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When the sun rises, and fate shines on you.

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It is said that we count our blessings, one by one. I feel like I lost count already and might not be able to name all in one sitting, but let’s give it a shot. At some point in 2023, I was the most uninspired in my life. I was going through an unanticipated change in my business, and this had taken a toll on me. I would watch my life play out as if I was a character in a movie only that this was my inescapable reality. It hurt. My normal self is always inspired, she is always thinking on her feet and its easy to ace anything or come up with solutions. When in a rut, however, zero inspiration runs through her. But not in 2025, when I started 2025, my friend and I went journal shopping as per our tradition and got down to writing our yearly goals. She keeps me grounded, and I am grateful for her. I categorised my goals into Financial, Health, Physical etc. I then broke this down into more realistic goals. I wanted to go hard on these dreams. In 2024, Patrick, my co-host at( The Spark it Podcast), spent a considerable amount of time discussing the idea of a podcast. In 2025, I wanted us to actualise this dream, and in January, we sat down for a mic test. What was meant to be a 15-20 minute mic test turned out to be a whole hour of talking. We eventually decided to post this episode even though I didn’t like my lighting or felt I wasn’t “video” ready.  It taught me that sometimes we wait for perfect moments, and they might never come, or they might take too long. From this very first step of faith, the podcast took off, we became consist covering issues to do with governance, young people and change, among other issues. This podcast was a culmination of a goal I had in 2022. A little backstory, in 2022, I bought Manila paper and wrote a concept for a podcast. I mapped it down to the name of the podcast and the types of conversations I would have. I even included a few names of young people I knew who could be featured on the podcast. To see The Spark it Podcast grow and build a community from scratch was such an eye opener to just how much needed to be done. In June of this year, as I was reflecting on the journey on the podcast and the growth, I realised that there were more stories that needed to be told, and somehow, we had narrowed down our conversations on the podcast. I went back to the drawing board and decided to go with my initial idea of a podcast,  highlighting women’s issues. And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how the podcast idea from my Manila paper back in 2022 was actualised. Nothing changed about the idea, including the name-“Safari Yangu Podcast”. On another note, I felt that I had also invested a lot on equipment, and to only record for the Spark It Podcast and have all the equipment lying around was not a good use of my resources. These two podcasts have pushed my personal limits. I have learnt so much about myself and what needs improving. For instance, I have learnt to interview in a better way and allow guests to tell their stories without inserting myself in the conversation in a way that takes away from their experience. It’s a hard one, especially when you find their stories relatable. I have learnt to edit better and to plan for everything, including setting up my recording space and sound checks, etc. It’s intense work and I had never just realised how much effort content creators put into their craft. They have my newfound respect. As I write this, I actually have 5 episodes of the Safari Yangu Podcast on my laptop waiting to be edited. I haven’t posted an episode this December. Life has been a bit crazy on my end, and I am finding ways to balance everything. Travel and New Adventures.In August, I travelled to Northern Uganda to cover more stories for the Spark It Podcast, an interesting journey that I am yet to post on this blog, but already written down. I was not mentally prepared for this journey. The journey from Nairobi to Kampala was almost smooth, but the Busia border has its way of ruining the moment sometimes. We were stuck at the border for about 2.5 hours.We arrived in Kampala a few hours late, my plan had been to book the morning bus to Koboko, I had missed it unfortunately.  I was feeling a bit stranded and frustrated when a guy approached me. Meet Edd, the Ugandan who spoke Swahili with a bit of an accent. I am not sure what about him exactly made me give him a listening ear. I often avoid speaking to strangers; we all know what these Nairobi streets are like. One minute you could be showing  kindness to someone in need, and the next minute you are a victim of robbery by the same person. I therefore avoid speaking with strangers. But it might have been the fact that he spoke Swahili. I needed a Sim card ASAP so I could communicate with my host about my change of plans. Edd offered to take me to a vendor who was selling this at a very outrageous price. It could have been because they heard my accent, as when I walked into the MTN office, the price was a quarter of that of the vendors. I found it strange that we were queuing for a sim card, knowing how in Kenya they sometimes even sell the Airtel ones door to door and even give them out almost for free. Their data rates were also high, and it taught me just how privileged we were as Kenyans; internet accessibility here is top-notch.  I could write more about that

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A Walk Down Memory Lane: Starehe @20

