...On a journey

Building a Movement of Knowledge Beyond Ideas

2012-02-01T01:01:00.000+03:00

This piece has been inspired by the memories of Molly's friendship, and watching this TED video again and again.

I have been away from my social media networks like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and my very own Blog for weeks and weeks. Its not fair, i do feel it, that i have abandoned a community and a network of people whom otherwise i would not communicate with.

But i have been up to something good in my getaway. It is that time of your journey, that you feel you need to search more for the knowledge beyond ideas, and not only search for the knowledge, but also build a movement of this knowledge.

This is exactly what has been happening in my life in the past four months. I have been gathering knowledge about all the ideas, dreams and visions i have had in my life. I have been questioning why i do what i do, what it means now, and in the future. I have been trying to understand why certain dreams look so true than others, and what i got to do with these dreams. In short, i have been working on acquiring knowledge beyond my ideas of a future in this journey.

Being back to school, after 3 years of working with young people from the grassroots to the international level, now as a graduate student, is no longer the same feeling. I have to learn to be a student again, i am not just a student of Nature, Society and Environmental Policy at Oxford, but i have to make sense of what i learn everyday from this institution. I have to build a movement of knowledge beyond the ideas i have always heard.

As usual, being on a journey, means that none of the steps is never complete, so i will just give you a hint of what kind of a movement of knowledge i am currently building:

The movement of knowledge will be based on the Geography of Generation Y- this is the generation i have been born into, and its almost moving to another phase to give chance to another 'undefined' generation
I am building a movement of knowledge which will be based on governance from a state level to a global level and multi-level even! This will be focusing on the Generation Y in point 1.
The movement of knowledge will focus primarily on what has been done, to identify the gaps that need bridging in Generation Y and through 'identified' governance models
My themes in the movement of knowledge will be building on my life long ideas and dreams of young people, environment, development and policy
Just like the movements i have led i the past, this particular movement of knowledge has to grow, and advance in a way that reflects the times and space opportune for it. The movement has to devise a way of moving and effecting change- because that is what movements ought to do - CHANGE.

This is not complex, its just a part of the thought that i had at a particular time in this journey, and i will build upon it in the coming weeks!

The Rio Challenge

2012-01-11T04:12:00.001+03:00

It’s late into the night, and I should be finalizing my assessedessay on internationalclimate governance, which is due in a few days time. However, I can’t avoid reading between the lines everything that my friends keep posting on my socialnetworks. Today, I am disrupted by what international experts would call thechallenges of sustainabledevelopment. I prefer calling this the Rio Challenge.

In 1992, the world leaders at the Rio Convention set out Agenda 21 (I wonder how much itsspoken about) the UN CBD, the UNFCCC, among other international agreements.

8 years later, the UN set out the Millennium Development Goals, andwhich were to last for the 15 years promising us a better world. I have beenliving in these 12 years of the MDGs, and I have not seen a ‘major sacrifice’by the governments and the international community towards achieving these goals.Whereas there is much that we can say has been achieved, would still argue thatthe world leaders have not been ‘daring’ enough to be praised at this juncture.

Yet again, a draft outcome of the Rio +20 tells me that, the worldleaders, have proposed to set new goals called the SustainableDevelopment Goals! I am getting this into my head, with all theviews I have held in the past months studying policies and governance, andunderstanding world crisis. This time round I am not just living, I am studyinginternational environmental policies, and assuch it’s of interest to me to know what will happen in Brazil. I am readingbetween the lines of all the 1992 Rio Conventions, and comparing theirsuccesses and challenges with those of the 21^st century.

From a Guardian post on the Rio +20 report

One 21^st century challenges that has shook governments isthe issue of the young people. In the last 20 years, we have seen an immensegrowth in the youthful population of the world, and especially in thedeveloping nations. In the past one year, we have seen the uprising in allcorners of the world, where young people are demanding governments to be moreaccountable and innovative in the governance models to address public interestsnot only their needs, but for the whole nation.

Probably, the ArabSpring is not something to scare the governments and the internationalcommunity, and probably not as much as the Euro crisis,but it is spreading in various forms, shapes and sizes, and most definitely atan alarming speed. In 2010 and 2011, couple of European, African and Arab worldyoung people protested against governments for the purpose of better publicpolicies. Although the #occupymovement addresses other issues, it is mostly led by young people with a desireto see a different way of doing things- innovative governance- it is now being emulatedacross the world for several reasons. In #occupynigeria,citizens, and mostly the young, energetic and armored with e-skills, arerelentlessly urging their Headof State to address the removal of fuel subsidy crisis. From the DurbanClimate Change conference, we now have #occupyCOP17.This list is endless, and in a month’s time, it will be extensive as youthfulgenerations realize the need to address crisis of power.

Captions of where 'youth' have been mentioned in the Rio +20 Draft Outcome

However, even with the evidence that young people matter in internationalgovernance, the Heads of States will have failed in Rio +20 if they don’t putmore weight on the YOUTH agenda. The current text of the draft outcome, has acount of #6 ‘youth’, no mention of young, and it all seems it has been a phraseadded to please the generation, locked up between many commas and long sentences.

I cant help but wonder what will happen to governance in the nextdecade if the power of the young continues to reshape the way we think aboutgovernments delivery of public services, and the same governments remain quiteabout it.

Its time to watch the space!

I will focus in my next article on what each of those articles would mean to young people, and how this can be improved ahead of the Rio +20

Yesterday’s memories

2011-12-31T18:15:00.000+03:00

Caution: if you are used to read very focused blogs from me, this may come as a surprise, but i decided to post it, as its really who i am, and its part of what has moulded me into who i am today. I could have chosen a different topic to write about this end year, but this is ultimately what is in my heart this afternoon, and as usual, these are bits and pieces of my journey as a young person

2012 knocks, and instead ofremembering all that happens this year, I am taken back to recall my childhoodfriend whom I grew up with the in village. I will lie if I ever forget thebeautiful memories of R.I.P Peter Njoroge Mwangi (Kimere) whom we grew uptogether, laughed, read novels, wrote poems, explored teenage fantasiestogether. He is now gone to be with the Lord.

Sweet home, and the wholeneighbourhood is never the same again without his visits. Christmas without himplaying board games with my brother or listening to football is stillunbelievable for us. He would have been a lawyer by now, and I can’t justimagine how much it would be to be home again with our families. Mum wouldstill prepare more than enough chapatis& mukimo for his and our family, and we would smug more novels fromfriends for holiday reading. Life is short, life is funny, is short, love it,its not a rehearsal, its life, don't regret it, live it!

I probably have only been providingbits and pieces of what kind of upbringing I had, so I will try add more piecesin this post, dedicating it to my childhood friend R.I.P Peter. He reminds meof the pride we always had when we grew up, of who we were, and not what wehad.

I grew up in a rural countryside inthe central province of Kenya. It was on the plains (but still hilly) and whatpeople would call Kieni constituency.

My childhood memories are those ofwaking up at the sunrise from Mt. Kenya. The earlier you rose, the better, asyou would see the snow cap on Mt. Kenya, and would see all the three peaks; onclear days, you could see some rivers flowing on the valleys (I think now thisis not true, its just the mist and fog on the valleys). Likewise, the sunsetwas to the Aberdare ranges, the source of the rivers in our neighbourhood, Icould see the bamboo forests, and true they kept declining by the day.

Our family which has transformed over the years, on such a day,
Peter should also have been on the photo

Our farm is adjacent to a dusty ruralhighway with less than 10 old cars per day. On a rainy day, there would benone, and we had to walk for 3 kilometres to the nearest tarmacked road. Asound of a car coming made all of stand to see which car it was, who is on it,visiting cars were easy to spot then. We were also surrounded by a Kieni (open field) where we used to playour childhood games as we grazed our parents’ cattle, goats and sheep. On thelower end, was the Githaka (naturalforest) where we would graze in the afternoons, fetch firewood, and sleep undertrees reading novels (I can’t remember them now!). The fantasy of this was thegames we used to play in Kieni and Githaka which were all different, namesof which I cant even offer a good translation!

Only one family, Peter’s family,around a kilometre away, owned a car and a TV. I would consider them therichest in the neighbourhood as I grew up. Unfortunately the black and white TVran on battery, limiting the time that they would actually enjoy watch it. As ayoung girl, my mum never allowed me to go watch TV at Peters, so would get allthe programmes narrated to me later when he came for porridge, mukimo or chapatti at home. Probablythis has affected how much I watch the TV to date. On the contrary, I havebecome a storyteller, and enjoy more talking and listening to people.

Peter was the bright smart, andnaughty boy of the village, all the mothers in my neighbourhood would say Amen to this. I recount the many timeshe was disciplined by my mum for wrongdoing (this was common then, any motherhad the right to discipline any child found doing wrong). He had two brothersand a sister, and our families spent a lot of time together. Our mums were thebest of friends, exchanging gifts of cooked was the norm; a missing plate, cupor cooking pot would first be fetched from their kitchen. Mum tells me that thetwo families had migrated to this neighbourhood at the same time, and thus hadbirthed and brought up their kids together.

Peter’s best friend was my brotherStanley Wanguhu Mwaura (Kaabu is our childhood nickname!). Stanley, two yearsolder than I was my prince, his friends were my friends too, and so was Peter.They were best of friends, and so were we! Both were mischievous, contrary, Iwas very timid and obedient. I still don’t understand how I managed to befriendall my brother’s friends who were all notorious- according to my mum then!

The story of our childhood is sointertwined, but what I can’t forget, is the endless list of novels we readtogether, no idea where Peter got these from, all I know is that he used tobring a novel every time we needed one! In fact, we used to read a series ofeach! He was also a poet, and as I grew up to a teenager, I remember readinghis poems and thinking he was a really cool boy! I know this as I was allowedto proof read the teenage love letters him and Stanley wrote togirls…apparently the same girls I had grown up with, but would not disclosethis to the girls lest our friendship broke! I also had a chance to receivesome of those poetic letters in my first form in high school, though shortlived- ours was just best friends forever. On the other hand, I used to journalreflectively; Stanley was an artist and a comedian, he also used to writepoems; our rural life was full of reading, and writing. I am glad to say thisis a practice that our parents, especially my mum, encouraged us to do. We werethe best composition writers in primary school, at one point, the Englishteacher requested me to tell her what certain words in my composition meant! It’sa pity that I picked up English faster than Swahili, and to date I strugglewith my Swahili.

Peter was a bright lad, went to aprovincial boy’s high school, was suspended enough times from school as heoutsmarted the school rules, but this had nothing to do with his grades. At thefinal exams sitting, I remember seeing him leave for his exams on their eve, Iwas shocked later when he scored an A (distinction); this was an inspirationfor me. I was a year behind him, and learning of his grades made me work evenharder, it reminded me of our pride of who we are, of being smart, outsmartingeveryone- this is the life we had grown up cherishing back in the village- justbeing the best we could. For Peter it probably also included being adventurousand mischievous.

Peter went on to study law at theUniversity of Nairobi, and a year later I followed to study environmentalsciences at Kenyatta University. During the break between high school andcampus, we rarely had time to meet, we were now grown ups and living in thecity. At the time he was also dating my cousin (and I had a role to play inthis), and I was happy for them (but now I know they had separated and he wasdating someone else in college).

In 2006, the month was August, andthe day was a Sunday, and Peter was driving from home to one of the shopping centres.It was a sad month, he had lost his mum after a very short tragic illness, andthis was very sad for us as a family too. Peter’s mum was mum’s best friend,and especially after our dad had passed 10 years earlier. She had now lost a30s friend, a lady she had come to cherish when they lived in this villagetogether, brought up their kids together, farmed and went to the market, churchwomen merry-go-rounds. The two had a relationship like that I had with Peter. Onthat Sunday afternoon, Peter had just shared, and as usual, shared lunch withmy mum at home. Mum tells me, how he had told her that he knew that he stillhad a mum in Kieni, and that was mymum. After the lunch, Peter drove away to go and prepare for his mum’s burial,but that was the end of it, he was involved in a car accident, a tragic one,and he his life was taken in the accident.

Now most reading & writing happens on my
laptop, its a culture now.

I had plans to meet Peter, and nowthat his mum had passed, I had planned to spend more time with him, he was likea brother to me now, but time would not wait for me to meet him. God took himbefore I met him. Its rather sad, I never had that chance to console him, andnow he is gone to be with the Lord. What I recall most is our far-fetchedreading and writing habits that were not only hobbies, but they were deeplyrooted on our principles as kids growing together in the same rural village. Thebooks we read inspired us to think and dream big. We believed in being best ofthe best, we believed that if there was nothing else to do, then the only thingthat needed to be done was to be the best again and again. I bet this is a principle that each of uskept till we got to university. I remember meeting Peter just before I joinedcampus, and when he reminded me of this, I knew our principles had not changedat all. I have to be strong through his departure, and to date, the memories ofhim are very fresh in my mind, it is like yesterday’s memories.

But its for this reason, that the end of thisyear I remind myself: life is short, life is funny, life is good, life is howyou take, life is not a rehearsal, life is all about the people around you.Love it, live it!

Of Public challenges, social movements, and international policy making processes

2011-12-18T20:18:00.001+03:00

Could the hold be this strong?

You sit by the banks of a stream, that’s almost drying in SubSaharan Africa, and you realize that probably your tears could also flow likethis stream if you just sat there and wailed. So you get up and gather somebarks from the nearby fig tree, and try to write new solutions; to help thestream, those who depend on it upstream and downstream.

You recall how the stream looked like 15 years ago, when you wouldcome down the hill with your mother to fetch water, wash clothes, water theanimas and carry some water home. On some occasions, you would also buy, orwhen lucky get them for free, vegetables from those who irrigated their farmsnext to the river. This privilege does no longer exist; the water is too littleto be pumped for irrigation.

The most important is to get a solution, because if you don’t, youmay as well throw this bark away, or carry it home to form part of your fuelwood for the day. But if a solution is engrained on it, you may keep it in yourroom, you may walk by the stream and share with your neighbors the solution youhave drawn out, you may ask for their opinions to be included, and even theirsupport. This bark may be the ark by which to save your neighborhood, and thestream that supports their livelihoods.

If you had a solution, and your neighbors thought it was worth trying,you will call a baraza, and you willshare with the rest of the community members who will draw up the work plan.And if you are lucky, you will get their support, their participation andsustainability of this solution. The community has the solution at heart, andthey may have the know-how to effect the change they need, but they needresources. If inherently drawn up, then the resources required will be readilyavailable and provided by the community. If not, they know even better how theycan source for them. Your work will be to guide the process and making surethey don’t give up hope. The resources are available and the commitment isthere, so get to business, effect the work plan, implement it, change thecommunity to what they want it to be!

Remember you are doing this for the community, not to avoid cryingagain by a drying stream. So don’t forget that they should be the implementers,the evaluators and the center stage actors in each stage of the implementation process.Your role is that of a facilitator; you may actually learn a lot from them ifyou take them step by step.

Don’t forget the bark of the fig tree where the solution started,revisit it regularly to see if you are on track, if you are a good recordkeeper, which you should be, you should actually have several of them,containing all the discussions you have had with the community, the solutionsprovided by the community, the support provided, the steps taken and the workplan drafted with the community and now the implementation monitoring andevaluation, not forgetting the lessons learnt.

One thing that one may forget is that, your community is not the firstin the world to face the challenge of a drying stream, of degraded andunfertile lands, of persistent crop failures of whatever challenge that comeswith a drying stream. There are others around the world that have been throughthe same, and have successfully or otherwise developed plans to deal with theirsolutions. Take time to study these with your community. You may be the one tosteer this process, or they may be ahead of the game- either way, be sure toensure that you learn from other experiences and as well share yourexperiences. Don’t forget that what works in one region of the world will notnecessarily work in your region, but there are underlying principles that canbe adopted and scaled up. This is what you and the community will be interestedin.

Finally, the stream will flow again, will be live again, you willagain walk by the stream, and enjoy receiving gifts of fresh vegetables fromyour neighbors who no longer have to worry about draining the stream. Your mother will no longer need to take waterhome, as the plan involved making her water sufficient even up the hill. Everyone will be happy!

And is it ever going to be this instant green light?

I tell this story in aliner way, assuming that life will always be like this when you are faced by apublic challenge. However, it’s never ever like this as a public challenge isborn out of utility of public common goods, and whose rights are contested. Publiccommon goods will always be contested, as no one wants to take up the soleresponsibility of protecting them, but also no one wants to limit their powerover them for others to benefit.

The real story also can notbe this liner, as it involves people, and everyone has a way of thinking, andit’s always me, myself and I first, then the world follows. Getting a communityto understand and appreciate that ME cannot exist in isolation is as difficultas getting them to agree that the public good is finite, and may one day cometo an end.

This real story is notlinear, as the community is already suffering from the impacts of a dryingstream and they need first hand help, before they can actually think of asustainable solution to the problem at hand. We also can’t forget that thenature of social beings is to see themselves as good, and putting the blame onothers, and who need to stop their actions.

So how would you rewritethis into a real story taking into consideration the dynamics in a society whoneed a solution, but who also need to be that solution they need?

This would be possible byjust adding the facts, pros and cons of movement building. How do you build themovement, who joins, who does not join, how do you deal with those that don’tjoin the movement? How do you meet the core objectives of the movement, and notthe ‘objectives of the differences of those who join and those who don’t join’?

Probably, this is whatinternational policy making processes need to revisit, the process of decisionmaking to solve the underlying challenges. A lot of efforts have been put ontrying to address the differences between those who claim not to cause, andthose who the blame is put upon, instead of the underlying challenges of whatbrought them together. Whereas the challenge cannot be solved without havingall of them ‘happy’, its important to consider that achieving the ultimategoal, of resolving the underlying challenge (be it environmental, economical,social etc.) is the ultimate happiness that each party would ever get. Untilparties are ready to accept that there is a rainy and sunny day, there is a winand a loose in every game, then we shall never accept we have weather neithergames!

Michelle deserves to live!!!!

