Reality Check

It has just been one of those pessimistic what is happening to Kenya days. Just came from a 2 day strategy session where we came across interesting data on Kenyan youth. Apparently over 60% of our population relies on Money transfer as a source of income. The number of self employed Kenyans are less that 10% of the population. The employed kenyans have also dropped to less than 10% of the Total population. The Kenyans getting income from the agricultural sector has also dropped to below 20%.
Basicaly we have no jobs, no water, our youth have no access to jobs, then you and I are the ones supporting about 80% of the Kenyan population. You know the way your relatives are always calling you for a hand out? Take it seriously they just have no options. Kazi kwa vijana is a hoax. Old money rules Kenya an New money (read looters of Public land and coffers) is not going to do anything about it because they are as thick as thieves. It is only you and me that can change the direction Kenya is spiralling towards. Be more passionate and more driven to create employment for another Kenyan because deep down every kenyan needs hope and is willing to work. Start thinking about the marginalised in society and Join Irene Mbari-Kirika and other concietious Kenyan passionate about changing the destiny of many Kenyans. We the population living in Urban Kenya (35% of Kenya) must mobilize and go out into the rest of the Kenya to provide Education and exposure and enterprenurial skills so they can be self sustainable. Even if its setting up training facility or donating expertise, each one of us has to give back and pull up our fellow kenyan.
It shocks me that 15% of Kenyans still go without a meal every day. That is more than 10 million of us going hungry on a daily basis. By the way just right now open your MPESA menu and type in account no 10,000 and donate 300 bob to red cross.
Our leadership is busy fighting over Mau, TJRC, and God knows what else. The youth in Mau have mobilised to plant trees. It is you and I that will change Kenya. Be the change you want to see in Kenya. It starts with you. Please do something about it TODAY.

Our reading Spaces

Sometimes in life you meet people that inspire the socks off you and make you re-think our life. I had the opportunity today to meet a lady that is touching lives in the community around her because she dared to dream. Irene Mbari-Kirika has started a foundation called our reading spaces www.ourReadingSpaces.org when she visited her shags and realized that there was no library for the kids from surrounding schools to go to. They had no access to books or computers. This is in Thika which is 40-50 kilometers from the Capital City of Kenya: Nairobi. This gave birth to our reading spaces whose aim is to set up a library in rural areas starting with kairi village where they will fill it up with books from one of their partners Books for Africa who are situated in the States. When she set out to actually carry out the project Irene found out that the situation was more dire. Thika also is home to Thika School for the Blind but after school where do these men and women go? They are not in our offices employed as we are but yet they need to earn a living. On top of that HIVAIDS was highly prevalent among them and they have no access to ARV's. They have no economically viable business and do not have access to information and education to develop a sustainable economic activity. Irene then set out to find partners who would help make a change in this community and she harbors big dream. The community donated land for the Library so they need an additional piece of land to build a library big enough for the village. Irene has also been able to open the first computer lab in the area but it only has 15 computers. She is investing in IT training for the visually impaired to help them become self sufficient. Then the next thing she wants to do is set up entrepreneurial activities that will make the communities have a sustainable economy since no one is willing to invest in them, they invest in themselves. She has various partners including the rotary club and access Kenya who put up free internet access.
If you are interested in partnering with Our reading spaces please go to there website or find them on face book. But whatever you do you must think of a way of giving back and investing in the fellow Kenyan that is not as exposed as you are. If you thought life was bad with high food prices; water and electricity rationing; remember there is a visually impaired person in Kenya getting 10 shillings in exchange for sex so they can put their kids through school and get a meal; there is a child living a few minutes from your home who has no idea what their future is beyond their village.

AGOA takes over nairobi

So the AGOA conference is here and if you are like me you are wondering how does this affect my life. Apparently out of about 2000 products accepted for export from Africa to the US we only export 6. If that does not spell opportunity don't know what does! Apparently Kenyans are only concentrating on apparel and textiles. If you had the opportunity to listen to KISS this morning when they interviewed a 31 year old entrepreneur who owns a clothing manufacturing business he started at 29 that now has over 600 hundred employees keep you ears and eyes peeled and gather the information on AGOA. There are a lot of young enterprises that have seized the opportunity don't let it pass you by. One of my friends said something very interesting the other day; its not that people living in Nairobi do not harbor the dream of being financially free but because of the uphill task involved they focus on what can get them quick money from collecting bottle tops of all the beverage promotions and discount shopping; they lack the bigger picture. I only hope this isn't true for you.