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Last weekend, the roads led to The Starehe Girls Centre for their 20th Anniversary. For me, it was a reminder of a journey that has shaped the woman I have become. The journey to joining this school was not an easy one. One of my primary school teachers recommended the school to me while I was in class seven. That’s when I learned about the requirements for joining, which include an exemplary score and a compelling personal story. These were the top requirements for receiving a scholarship. My admission to the school was not an easy journey. The admission date was in February of 2008, if my memory serves me right. A chaotic time for all Kenyans; it was around the same time that post-election violence was taking place. The tension in different towns was top-notch, and travel did not come easily. My uncle at the time offered to drop my mum and I at the school, it was such a relief because travelling with public means of transport at the time was almost impossible from Nakuru. The journey to the school filled me with lots of anxiety for different reasons, one being that the road was not safe and we did not know what to expect, and two, this opportunity meant the world to me, and I couldn’t wait to explore a life beyond home, joining other girls from all over the country. When I stepped into Starehe Girls Centre in 2008, I was shocked and surprised at the same time. Our class was the cohort that “completed” the school, encompassing students from form one to form four. The school had just begun in 2005, and that’s how we became part of the pioneer classes. A fascinating story that I will live to tell. I met brilliant girls from all the corners of Kenya, and fitting in was not easy; every girl here represented excellence, and this is how our foundation was laid. Being here instilled discipline, hard work, resilience, and shaped my perspective. I started seeing the world in a different lens. It was here that I explored my writing and poetry skills. It was here that I found my voice as a student leader, and it was here that I learnt what it means to volunteer and give back to my community. Starehe challenged the child in me, moulded the young woman I was becoming, and offered me a world I would have not had access to had I attended any other school. While here, I also got to meet philanthropists like Manu Chandaria, which cemented the idea of giving back. We often repeated the words “To whom much is given, much is expected,” and watching the work of Manu Chandaria, Eddah Gachukia and all other donors who made it possible for me and other girls to access a world-class education cemented the idea of giving back. I left the centre a new woman who was equipped to conquer and change the world, and I couldn’t have asked for better. Over the years, alumnus from the school have found ways to give back to their families, the school and the communities they come from. Meeting with “old girls” from the school always reminds me that there is a lot to be done, and we all have a small part to play in the end. Most of the alumni are out here changing the world and rewriting narratives of the communities they serve. If you told me this would be our story 20 years down the line, I wouldn’t have imagined it. From my class group alone, I am happy to be affiliated with lawyers, doctors, engineers, businesswomen, artists, and financial advisors, to name a few. When I received the invite to join the Starehe@20 Anniversary, I knew a trip down memory lane would be inevitable. Being at the event was nostalgic; it reminded me of the little girl who walked those gates naive, anxious, and afraid of the unknown, but left the same gates four years later bolder, wiser, and ready for what the world would bring her way. I am forever grateful for this part of my life; it remains the story that shaped my early adult years and continues to shape the person I am today.  As I always say, “I am the product of people investing in a little girl and her dreams”. Within my means, I hope I can inspire others and lead change, especially for young girls and boys, through education. I am a proud alumnus of the Starehe Girls Centre! I would like to encourage young girls out here with big dreams to consider joining the school. Your story will never be the same again.

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Askari Jela (Prison Guard)

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He spent most of his days getting to know fellow inmates and what had brought them there. He had heard it all by the time he was leaving. The prison guards would go about their day trying to ensure security is enforced but to him, the real askari jela would be unleashed at night. 

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I am The Sum Total of Investing in a Little Girl.

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Investing in girls has shown to be a worthy investment, one that impacts generations.  An educated girl someday becomes an educated woman who can find meaningful employment, she will take care of her needs, those of her family and in one way of or the other, find ways to pay it forward to her community. Here are ways you can invest in girls.

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Risk Taking: Why and How You Should Approach It.

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Over the years, I have calculatedly taken lots of risks and put myself out there, but sometimes I wonder if I am taking enough risks. For instance, before I can get into any business dealings, I would say I exercise a little bit more caution than the average person. I sometimes wonder if this might have held me back from pursuing certain opportunities. From a personal perspective, I do feel like men do take far bigger risks. I might be wrong or even biased with this take. I have had conversations about risks with my girlies and we all agree the reason it might seem that men might take bigger or more risks could be associated with the level of audacity they have in pursuing the things they want.

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Lessons from my entrepreneurship journey: Poverty alienates.