2011-11-27T01:01:00.001+03:00

Maybe i have been a bad blogger lately, and maybe also posting what everyone would not have expected. But i am human, i have feelings, and for this reason, every time, a friend makes such a request as the one in this blog, i got to help, and i got to get others like you who read my blog to help where you can.

I am also inspired by the passion and the spirit of giving i saw in Kenyans during the #kenyansforkenya campaign. Personally, i found myself watching the numbers rise by the day with tears of joy, since then, i have found myself resonating with all courses that are indeed in the spirit of helping our bothers and sisters. I hope this message from my friend Diana will touch you support in whichever way you can. Let's give lady Michelle a chance to live this week!

Maybe from my status updates, you have seen me postingthat my niece, Michelle (my late sister’s daughter) has been unwell for a whilenow. She was admitted at Coptic Hospital on the 15th of Oct and has been theresince. Her bone marrow is not producing enough redblood cells, so she needs blood transfusion every day. To make matters worse,she's been hemorrhaging incessantly, so the blood going in is simply comingout. There are some drugs which the doctors say shecan take for the next 3-6months to help boost her bone marrow...worth Ksh10,000 a week. She might therefore need to remain in hospital for these next 3– 6 months as she receives the treatment and the blood transfusion. As you cansee, these drugs are really expensive and do not even include the hospitalbills. Our estimate comes to about Ksh 1 million in total. In light of that, we shall be holding a fundraising onthe 18th of Dec. That’s why I am approaching you to see how you can help me. It doesn’t have tobe much. Whatever you have, can go a long away. Do you think you can help? Please email me on diana_njoki@yahoo.co.uk God bless you!

Operation Get Maoga a Smile :)

2011-11-08T19:04:00.000+03:00

I am supporting the campaign initiated by one of my peers and a renown blogger Savvy Kenya. Take time to appreciate the smile you have today, the gift of a lower jaw, and overall being healthy and able to read this. After, take a look at this short blog by Savvy Kenya and support in whichever way t=you can. Operation Get Maoga a Smile :)

Lets get Maoga smiling again!

Love. Not Loss.

2011-10-23T00:52:00.000+03:00

IUCN-CEC developed this video a year ago, if you have not watched it please do. This 3 minute video will make you understand why we really need to communicate science.

Of Environmentalists....are we just yuppies?

2011-10-23T00:45:00.002+03:00

I am just about to finish reading this book: Conversations with God II which has had a great impact in my life these two months. I can't help but pick up a few points here, which i feel they will always be in my mind for years to come.

Is the environment being destroyed (being the question to his conversation: Yes, ...Well for instance, there is rapidly developing a soil shortage on your planet. That is, you are running out of good soil in which you grow you food. This is because soil needs time to reconstitute itself, and your corporate farmers have no time. They want land that is producing, producing, producing. So the old-age practise of alternating growing fields from season to seasons being abandoned and shortened. To make up for the loss of time, chemicals are being dumped into the land in order to render it fertile faster. Yet in this, as with all other things, you cannot develop an artificial substitute for Mother Nature which comes even clue to providing what She provides.

The result is that you are eroding down to a few inches really, in some places, the available nutritive topsoil reserve. In other words, you are growing more and more food in soils which has less and less nutritional content. No irons. No minerals. Nothing which you can count on the soil to provide. Worse yet, you are eating food filled with chemicals which have been poured into the soil in a desperate attempt to reconstitute it. While causing no apparent damage to the body in the short term, you will discover to your sadness that in the long run that these trace chemicals that remain in the body are not health producing.

This problem of soil erosion through rapid growing filed turnover is not something of which most of your people may be aware, nor is the dwindling growable soil reserve a fantasy made up by yuppie environmentalists looking for their next fashionable cause. Ask any earth scientist and you will hear plenty. It is a problem of epidemic proportions; it is worldwide; and it is serious. This is just one example of the many ways you are damaging and depleting your Mother, the Earth, the giver of all life, out of a complete disregard for her needs and natural processes.

You are concerned about little on your planet except the satisfying of your own passions, the meeting of your own immediate (and mostly bloated) needs, and quenching the endless human desire of Bigger, Better, More. Yet you might do well as a species to ask, when is enough enough?

Extracted from Conversations with God Book 2

I BEG your pardon- It's NOT the YOUNG People!

2011-09-29T10:00:00.000+03:00

The young people are destroying your way of life. The young people have always done that. your job is to encourage it, not discourage it.
Its not your young people who are destroying the rain forests. They are asking you to stop it.
Its not your young people who are depleting the ozone layer. They are asking you to stop it.
Its not your young people who are exploiting the poor in sweat shop all over the world. They are asking you to stop it.
Its not your young people who are taxing you to death, then using the money for war and machines of war.
Its not your young people who are ignoring the problems of the weak and the downtrodden, letting hudreds of people die of starvation everyday on a planet with more than enough to feed everybody. They are asking you to stop it.
Its not your young people who are engaging in the politics of deception and manipulation. They are asking you to stop it.
Its not your young people whoa re sexually repressed, ashamed, and embarrassed about their own bodies and passing on this shame and embarrassment to their offspring. They are asking you to stop it.
Its not your young people who have set up a value system that says "might is right: and a world which solves problems with violence. They are asking you to stop it.
Nay, they are not asking you... they are begging you!!!!

Yet its the young people who are violent! Young people who join gangs and kill each other! Young people who thumb their nose at law and order.- at any kind of order. Young people who are driving us crazy!

When the cries and pleas of young people to change the world are not heard and never heeded; when they see that their cause is lost- that you will have it your way no matter what- young people, who are not stupid , will do the next big thing. If they can't beat you, they will join you.

Young young people have joined you in your behaviors. If they are violent, its because you are violent/. If they are materialistic, its because you are materialistic. If they are acting crazy, its because you are acting crazy. If they are using sex manipulatively, , irresponsibly and shamefully, its because they see you doing the same.
The only difference between young people and older people is they young people do what they do out in the open. Older people hide their behaviors. Older people think that young people cannot see. Yet young people see everything. Nothing is hidden from them. They see the hypocrisy of their elders, and they try desperately to change it. Yet having tried and failed, they see no choice but to imitate it.
In this they are wrong, yet they have never been taught differently. They have not been allowed to critically analyze what their elders have been doing. They have only been allowed to memorize it. What you memorize, you memorialize.

Adapted from: Conversations with God, Book 2 by: Neale Donald Walsch

Prof. Wangari Maathai- The Tribute

2011-09-26T23:58:00.000+03:00

I watched this video, and probably it gave me the courage to write this tribute.
Prof. Wangari Maathai- She is one woman who has inspired my life.
Her deeds: we read from her books, we listen to the news on the media, we have seen her working, both at the grassroots and international levels.

"No matter how difficult life is, there is always a silver line, and this is what we should all be looking for and hold onto it, and get on the other side", she says. "There is no way you can stay still, when you know what needs to be done, unless you are dead!"

She is daring!

I have read three of her books: Unbowed; The Challenge for Africa; and Replenishing the Earth and truly she has left a mark in this world.

So what does her death mean to us?
"What i am been doing is very important, and the job is yet undone!" She says.
For us who have been left, there is more to be done.
I wonder how many of us will stand to be counted to continue with what Wangari Maathai has been doing.

Who will fill in the gap for this amazing African woman, who will fit in her shoes.

As a young person, inspired by her remarkable journey as an environmentalist, i am determined to do my part to fill in this gap left by Prof. Wangari Maathai.

She will be happy with the work of the young generation that she has inspired during her life protecting this nature!

Prof. Wangari Maathai- The Earth is glad that you lived.
And I am glad that i have learnt from you how to take care of the Earth.
Rest in peace Prof. Wangari Maathai.

Other tributes from young people across the world:
Kennedy Mbeva:http://deusse.tumblr.com/
AYICC- Kenya: kenyanclimateyouth

Food Security- Remind me please

2011-08-11T11:05:00.001+03:00

I have in the past two years used this term extensively, but today, as i prepare text for Evergreen Agriculture Website, i come across this text, of course, i have read it a million times before, but reading it again today, ignites a new thinking into food security:

The World Food Summit of 1996 defined food security as existing "when all people at all times have access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life". Commonly, the concept of food security is defined as including both physical and economic access to food that meets people's dietary needs as well as their food preferences. Furthermore, food security has three broad components: Food availability (consistently having enough food), food access (have sufficient resources to get that food), and food use (having the knowledge and means to use that food nutritiously, as well as having adequate access to water and sanitation).

This statement reminds me of the Healthy Learning Programme, which i worked with since 2010, and which inspired me to start thinking deeply about food security in Africa, and my role as a young person.

It also reminded me of my visits to rural Rwanda and Uganda in June and July respectively, where i interacted with farming commuities which had the ability to consistently produce sufficient food but most lacked the knowledge and means to do so.

A typical small holder farm in Masaka district, Uganda

This text also reminds me of the African youth, over 50% of the continent's population, but are detached from agriculture and food production as a source of livelihood and employment. The education system which for decades prepared generations for white colar jobs, forsaking the need to equip them with life skills in food production and self sufficiency. The failure of our perceptions when we were growing up, to not appreciate farming. We are now at a crisis- No white colar jobs, no food, no future?

This very text, is a reminder of the food insecurity crisis in my country Kenya, which is affecting over 3 million people. Not because as a country we could not produce enough, not because the weather was entirely unfavorable, but also because we as a country and a generation, lacked the knowledge, the means, commitment and willingness to invest in a food secure society.

Crop failure in a school farm, should it have been this bad?

It reminds me of my visit to rural Uganda, which revived the desire in me to get working again! To get back to the community and provide that knowledge, and change their perception towards self sustaining livelihoods.
That desire to work with young people, especially in Africa, who are the backbone of the Africa's future in development.

It reminds me that the clock is ticking and i will be at it very soon!!!!

Remind me please....
....What does it remind you?

Young people, Global Hunger, Agriculture- Nexus

2011-07-21T08:54:00.001+03:00

1/6 of the world population is suffering from chronic hunger. Without enough food, adults struggle to work and children struggle to learn. We need to increase the global food supplies by 50% to meet the expected demands in the next 20 years.

The main principles to advancing global food security include Comprehensively addressing the underlying causes of hunger and under nutrition, investing in country led plans and strengthening very strategic coordination to implement these plans. It also requires leveraging the benefits of multilateral institutions to ensure they make sustained and accountable commitment.

Young people are at the heart of the global challenges. They have a great apprehension of the environmental challenges they will inherit and are concerned about the soil, air, water, land and society which are being left to them in a poor condition. The have an overwhelming support for principles of sustainable agriculture and local food systems- with or without skills.

An understanding that changes in labor and management practices need to be made at the farm level. But even with this knowledge, more young people continue migrating from rural to urban areas and neglecting agriculture. This is due to the perception that farming is low status and does not offer good future prospects. On the other hand, education and training programmes are not readily available, inputs maybe scarce, soils of poor quality. Marketing channels are poorly developed. Lack of rural development services leads to more degradation through farming.

In the near future, young people will be the largest group of consumers - thus a potential drive in the change of our food (and other) systems. However, they do not know or have less connection with their food and its association with agriculture. It’s important to make the link between food and agriculture visible again, and help increase recognition of the role of young farmers.

Education programmes are used to teach youth about food choices, sustainability, local agriculture, nutrition, land use as well and conservation. Such programmes need to be developed from existing perceptions that youth have about farming, food production, sustainable agriculture and the contributions they are already making. Young people are already involved in many ways to take action/responsibilities. Education programme should empower them to put this into action.

There is a great opportunity in youth participation in agriculture. Their programmes should be linked to programmes that improve access to credit, extension services, and practical education about sustainable production techniques; - these help develop an enabling environment for the youth to participate in agriculture.

The question we need to ask is: what is the capacity of farming to attract and absorb young people, to provide them with fulfilling work, decent wage, and a rewarding career and livelihood? Farming is no longer a fall back option for youth. It’s a major venture. What support do they need to see this as a career option?

Young people will require being equipped with appropriate financial and business skills while at the same time empowered to access land and credit services. Youth groups’ development and support will address these two needs /support areas. Agricultural extension services need to include youth needs ad need to be incorporated into the youth groups action plans.

There is also need to reverse the negative attitude of farming embedded at an early age in schools. Policy interest in youth agriculture nexus focus exclusively on the challenge of keeping the youth in rural areas and engaging them in farming. This should however be accompanied by a thorough understanding of the following:-

- How is the demographic change affecting the availability of farmers in the future? Is de- agranianization inevitable?

- What are changing perceptions, expectation and aspirations among youth about the future in agriculture in different contexts?

- How can agriculture be made attractive as a livelihood option for future farmers in Africa

The Future Agriculture Consortium re-frames the young people – agriculture nexus and rather seeks to address the following:-

- How do the alternative framing options and narratives relate to existing policy agenda and processes and in what ways are young people being brought into these policy processes?

- What is the evidence that the agri food sector is changing in these ways and what is the implication for employment and training for young people?

- What are the experiences and perceptions of young people regarding the changes and opportunities in the agrifood sector?

Reference”

Future agriculture consortium (www.future-agricultures.org )

EDUCATION AND DEVELOPMENT AID

2011-07-15T10:25:00.001+03:00

I have spent ten days working visiting schools which are under the Healthy Learning programme.

Our main aim was to assess the extent of the success of the programme

Development and education go hand in hand, and I have been able to experience this as I visit each school. Where the parents have had basic education, they are better placed to make better development decisions for their households, the school, and the larger community where they live.

Unlike, where the community has had no education at all and only relies on their traditional knowledge, there is a major hindrance to development that aims at the present and future. I am a strong believer in the power of traditional knowledge and some cultural practices to support development. But I have also come to realize that this can only happen if it’s well integrated in new knowledge on development in this 21^st century which acknowledges the sustainability principles and as well takes into considerations the finite nature of natural resources.

On the other hand, I have been learning much about the community understanding of development aid, food aid, education aid, and what free really means to them. Development aid, if it does not instill a spirit of independence in the target group, then it’s just aid. Development aid that equips the target group with a capacity and allows their minds to think outside the aid, and identify opportunities that can complement, and or even replace development aid in their lives is what I would ideally call development aid. I have seen the impact of this in different settings; where communities have been fled and are willing to try out and advance their livelihoods without relying entirely on the development aid, the community full understands that aid is just aid, and not a solution to their challenges.

All the same, I am glad to report that I did visit most schools surrounded by a community that understands the role of development aid, and have not become independent on it; they have become an innovative community which now feels more liberated to develop their own initiatives to support their schools their households and even become responsible citizens. This has been the impact of the Healthy Learning Programme

I do think I will be defining the responsible citizen I have been observing in the past two years working with different groups of people, right from the grassroots to the international circles.

I would therefore say i am a strong supporter of development aid that is directed and efficiently utilized in Education.

Youth for Agricultural Revolution in Africa

2011-07-11T09:12:00.006+03:00

Seize the opportunity, unlock this potential!!!

I wake up this morning with a urge to reorganize all my work and set new targets for the remaining work in the next two months. For all of this year, i have been working on a very interesting topic of Youth & Agriculture (YA) here at the World Agroforestry Center. I have been dividing up my time to document the success stories that have been achieved through the Healthy Learning Programme; Developing an Evergreen Agriculture Youth Programme and providing extensive advice to the ICRAF scientists on the issues of Youth and Agriculture and how they can work with such programmes.
A cold morning can be made warmer by reading interesting speeches and notes from IFAD & AGRA on their interest to support Youth & Agriculture, and this one speech by Namanga Ngongi just made my day!

This week, African leaders and heads of state are gathering in Equatorial Guinea’s capital, Malabo, to discuss the state of affairs in Africa and the role of young people and their contribution to long-term development in Africa. Given the youthful face driving the so-called “Arab Spring,” the focus on young people at the annual summit of Africa’s leaders is both timely and fitting. There are more young people in Africa than ever before—over two-thirds of Africa’s one billion people are under the age of 30. Despite increased migration to the cities, most of Africa’s young people still live in rural areas. And most of them, whether rural or urban, are unemployed. To build a continent where people can work and live with a degree of prosperity, we must invest more resources in the land -- and in the young who live there. Together, these are Africa’s greatest assets....Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa

Happy African Day!

2011-05-25T12:31:00.006+03:00

My fellow African youth,
It’s a bright day and a wonderful one to be celebrating the Africans we are!

Personally, it is a great pleasure and honor to be Africa, born and brought up in Africa, and proud to be African.

More so, I am glad that at my young age, I am able to celebrate this African Day.
It is not a huge celebration, with lots of money to be spent; it is also not a public holiday either.

Nevertheless, from me, here are a few things that I would do today to celebrate Being Africa:

Once saw wall this painting at AU in 2009.

I would sing my national anthem- we all have a national anthem in our country and we pledge our loyalties to our counties- even before we can pledge to the continent. This is a very powerful tool to show our patriotism.

I would set a target for a small change I would like to see in my country and in my continent in the next one year, if its something to do with your career with waste management in your neighborhood, with farming practices in the community where you; live, water issues, electricity supply in your town, or even a change you want to see in the office where you work. If you don’t do that small change, that you feel need to be done, then no one will ever do it, and you will live with that problem for ever. So make a promise to Africa to do that small thing to help Africa.

We are the young population of Africa, we are the majority of the African population, and this shall be so in the next 2 decades to come. As such, we need to be concerned with the production and consumption lifestyles.

All our countries are struggling to develop, but more so, they are doing so, to try and meet the demands of the growing population- we are the highest population driving this demand. We are the highest population that in the next 3 decades will still be driving the demand for resources.

However, we are over 50% of the continent’s workforce. That means that we have the capacity to as well contribute to meeting this demand that we are generating. We have the opportunity, the energy and time to actively engage in the development of this continent.

I am not an expert in development, but i know when i talk about development to my fellow youth, I always like referring to sustainable development- looking at the economic, social, environmental political and the interconnectedness of all these. We as young people need to be at the centre of this kind of development in this continent.

Yes we can make it, and that’s why we celebrate the African Day!!!

