Dear little girl, the earth is yours!
She encouraged me as she pat my back and told me it would be okay,
That it was okay to not get it right the first time,
That failure was part of this life,
That I just needed to pick myself up.
kimaru
Lessons from my entrepreneurship journey: Poverty alienates.
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
When we drown: A cry for help.
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.
Conforming
She grew up marginalized, From lack of basic needs, To education being a luxury, Something meant for boys, Because they said her role was in the kitchen and bedroom. They forced her to undergo the cut, That it made her a woman they said, And after that, she was ready for marriage, At the tender age of 11, Just when her small boobs had started hardening, What would her young one suckle from? And in a room of four men, They held her legs apart and pinned her hands, And he forced himself into her, A baby giving birth to another baby, She had become his fifth wife. See, she did not have the luxury of an education, The know-how of motherhood, Her baby tries to nibble at her nipples, He yells at the lack of breast milk. She is tired of living, And wonders if there was ever anything beyond this life she lives. Conforming, That’s all she got!
Dawn
Dream, Yes,allow yourself to dream, Live, Allow yourself to live your dreams. Act, Allow yourself to act on your dreams. ? Life can be miserable, But the hope of tomorrow, Let it be,the drive that you seek. Hope, Hope that tomorrow still counts, Pray, Pray that when dawn breaks you still have a purpose to live for For even in the darkest of nights, Dawn still breaks. Tomorrow will still come
For a poor soul
For him hustling is his duty,his daily breadto keep him movinghe is only surviving, he brushes shoulders with those of his typedown rive road early in the morningat hasteto scramble for the remnants of a jobyet its still uncertain he would get ithe might end up on an empty stomach again and as he walks back home in the eveninghead bent low as if in prayerhe is bolted to reality by cries of mwizi!mwizi!he takes to his heelsfor his life,he would do anythingalas! he had been pinpointed unknowinglyhe is at the mercy of the mobif the police do not make it in timehe will be gone in the next few minutes!
Hope
I dreamt of a better day, That was yesterday, So, when it dawned today, I wished to see a change, The bloom of the jacaranda trees, The greening of grass once withered, A trail, that would lead me to my loved one. I dreamt of a better day, And when dawn broke, I found myself in the same quagmire, Waiting for something not to be seen, As if all hope had vanished into nothingness. See, The one thing I forgot, Could have made all the difference, That I could plan a thousand times, Wish even in the forever after, But his plans are amen! So, I stopped worrying about what tomorrow held, Focused on what I could handle, Let him have his way, For it was the best. And now, it has made all the difference in my life
Who Will Help Me
In my drunken state Right from Wa cucu’s den I bumped right into a crusade Of the dear brethren They had been camping for a week The message being to bring more back to the sheepfold. In my drunken state Shouting here and there with reckless abandon, Not sure am ready to give anyone any peace, Confused about these messages of a prince of peace A reconciler Yet I have been looking for something to satisfy my soul. Something apart from my dear bottle. This is only misery to me. In my drunken state I wonder if I stand a chance A chance to know something more, Find a deeper meaning, And in this state I decide to join my dear ‘brethren’. ‘Dear brethren We are gathered here For our lost brothers and sisters And I walk deep into the crowd, Mumbling something I do not understand But the dear brethren walk away from me Avoiding me like plague As if I am some kind of spirit Who carries along the multiplier effect? Ironical teachings Is this really what Jesus came down to teach?
I speak for Emma’s demons
It might not have been like that, An escape from Egypt. But I wanted to go. A shoulder to lean on. A dry river to well with my tears, My home like Sobibor What I thought, my fortress. Another Sodom and Gomorrah. Innocent as I was, I naively ran into your arms. Because for you, Love you exuded, A shoulder to lean on, An ear to listen to my teenage drama. That my Mama never talked about. But I was wrong. He tore into my flesh, I struggled for my dignity, He pushed and pushed, As he broke into a sweat. He tore into my flesh. My innocence he took away, My dignity I still cry for it, My dreams, Like a whirlwind. He took away with his bestiality, Then he left me for dead, After taking my dignity, virginity and dreams, And the headlines read. “Girl raped and left for dead.” But then , A seed of his madness, he had sowed, I cried for my future and for my fatherless baby. And when I look at her. It still reminds me of that fateful evening. But sometimes….. And as lovely as society is. All fingers of blame were pointed at me, He vanished without a trace, No. Society spent a lot of time blaming me, That they just let him escape., Even the long arms of law. I hope it haunts you wherever you are, I hope that when you look at your daughters, You feel that insecurity!
Its Never Business
Skip the formalities, get to the real questions, As if she even had a choice, Maybe, maybe not, Time would eventually tell Didn’t they all echo that? So… What’s your take on development, youth participation, gender equity? Is it even real? Do we have to go through this? Any other question? For I assume those were no questions, Just another interview, On another channel, It would come to pass anyway, Isn’t that right? And the economic, social freedom we sought, Behind those malicious intentions hid, And the better tomorrow they sought, Another day they had to work. They said its earned And not freely given, Welcome to the kingdom yee slaves.