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I have experienced first-hand how poverty can define the path for an individual, from the type of education they have access to, the type of opportunities, their standard of living and even access to some of the most basic things such as food, water, shelter and clothing. According to the World Bank “around 700 million people live on less than $2.15 per day, the extreme poverty line. Extreme poverty remains concentrated in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, fragile and conflict-affected areas, and rural areas.” Access to opportunities I began working with communities immediately after university. The first non-profit I worked with granted me the opportunity to work with amazing girls rescued from early marriage and FGM in West Pokot Kenya. This experience was one for the books and one that shaped my desire to play a small part in creating opportunities for others. While working here, I was faced with the realities that the larger community was facing, access to drinking water was an issue for most of the community members and they would have to walk long distances to access a basic need. You can imagine the education situation. In comparison to other locations in Kenya, where you can find schools near each other, you could travel several kilometers here before locating one. The standards of living were the most basic for most households and coming from a place where I had access to most of these things without a struggle, I could only be grateful for the opportunities I had. The program we were running here was a skills training program for girls rescued from early marriages and FGM.  It was also a sponsored program that only hosted 100 girls meaning that there were a lot more girls and young people who did not have access to these types of opportunities. When I started working in Kakamega, I also saw how poverty alienated children from accessing opportunities. The program I was working on with LatitudeZero Opportunities was also fully funded. We held workshops at the orphanage we were working at.  Kids from the larger community had access to this home and would occasionally show up. They showed lots of interest in our programs, our resources, however, were stretched and it was hard to accommodate each of them. Throughout our time at this place, some of them who were consistent got a few lessons from my designated assistant facilitators, I would often catch them admiring the things they made while others learnt how to use computers for the first time. In the future, I hope to get to a place where I can easily provide these services to more kids and young people for free. Growing up, I remember going to school without a proper school bag and shoes. I would do most of my homework during the breaks between the class sessions. This was because we did not have electricity at home and by 8 P.M, my mum would ask us to go to bed so we could save on paraffin for the next day. By the time I was in eighth grade, I would wake up by 5:30 A.M, shower, and head to school. By 6:15 AM, I would be seated in class doing some extra reading because there was electricity in our classes. I was always first to arrive in our class and by the time other students arrived, I had done so much. Let’s just say I excelled while at it and was always the best student in our class. My biggest wish as a kid growing up was that some of these basic needs would have been accessible. I learnt however to make do with what was available. Call me a survivor if you will. I learnt from a young age that I needed to work twice as hard. In grade 5, I vividly remember one of my teachers who used to give me extra English lessons, she told me these exact words “Elenah, you have to work extra hard, you are the hope of your family.” She saw something in me, a potential I had not unlocked or even thought of. These words pushed me out of my comfort zone. These words have echoed over the years and reminded me that I was meant for greatness. Her encouragement played a big role in my securing a fully sponsored high school education at a prestigious national school. Had it not been for such an opportunity, maybe I would not have gotten the opportunities that followed. Untapped potential A lot of children and young people have been locked out from accessing educational opportunities, employment opportunities and the ability to have their voices heard because of their backgrounds. For some children, they have never seen the four corners of a classroom or a teacher to remind them of their potential. These kids will never know how much they could have changed the little corner of their world. They never get to unlock their dreams and the depth of what could have been. For the young people locked out of accessing relevant education, skills training and employment opportunities, they may never fully be able to live to their full potential, live fulfilling lives where they can fend for themselves, and their families and even contribute to the economic growth of communities they come from. In my line of work, I have come across different organizations trying to address these issues. I have seen children and young people accessing opportunities they wouldn’t have had access to, due to these efforts. It warms my heart to see the change, experience the change and be part of the change. However, a lot more needs to be done to change these narratives. The need for all stakeholders to work together to address these issues is more important now, especially for concerned governments. The impact of aid in poverty alienation. Humanitarian aid has been key in enabling last mile communities’ access educational, economic, health and other opportunities. With the recent closure of

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When we drown: A cry for help.