My tree-hugging obsession

2011-05-06T09:56:00.001+03:00

I am tree hugger, so allow me to share what I always do to safeguard my future. Last week, I registered 43 tree seedlings I planted in April with a group of youth and vulnerable girls in Kibera.
Next month, we shall establish two tree nurseries to celebrate the #WED2011. One at the Kibera Girls Centre and another at the YMCA youth hostels, both of which will be income generating for the youth groups. I am delighted that we can improve livelihoods by selling products to safeguard our nature! You don’t need to worry about how to get involved, if you don’t have an activity of your own join mine on the 5^th June, I will send you details if you leave comments on my blog.

If you can’t come, the Africanpoint, has just opened a new way to help you make a contribution towards safeguarding a world heritage site, Mt. Kenya. You just need to Like or Tweet this; a tree seedling will be planted on your behalf! This is a UNEP and Partners’ joint venture!

Damn the tree planting, its rainy and gets my hands dirty!
But Lo! I discovered the truth about my future with tree hugging business.

Faidherbia albida, which I planted at the Kibera Girls Centre, has the ability to grow with crops providing fertilizer , thus increased crop production. When young in the village, my mum insisted we cut down the Olea Africana for firewood, so now I am repaying nature by planting this tree which is at a point of being endangered. But I am also concerned by the increasing deforestation to farming and fuel wood. Since I can’t hug trees on an empty stomach I am on a mission to find a solution to this.
Whereas I want the forest cover retained and increasing for oblivious aforementioned, I still need 50% food supply increase to feed the growing population, in the next 20 years.

Can this happen while at the same time, we do not want to cut down any tree to increase carbon sequestration capacity and conserve our forest ecosystems?

Yes, it can happen. Planting the right trees with crops on the same farm doesn’t only contribute to offering ecosystem services, but also enhances food production by improving soil fertility. We now have more food and energy to hug more trees! We can now conserve the remaining forest portions and plant more in every bare space- trees, which will meet our needs. I call this agroforestry; it’s a lovely way of rethinking food, forests, climate change, soils, and livelihoods.

The last place I hugged trees: On Labour Day, I walked through Karura forest and I could agree no more with Wangari Maathai on why we need to conserve this and many other green spots in Nairobi. At the heart of a busy capital full of pollution, Karura is a hub of quietness, birds humming, whispering trees, monkeys, and branches falling off as if to attract your attention to gaze at their amazing diversity. The small lake, waterfalls, tree diversity, nice walking paths, and picnic sites, are major attractions to local and international tourists. This forest reminded me of the need to have a good forest policy developed and implemented in a participatory manner.
If you are still wondering what I am talking about in this article, I am reminding you that you need to conserve that forest that will provide a chair, a house, food, tourist/ historic sites, good climate, medicine, to your children, and their children. Join WED to know how- plant that tree you need NOW!

My heart with Mukuru Slums

2011-05-03T06:01:00.002+03:00

Labour day will alwasy remind me of the visit i made to Mukuru Slums in Nairobi, the second largest slum in Kenya. I have always made trips to the slums but this was a unique one, i was interacting directly with the slum dwellers and visited their homes.

Just in between the Industrial area and South B the over 600,000 Mukuru population provides casual labour to these two estates and the industries. They live in tough conditions, from housing, the food they eat, the water the drinkl, the sanitation, and the infrastructure- they probably have no basic need as a luxury.

I was accompanying the team of photographers and high school students from Belgium who were in the country to cover renewable energy options that we working in Kenya, as part of a climate change programme for Belgian High schools. In search on Biogas plants in Mukuru Slums, we were meeting and taking a walk in the slums in the company of the team from the 'Make a better world Kenya'. GOAL had supported the contrustion of 5 units of toilets and showers in the slums which some combined with a biogas digester that would be used as community cookers. The toilets also had an entreprenueral aspect in that they also had a meeting room, bathrom, and water point, all of which were sold to the people at a small fee. Sanitation is a luxury in Mukuru, so is the water which you always have to buy. But in the case where we had these toilets, i could see the change, but probably not enough for the large population.

Housing is one thing i cant describe, the picture and the story behind this will probably remain in my mind forever. Most houses were buildt either over a sewage line, power line, at the edge of the valley, or just a small space where one could lie down. I remember visiting one of the families and saw the sewage line just passing through the kitchen!

Education, of which is important to me! Only 3 government schools which have been operational since last year. The rest are private informal schools and hidden the expansivew slum area. If such schools offer more than education , yes, the time to allow young minds grow together, and for once forget what they are going through in their lives.

MABWOK has established a small education centre for early childhood and adult education for the community. They also had life skills classes for the young people and this was tranforming the population. Some of the youth who had gone through the Centre, could now easily estbalish a small business to earn them a livelihood. Early childhood education is also a way to give th young population a meal for the day, which most parents would not afford!

Source of energy- yes there was electricity from KPLC! If anyone in Mukuru ever died of power shocks or death related to power, then to blame wold be KPLC which has openly allowed illegal transmissions on the slum. I am not of the opinion that they should go disconnect, but i do feel there is need to do this in a much better way, by ensuring that they put more transformers and ensure secure transmissions in the whole region. Its painful to see how power was moving in the slums!

The HIV infected population is also one to notice in the slums. One of the toilets build by GOAL is dedicated to such a group, and helps them support their incomes. The group could openly talk about their status, the continuing stigma in the slums, and the unwillingness of the population to accept them. However, they had already done an amazing work to set up a small group where they carried out entreprenueral acitvities. It was just tears to see their dependents who were full of life and imagine what situation would be for many others who had not accepted the conditions.

Of early teenage pregancies and abortions, this could only be further supported. Seeing the kind of life the women and girls were living. A room only enough for sleeping at night, the small dark paths in between houses, and the dire need to meet your needs as a young girl made them even more vulnerable. They did it because they didnt have a choice, they needed some money to put food on the table for the day, period!

After leaving Mukuru, i cant help but to think how important it is for the governments to rethink our population living here. They need th basic needs- Food, water, education, health & sanitation services (forgot to say i didnt spot a hsopital in my 3 hours walk!) electricity, and better infrastructure.

Once of the slum dwellers, told me how the Mukuru population was counter in terms of votes and not in terms of human population that needed access to education, health facilities, proper infrastructure or even water. These things are noe only needs, but basic human rights.

The fact that the goverment has sent the local admnistration to the area show the needs to keep law and order- but i know you can never tame a hungry animal!!! Give them food to eat and better conditions and you will not need to provide security. Insecurity is caused by lack, and goverments have the power to provide and make the right decisions for the slum population.

In small ways, different groups of young people, women groups, community organizations and NGOs are doing something to help improve the conditions in Mukuru. But they can only do that much. The need the government to stand out and show their patriotism with the slum population by providing them with the basic needs.

This can only be achieved with the right political leadership- and of which we are currently lacking in this part of our nation!

Walking the road....on a journey

2011-04-28T08:32:00.002+03:00

I was missng these moments when walking from my office to my house would give me time to relax, reflect and on my progress and refresh my thoughts.
Reason being i had started using the office transport which picks me from my residence and drops me at work every day. Its pathetic that i only need 30 minutes to get to my house (the matatu drive is exactly 8 minutes, then walk for 22 minutes to/from the office) yet i opted to use the staff bus.

Working over time yesterday made me realize how much i was gaining by taking this walk back home. I had time to reflect on the day, time to interact and appreciate nature, and more so, time to see the real world. In the staff bus, its all work related mind that carries me all the way to the office/ house.

So now, i should be working late once a week to allow my mind to be free and wander with nature as the sun sets. It also give me more time to 'be on my jouurney'.
The road seems so long as endless, but so is this journey that we all are in.

I am on a journey....

About My Week's Invisible Mentors

2011-04-27T17:17:00.002+03:00

From Arik

A month ago, i had this enlightning conference call with Avil Beckford about mentoring, and among the things that inspired me most about her work was the invisible mentoring. Although the call was intended for my set of research i am currently undertaking, i personally benefited from the fact that i realized the need to pay more attention to people in my life i would call insible menter. They are there all through my life, but i do think this week has been a highlight for me.

The first one i landed on earlier this week was the Liberian Kimmie Weeks. I am sure i was in search of something in Liberia when i stumbled on him! I should have known this guy like 5 years years ago when i started working with youth movements. But somehow, until now, i have got no chance to meet him or have a conversation with him. I have started following him on Twitter and reading his speeches, listening to his podcats and watching the videos of his accomplishments. Its one of my targets the next two years to work with Kimmie Weeks for the good of the african youth. To help the African youth unleash their potential, and engage the governments to provide more support to youth policy strategy implementation. We got to get serious about the half population of the developing world that is young and will remain young for the next two decades- we got to do something. Thats why working with Kimmie Weeks matters to me.

Then came @kahonge, some investment expert i met through the social media. I follow him (or he started following me and i responded by #nf ). Recently, or rather, this week, i took ample time to read and synthesis the information from his blog, and realized that it was quite important for my youth work. I have for the whole of this year been thinking of how to seriously revitalize and rebrand my youth engagements, and the issue of Social entreprenuership has always popped up again and again. @kahonge blog, is helping me out some of these ideas into shape, and i should share a concrete idea soon.

Some good news is that last week, i just hooked up with Christian Busch the Co- founder of Sandbox and a lectuer at the London School of Economics. I still remember his words about his passion to connect inspirers and help them realize their ideas, the reason for which he was in Nairobi to join the Nairobi Sandboxers . So i am actually part of this great move in Africa!

A few hours ago, Martha Karua formally launched her bid for Kenya's presidency in 2012. Seems like quite early, but its not. So why? Why am i following her on twitter, why do i get interested with every word that she says? Martha speaks to me, in my language, i dont mean a tribal language, but one which enables me understand our role in growing Kenya our country. She helps me think like a Kenya. She supports my pride for being Kenyan, and makes me realize that i got a role to play if i have to continue being proud of Kenya. Most importantly, she tells me the reality of being a Kenyan, the critical issues that what we ought to do and not do. It makes me get up and do something worth for Kenya. I cant wait to rea her Autobiography.

On the other hand, my book just got interesting this week, and i cant get it off my hands when not in the office. I chose to read the Autobiography of Hillary Rodham Clinton for two reasons: She is the wife of a Rhodes Scholar (and the expectations behind every rhodes scholar); and is serving in the US government as the Secretary of State. She campaigned for her Husband Bill Clinton and supported him in his political life, as a colleague, a partner and a wife and mother to their child- at the same time she had her own career goals! I think that can be too much! She is one of the people whom i have always wanted to know how they managed to have a public life as wives, mothers, and professional political figures ( for me professional political figures are those that dont urter words aimlessly). Probably its absolutely wrong to put Hillary and Martha in the same category, or in the same basket- but to my assessment, these two women hold very strong values that i strongly believe in:

They are human
They have guts
They connect with me
They stand out, where men think women can't stand out
They are professionally concious (if such a phrase exists!)

This is a very important week in my life.Its the first week after my most celebrated birthday in life! Together with my peer @savvykenya, we had our birthday on the 23rd April. We both had a blast- she turned 23, i turned 25. We both inspire each other online- LOL we have only met once (according to her) and twice (according to me). In one of her blogs she brings into my mind how dynamic one's life can be. Once you thought of being a pilot, but later when you learnt that blogging can be part of your career, and before you knew it, the President of another country (where you were volunteering) attended an event you were participating in because you tweeted him. Then through your online networks international agencies are hunting for you- thinking hard of how to engage this innovatinve mind, and all of a sudden, because you dont rest, an education institution decides to sponsor you to further your studies in innovations technology. I just cant fill in the gap of what i expect from you next becasue you have allowed yourself to be think and live life outside and even without the BOX!!! Thats how best i can describe Savvykenya.

The week is still young, and i am sure my list will continue growing.
Get to know who is your invisible mentor and emulate that good thing you see in each of them. Try get in touch with each of them, and see what you two can accomplish.

You learn something new everyday!

Earth Day- Join AYICC Kenya Tomorrow

2011-04-21T12:39:00.000+03:00

We have less than 24 hours to raise support for purchase of the Eco friendly paints.

These are needed by the AYICC Kenya (my dream team) tomorrow for the Earth Day Celebrations through a graffiti

Please pledge your support to the Earth Day Celebrations with AYICC Kenya,

You can pledge by just attending the event tomorrow at YMCA Hostels along State House Road in Nairobi.

Read more about the event here: Kenyan Climate Youth: Earth Day!!!!! Be there with US!!!: "Billion Acts of Green!!! Yes and AYICC Kenya has just been up to that all this year. Tomorrow is just another day, where we shall have an..."

ICT Integration in Nursery Schools

2011-04-01T10:28:00.005+03:00

I dont know who invented this ( a friend sent me this on email), but definitely, i laughed, loved it, and it made me think, maybe this will be the easiest way to integrate ICT into Education, which has been a challenge for most education systems in Africa!!!!

Latest from Nursery Schools (Original version had photos)
A: APPLE
B: BLUETOOTH
C: CHAT
D: DOWNLOAD
E: E MAIL
F: FACEBOOK
G: GOOGLE
H: HEWLETT PACKARD
I: iPHONE
J: JAVA
K: KINGSTON
L: LAPTOP
M: MESSENGER
N: NERO
O: ORKUT
P: PICASSA
Q: QUICK HEAL
R: RAM
S: SERVER
T: TWITTER
U: USB
V: VISTA
W: WiFi
X: Xp
Y: YOU TUBE
Z: ZORPIA

At least.... A is still Apple

The Real Life Social Network

2011-03-16T13:59:00.002+03:00

Of late, i have had to struggle with how to answer the question of what role does social network play in one's social life.
I have also been challenged a couple of times (both positively and negatively) that probably i could be spending a lot of time on my social networks, especially, Facebook, and Twitter.
However, in the past two years, i have had a great opportunity to consciusly (and unconsciusly) use social networks in my work as a youth champion. I have also been able to use social media to further enrich my career. I have made my social networks, a one stop shop for information desperately needed by almost 50% of my friends on these networks- youth who are looking for opportunities to advance their careers and have fun!
However, if i was called upon to justify why i use Social Media in my day to day activities, i would not have entirely all the justifying reasons.
But after reading the blog by @savvykenya on her use of Twitter, and later on going through this presentation, i just now have a big reason to become a better and advanced social media junky!!
I am just thrilled by how simple this social media stuff can be. I always looked for the right words to express it, but this presentation gives you the best explanation why Social Networks!
I hope you will also learn and appreciate the Social Network.

The Real Life Social Network v2

View more documents from Paul Adams.

Rocks in your Life!

2011-03-14T08:03:00.001+03:00

I enjoy my motivational books i read everyday of the week. One such had this stroy i have heard several times, but actually i had not understood it clearly until it applied to me. Its all about the Rocks in your Life, and how to deal with them.

During a seminar on time management held for a group of high powered over achievers, the facilitator pulled out a One- gallon wide mouthed mason jars and set it on a table in front of the group. Then he produced a dozen fist sized rocks and placed them – one at a time – into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top, and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, is this jar full?” everyone in the class said “yes.”

Then he said, “really?” he reached out under the tabled and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar assuring the pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he asked the group once more “Is this jar full?”

By this time, the class was onto him “probably not.” One of them answered. “Good” he replied. Ne reached under the table and brought t out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into al the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more, he asked the question “is this jar full?”

No the class shouted. Once again, he said “Good.” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class as asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager beaver raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it.”

“No” the speaker replied “that’s not the point, the truth this illustration teaches us is: if you don’t put the big rocks first, you will never get them in at all.”

What are the big rocks in your life? A project that you want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you will never get them in at all.

The beauty of giving - Rotaract Club of Milimani

2011-02-26T20:18:00.001+03:00

Last night I was honoured to speak at the Annual Fundraising Dinner of the Rotaract Club of Milimani here in Nairobi. You can view my guest presentation on Slideshare.

The dinner was for a noble cause, the proceeds from this fundraising will go towards installing a biogas plant at the Msamaria Mwema Children’s Home- a home with hundred of destitute children in one of the slums on Nairobi. The Rotaract club of Milimani has dedicated their time and resources for bi monthly visits the home to provide some of the resources badly needed by the children. However, a pressing issue has been the source of energy for cooking; being in a slum set up, means also, they do not have access to firewood, and cannot afford to buy enough cooking gas, or use electricity, or charcoal from the vendors - so they had resulted to cooking in plastics! I was struck by this!

This group of young professionals, has sought a way to give back to the society in the small way they can, it is very similar to the work of the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change. It is also very similar to my growing dream of the Grace Foundation initiative, which I will be launching later in the year (check this blog for updates).

I am humbled by the efforts young people across the world are putting towards ensuring a sustainable world. I wish these best practices could get to be shared across the globe with every young person, to learn and to appreciate the power in giving, and the power in changing the society. That is why I take my time to write to blog, and let the world youth know, that we all, in our own small ways have a role to play in the society.

It is not rocket science to do what we know best, it is just doing it! Get your friends together and organized and just do it!

Posing with some of the Rotaract Members who attended the dinner

Thanks to Rotaract of Milimani for touching the lives in Msamaria Mwema Children’s Home, and thanks for inviting me to share with you this great moment- a moment of always reminding us of our role in the this world-Our service to the society.

The amazing gifts i got from Rotaract after speaking at their dinner.

Finally, I would like to appreciated the gift I received from the club, even though looking for finances, they also dug deep into their accounts, and bought this nice gift for me: and a certificate of appreciation, a painting and an African basket. I will not only hang this certificate in my new house, but it is also a huge reminder of what we are doing to the society as young people, I will carry on with it in my next destination.

Social Networks Rock my Career World!!!

2011-02-19T14:05:00.001+03:00

I have been away from my blogging for a while, not that i have quit social networking, i just had to spend more time on something else. I however, included Twitter livestream on my blog in case you follow me.

