominations remains a great challenge. Mercy Akinyi says that the 2013 experience is still fresh in her mind when competitors spread negative rumors about her and fellow women aspirants.

"After party nominations in the 2013 general election, we were not assured of free and fair party nominations. Our leaders should look into this issue ahead of 2017 party nominations. "I request all organizations supporting female political aspirants to hold our hands through the nominations stage so as to help us overcome this huge challenge ahead of us. Let civic education be extended to voters in their localities even if it is door to door and empower them on why they need to vote and also vote for female political aspirants" adds Akinyi

Akinyi who believes she was born a leader currently deals with savings groups and has identified the challenges that Ngara ward residents go through. She plans to help solve thes should she attain the seat. She says Ngara which has a number of businesses, hawkers and mechanics need a better market and shelters that would enable their customers access their goods and services easily. Being a woman, she also has the desire to see children access better education opportunities despite their backgrounds.

"Just as every ward has its own challenges, Ngara ward is not exceptional. Hawkers, mechanics have been encountering numerous problems. Hawkers lack shades so they cannot manage their businesses during extreme weather conditions even when demand is high from their customers. Nyayo market and tsunami are not in good conditions hence making it difficult for customers to access the markets. Children fail to go to school due to lack of school fess yet they can be helped in one way or the other. These are some of things that have pushed me to vie for Ngara ward MCA position so that we can help Ngara ward residents" She concludes


Her inspiration is drawn from female other political images; the likes of Charity Ngilu, Martha Karua and Elizabeth Ongoro. She believes that everything is possible

TOGETHER WE CAN