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Take it slow. Sometimes the world moves a little bit fast than we can keep up. We are often caught up in the chaos this presents. It easy to even feel suffocated. Like we cannot make it to the next step of it all. Those times, we are drained, we do not have strength to keep going and it feels like we have come to the end of the party. We are done! For some, we go one our knees and pray to whichever God we believe in, we pray that he could remove the hurdles we face from our path. We ask him endless questions, like if things will ever be alright and if finally, we can figure it out. We ask for lots of favors and hope our faith can carry us through. For some, we drench ourselves in alcohol and anything that can give us a high. We are looking for those moments that we truly believe that we can forget our problems even if for a minute. So, we go out for most of the night and only catch some sleep in the wee hours of the morning. And when we awake, we try to find ways to sober up so we could show up to those jobs or social events at least not looking wasted, hangover, hopeless and like our problems. For some, we will wear our makeup to hide that inflamed cheek, we fell from our stupor the last night, so we hope the shade of makeup we have can cover it up. For others, we will wear our favorite sunglasses to hide that inflamed eye. “They cannot find out,” we tell ourselves but deep down we long to be saved. This state is our cry for help, we have been going about it for a couple of months and no one noticed. It seems we know how to hide it so well, but maybe sooner somebody will catch up. For some, we become shopaholics, from the latest style of clothing in the most expensive shops, to the most expensive shoes, liquor and anything that tickles our fancy. We watch as our bank balance reflects a negative, that saving account that we took so long to fatten, we watch as the proof of funds disappears. We dig our own hole, we forget those dreams we always had, like having an emergency fund, or those vacations we have saved our last coins for, that trip to Maldives and Paris. Now a dream that we may never realize. So, we become our own horror story. We pen every word of it. We become our own nightmare. And on bad days, we question our very existence. We wonder why, why misfortune chose us. And when our family and friends call us to inform us of their recent success, we loathe them for it and eventually we stop picking their calls. Like why would they be doing better than we are? We brand them God’s favorite, they must be, there could be no possible explanation as to why they could be doing so well yet we are deep in our struggles. We pray and hope somebody could pick us up from this rut or at least we can figure it out. But we do not have even the will. Our hearts are overwhelmed, our pillows become our comfort, and we hope to find ourselves, maybe someday we will. When we hit rock bottom. We ask the universe for a sign, we wish and long for one. Then one day, when all stopped working and we couldn’t even find the strength to take a shower, we reflect on what our life has become.  We wake up one day and decide we have had enough, somehow, we find the strength to hit the bathroom, after months.  The water hits different, it feels like our pain is being washed away. We stand still and allow ourselves to be in the moment. We allow the warmth of this water and this moment to reassure us. Everything is gonna be alright, it feels like our energy is renewed once again. After an hour of being in this shower, we get out and call our best friend and when they pick up we utter “I need help, I cannot do this by myself” then we sigh in relief, the weight in our shoulders has disappeared after we heard them say they have our back. And when we meet them later that day, they reassure us that they always got us. That we only needed to ask and be ready to receive the help, that its okay, it will be okay as long as we take it slow, believe and trust in the process. We sip down that coffee and look back at how tough the last couple months have been and how much we lost. But it’s okay, it’s going to be okay after all. Self-care and healing. We sign up for those dance lessons we always wanted to give a shot, we sign up for those swimming lessons and skating classes. We fill our weekends with laughter by hanging out with family and friends. Gradually, our lives come back to some level of normalcy, we are acing this. Tough times do not last! When we are fully okay, we find ways to share our light with those who need it. We share our vulnerability. We are not afraid of admitting that there are times things get a bit tough and its okay to lean on a community.

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When a young girl finds her voice!

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My journey to finding my voice has been one long one that took self-belief, other people believing in me and lots of taking leaps of faith and being consistent. I am grateful that as a young girl I always dreamed and pushed for those dreams. Finding my voice required me to push away self-limiting beliefs and dig deeper. 

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From Stagnation to Self-Discovery: My Year of Transformation.