Now back to why i am blogging on a saturday afternoon. I have been online for the past three hours for several tasks:
1. I am preparing for a presentation on Social Networks for the UNEP Youth Advisors in the coming week. So have been doing a couple of online justifications of why i use social networks in my youth work!!!!. I am not sure how i can well present this, apart from presenting my own efforts in being a social media junky!!!

So thats the main reason why i am a social media junky! It makes my life easy, fast moving, but most important, i have a one stop shop for news, and things i need on a daily basis:
a) Well organized contact lists separating my professional from my private peeps
b) Entertainment
c) Expanding my networks- you will never have enough friends in your life- each is a resource!!!
d) To share text, images and videos- for me text and photos are top on the list
e) Creating and sharing events
f) Advertizing and marketing products

But i was asked to make a presentaiton to my fellow youth, so of focus i have to assume they dont know anything about Social media, so i got these visual for use during my presentation.
At least i ma using a half of those tools, and it makes it easier to demonstrate how social networking tools can help your career growth.

2. My second task today was to follow the IFAD Governing Council and later on the Feeding Future Generations Discussion, apparently, this is a task i assigned myself as soon as i got online on my Tweetdeck! The tweets were irresistible especially those referring to youth, agriculture and rural development.
For those who have been follwing me, know that in the past one year, this has been a major interest topic in my career. If you want to catch up with teh IFAD Governing Council better get on Twitter and Follow IFAD, as well check their website for fresh upodates.

3. My third task, of course, as usual, is to make sure i learn something new everyday i am online, and surely i did learn that one can bluedate via bluetooth! I got this from Letstalk

So then, here i am, testing my social networking capability, following the IFAD GC and as well, finalizing my work for the weekend. Will keep you updated.

The Rose- Love- The Seed in You

2011-02-03T14:29:00.000+03:00

Belated Happy 2011!
I have been keepign healthy, but have been away from my blog!
Now i am back, and the years starts off with an extra ordinary post!

Unbelievably, (and fortunately) in this life, we have to love.
Love our families, our careers, our pets, our houses, our cars, our friends, our spouses ....and the list is endless.
For me I think I love my pen, notebook, and all my gadgets. And in one of my gadgets, I found this beautiful song by Don Williams- The Rose. It’s a good lesson for all of us.

<br>g

It not only reflects what we feel when we love people, but also the fears we have when we cannot commit our hearts to doing something that we really love.
Maybe in our careers, our families, our social movements and the like.
It reminds me of sowing a seed and being patient, maybe something that the young generation have been accused of lacking- patience.
And reflecting on this, I am reminded of motivation,-what motivates our hearts to commit to doing certain things in life.
What drives our passion, and what is it that really value and seek in our lives.
It could be a love song, but it can also be a song to motivate your thinking about who you are, and the role you ought to play in this society- loving and sharing with the society.
It’s all in your heart.
When you love, you sow a seed, and whichever ground it is, there are obstacles to make you not succeed. But what matters most, is the motivation behind your sowing.
It’s all in your heart.
Sow the seed of love in your life- everything you do.

How are we moulding this new generation?

2010-12-15T16:25:00.000+03:00

Its festive season, most schools are closed for the Christmas holiday and parents have taken leave to spend time with their families. Similarly the children have taken a break from studying and are enjoying their holidays with family, friends and relatives.

For me, life has just begun, it’s a Sunday evening, I am walking in one of the peri urban areas of Nairobi and as usual, it’s a slow weekend and nothing much to prepare for the next day at work. I come across Kimani (Nickname) and his five friends- boys on the street; they could be aged between 10 and 16 years. They are most in upper primary and secondary school. They are healthy boys, well dressed and can understand English and the language of the town, Sheng. I also can hear them speak some of the mother tongue language- kikuyu.

Kimani seems the head of this team, older and with some experience in the society, he is the loudest and in his hand is a bottle of cheap liquor! Initially, my mind does not pay much attention to what they are up to, but after passing a few steps ahead of them , I change my mind and turn back to intervene in what they are about to do. Alcohol, drinking or possession of, is illegal to anyone under the age of 18 years in Kenya. The first question I ask Kimani & his friends is their national ID, which they don’t have. One of the boys runs way on my first question, but the rest are brave enough to wait what I am capable of doing! Interrogating them, I get to know that most of them have not been drinking like Kimani, who to me appears already drunk. Kimani had bought this liquor to show his friends that he actually drink and can even share with them if they are interested!

These boys looks very bright, they must be their parents source of joy, but what they are about to do will harm the rest of their lives. I am not sure how much they have done in the past, or are planning to do this festive season. Since I can’t stand the smell of this liquor, I took it from Kimani and poured it all on the ground; my next thought was to accompany them either to their parents or to the police station. My reasons for not doing this may not be convincing, but with experience, most parents are working all day to provide food for the family, pay house rent, or raise money for school fees and medical bills. Kimani and his friends also seem to be on their way to running some errands for their parents. I actually discover they are all from different villages, and that means I cannot walk all of them home at this time. The area police post would be my next option, but I have not had a very good experience with their execution of duties in the area. So I take it up to myself to advice the boys to take precaution on what they do, and avoid such kind of behaviour. So I am the community police and guardian on this day! After a few words discussion, I let go of the boys but they are definitely sure I will take the matter to the police!

Back in my house, I reflect on Kimani and his friends, and my role in helping them and others like them around the world. What is my role in protecting the child? This new generation that I believe will be the foundation of lasting societal change. This takes me back to the reason why I blog for UNICEF. While I am passionate about capacity building of youth and children to become better stewards who understand and take up responsibilities in the society, I must also consider those children and youth who have no access to proper upbringing. Those children, whom parents barely have the time to guide them, parents who are either too busy looking for the next meal, house rent or money for the education, or just reckless parents who have no better advice for their children.

I am also concerned about the society in which we live, which supposedly should be ensuring that there is an ideal environment to bring up children, but contrarily engaged in activities to ‘develop’. I may have not been the first one to meet the boys drinking this alcohol, but I am the only one who was concerned and helped them. The society in which we live in is more individualistic in their actions and can barely notice a child getting lost to abuse on the street!

My flashback is of those old days when every older person had the right to discipline you if found in the wrong. I still recall when my mother’s voice would scare all the boys in the neighbourhood, especially if they were searching for the birds’ nests to steal the eggs. Can we still have such a generation that will not only ensure that they bring up their children in the right morals, but also they ensure that the society also has the right morals for emulation by the young? Maybe Kimani and his friends were brought up well from their homes, but the society they live in is totally immoral and they are very weak to overcome this peer pressure. The society seems to be less concerned whether Kimani and his friends are disciplined, but are also forgetting that they this is the generation that they need to prepare for a better world tomorrow. The society is forgetting their role in ensuring not only Children rights, but also Basic Human rights principles!

Similarly and in comparison, even though we have the right to education, how many times do we ensure that we verify that our children are getting quality education, how many opportunities have been available to ensure that parents and the larger society can evaluate the nature of education and moral building our children get in schools. No wonder, in Kenya, we have many teenage girls falling prey of their teachers for sex in exchange of better grades in their exams. Of course this is a hoax that leaves the girls deprived of their rights to protection, education among others.

Boys like Kimani, even though know that substance abuse is illegal and against the Kenya law (it’s definitely taught in school), they are also quite aware that there is nothing much that the system can do to stop them from the vice. If the police came after them, their parents, or their friends, could probably be called upon to ‘toa kitu kidogo’ – bribe the officers to have the boys released. Kimani bought the liquor probably from a bar, where of course the retailer knows very well, that he is not supposed to sell to children under the age of 18 years, but of course, no one will ask him a record of where he sold his beer. At the end of the day, is how much profit have I made?

This is the story in a below average residential place in Nairobi; in an above average situation, the most probable thing to find over these holidays, would be to find the boys and girls hanging out late in the evenings with their friends in major restaurants and bars specifically known for drug trafficking in uptown Nairobi. Mostly, they are driving their parents’ expensive cars, and loaded with money to enjoy their holidays, thus can get as ‘high’ as they want.

I would go on and on about the evils that our children are exposed to, but my main worry would be, how would I engage you to help me understand and take part in protecting the child? How far are you willing to go to ensure that we are building a new generation of visionary leaders who understand their rights and have access to the morals required of them in the society? Are you portraying the morals that the children in your neighbourhood need to emulate to become better persons in future. What character are you instilling in the generation behind you? Do we have our morals that our children can emulate? Are we playing a role in protecting the rights of the children? Are we helping UNICEF in saving and Uniting for Children?

MIKELITA

2010-12-13T14:40:00.003+03:00

Mikelita with some of her community members

I spent part of my long weekend meeting with Mikelita Lenapir and sharing with her what she was doing for her minority community group, Elmolo living on the shores of Lake Turkana, a World Heritage Site. She is among the youth who participated in the Go4BioDev International Youth Forum representing her Community and the World Heritage Site, Lake Turkana. This was in Japan in parallel with the Convention on Biological Diversity, COP 10 in Nagoya.
Mikelita, the only educated in a family of 11 siblings in the new Loiyangani District along Lake Turkana, had travelled to Japan to share with other youth from other World Heritage sites across the world how her community was benefiting from lake Turkana and how they felt about any negative development that would be undertaken there. The 28 year old, has just completed her certificate course by distance learning from the Premise College and waiting for her certificate next year.
She is a single mother of two, and has been a Social Worker, volunteering with local community based organizations to improve the livelihoods of her community especially the women and youth. Among the projects that she is working on are: Peace and conflict resolution, environmental conservation and income generating activities.
She narrates of the efforts of the youth in the region of varied activities but end up giving up, due to lack of capacity and visionary lead to guide them. The Nanyori Youth Group is one such group which has a tree nursery and sells the tree seedlings to the community. The seedlings however will either die with the long dry and windy spells in the region or eaten by the livestock as they look for pasture in the vast arid land. Most of the arid has no vegetation cover and the soils are also sandy.
It’s a much bigger problem for the women that Mikelita works with. Loiyangalani, the name of her district, means "a place of many trees". But this is not the case: Including her own family, they walk for over 40 kilometres to look for firewood to prepare a meal, leave alone to dry the fish that they get from the lake, an income generating for most of them. Most girls have dropped, or are frequently, out of school, to help their mothers fetch firewood for the family. The community have not turned to cow dung for fuel, but since they are a fishing community there is less cow dung in their village.
Mikelita would like to help her community. For the women, she would like to get support the construction of improved cooking stoves for their kitchens. To upscale this, she needs technical support on growing high biomass and drought resistant trees in the region that will be a source of firewood in the region. These trees would also be multipurpose to meet other needs such as fodder for the animals, fruits for food, and source of construction materials which are all major challenges in her community.
Water is life, but Mikelita comments that water is either a source of life or death in her community. Ensuring access to water for the community would ease the pressure on the lake for fishing as the people engage in farming to diversify their source of food and income. Currently, there is a lot of pressure on this fresh water lake fish population; it’s the main source of food and livelihood for the Elmolo community. Overfishing and non illegal fishing methods are prevalent especially during the dry spells.
A few community members who have water have tried to farm and have succeeded in growing Kunde (Black eyed Peas). Mikelita says she would be very happy to support youth to start up such projects. The farming needs to be integrated with other land management practices like growing multipurpose trees, growing of indigenous and high value crops, grass regeneration and environmental conservation initiatives, to diversify the benefits and response to their challenges.
For the youth, they not only need to be better educated but they also need to build their capacity in leadership, and training on entrepreneurial skills that work for their community. Mikelita is already thinking of how to upscale the tree nursery project, train them to make the improved stoves for the community and engage in fishing activities and water projects in the region.
Even though there is free and compulsory primary education for all in Kenya, Mikelita’s community is not privileged to access this education. The new district has one secondary school only, 2 primary boarding schools and two more are in progress of being contracted. Most of the youth end up either dropping out of school, not attending at all, while those who attend have little if any skills, to enable them continue to better livelihoods in the society. Very few make it to tertiary institutions and if they do, their parents cannot afford and thus end up staying at home, if they don’t get any sponsorship. Mikelita is lucky to have gone to high school, and attained a grade that she has worked tirelessly in the fish industry to enable her pay for her distance learning Certificate course in Social Work and Community Development. Very few from her community have had such opportunities. She would like to see more support from the government to the education situation in Loiyangani District. The construction of 2 more primary schools is ongoing and she is happy about this. However, she is asking if the government and well wishers can also build another secondary school and a technical/polytechnic college for the youth who are not able to join the high school for where those who leave high school can learn extra skills to enable them earn a better live.
Ask of communication with the rest of the country, this new district has no post office; I had to keep remembering this, as Mikelita could not send me anything after leaving Nairobi. The only internet access point is at a Catholic Church, and every week, Mikelita, given the time, has to go request the Priest for permission to check her emails. She is even lucky that she has an understanding of computers and emails, Most of the people she works with in her district have not seen these computers. On mobile technology communication Mikelita’s community has to pay is an extra 5% charge for every top up credit airtime as a transport charge!
Working for this community is not easy. Mikelita’s major pain has been the youth who not only don’t have access to proper education, better social amenities, but there is also a major threat to their only source of livelihood, Lake Turkana- the Gibe III Dam Project.

Mikelita's case being presented at COP 10 of the CBD

Lake Turkana, a World heritage site, and the reason for Mikelita’s presence in Go4BioDev and CBD COP 10, is a life giving East Africa’ largest rift valley lake. It’s a source of life to the Turkana community living around the lake- fishing, livestock, farming, and watering. The proposed Gibe III project on Omo River which feeds the lake is to provide electricity to Ethiopia. However, this would lead to a massive decline in the lake water levels and directly affect all the activities ongoing around the lake.
Mikelita, like the Embassy of Germany and the Friends of Lake Turkana Group, are equally concerned about what would mean for these indigenous communities around the lake who still live their traditional lives depending entirely on the lake. While they have no idea on the proposed projects, they are quick to mention that a change in the lake levels would directly affect their lives.
Mikelita, through her social work in the region, educates the community not only on the need to use the lake resources in a sustainable way, but she also ensures that they are aware of such projects that would harm their lake. In conjunction with the German Embassy in Kenya and the Friends of Lake Turkana they have been supporting this community through environmental awareness and cultural activities in the region. They have held seminars and workshops educating the people on the pros and cons of such projects as Gibe III Dam.
However, Mikelita’s worry is not only on this project, but it’s also on the general up scaling of the community’s livelihoods so that there are reduced pressures and unsustainable use of the lake resources. She stresses that the aforementioned challenges of education, water, environmental degradation and trees need to be addressed.
After this meeting, I decided to do something to help Mikelita and her community.
This article is my first step. While I will be linking her work with what my youth movements have been doing around Kenya, I am in dire need of ideas how we can build the capacity of Mikelita’s community, and start up income generating sustainable projects with the youth there.
I am also in dire need of how we can initiate education projects for the non school going community that Mikelita is everyday trying to help.
I hear of many NGOs working in Turkana region, but they seem not to have reached Mikelita’s community, I am looking for those who would be interested in investing in this community and work with them. More so, on basic social amenities for the community: Education, Water, Sanitation, Education, conservation and Communication.
I have a strong believe in conservation education as a key to sustainability, leave alone the basics such as improved livelihoods. I would like to hear your ideas on how this can work in Loiyangani.
Finally, what are you going to do for such as Mikelita and her community this Festive season? Please share

The tree story

2010-11-17T17:33:00.001+03:00

I had two trees,

One planted outside,

And the other in the house.

Everyday,

I watered them.

The one outside,

Became a huge tree

Providing me and my family

Fruits, shade, and fresh air.

The birds too,

Made it their home.

And their sounds,

Every morning

Reminded me

Time to go to school

Time to play.

Later,

A monkey also

Made the tree his home,

And I knew

He had lost his home,

To a farmer or a charcoal burner.

Poor little thing!

Back in the house

The other tree never changed

Even when I took it outside

I asked mummy,

What is wrong

With the tree?

And she said,

‘It is a plastic tree!’

That is my tree story!

Written by: Caroline Njoki

njokizimmer@yahoo.com

THE CLIMATE JOURNEY

2010-11-03T17:58:00.000+03:00

A few months ago, i was sharing with JDB where AYICC came from and where we were heading, a few days upon request, he sent me this article that i thought, now its worth sharing with a wider audience!

My right hand remained clasped around the long, slender glass that was now empty after I had gulped the orange juice in it in one long gulp. The weather in Accra was so hot. I needed a refill. ‘Excuse me!’ I shouted to the gentle waitress at the next table. ‘Another glass of orange juice please.’ She nodded and smiled as she took off to the counter.

‘David!’ I heard a happy voice behind me shout. It was Sena Alouka from Togo. He was dressed in one of those multi‐colored canvas‐like tops that can only be found in Togo. Together with him was James Hallowell from Sierra Leone, Daniel Edah from Benin and Emmanuel Edudzie from Ghana. They joined me at the table and proceeded to order their drinks and meals.

It was our third day in Accra where we had gathered for a week‐long regional youth meeting convened by UNEP’s Africa Environment Outlook for Youth, a project that I was then leading. This particular meeting had brought together youth environmental leaders from thirteen West African countries. For these young leaders, environmental work was a mission that they were immensely passionate about. As I looked around at the four who had just joined me at the table, I couldn’t help but feel greatly inspired by their incredible energy and enthusiasm.

I wanted to learn from what they were doing so that youth action across the continent could benefit from all these rich experiences. Sena was the Director of Togo’s Young Volunteers for the Environment. In between his characteristic loud bursts of laughter and mouthfuls of rice and chicken, he told me about a youth climate initiative that was in the process of being formed.

Several days later, after a week of vigorous debates and presentations from the youth leaders, I packed my stuffy black bag and bid emotional farewells to the young green army. We had exchanged emails and vowed to keep in touch. Africa was counting on us, we had whispered into each other’s ears during the farewell hugs.

Two years later in 2005, I saw Sena’s familiar email in my inbox. It was late afternoon and I was eager to call it a day and dash off to a tea date with a lady I had recently met in an environmental forum. But I decided to click on the mail and peruse through it hurriedly.

It was the first of many emails that I would receive and send in relation to the climate youth initiative. This communication was catalyzed by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting that was due to be held in Nairobi later that November and December. This meeting would be the second Conference of Parties (COP2) and we had decided to use it to officially launch the Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change. There was only one problem to this grand plan – we had no money. For the launch to be truly reflective of the African and youthful nature of this initiative, it was important for youth leaders across the continent to be fully involved from the very beginning.

This realization that collective effort was needed informed a concerted effort from us to contact as many youth activists as possible, telling them about the Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change and the upcoming launch of the same.

We also decided that although the initiative was African, it could not and must not exist in isolation to other youth movements globally. After all, climate change is a global issue that doesn’t need visas to move across borders.

We therefore engaged and involved as many global youth activists as we could think of. Consequently, the Canadian youth began playing a pivotal role in these efforts. Together, we decided to also organize the second Conference of Youth on Climate (COY2) to also coincide with COP2 and the AYICC launch. This way, we would launch AYICC in the global youth conference and also at COP2.

As November drew closer, our anxiety rose higher. It was even worse for us in Kenya because on our shoulders had fallen the huge task of hosting youth from across the world. But in our midst were strong shoulders ready and raring to go. Steve Itela the Director of Youth for Conservation was one such person.

I ambushed Steve in his office one afternoon in August 2005. I had escaped from my own workplace almost two hours before Close of Business so that I could get Steve before he left for the day. For almost three hours, we brainstormed with Steve and Waiganjo, a colleague of his, about the AYICC launch, COP2 and COY2.

In less than three months, we needed to find accommodation, organize for the meeting venue plus a host of other related logistical and substantive issues. We also had to fundraise. And fundraise, fundraise, fundraise.

In the spirit of collective efforts and ownership, that late afternoon meeting resolved to form a working group comprising of youth drawn from the Youth Environment Network (YEN), Kenya. The first meeting of this working group would take place the following Sunday at my house.

This became the routine for many Sundays afterwards. Youth leaders from YEN Kenya would converge either at my house or at the Youth for Conservation offices to brainstorm, plan, debate, discuss and decide. Prominent in these meetings was Kenyatta University’s Environment Club and other members of the Inter‐Varsity Environment Network, which we had founded one year earlier. Maurice Odera, the then UNEP Tunza Youth Advisor also played a key role these preparatory activities.

When November came, these young leaders from Kenya joined hands with other leaders from across Africa and all over the world at Six‐Eighty Hotel in Nairobi. Together, they officially launched the Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change. As we raised our hands in solidarity, I was standing next to Grace Mwaura, a diligent leader from Kenyatta University who had embraced the course with amazing vigor and passion. I also liked the fact that she was a fellow writer. I kept telling her that Africa’s climate story needed to be written by people like her.

On the last day of the Conference of Youth, eight of us were elected to spearhead the coordination of AYICC at the sub‐regional and regional levels. Later that week, we went on to launch AYICC at a UNFCCC event that we had organized. The ball had now been set rolling and it was up to us to keep it rolling. A week later, we exchanged emails, hugs and vowed to indeed keep the climate ball rolling.

We are the ones who need to change, not the climate! I reminded everyone. The time is now! Sena thundered. We must take action! Kogi and Ingrid from South Africa urged us. We must spearhead sustainable adaptation! Excellence Uso from Nigeria insisted. He had also been present in that Accra meeting and was one of the youth leaders whose efforts were truly tireless.

The year after AYICC’s launch was followed by an avalanche of enthusiasm but a trickle of coordinated action. It became the classic case of enthusiasm superseding strategy. Sustaining the initiative proved to be much harder than starting it. The harder it became to take coherent and coordinated action, the easier it was to lay the blame elsewhere and forget that such action had to begin with oneself.

And so at the regional level, nothing much happened that year and the year after. But the seed had been sown and maybe others needed to take up the mantle and take AYICC to the next level. Others needed to take up the responsibility even as we also took responsibility for what we had achieved. Or failed to achieve.

For me, what matters is that the journey began and is still continuing. It does not matter that we are no longer in the driver’s seat. What matters is that they journey is on. We must all play our part to ensure that this journey will leave Africa in a better place.

DJ Bwakali

www.bwakali.com

PS – To those who did take up the mantle and the accompanying responsibility, ‘thank you and I wish you well!’

Have you gone bananas? It is ok to be a banana...

2010-11-02T21:35:00.000+03:00

A colleague sent me this article a few months ago, it could be the reason why you will never miss bananas in my house, i am yet to proof all these facts though, but i think there is some truth in some of them.

Have you gone bananas? It is ok to be a banana...

Never, put your banana in the refrigerator!!!
This is interesting.
After reading this, you'll never look at a banana in the same way again.

Bananas contain three natural sugars - sucrose, fructose and glucose combined with fibre. A banana gives an instant, sustained and substantial boost of energy.

Research has proven that just two bananas provide enough energy for a strenuous 90-minute workout. No wonder the banana is the number one fruit with the world's leading athletes.

But energy isn't the only way a banana can help us keep fit.

It can also help overcome or prevent a substantial number of illnesses and conditions, making it a must to add to our daily diet.

Depression: According to a recent survey undertaken by MIND amongst people suffering from depression, many felt much better after eating a banana. This is because bananas contain tryptophan, a type of protein that the body converts into serotonin, known to make you relax, improve your mood and generally make you feel happier.

PMS: Forget the pills - eat a banana. The vitamin B6 it contains regulates blood glucose levels, which can affect your mood.

Anaemia: High in iron, bananas can stimulate the production of haemoglobin in the blood and so helps in cases of anaemia.

Blood Pressure: This unique tropical fruit is extremely high in potassium yet low in salt, making it perfect to beat blood pressure. So much so, the US Food and Drug Administration has just allowed the banana industry to make official claims for the fruit's ability to reduce the risk of blood pressure and stroke.

Brain Power: 200 students at a Twickenham (Middlesex) school were helped through their exams this year by eating bananas at breakfast, break, and lunch in a bid to boost their brain power. Research has shown that the potassium-packed fruit can assist learning by making pupils more alert.

Constipation: High in fibre, including bananas in the diet can help restore normal bowel action, helping to overcome the problem without resorting to laxatives.

Hangovers: One of the quickest ways of curing a hangover is to make a banana milkshake, sweetened with honey. The banana calms the stomach and, with the help of the honey, builds up depleted blood sugar levels, while the milk soothes and re-hydrates your system.

Heartburn: Bananas have a natural antacid effect in the body, so if you suffer from heartburn, try eating a banana for soothing relief.
Morning Sickness: Snacking on bananas between meals helps to keep blood sugar levels up and avoid morning sickness.

Mosquito bites: Before reaching for the insect bite cream, try rubbing the affected area with the inside of a banana skin. Many people find it amazingly successful at reducing swelling and irritation.

Nerves: Bananas are high in B vitamins that help calm the nervous system.

Overweight and at work? Studies at the Institute of Psychology in Austria found pressure at work leads to gorging on comfort food like chocolate and crisps. Looking at 5,000 hospital patients, researchers found the most obese were more likely to be in high-pressure jobs. The report concluded that, to avoid panic-induced food cravings, we need to control our blood sugar levels by snacking on high carbohydrate foods every two hours to keep levels steady.
Ulcers: The banana is used as the dietary food against intestinal disorders because of its soft texture and smoothness. It is the only raw fruit that can be eaten without distress in over-chronicler cases. It also neutralizes over-acidity and reduces irritation by coating the lining of the stomach.

Temperature control: Many other cultures see bananas as a 'cooling' fruit that can lower both the physical and emotional temperature of expectant mothers. In Thailand, for example, pregnant women eat bananas to ensure their baby is born with a cool temperature.

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD): Bananas can help SAD sufferers because they contain the natural mood enhancer tryptophan.

Smoking & Tobacco Use: Bananas can also help people trying to give up smoking. The B6, B12 they contain, as well as the potassium and magnesium found in them, help the body recover from the effects of nicotine withdrawal.

Stress: Potassium is a vital mineral, which helps normalize the heartbeat, sends oxygen to the brain and regulates your body's water balance. When we are stressed, our metabolic rate rises, thereby reducing our potassium levels. These can be rebalanced with the help of a high-potassium banana snack.

Strokes: According to research in 'The New England Journal of Medicine, 'eating bananas as part of a regular diet can cut the risk of death by strokes by as much as 40%!

Warts: Those keen on natural alternatives swear that if you want to kill off a wart, take a piece of banana skin and place it on the wart, with the yellow side out. Carefully hold the skin in place with a plaster or surgical tape!

So, a banana really is a natural remedy for many ills. When you compare it to an apple, it has four times the protein, twice the carbohydrate, three times the phosphorus, five times the vitamin A and iron, and twice the other vitamins and minerals. It is also rich in potassium and is one of the best value foods around so maybe it’s time to change that well-known phrase so that we say, 'A banana a day keeps the doctor away!'

Novelty, fashionable in an unfashioanble climate friendly world.

2010-11-01T08:10:00.002+03:00

A dear friend, sister, peer mentor, and colleague in most of my work, wrote this piece, that i thought its worth sharing on my blog.

Grace Mwaura & Caroline Lumosi, the writer of this article

Novelty, fashionable in an unfashioanble climate friendly world.

Over the years the talk on climate change has caught up with almost everyone. Calls for living in a climate neutral world and in mitigating and adapting to climate change impacts have been heard. Many organizations are more focusing on climate change issues on awareness, advocacy and adaptation. In Africa particularly the campaigns are on going with more and more people becoming aware of what is going on. I beg to take a pause and find out what really is our goal? do we really believe we can be able to adapt to climate change impacts effectively, do we believe we can mitigate the impacts of climate change.

In most Africa countries their economy is struggling to grow, more are more people are working hard and working smart to try to achieve the western lifestyle, novelty is becoming more common. A graduate from university will want to get a good paying job and would hope to either be driving within a year or under-taking further studies and even eventually moving into a bigger house. Our needs and demands for growth both as individuals and as a country in terms of the economy are warranted. These needs then put pressure on the available resources most of which are natural resources. In such a Continent where novelty is the "in thing", then the subject of recycling becomes "unfashionable". It is fashionable to be seen driving a hummer for example as opposed to a vitz, government officials and even big international and national organizations send their representatives to meetings with these "fuel guzzles" for them that is the acceptable form of transport that befits the "honourables"

So do we really want to change? do we really believe we are working towards a climate neutral world? If solutions in energy efficiency are locally available such as using energy efficient bulbs, saving power, re-cycling among other, if these solution are available why is it that we don't make use of them? where is our good will to change? to fight climate change? for this to happen we have to embrace the fear of being "unfashionable" Tim Jackson in his talk on Tedhttp://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/tim_jackson_s_economic_reality_check.html - economic reality check mentions that we are spending money we don't have on things we don't need to create impressions that don't last on people we don't care about. In his view economic recession is the one thing that has slowed down carbon emission, yet this in it self is a negative factor of our growing economy. His analogy of "keeping out the giraffes" simply points out to the fact that we may try our best to do a lot of "big" things to save the planet yet we in turn neglect the small things we can do to make a change, consumer and behavioral change is a key to this. Prof. Wangari Maathai in her analogy of the humming bird story tells a story of a humming bird that tries to put off a forest fire with drops of water it collects using its beak, while this might be seen as a drop in the ocean and having no or insignificant change it does have a change. To say the least her vision to plant at least one tree proves for sure she was and is a humming bird.

So as the world talks about moving to the carbon neutral and carbon friendly world, i talk of being a humming bird, of being "unfashionable" of doing the best I can in the capacity i have. Of realizing that for this to work it starts with me, it starts with me knowing that recycling my water bottle is seen as unfashionable but will help reduce energy demand, knowing that opting to buy a vitz instead of a hummer goes a long way in reducing the demand for fuel and hence (green house gas) GHG emissions, that talking a walk from point a to b instead of driving, switching off power when i don't need it, using energy efficient bulbs and even planting that one tree on my birthday in turn I contribute to a carbon neural world. I will be a humming bird, I will do the best I can.

@ Lumosi, Caroline 29/10/2010...1211am

Caroline K. Lumosi
Project Officer
Ecological Society for Eastern Africa - ESEA
camosi2001@gmail.com
Skype: caroline.lumosi

Are you using your phone at the Share Fair?

2010-10-19T12:48:00.000+03:00

">
Day One at the Share Fair Addis, and its just exciting to see all the various ways that we are using to learn and share knowledge across Africa. I just filmed two colleagues sharing and learning their just acquired skills on using Twitter to share information.
Use of mobile technology will be a major and interesting Focused Group Discussion to follow here at the Share Fair. Focusing on how rural communities can make use of mobile technology to enhance their agricultural and rural development initiatives, it will also showcase some best practices of mobile technology use in rural Uganda and Tanzania.
Government ministries are rarely using social networks to communicate; But i believe, that after this session, Philomena Chege, from Njaa Marufuku Programme at the Ministry of Agriculture, will be able to tweet from her Nokia C3 phone about her experiences here in Addis. She has been very keen on learning how to make videos work in her programme but now she is even more enthused to learn that she can share her information from her phone! With the help of Solomon Mwangi, a Communications Officer at ICRAF, she now has created a twitter account and we expect to see her live tweets contributing to the ShareFair Social media visibility.

These are just some of the side events happening at the #sfaddis

New Discoveries at #sfaddis: MENDELEY!!!

2010-10-18T19:53:00.000+03:00

Something that most of us here at the Agknowledge Share Fair, Addis, in Addis would not want to discuss, is the process of writing our research papers.

But this morning at the Training and Learning Session on Academic social networking using Mendeley, I just realized how easy life can be when I have all my networks and technologies to assist me. Right from setting up a Mendeley account, populating my profile, sharing, creating groups, uploading and privately collaborating on documents, every bit of it was interesting to all of us.

Mendeley is an open source reference manager and academic social network that can help you organize your research, collaborate with others online, and discover the latest research.

Interestingly, unlike most social networking tools, Mendeley has a desktop application that you can work on while offline and sync with the web application while online.

One more thing that made me actually sign up and create an account, it’s the fact that you can gain cloud access and greater visibility based on your research documents posted on the portal.

Since I am just beginner in writing research papers, I believe this will be a good way to create a community of researchers, share my work, collaborate and contribute to the Mendeley statistics of research work.

Similar to LinkedIn, I am now populating my profile to include my CV that means it’s much easier for me to reach my potential employers and partners in my work!

Organizations such as IFPRI are already using Mendeley with its entire staff not only for collaborating and sharing their research work, but also to create groups and communities of interest in key issues of interest.

You ask of importing and yes it’s possible, through the Google and Wikipedia tools. Documents can easily be uploaded on the desktop application by simply dragging them from your folders to the application. As well, you can create a watch folder, any time you save a document here; it automatically goes to the Mendely account.

However, there are a few issues to note, just like in any other social networks: intellectual property rights are key in this social network, and be very careful that your citation and referencing is correct. You can only have groups of up to 10 persons; beyond this, you need to pay a fee to Mendeley. You can only access documents on Mendeley if you have an account and friends.

ICT KM and most of the CGIAR centers have been using Mendeley, you need to read more about their experience.

Better get signed up, upload your papers and invite friends to collaborate and share their work as well. That’s why we are at the Share Fair!!!

WHY I AM VOTING TO EVANS WADONGO

2010-09-29T11:08:00.000+03:00

WHY I AM VOTING TO EVANS WADONGO: "I believe that young people have a huge role to play in changing the society, and this has just been proofed by one, among many others, Evan..."

WHY YOU NEED TO BELIEVE IN YOUTH!!!

2010-09-22T21:54:00.000+03:00

Coincidentally, i have for the past several weeks been reading about what younger people (teenagers) have been doing to change the world.
I came accross these two videos and a story that really inspired me. The first video is from TEDx YSE

Babar Ali: My Best Video on Education and young people
I have been working in the education and environment field, but watching this video has made me think differently of my role in ensuring quality education for all. I am humbled that i was able to go to school, but even with all the knowledge and opportunities i may have had, i have not been able to do an outstanding act like Babar Ali. At his young age, with no experience, he saw the need to educate his peers even in the harsh conditions, and the minimal resources available. The teenager wisely used his resources of energy, time and passion to meet the needs of his peers in the society. I salute him.

The second video, also from TED is of Adora Svitak. Listening to her, will just make you value listening to your children and teenagers. It will make you reflect on your parenthood and leadership.
You will learn new things from children from now henceforth.
Adora Svitak: What adults can learn from kids

The third story i read from a blog of a teenager who had learnt new ways of dealing with the plastic bags horrors. You will be amazed by how many people have read this blog and left comments
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2008/05/27/its-in-the-bag-teenager-wins-science-fair-solves-massive-environmental-problem/
We’ve all heard the plastic bag horror stories—the billions of bags discarded every year that wind up polluting oceans, killing wildlife and getting dumped in landfills where they take up to 1,000 years to decompose. Researchers have been wracking their brains for years to figure out a solution. But leave it to a Canadian high school student to leave them all in the dust. Daniel Burd, an 11th grader at Waterloo Collegiate Institute, has discovered a way to make plastic bags degrade in as little as three months—a finding that won him first prize at the Canada-Wide Science Fair, a $20,000 scholarship, and a chance to revolutionize a major environmental issue......http://tinyurl.com/2u8oxn7

I am currently reading a book edited by two of my mentors in education for sustainability. '' Young people, education and Sustainable Development'' is the book. It tells the story of the energy and passion of young people and how they have been able to use this in their society to enhance sustainable development. I recommend it for your reading and ACTION.
http://www.wageningenacademic.com/Default.asp?pageid=8&docid=16&artdetail=youngpeople&webgroupfilter=5

Forging a merger between Mobile Learning and Mobile 2.0

2010-09-17T08:19:00.000+03:00

This is a blog by Mtoto wa Jirani that i have bee following, you will find it interesting.