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When the year started, I thought I knew what I wanted and even planned around it. I had a wish list of the things I wanted to do and achieve. New year resolutions as some of you refer to it.  I am an ambitious person, and sometimes I set ambitious goals, but for this year, I was a bit realistic with what I wanted, mostly just peace and some levelling up in my self-actualization journey. Little did I know that sometimes we can make plans and God laughs at us. I however still recommend that we make plans and bring them to his attention, you know like the way you tell him the desires of your heart through a prayer. Exactly that. The first three months of the year flew by. In January, I spent time working with Waweza Kids making exquisite jewellery for their project. It was an amazing experience. I however cannot recall how February and March ended; they were almost uneventful I almost forgot about them.  But it was in how they flew by, within no time, the first quarter of the year was almost coming to an end. And the other quarters have flown by so quickly, but the lesson that has remained constant has been that “a lot can happen in a year”. Choose yourself. Last year, I had this lingering feeling that I needed to change my environment, I had stagnated in an environment that was not allowing me growth or even room to think about the growth I needed to shift my life. I was drained and had kinda lost myself pursuing things that were not meant for me. And I was taking too long to come to terms with this reality.  A reality that would have set me on the straight and narrow path, now that I think of it; I would encourage anyone out here who is feeling stuck, to choose yourself, choose a different environment, choose a job that works for you, or choose the relationships that suit you. Whatever it is, at an individual level, all the change begins, and it starts with us choosing and prioritizing ourselves. Embracing change. Has something ever happened to you that pushed you out of your comfort zone? When that defining moment hits you and you must make a change? I experienced this, this year after procrastinating about my move last year. I was served a reality check on not so much of a silver platter, it was like being thrown to the deep end of a swimming pool when you are just a beginner. Change as they say is inevitable, my moving from Nakuru to Nairobi was not on my bingo cards. I was tired of Nakuru but hadn’t planned for Nairobi. It came as a surprise but it has been the best thing that happened to me this year. It set a lot of things in motion, and I am not complaining. My move came with a lot of discomfort and self-discovery. I learnt what it takes to be alone, in my thoughts and leading my own little life tucked somewhere away from all the noise that had surrounded my life for the longest. I spent my first two months crocheting in the evening and finding ways to elevate my vibrations. My energy was finding me. My best friend had bought me a journal which as I write this is full. The first time this has happened in years. I never fill my journal to the last page. I guess I had a lot to tell my journal, it helped me come back to myself. You know that time you pour your heart out uncensored? That has been my experience with journaling this year.  I have loved every minute of it. I highly recommend picking this as a habit. New habits When I was making my move, I made a conscious decision to do more for myself. I listed down aspects of my life that I wanted to focus on. Physical fitness was on top of the list. In June, I started taking evening walks that I enjoyed, I was however a little bit inconsistent. A friend of mine proposed we sync our walking schedule, and we did. We have been consistent since then, walking between 10K-15K steps a day, initially for five days a week and now for four days a week. I would never have thought this possible. If you ask me the secret, I will say the willpower to change something, being consistent and having an accountability partner. I have exceeded my expectations, and I am so proud of how far I have come. I am snatched, as they say, that’s how I can summarise what my physical appearance looks like. I was lucky enough to have another friend of mine help me form the habit of waking up early in the morning. I had always been a night owl, I would sleep at 3Am and wake up by 9AM. I started sleeping between 11PM-12AM and waking up at 6AM a habit I had not thought possible for more than 5 years.  This was a huge milestone. I am grateful for the sacrifice they made to help me form this habit. Rediscovering new passions. I have worked from home for the longest period, and I was almost sabotaging my social life. I enjoy being outdoors, the sun on my face, trying and experiencing new cuisines and meeting new people. But I was not doing most of this. I had become an antisocial person and spent most of my time behind my computer working and working. Finally, I became dull Jill. Moving allowed me to try new things, and my best friend has been at the centre of it all. We have explored different spaces and been a bit more intentional. I hope I get to do this more. I am a child of the universe, and I believe the earth is for us to discover, so I

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My mother’s Daughter: The World Is Your Stage!

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My mother has always been the biggest support system I have had since I was a child. Looking back, she supported my dreams and pushed me to achieve a level of greatness I would not think possible. At an early age of 10, I discovered I had a talent, poetry-I began my journey of doing solo verses. I attended music festivals and the annual church festivals. I vividly remember my first shot at doing a solo piece, it was grueling. My teachers came up with the piece, it was for a church festival. It went like “Food is little, Children are crying, No mothers to nurse them, Fathers, brothers, No men in the villages, All are gone, Gone for days without an end. Fire! Fire! Houses are on fire! What has caused it? We wonder! They came at night, We were to tired to wake up, They stole our food from the stores, They have burnt everything! We carried our belongings, Running for our dear lives, With nowhere to go……” Sadly, this poem was a traumatic one for me, but I was so young to understand. I do not recall the intention behind this poem, or why I was chosen to actually do the solo. But what I do recall was the fact that during practice sessions, one of my teachers asked me to tap into my pain, so I could show emotion and cry. Sadly, for me, this had been my reality, my family and I had lost everything a year before from tribal clashes including my father. Story for another day. As sad as this may seem, that’s how my poetic journey began. Every year, my mum made sure I was in a school play or doing some sort of poetry, I came to love it. She constantly reminded me that I could be anything, that I just needed to put in effort. She would use me as an example for my siblings and somehow, this pushed me to achieve even more in my academics and co-curricular activities. My other siblings also followed this dream, we were an artistic family, we would get all the leading roles in a drama or do solo verses ,both for the church festivals and the Kenyan music festivals for our schools. My mother instilled leadership in us at a very young age. We took up space wherever we were. From learning how to do chores and run our little lives, to learning the importance of farmwork, to being leaders at school and at church. I remember one time my mum being summoned by the church leadership about our whereabouts on a particular Sunday, we had skipped church. This was because we would always lead the church school choir and our missing in action was such a big deal. The world has always been my stage, and my mother made sure that I knew this from a young age. Her support meant everything and propelled me. As a mentor and trainer with LatitudeZero Opportunities , I realise the impact one can have on those who look up to them. How words of affirmation and encouragement can shape the future of the young people I work with. Each day, I strive to let them know that the world is their stage, and they can be anything they ever dreamt of.    

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