Forging a merger between Mobile Learning and Mobile 2.0

Rhino Poaching in South Africa

2010-09-16T19:01:00.000+03:00

My friend Mazolo, from South Africa, always keeps me informed about certain issues. This is the recent from him about Rhinos in South Africa
...............................................................................................................................................................
The South African Minister of Environmental Affairs recently reported in paliarment that a total number of 139 rhinos were killed in private and national game reserves between 1 January to 1 July of this year. Media reports have estimated the figures to be around 182 dead rhinos at present in South Africa.

The increased killings and poaching of Rhinos horns is also a phenomenon occuring in other African countries, particularly in Kenya. This has resulted in the international community joining hands and launching joint operations to curtail the incessent killings and illegal trading of the horns. It is an environmental catastrophe, wiedely acknowledged interantionally as requiring a multi-sectoral approach.
Donald Mwiturubani, recently highlighted in his article Markets for Wildlife Products in Asia continue to threaten wildlife resources in Africa, "this calls for concerted efforts by governemts through judiciary, legal and security experts including environmental law enfrocement agencies to come up with results-oriented strategies for curbing environmental crime". He also acknowledges and suports INTERPOL's intitiatives on environmetal crime, including its Wildlife Group meeting in Lyon, France.
It is my opinion that communities neer game parks need to be engaged in such joint operations as they are vital links in providing information on poaching activities. This calls for tip offs and other incentives as instruments for facilitating cooperation between the security agents and the community. Public campaigns on anti-poaching are aslo essential in local communities as vehicles for creating creating awareness on the plight.
I sencerely believe more can be done, and your views are welcome.
To gain infromation on current efforts and to be involved in the anti-poaching rhino campaign, click the website link below:
http://www.stoprhinopoaching.com/default.aspx

TED Talks: Who let this guy on Stage: Quite Inspiring

2010-09-16T08:17:00.001+03:00

I have been watching TED videos, but i think this is the most brilliant one i have watchd: Crowd, Light and Desire- Just makes me tick!!!!

HOW TO BUILD AND ANIMATE YOUTH NETWORKS

2010-09-10T12:44:00.000+03:00

Perception of youth in development

The perception of the role of youth in the development has changed over the decades where they have moved from the passenger to driver seat. They are seen in international conferences negotiating as equal partners with the world leaders, while still they are working diligently at the grassroots level with local communities to help improve their livelihoods with their new innovations. In each continent, the youth voice has been rising year after year in different capacities. Some countries have developed structures to engage youth in the state decision making and implementation processes, while in others have been resolute to involve them, and thus youth have been part of the civil society organizations. Most UN agencies have provided a platform for the youth to speak up their voices and work with their leaders. In IUCN, the youth have been acknowledged through the Barcelona Resolution 4.098 on Intergenerational partnerships: fostering ethical leadership for a just and sustainable world, which emphasizes the Young Professional Programme, initiated under the Resolution 3.029 Capacity Building of Young Professionals adopted at the World Conservation Congress of 2004, in Bangkok, Thailand.

The world population is young

Almost half of the world population is below 25 years of age. In Africa alone, 60% of the population is below 25 years of age, ideally these are children and youth, they also form the largest proportion of the working population. Regardless, the highest percentage of the unemployed is among the youth, who are rendered handicap by lack of professional skills and working space. This handicap, if not addressed will continuously destabilize civilization and sustainable development, as the unemployed seek to make the ends meet through unsustainable use of natural resources, robbery, drug trafficking, among evils.

As this population increases is expected to double in the next decade, the demands and pressure on the finite natural resources is greater than ever. The lack of alternate livelihood sources, lack of adequate knowledge of sustainable natural resource use, and lack of support from the system, has led loss of biodiversity due to degradation. Young people, the most active age group, are trying to sustain their lives through deforestation for farming, settlement, timber and non timber products, poaching wildlife for their products, unsuitable fishing practices, harvesting of sea animals, inappropriate farming methods, among many others.

Youth are ambassadors of their own future

Conversely, youth are a source of living changing in the society. With their strength, talent, desire for change, leadership and looking into the future, they have been steering youth related projects to earn a livelihood, but also conserve nature. In almost every community, youth innovations will meet your eyes either trying to run small scale entrepreneurships, provide sanitation services for the community, providing clean water for the mothers and children, providing alternate energy sources, better farming and water management methods, sharing information with the community through community radios, organizing community events like road shows, artisans’ jobs among others.

Youth are the voices of the community

Youth are the voices for the community through advocacy activities, while at the same time, providing the community with up to date information around the region. Young professionals have designed educational and conservation projects for their communities. In regions where infrastructure is still a challenge, it’s the youth who have devised new ways of transport, repair the roads, put up bridges, and even provide mobile health and communication service. Billions of trees have been planted and nurtured by the young people all over the world. In Kenya alone, the government has set aside funds to support tree planting initiatives in all regions of the country, under the Ministry of Youth Affairs. The trees have been planted in primary and secondary schools, and used as a living learning resource by the learners who participate in nurturing the trees. Small actions but great impact and investment into a sustainable future.

Youth networks- the support system

The success of the youth in serving the community and contributing to nature conservation is directly attributed to working in youth networks. The youth, have a huge resource base of Energy, Knowledge and Time that the world needs to achieve sustainable development. However, there is need to positively direct their resources to ensure all aspects of sustainable development are achieved. To do so, they require education, resources, and skills and hope that will promote a transition to this sustainability. The youth are looking forward to put into use their resources of in three main areas: Improve their lives; improve the lives of their communities; and Influence other young people elsewhere to take action (or play the celebrity status). Youth networks are one such avenue where we can support the youth through resources, political support, and hope for their present and future. They are a place where young people help each other grow their careers, their social lives, build confidence, share experiences, and most importantly have a platform to share and discuss their future as part of the global network. As the leaders, they develop their leadership characters in these networks. Most importantly they become a community of like minded persons growing in character and skills.

Why a youth network?

A youth network, apart from the three main needs of every young person, will be established with an aim to address a specific need that a group of young people have realized in the society. They seek to answer the questions of the government, the community, or their peers through this network. This need may also be an opportunity for them to seize and create jobs for themselves. Whatever it is, it must be a need that requires them to work together.

For a network to exist it must have a Strategy and an Action plan. The action plan is preceded by a network profile which details the name of the network (at times the network may be nameless), vision, mission and aims, members, target group, and partners. A network profile should clearly outline the principles and values that the members must observe while in the network and expected inputs and benefits for the members.

An Action plan is meant to actualize the vision, mission and the strategy of the network both in the short and long term. Most critical in drawing up an action plan for a network is the recognition of the roles of each member based on their strengths and weaknesses. Youth are the best examples of communities of practice, they strive to specialize in their career while at the same time are open to learn and share with their peers new skills to ensure they achieve their targets.

Youth will continuously build the network membership by inviting more young people and sharing with them their vision. It is a characteristic of young people to dream and build castles while in their social events, but these are now being achieved through the networks. Social events have proofed very key in growing the membership of the youth networks. Well directed social events have worked wonders in growing the African Youth Initiative on Climate Change in Kenya. This is an organic network of youth organizations working on climate change sustainable development in Kenya. In the first months of the year, we spend time in social events with new members who join the caucus and participate in our mind mapping sessions for the year. With time, they fall in love with the spirit of the network and eventually, they are also part of the dedicated membership.

Visionary leadership and direction is critical; same to the organizational structure and governance model of the network. This includes electing or nominating the leaders of the network. Where a network is registered, such structures are established at the initial stages mainly by the vision bearers who assist in the registration of the network. However an organic youth movement takes time to have an organizational and leadership structures. Under such circumstances, they may have focal point persons or coordinators/volunteers for different activities in the network. A constitution is also important for the registered network, while a Charter or Standard Operating Procedures works well for the organic movements.

“Leading youth networks is the most fulfilling experience. I enjoy the late night work, the wee hours work, travelling, planning, reporting, and corresponding with young people from all over the world who need my attention. I have come to believe that i am in this world, and at this position, at such a time like this, to help the youth realize their potential in sustaining this planet.”

The activities under each network are the reason for its presence. They are the tools that will retain youth, attract others and even encourage other partners to join them. Some networks are formed mainly to provide a platform for young people to meet and share their experiences; such have main activities being meetings, workshops, seminars, travelling, expeditions among others, while others are research oriented. A big proportion of the professional youth networks are focused on development initiatives including providing infrastructural, educational, health, communication, business, and other social services. One such, are the Young professionals under the Commission of Education and Communication in IUCN.

While I worked with youth networks in Africa, i was interested in youth networks involved in environmental conservation, education and development initiatives. Their activities ranged from advocacy activities at grassroots, national and international levels, public awareness and education projects, rehabilitation projects, waste management, energy projects (solar, wind, biogas), small income generating initiatives (eco businesses) wildlife conservation (desnaring, birds monitoring, animal census), ecotourism, filmmaking, mapping, sustainable agriculture, ICT innovations among many others. In this decade, more advocacy youth networks have arose, ranging from social political and environmental advocacy, who are involved in policy processes, right from the grassroots to the international level.

One such example is the largest most dynamic organic movement of young people involved in international climate change negotiations at the international level since 2004. In small dynamic, well directed strategies, the youth have outreached each continent and state involved in the climate negotiations, mobilized the youth and provided them with a platform to take part in the climate change policy dialogues. Having started as a small group in 2004, this organic movement has over 2,000 members who are in daily communication of their climate change activities. In 2009, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat granted them a Constituency, meaning that they could participate in the negotiations are equal players in the world most important debate of the year. Amazing is how this youth network is organized. With two Focal points to the UNFCCC Secretariat, all the network activities are carried out by committed youth on voluntary basis. They commit months and years to work for the movement in whatever capacity they can. This voluntary commitment includes dedicated policy makers, fundraising committees, capacity building coordinators, website managers, bloggers, activists, Action groups, bottom liners, planners, community builders, minute takers, host organizations, email list moderators among others. There is always a task for each and every other youth. In the same movement, similar movements have been born in each continent and nation and young people have committed themselves to build these networks and customize them to meet the needs of their nations and youth community in the light of climate change and sustainable development. This spirit that has led to the growth of the Indian Youth Climate Network, African Youth Initiative on Climate Change, Australian Youth on Climate Change, Malaysian youth on Climate Change, Nepalese Youth on Climate, European Youth Forum, SustainUS, Energy Crossroads, among many others. The network has partnerships with governments in the North and South, UN agencies, NGOS and community groups in the rural areas of any continent you may think of. They are educated and are continually informing themselves through their Capacity Building Working Groups.

Communication in any network is essential. A network needs to communicate to its members, its partners, and supporters of their activities any new information and new projects upcoming or new findings to share with the community. The most effective way for each group is required. While i worked for the African youth, i realized getting the information to the youth, and ensuring that they understand it to an extent of taking action was a huge impediment to achieving our objectives in the network. While in developed countries, access and use of internet to build networks has eased their work. In Africa, like any other developing continent, the use of internet and ICT tools to grow the youth networks is still a challenge. Not only is access to a computer is a challenge for the local youth groups, but the effective use of the computer, internet and other Web 2.0 tools is still a challenge for most youth. While i have the dispensation to use ICT to support my youth work, i admit and appreciate the fact that only a quarter of my colleagues’ access these services. Of these, only a half can effectively make use of the services to further enhance the work of our networks. We therefore spend more time serving the network not only in project implementation, but also building their capacity in Communication strategies. This is the reason; i have sought to explore various ways that networks can use in their project implementation: Blogging, Wikis, Social Networks, Film making, photography, mailing lists, SMS alerts, Radio talks and Road shows among others.

Diversity in Networks?

Yes. The beauty of diversity in any youth network is the liveliest phenomenon to observe. The growth of any youth network is solely dependent of the ability of its members to engage in diverse activities, while addressing their core vision and mission. Diversity provides each member of the network with a chance to take part in the running of the network activities. For instance, the saving of the dolphins, would take a myriad of activities; educating school children and communities, working with artists to create awareness, advocacy work, policy work with governments, among other activities. Youth should never limit their opportunities to achieve their dreams, they should always innovate new ways to deal with their challenges.

Where do we get resources?

The major challenge for the young people in meeting their needs, is finding the resources. The resources could be skills, educational materials, communication facilities, offices, finances, land and many others. The most important source of resources to a youth network is their contribution. Youth contribute either by paying membership to the network, contributing their time, skills, assets, to facilitate the achievement of the objectives they have set out. Young people have successfully run network projects with their own contribution. Another source of resources is the community where the youth belong; these can be government agencies, NGOS, universities, community members among others. Youth networks have also moved to another level of fundraising for their projects which includes developing project proposals and fundraising from larger corporations, governments and other funding agencies. This has been in some measure successful, given the limited funding allocated to youth programmes. Governments, NGOs and funding agencies are now allocating a percentage of their annual budgets to youth programmes which is accessible to youth networks. In 2009, eight African governments supported young people from Kenya, Zambia, Namibia, Swaziland, Malawi, Botswana, Nigeria, and South Africa to participate in COP 15 of the UNFCCC. This was a historic year for the youth movement to work with their governments in achieving their dreams. In 2010, the African Ministerial Conference on Environment, are in discussion with the youth to ensure that they are officially recognized with the AMCEN, and take part in the decision making processes. This is a huge resource to youth networks around Africa.

Whom should i work with?

Partnerships? We must seek to work with all people and in different ways. Every time i meet a network of young people, the second question i ask them is; whom are you working with? It’s vital for networks to identify and forge partnerships, friendships and other networks with relevant groups working in the same area as they. These partners are means of knowledge sharing, capacity building, information dissemination, support, among other areas of partnership. The partnership is either organized or informal, long term or short term, even project based. The partners still support the sustainability generation participants in their projects through knowledge sharing, internship programme, and mentorship. While i worked with the InterVarsity Environment Network, we were in partnership with UNEP, UNICEF, universities, UN Habitat, Consultancy firms, and journalists, to ensure the success of a sustainability workshop for the university students. Without them this project would not have been a success.

The bottom line for any youth network is leadership, integrity, transparency and responsibility. In leadership, a transition and mentorship policy needs to be in place either on paper or existing as a standard operating procedure. Dynamic youth networks needs to have dynamic leaders who not only buy the vision of the network and run with it, but also those that are willing to delegate duties, work with all members and mentor others to take up their positions once their term is over. In AYICC, which I have served for five years, i have always been amazed by the leadership characteristic that most members have observed. Having only started as a volunteer in events planning, I ended up being moulded into a leader and now have the role to mould others who are taking up the leadership position from me.

Intergeneration partnerships in youth networks

When i joined clubs and societies in my high school we always had a patron who would guide the activities of the group. In running youth networks, i have realized that you need more than just a patron for the network. You need a board of advisors, a board of directors, and most important, as an individual, you need a mentor who guides your leadership journey and provides checks and balances. You need to learn under someone senior who has probably been in the same position as you, someone with years of experiences, who can correct you when you are in the wrong. The old and the young need to share their experiences, the knowledge and dreams. While you have a mentor, you need to mentor someone else in the network that’s the only way an intergenerational partnership can be fully realized.

What is your role in a youth network?

Every person, youth or not, has a role to play in animating the youth network. Support the youth in your community to work together, share with them opportunities that exist, hold dialogues with them, listen to their way of thinking about the future, and advice them. You can support their vision, by developing programmes in your organization that will address their needs.

Young people are unwilling to accept failure, guide them in accepting mistakes as the way to achievements. Demonstrate to them, how to gather strength in the midst of failures.

Education is a right, not a luxury, so spend time educating the youth with your experiences.

About the writer:
Based on experiences of Grace Muthoni Mwaura, an IUCN Council member, who was appointed to represent the youth perspectives in the Council in the lead up to the next World Conservation Congress. Grace has worked with youth networks from a local level, university, African wide and internationally on various aspects of environmental conservation, education and sustainable development. She has also been involved in founding and leading some of these youth networks. She is passionate about growing animated children and youth networks, especially education, communications and environmental sustainability. She is currently working on Education for Sustainability Healthy learning programme with ICRAF, the World Agroforestry Centre, and VVOB, the Flemish Association for Development Cooperation and Technical Assistance. This is besides her advisory role in the aforementioned youth networks

A Young ICT Expert in Commercial Farming: The Story of Mike Bill

2010-09-08T18:13:00.000+03:00

38% of Kenya’s population are youth 15-35 years of age; they are expected to increase from the 11 million to 16 million by 2012. 1.3 million of these youth are unemployed. About 90% of them do not have appropriate vocational or professional training therefore limited chances to fully participate in Kenya’s labour market. Kenya is expected to remain youthful for the period 2008-2012, thus contributing to development. It’s therefore important to invest in the young population- education, health, social development, highlighting the potential benefits of doing so: building Kenya’s human capital, capitalizing on demographic dividend and breaking the intergenerational cycle of poverty. These issues have been articulated in the Kenyan First Medium Term Plan for 2008-2012 towards the achievement of the Kenya Vision 2030.

Agriculture is a key economic pillar for Kenya; it contributes to over a quarter of the country Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and provides livelihoods for majority of the Kenyan population. Agricultural development has changed over the years becoming more reliant on information and communication technology (ICT). Whilst in the past, agriculture was for the illiterate, youth are now finding their way back to practice farming as a career, business as well get involved in other rural developments. They make use of ICT innovations to enhance their production, marketing and information sharing.

The life of an ICT consultant in Nairobi and a prospective commercial farmer in the Rift Valley Province of Kenya is one such example. 26 years old Mike Bill, works for a International development organization in Nairobi training the Ministry of Education senior officials on how to make use of ICT in the Education sector. Being a consultant, his source of income is irregular, and he could easily go for months without earning anything. So he started farming to supplement his income. Youth rarely have access to land, but he had the opportunity to use his father’s farm which had been fallow for the past five years.

On the 1.5 acreage land, he is growing a crop of maize on experimentation basis, Fresno Chillies in seedbeds and will plant potatoes to harvest them in December. The farm has been marked on Google maps, 5 kilometres from Kericho town.

Working fulltime in Nairobi required Mike to employ a farm worker, who lives with his family in the farm house that he recently refurbished. The farm worker tills the land, maintains fences, and provides security and other jobs. Mike consults a graduate from an agricultural college in Kericho whenever he is preparing the land, planting, monitoring progress, identifying pests and diseases and other agronomic activities. The consultant is like his farm manager.

Unlike his neighbouring farmers, Mike heavily relies on ICT to run his farm, as re revealed to me over a Skype interview: “The saying ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ comes into play here. I have always been frustrated by people who do things in a lacklustre manner without offering much explanation or reason. So I turned to the internet for information on how things are done and then get people to do them using the knowledge I have acquired. The main tool I currently use is the bio vision website www.infonet-biovision.org which gives a lot of information on crop production. I also like to do things as scientifically as possible so I usually go as far as using tools like Google maps to determine my farms exact altitude and global rainfall patterns from websites such as www.world66.com. We could also speak of other ICT tools like M-PESA which is great for paying guys at the farm!” . With M-PESA, a mobile banking service, most Safaricom mobile service subscribers no longer have to carry cash money or worry about paying bills. Mike successfully uses the service to pay his workers and farm expenses when in Nairobi.

I am a colleague of Mike; he always passes by our office every month to pick copies of the resource materials to enrich his farming knowledge. This information is later shared with his consultant and the farm worker. Among the resource material that Mike reads include: The Organic Farmer, the Young African Express (a magazine meant for primary and high school pupils), the Miti Magazine, Kilimo and Baobab. These are local magazines published by Kenyan organizations on rural agriculture, development and information sharing.

Although his farm worker is young and literate, Mike says he is not great in interpreting written instructions. He has to supplement the magazines with verbal instructions and better still, an example. He is however optimistic, that this will change as he continues encouraging him. He hopes that some time, the worker will be sending him photographs via MMS, receipts and emails detailing progress. He has bought him a radio and advised him to listen to several agricultural radio programmes that could benefit his work on the farm. He notes that this challenge happens to many other farmers in the region who are illiterate yet have large farms under crop production, thus produce below their land’s capacity.

ICT can provide numerous benefits to a young farmer: updated farming information, market updates, pest management among others, but for Mike, his best input from ICT has been confidence. Confidence to venture into something new with the knowledge that he can always draw from other people's experiences through the internet. ICT innovations have enabled him to connect with networks of farmers around the continent whom they share experiences and knowledge. He hopes to practise sustainable export farming on that tiny piece of land. With the internet in particular, he has confidence that he shall achieve that. He has notified an export farmer in Ruiru, Central Kenya, of his planting plans; with his network, this farmer will get a market for Mike’s Fresno Chillies.

Mike’s biggest challenge has been language. A crop that is known on the internet by a scientific name could be available here but in different names, thus hard to make enquiries. He experienced this when looking for the Fresno Chillies seeds from the local suppliers. Extremely rare and not known by that name; it took months to find someone who knew about them. The same goes for diseases, pests, herbs and their corresponding pesticides. This has been a huge challenge for him especially given that he does not have an agriculture career background.

While ICT has been very useful in Mike’s farming experience, he has also discovered that not all information is reliable. Last year, when he was starting up, he had a disaster with a crop of beans using instructions he got from a website. The website claimed it was a high intensity method of growing beans. He positioned the seeds very close to each other and used a certain chemical to kill pests. Unfortunately, the beans sprouted and were absolutely routed by pests despite all the interventions he tried. He later found out that the problem was the spacing of his beans. Legumes are not to be grown very close over a large area but they require intercropping. This was a painful start of his farming journey, but he now became very careful about the information he uses from the internet.

Mike, born and brought up in the Kericho area, his family lived on a farm where they did small scale farming that was purely for subsistence. He is very much a village boy, going to a rural primary school where it was an offence to put on shoes because you would embarrass the teachers. His background makes him comfortable with being around a farm and rural folks. However, his inspiration to be a commercial farmer came from the experiences he had travelling around Kenya, especially Central province and seeing how people used their small farms to make money. Kericho has the advantage of rain and great soils but the blight of laziness and lack of knowledge has made small scale agriculture not unsuccessful.

Mike has the zeal to make a difference for himself, his family and his community. In future, he plans to have a large self sustaining farm with a farm manager growing export organic crops and maybe dairy animals. So far, he cannot openly count success but progress. He shares his plans with his peers over the phone and emails and hopes to have a Facebook page once he has the first produce ready for sale.

This article is a story of Mike Bill, an ICT consultant in Nairobi Kenya who has been using his ICT skills in his recently established commercial farm. I interviewed him via Skype after noticing his keen interest on the education resource materials (especially agriculture related). Since the interview, I was inspired to gather more information about commercial farming and share with him. I already advised him to subscribe to ICT Update and he is very glad to be part of the global networks on rural development and agriculture. He inspired me to start sharing information with rural youth network on better farming methods, markets and farm management. I also started a blog where I will be sharing the challenges of the rural young farmers seeking solutions. Two weeks ago, I put him in touch with a renowned insect scientist at the Nature Kenya to get answers on some pests that had infested his farm, but could not identify him. He is now safe with all the appropriate integrated pest management practices.

Voice your(th) actions on climate change: Part One

2010-08-20T22:34:00.000+03:00

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), of which most UN countries are party to, was set up to help the nations address the climate change challenges globally. The 16th conference of parties will be held this December in splendid Cancun, Mexico. As expected, governments, co operations, international agencies, and NGOs as usual will spend billions and millions of money before and during the conference; basically to negotiate on how to stop climate change. They will evaluate their performance in implementing the convention, discuss new actions after the failed Copenhagen Accord they had last year. We also expect them to spend more time discussing financing climate mitigation and adaptation, carbon trading, and of course, cutting the emissions. This will be a negotiation period, and not the actual acts by the governments. Back in their countries, the very activities that contribute to climate change could be increasing in magnitude and technology.

While this has been ongoing for the past 16 years, the over 190 party countries are daily faced with the challenge of providing even the very basic human needs to their citizens. This has been worsened by the impacts of climate change in these nations. Food, water, shelter, and education are no longer affordable and parents have to work extra hard to provide to their families. In the developing countries, the governments have to continuously accumulate debts from the rich countries and financial institutions to ensure that their citizens have at least the basic needs. The loans are never enough for the growing population and their needs.

Even so, we as children and youth have a role to play in ensuring that we stop our leaders from continuously negotiating for our future, and responding to the immediate needs and future strategies.

This September, the Convention secretariat has organized a workshop in Gambia, West Africa, where governments, NGOs, international co operations and other partners will meet to report back on the progress of the implementation of the Article 6 of the UNFCCC on Education and Outreach. This might be the only Article in the Convention that specifically addresses how the children and youth could play a role in addressing climate change at a national level. It stresses the role of the parties in ensuring the involvement of the children and youth in climate change mitigation and adaptation. As well, the meeting will focus on the youth experiences in the implementation of the Article and other related climate change activities

This is where you as a young person have a role to play. It’s our duty to stop our leaders from negotiating our survival by demanding a report on how they have implemented the Article with relevance to our needs and rights as a vulnerable group in the society. We need to ensure that we are part of the decisions that the government makes towards the implementation of this Article 6.

We need to discuss with our governments how they can review our education system so that it equips us with skills, knowledge and capacity to respond to climate change. We need to work closely with the Civil Society Organizations that support the implementation of Article 6 with specific interest to the role of youth and children in the strategies.

It’s our time to raise our voices and be heard, and not only that, contribute in our own individual small ways to solve climate change. It’s time to voice our actions on climate change.

Youth Employment- FAO Report

2010-08-16T09:33:00.000+03:00

http://www.fao-ilo.org/fao-ilo-youth/en/

Youth Employment

The United Nations defines ‘youth’ as persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years as agreed during preparations for the International Youth Year (1985), and endorsed by the General Assembly (see A/36/215 and resolution 36/28, 1981). Care should be taken to distinguish between the concepts of ‘child’ and ‘youth’. Children are those persons under the age of 14; it is, however, worth noting that Article 1 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines ‘children’ as persons up to the age of 18. This was intentional, as it was hoped that the Convention would provide protection and rights to as large an age-group as possible and because there was no similar United Nations Convention on the Rights of Youth. When dealing with youth employment, ‘youth’ includes those persons between the minimum age at which work is allowed, according to national laws, and 24 years. It is estimated that this group makes up 18 percent of the global population (2006) and 25 percent of the total working age population. The majority (almost 85 percent) of the world’s youth live in developing countries, with approximately 60 percent in Asia and 23 percent in the developing regions of Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. By 2025, the number of youth living in developing countries will grow to 89.5 percent (UNDESA 2006, World Population Prospects).

Around 88.2 million young women and men are unemployed throughout the world, accounting for 47 percent of the 185.9 million unemployed persons globally (ILO 2006). In addition, an estimated 400 million youth worldwide – or about one third of all youth aged 15 to 24 – suffer from a deficit of decent work opportunities. The vast majority of jobs available to youth are low paid, insecure, and with few benefits or prospects for advancement. Around 25 percent of the youth population works, but lives on less than the equivalent of US$ 2 per day (UNDP-Spain MDGF, 2007).

In addition, youths are vulnerable and their interests are not protected as they often lack or have difficult access to trade unions or financial support services. ILO estimates that 93 percent of the jobs currently available to young people in developing countries are in the informal economy: earnings are low, working conditions are unsafe and there is little or no access to social protection. The UN General Assembly Resolution A/RES/57/165 (December 2002) on Promoting Youth Employment “Encourages Member States to prepare national reviews and action plans on youth employment and to involve youth organizations and young people in this process”.

The lack of decent employment opportunities is particularly severe for young girls; policies implementation is a key factor in this regard. The Commission on the Status of Women always requests national Governments to implement its recommendations, therefore, implement better policies at the national level taking into account the gender dimension. It is also necessary to eliminate discrimination in training for employment and the development of skills. Policies must ensure that young girls have the opportunity to enter the job market as equally as young boys. Indigenous youth, lacking work opportunities in their long-held territories, also face specific vulnerabilities when seeking employment in other areas.

Around 85 percent of the 500 million people who will become of working age in the next decade live in developing countries. The developing world’s youth is the next generation of economic and social actors. They are powerful agents of change and sources of ideas and solutions for sustainable development. This situation presents the world with an unprecedented opportunity to invest in youth to accelerate growth and reduce poverty.

The promotion of decent work for the youth can prevent child labour (where children are defined as all persons up to the age of 18). A great difference can be made especially regarding the elimination of the worst forms of child labour – which involves approximately 52 millions of youths-children aged 15-17, many of them working in the agricultural sector, according to ILO estimates - by ensuring that this age group is only involved in activities that are appropriate for its age (ILO Convention 182). According to ILO a lack of decent work, if experienced at an early age, often permanently compromises a person’s future employment prospects and can trap youth in a vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion.

Decent youth employment is targeted in the Millennium Development Goals (Goal 1, target 1.B). Under the impetus of the Millennium Declaration in 2001, the Youth Employment Network (YEN)was created by the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the World Bank (WB) and the United Nations (UN) to "develop and implement strategies that give young people everywhere a real chance to find decent and productive work". The work of the YEN has been strengthened by a series of UN General Assembly Resolutions which encourage member states to develop a comprehensive approach to youth employment. A Guide was published in 2008, which provides a framework for the development of National Action Plans on Youth Employment (NAPs).

Youth employment in agriculture

In sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, up to 70 percent of youth live in rural areas and half the youth population entering the labour force work in agriculture (IFAD, 2007). However, rural areas are losing the young productive workforce, due to consistent rural-urban migration and the spread of HIV and AIDS, which affects a vast majority of infected people in the prime of their working lives.
FAO and ILO are committed to the promotion of youth employment, which is to provide all young people in the developing countries with sufficient opportunities to obtain decent and productive work in conditions of freedom, equity, security and human dignity, and to achieve a working life that makes full use of their talents, abilities and aspirations. Creation of youth employment in agriculture could help reduce the worst forms of child labour, promote rural employment and development, and help reduce poverty by raising incomes.

Particular emphasis should be given to the dissemination of affordable and relevant opportunites of appropriate education, training, and professional development. Technical and vocational education trainings should be provided to prepare youths for employment, through the acquisition of skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to develop professional careers and enter the world of work as active citizens. FAO and ILO together with UNESCO have recently published the report “Addressing Challenges and Opportunities for Rural Youth Employment”, based on a joint study undertaken in Asia.

Shared policy goals

FAO and ILO shared policy goals for youth employment include the following:

Mainstream youth as a priority group that require special focus and targeted development policies and programmes.
Ensure that all major development policies, programmes and investments are planned in consultation with young people, taking full account of their views and needs and of the possible impacts on them.
Involve young men and women in rural and agricultural policy and decision-making at the community, national and international levels.
Provide rural youth with appropriate educational, informal training and volunteering programmes that value agriculture and rural life and equip young people for mixed rural-urban livelihoods.
Facilitate the entry of youth into formal jobs by providing apprenticeships and training programmes, and including young people who lack formal education.
Provide rural youth, particularly women, with access to land and the financial services that are available to adults.

Youth employment programme activities

Many initiatives aimed at promoting decent youth employment with the technical support of FAO and ILO are presently on-going in various countries of the world.

In Malawi, a two-year UNJP on Youth Employment and Empowerment has been recently launched in order to provide concrete employment opportunities to rural youths in 4 districts of Malawi.

In Mozambique within the Promotion of Youth Employment UNJP, seven UN agencies have committed to support Mozambique in strengthening its capacity to promote decent work by contributing to the improvement of the employability of young women and men, reducing their risks and vulnerabilities as they enter the labour market, and enhancing their prospects for income-generation and decent employment.

In Sudan, the UNJP Creating Opportunities for Youth Employment in Sudan (MDGF-1888) has been launched in order to provide skill development and livelihood opportunities to the youth with a focus on returnees and demobilised soldiers, while supporting youth employment mainstreaming in national development frameworks.

In Nepal the UNJP Jobs for Peace has been launched in 2008 to contribute to national peace building and poverty reduction through employment and empowerment of youths. The project will also promote the peaceful gathering of young people and communities through business development and social development activities, facilitating communication and interchange and strengthening the peace building process.

In Tunisia, the UNJP Engaging Tunisian Youth to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGF-1930) has started in 2009 in order to develop and enhance regional capacities in migration-prone areas, through the sustainable creation of decent jobs and the promotion of local competencies.

In Honduras, a three-year UNJP on Human Development for Youth: Overcoming the Challenges of Migration through Employment (MDGF-1926), has started in 2009 in order to to increase the capabilities of vulnerable young men and women between 15 and 29 years of age at high risk of migration for labour market integration. Specifically, the programme aims at creating decent entrepreneurship and employment opportunities with equality of opportunity, by inserting the youths in the productive process and promoting a sense of belonging in order to disincentive irregular migration.

In the Gaza Strip and West Bank a Junior Farmer Field and Life Schools (JFFLS) programme has been launched in 2008 in order to improve vulnerable youths’ skills and abilities in carrying out income generating activities. The grouping of former JFFLS graduates in youth farmers’ cooperatives was first piloted in this context and has proven to be key for the sustainability of such a programme.

Contacts

FAO Focal Point: Peter Wobst, ESWD (Peter.Wobst@fao.org)

ILO Focal Point: Gianni Rosas, EMP/SEED (rosas@ilo.org)

Why Nigerian Youth Keep my spirit warm

2010-08-13T17:31:00.000+03:00

In my five years working with young people across Africa, one country that has always made my heart warm, and new strength to keep on moving, second to Kenya, has been Nigeria.
They are not only actively involved in personal development initiatives, but they also have a keen interest in the development of their country.
10 days ago, they held in collaboration with the World bank, a forum on Development and the Role of youth. Its an inspiring story that i read from the site:
http://go.worldbank.org/03QC2R6WN0
Keep on my friends from Nigeria!

I salute the strong ladies of Nigeria, just to mention a few, Esther Agbarakwe and my other 'mum' and mentor, Akpezi Ogbuigwe, the two of you stand out extremely, and you are an inspiration, not only to the African women, but also the african youth.
Keep the spirit and lead Africa to sustainability.

Youth Participation Ideas COP16

2010-08-13T13:52:00.001+03:00

I know all of you are looking forward to going or sending a delegation of young people to COP 16. Then i do advice you to read through this presentation which is available on the Slideshare

Youth Participation Ideas COP16

View more documents from kjell79.

2010-08-13T10:34:00.000+03:00

I am inspired by how much young people are always willing to do! They are out to do even much more that this!

Youth delegates at Zambian climate conference take lessons home to their communities

LUSAKA, Zambia, 28 April 2010 – Nearly 200 children from all of Zambia’s nine provinces are heading back to their hometowns after attending the country’s first Children’s Climate Conference in Lusaka this week.

2010-08-12T08:47:00.000+03:00

Gardening for Learning

My mum grew her vegetables in a large rural farm in the Central highlands of Kenya, but I now have to innovate ways of having fresh vegetables in my small residence in Nairobi City. My land lord only allows ‘flowers’ in a small backyard. I have managed to convince him that vegetables can be flowers too!

Really? No new resources are required, just a few minutes to water your vegetables, creativity and watch them as they grow. I use all the space in my backyard, staircase and window sills.

How? Get all your old, containers, broken pots, old sacks and flower pots into your backyard and every empty space in your compound. Fill them with good farm soil. Collect from the neighbourhood dried plant material to use as mulch. Direct your kitchen waste water to a large container to use for watering the plants.

Mix the soil with organic manure in the ratio 1:1. Buy or borrow from neighbours, but in future, you should compost your own manure in the backyard using your own biodegradable waste. Leave it for some days as you decide what to plant. Visit the food market to see what they have and don’t have. Consider your favourite vegetables that are also easy to grow. Buy seedlings or seeds from trusted suppliers and plant or sow them. Mulch your gardens with the dried plant material. It conserves water, reduces weeds, and protects plants from harsh conditions.

Improvise two cans to be your watering cans by making holes on one and use them to water the gardens daily. Weekly, put your potted plants outside to get adequate sunlight.

Flowers planted in your gardens make your project colourful, and attract biodiversity to your household like the butterflies, birds, bees and many others.

Within weeks, all your vegetables and flowers will be growing all over your backyard, and around your house! Only harvest what you need for a day!

Your family will enjoy fresh salads prepared from your backyard! It will be a live learning tool for you that will change your way of thinking about food production, and will make you desire to be more innovative to improve on such simple projects! The simple gardening is also an exciting time for you to learn how to identify weeds, pests and diseases that will be attacking your gardens.

Next? You need to call up your neighbouring friends and share with them the new innovation in your backyard so that they can also try it at their homes. Request your teachers and parents to invite the agricultural extension officer to visit your gardens.

Challenges? Innovations can only be fascinating, if daily, there are new challenges, and lessons to learn from trying to solve them. These include pests that can damage your plants. You can stop them by planting repellent vegetables like the onions, the chilli and Rosemary plants. Ash, when mixed with water is a perfect natural pesticide.

Farming without hurting animals? Yes! Birds will prey on your garden! How will you deal with them?

Why do this? This simple project will improve the health and nutrition of your family. In your own small ways you are contributing to achievement of Earth Charter Principles and millennium development goals on food, education, environmental sustainability and poverty reduction. You are also acquiring as you work in your gardens, life skills on food production and learning new things from the environment that enrich your class work and future. Is this not a sustainable way to live?

Kenyan Climate Youth: 8,000 TREES IN MT KENYA, ONE YEAR LATERIn May 20...

2010-07-20T17:11:00.000+03:00

This is what i would call action.
Its passion
Its Commitment.
And for the young people in Kenya, its healthy!
I am glad to be associated with Nature Kenya

Kenyan Climate Youth: 8,000 TREES IN MT KENYA, ONE YEAR LATER

In May 20...: "8,000 TREES IN MT KENYA, ONE YEAR LATER In May 2009 a group of young people under the banner of the Nature Kenya Youth Committee set off fo..."

Of Healthy living, foods, mushrooms and Carbon Offsetting

2010-07-20T13:52:00.000+03:00

Yummy!

Sustainable?

1.30PM Its that time of the day when you need to eat and i took some time to focus on my recent eating habits. Even though most of my colleagues and friends have complemented me for having a smooth skin and and better physical body outlook, the fact is that, two weeks ago, the doctor warned me of having lost 3 Kgs in less than four months! Is that normal?

I am not keeping fit, i am not on diet, i was not extremely ill, just a cold, that took me down a few days of the week. Why then loose weight? And still look healthy in the eyes of many?

So i have now prescribed myself to healthy eating, i may gain weight in the next months, and my physical appearance may look even more appealing to my friends, but the truth is that i will be working towards getting back to the recommended weight for my body size!!!

No questions about my weight right now.

How does the prescription look like?

First, i am eating more indigenous vegetables than ever before. I am working in a Healthy Learning Programme,teaching school children and community to eat more healthy foods, but rarely do i drink the water i preach, i have been taking my wine all through and poisoning my own body.

Second, more water. I do take water, but mostly as my countless cups of Kenyan tea in the office. So every evening as i journal and do my reflections, i am taking more water than ever before in my life.

Less sugar. Not sure if this is really going to work. Last month when in Amsterdam, my friend warned me about the sugar levels i was taking. Even though i have not developed any clinical symptoms of lots of sugar in my body, prevention is better than cure, so i am investing more in honey and sugarless tea! I hope i will make it!

More milk. This has not been good for me all through but at leats i am now trying to have milk in my tea and hence less sugar. As well, im a taking more yorghurt and Maziwa lala.

More Indigenous whole meal dishes. I cant prepare this in my small heaven, so every weekend i ran to my sister's apartment for a meal of whole meal Ugali, porridge and or Chapati.

Mushrooms. Not ideal for a workplace, but a colleague had this beautiful idea of bringing us mushrooms! I cant wait to get home and have a meal tonight!

What about my Carbon Footprint?

Oh yeah! i am a climate change activist. So i will check on all to offset my carbon and emit less. No more refridgerated foods from Uchumi, our hypermarket next door. No more skimmed milk, i can do with the local dairies in my neighborhood, no more processed foods, the Kenyan industries have not been offsetting their carbon. And one more thing: I am starting my own vegetable garden in the backyard!

So its gonna be really a healthy life now!!!

Education Aid to African Children?

2010-07-12T14:54:00.000+03:00

We are at crossroads in ensuring that we achieve the second Millenium Development Goal on Education for All.
But when i read such articles as these, http://preview.tinyurl.com/37dm2jx i am made to think outside the box.
How would Africa sustain its education without Aid? Do we have the capcity?

IUCN - Commission on Education and Communication

2010-07-09T09:13:00.000+03:00

IUCN - Commission on Education and Communication
Youth Awareness Environmental Forum (YAEF/Nepal) is a community based non-profit media membership organization. CEC member Dr. Astaman Kisee Maharjan shares this report of YAEF's activities to mark World Environment Day in 2010.

World Environment Day June 4, 5 and 6, 2010The World Environment Day has been celebrated all over the world on June 5, 2010 with the slogan "Many Species Our Planet, Our Future" coined by UNEP. Every year Youth Awareness Environmental Forum (YAEF/Nepal) organizes three days (June 4, 5 & 6) programs on the special occasion of World Environment Day. Similarly, YAEF has celebrated the world environment day successfully this year. This year YAEF celebrated the following programs on the occasion of World Environment Day.

Speech Competition
Youth Awareness Environmental Forum, Environment Cycle Radio F.M. 104.2 MHz and Namuna Machindra Secondary School jointly organized a Secondary School Level Valley Speech Competition on June 4, 2010. On the program, there were 34 participants from 9 schools. The speech competition having a topic "Climate Change -Our Challenge" was held at Namuna Machindra Secondary School Lalitpur, Lagankhel. The program ran during 11:00 to 18:00 hours among teachers, students, guardians, socialists and other people from different locations. Ms. Rama Khadka of Shree Shramjeet Higher Secondary School, Ms Sangeeta Timilsina of Gyankunja Secondary Boarding School, Ms Sapana Mishra of Shree Shramik Santi Secondary School, Ms Susama Lama of Global Secondary Boarding School, Mr Sudip Mahato of Shree Krishna Secondary School stood First, Second, Third Forth and Fifth respectively in the competition. Winners were awarded with Shield, Medals and Certificates by the Chief Guest Mr Naran Prasad Bhattarai of District Education Officer Lalitpur. The Speech Competition was judged by the judging committee members including Teacher of Mr Puskar Aryal the Memebr of YAEF, Dr Dinbundu Sharma of Namuna Machindra Secondary School and Mr CB Acharya, Programme Presenter of ECR FM104.2MHz. The committee members were reminded by token of Love.

On the programme Dr Astaman Kisee Maharjan, Dr Dinbandhu Sharma, Mr Nabin Maharjan spoke on the direct to control pollution. The programme was chaired by the principal of Namuna Machindra Secondary School Mrs Nanu Baba Duwadi. The program was hosted by the Navaraj Sanjel.

Arrangement of Banner show
Youth Awareness Environmental Forum and Water Forum Nepal jointly arranged a Banner show on the occasion of the World Environment Day on 5th June 2010 at different venues of Kathmandu valley. Venues were Ratnapark, Near to Bhaktpur Durbar Square, Lagankhel, Jawalakhel and Harihar Bhawan (In front of UN House) Lalitpur, Kathmandu Nepal. The program was arranged in order to aware & awake people to commit to take the slogan into action coined by UNEP. Banners represent UNEP's and other environment related slogans. On the occasion, the Chairman Dr. Astaman Kisee Maharjan, YAEF members: Rajendra Maharjan, Ratna Maya Awal, Sunil Maharjan, Dipendra Maharjan, Rupak Maharjan, Satu Raj Maharjan, Bhim Sapkota, Ram Krishna Maharjan, Ashok Maharjan, Maharjan, Krishna Mukunda Maharjan and many other members were present. YAEF also published environmental related magazines which were free distributed among the people at programme site.

Distribution of Poster and Pamphlets in Katmandu Valley
On the occasion of the world environment day 2010 Youth Awareness Environmental Forum had distributed poster and pamphlets among masses at different places of Kathmandu valley on June 4, 5 & 6th, 2010 with motive to aware people hand to hand. The main slogan of the world environment day 2010 coined by UNEP was “Many Species Our Planet, Our Future ". And in order to take this slogan into action the forum is raising voice against the activities directly affecting the environment. In pamphlets, the forum has summarized rapidly required issues on slogan like "REMOVE PLASTICS, SAVE ENVIRONMENT", “BAND BRICK KLINS, PRESERVE ENVIRONMENT" & "CLOSE STONE-CONCRETE INDURSTY, PRESERVE NATURE AND HERITAGE". Environment Cycle Radio F.M.104.2Mhz has been Broadcasted 18 hour daily only Environment related slogans on June 4, 5 and 6, 2010

Valley Bicycle Rally
Valley bicycle rally was organized at 8:00am on June 5th 2010 in order to aware local people of the valley. The main objective of this function was to remind and utilize people about the slogan launched by the “Many Species Our Planet, Our Future”. The program was inaugurated by Ms Pampha Bhusal the Ex-Minister & the Constitutional Member of Nepal. The rally started after speeches made by YAEF's Chariman Dr. Astaman Kisee Maharjan, Mr Nabin Maharjan the Acting Station Manger of Environment Cycle Radio F.M.104.2MHZ, Ms Ratna Maya Awal the Chairman of Women Division, Mr Sunil Maharjan the Chairman of Water Forum Nepal, Executive Member of YAEF Mr Puskar Aryal and Chief Guest Ms Pampha Bhusal Ex-Minister & the Constitutional Member of Nepal from Lagenkhel and followed Jawalakhel, Pulchowk, Kupondole, Tripureshwor, Sundhara, Bhotahity, Jamal, Gantaghar, Bhadrakali, Sahidgate, Tripureshwor, Kupondol and lastly reached up to Lagankhel, Lalitpur. About 375 participants had participated in the rally covering about 25-kilometer route. T-shirts indicating UNEP's slogan and certificate were awarded to all the participants. Participants were refreshed by cold water & snacks.

Lalitpur Mass Rally
YAEF and MSR/Nepal jointly organized Mass Rally at 8 A.M on June 5th in order to aware local people on ‘Environment Conservation and Protection’ of the Lalitpur Valley. The Program was inaugurated by Ms. Pampha Bhusal the Ex-Minister & the Constitutional Member of Nepal. The Mass Rally started after the speeches made by Ms. Pampha Bhusal the Ex-Minister & the Constitutional Member of Nepal, Dr. Astaman Kisee Maharjan the Chairman of YAEF Nepal and Mr. Batu Krishna Karki the Programme Director of Environment Cycle Radio Radio F.M.104.2Mhz and was followed from Lagankhel to Jawalakhel, Pulchowk, Mangal Bazar and ended to Lagankhel, Lalitpur. About 125 participants participated in the rally covering about 7 kilometer route. T-shirts indicating UNEP’s slogan and certificate were awarded to all Mass Rally participants. Participants were refreshed by cold water and snacks.

Talk Program
A talk program is organized on the occasion of the world environment day June 5, 2010. The topic of the talk program was "Protections of the Environment in Nepal Problems and their Solutions”. 75 young people participated in the programme.

Essay Writing Competition
June 6, 2010, Youth Awareness Environmental Forum, Environment Cycle Radio F.M. 104.2 MHz and Namuna Machindra Secondary School jointly organized a Secondary School Level Valley Speech Competition on June 6, 2010. On the program, there were 34 participants from 9 schools. The speech competition having a topic “Protections of the Water in Nepal Problems " was held at Namuna Machindra Secondary School Lalitpur, Lagankhel. Ms Januka Maharjan of Harshidhi Secondary School, Ms Susma Lama of Global Secondary School, Mr Rosan Karki of Namuna Machindra Secondary School, Ms Junu Paudel of Shremjeet Secondary School stood First, Second, Third Forth and Fifth respectively. Winners were awarded with Shield, Medals and Certificates by the Chief Guest Mr Naran Prasad Bhattarai of District Education Officer Lalitpur. The Essay Writing Competition was judged by the judging committee members including Teacher of Namuna Machindra Secondary School. And also the committee members were reminded by token of Love.

On the programme Dr Astaman Kisee Maharjan, Dr Dinbandhu Sharma, Mr Batu Krishna Karki spoke on the direct to control pollution and to protect environment.The programme was chaired by the principal of Namuna Machindra Secondary School Mrs Nanu baba Duwadi. The program was hosted by the Satya Raj Khadka.
Live Phone in Program

On June 6, 2010 YAEF and ECR FM Woman Division jointly organized an interact Live Phone Program through ECR FM 104.2MHz. The women from various parts of the Kathmandu Valley took part in the Program and spoke on “The role of women in protecting environment”. The participants about 125 women got phone line to talk in the program. The participants were awarded by Certificates at ECR FM Woman Division compound.

Dr. Astaman Kisee Maharjan
Executive Chairman and Chief Editor/Publisher
Youth Awareness Environmental Forum (YAEF/NEPAL)
Email> yaef_ast_60@hotmail.com, ecrfm104_2mhz@hotmail.com
Website> www.yaefnepal.org

Youth Awareness Environmental Forum (YAEF/Nepal) is a community based non-profit media membership organization, established in 1994. YAEF/Nepal is the member of International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), South Asia Youth Environment Network (SAYEN), Community Broadcasting Association of Australia (CBAA), Community Media Association (CMA),Asia Pacific Water Forum (APWF) and World Water Council (WWC), affiliated with United Nation Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and Global Water Partnership (GWP). The forum has conducted several programs as co-partner of Children and Youth/Sports and Environment Unit (UNEP).

Become a club member - WASH United

2010-07-08T16:07:00.000+03:00

Now that World Cup is coming to and end, its time to join Wash United.
Become a club member - WASH United

Webinar: Late Blight in the Home Garden

2010-07-08T11:30:00.000+03:00

I am have been learnign alot on school gardening and its contribution to learning. This blog just inpsired me!
Webinar: Late Blight in the Home Garden

Does disaster insurarance have a role in climate change adaptation?

2010-07-08T09:41:00.000+03:00

Climate change is unequivocally taking place and some of the poorest people in the world are already suffering from its effects. Higher global surface temperatures and sea level rises are contributing to increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, with disastrous effects on individuals......Read more
http://www.christianaid.org.uk/images/time-for-climate-justice-july2010.pdf

VATICAN HUMOUR

2010-03-23T17:45:00.001+03:00

One more way to keep healthy is by humour. This one below just made my more healthy!!!
After getting all of Pope Benedict's luggage loaded into the limo, (and he doesn't travel light), the driver notices the Pope is still standing on the curb.

'Excuse me, Your Holiness,' says the driver, 'Would you please take your seat so we can leave?'

'Well, to tell you the truth,' says the Pope, 'they never let me drive at the Vatican when I was a cardinal, and I'd really like to drive today.'

'I'm sorry, Your Holiness, but I cannot let you do that. I'd lose my job! What if something should happen?' protests the driver, wishing he'd never gone to work that morning..

'Who's going to tell?' says the Pope with a smile.

Reluctantly, the driver gets in the back as the Pope climbs in behind the wheel. The driver quickly regrets his decision when, after exiting the airport, the Pontiff floors it, accelerating the limo to 205 kms.. (Remember, the Pope is German..)

'Please slow down, Your Holiness!' pleads the worried driver, but the Pope keeps the pedal to the metal until they hear sirens.

'Oh, dear God, I'm going to loose my license -- and my job!' moans the driver.

The Pope pulls over and rolls down the window as the cop approaches, but the cop takes one look at him, goes back to his motorcycle, and gets on the radio.

'I need to talk to the Chief,' he says to the dispatcher.

The Chief gets on the radio and the cop tells him that he's stopped a limo going 205 kph.

'So bust him,' says the Chief.

'I don't think we want to do that, he's really important,' said the cop.

The Chief exclaimed,' All the more reason!'

'No, I mean really important,' said the cop with a bit of persistence.

The Chief then asked, 'Who do you have there, the mayor?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Chief: ' A senator?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

Chief: 'The Prime Minister?'

Cop: 'Bigger.'

'Well,' said the Chief, 'who is it?'

Cop: 'I think it's God!'

The Chief is even more puzzled and curious, 'What makes you think it's God?'

Cop: 'His chauffeur is the Pope!'

Give me a sense of humour, Lord,
Give me the grace to see a joke,
To get some humour out of life,
And pass it on to other folks.

Earth Healthiest Foods

2010-03-18T10:30:00.000+03:00

1. Berries: All berries are low in sugar and high in fiber. Blueberries have been
shown to increase memory in lab studies, and raspberries and
strawberries are loaded with ellagic acid, a powerful antioxidant that
seems to have some anti-cancer properties, according to the American
Cancer Society.

2. Beans:-Beans are extremely high in fiber, which helps to control weight, prevent or manage diabetes and blood sugar, and may help prevent colon
cancer and protect against heart disease. The National Institute of
Medicine recommends 25-38 grams of fiber a day. The average American
gets only 4-11 grams. One cup of beans provides 11-17 grams.

3. Nuts: - Some of the largest and most important long-term studies of diet and
health have shown that eating nuts several times a week is consistent
with ....Read more: http://www.livehealthclub.com/

The Mood food connection

2010-02-26T13:39:00.001+03:00

But just before you have that lunch, or that meal you are planning to have, have a look at this website that i bumped into Treeplus
Its interesting on what we should eat. More so, i found it interesting as i have found it very hard to work for a whole day without dozing off.
So at least now i know what i need to eat to keep alert.
I need to be smarter than i have been in the office, what a super day for me, i know exactly what i need to take in the morning for breakfast.
Its not so bad in reminding me the simple facts about being healthy and feeling good all the time.
I highly recommend reading it!
Healthy Food!!!!