Certificates

Certificates
Well, I have taken long since I did a serious post, because well I haven’t been serious enough with life. So because today is one of those days when I have gotten time to reflect on my serious past, allow me to share with you in this moment.
This morning I was going through some of my best moments in conferences, mentorship programs and all manner of summits. Those kinds of conferences which have ‘Free entrance, tea and snacks will be provided, there will be CERTIFICATES….’ I have been contemplating about the hundreds of such conferences that I have attended and the tens that I have been part of organizing, the thousands of youths that I have met in these places and the common inspiration is Certificates.
As a matter of fact, if today you want to organize a ‘successful’ youth conference then just put a small line in your poster with the writing ‘certificates will be provided’ yes even if it’s a 30 minutes thing. They will come in hordes, not because they are interested in the content but because of the certification. Well not 100% but 85%. Any serious youth today has at least a certificate they got from attending a conference etc. While am not demonizing certification, its important that we acknowledge the fact that majority of these certificate holders cannot event tell you a thing they got from the conference the attended.
Recently I was in an interview and one of the ladies I sat next to horrified me, her CV had more than 10 attached conference, forum e.t.c certifications. But what was even more shocking was that when asked to name atleast  sustainable development goals, she couldn’t yet she had 3 certifications as an SDGs champion.
We have slowly destroyed the value of certification to an extent that any serious interviewer no longer cares about them, but youths are still going to conferences to be certified. Come on there are way better things to gain from forums than  a piece of paper. Go to conferences and network, Grow your knowledge and understanding. Don’t work so hard to have a CV that you cant understand yourself, this life goes beyond CVs, there are forums that will open your eyes and make you better, create you networks that will help you get wherever you need to.
Looking back to my 4 years In campus, I have attended forums which have been eye openers, I have met people who have helped to go up my career and I am wiser, more courageous and a better human. Remember certificates are not bad, but they should never be your priority.

Religion in TRUMP TRIUMPH

I closely followed US elections keenly observing each move that the two top canditates made. Hillary moved for good to better to ‘best’ while in the contrast Donald Trump moved from bad to worse. Each day came a revelation that made you hate trump even more. Trump made it worse by sometimes saying things that are not ‘politically correct’. But one asks, how come this guy defied all odds and became 45^th President of United States of America?

While Clinton got endorsements from top most stars in the US; the Obamas, Jayz, Beyonce  just to mention but a few, Trump was endorsed by Wrestlemania and probably pornstars. Clinton got full backing of Democrats, most republicans saw Trump as unfit. The media focused on tarnishing Trump forgetting that any publicity is good publicity. The polls gave no bill of health. Trump was destined to fail. He was a joker anyway. But how did he win?

This is where we throw in the religious angle. Well I don’t think that many pundits will agree with me on this but, could it be that religion was a driving force in the just concluded elections? Were conservatives against the kind of an agenda the democrats were driving on? Will minority rights ( LGBTI) be undermined by Trump administration? Were Americans voting driven by conservative values?

Well I agree that all these were motivating factors. Looking at the kind of an agenda that Pence, his running mate was riding on then you can get the underlying factors deeply entrenched in Trump, Pence campaign. Pence appealed to religious conservatists, he kept on referring to upholding religious values. Despite trump being the typical guy who isn’t religious, his running mate is superbly religious. You will discover that Trumps verbal attacks on muslims was a way to woe the Christian population in a strategic way putting it up as a matter of security concerns.

Trump did not thrive on policies, he thrived on emotions. He stirred the emotions of religious population which is highly conservative and popular with democrats, he was able to get them in his camp despite wide knowledge of his vices. In politics when you appeal to emotions, values and interests of the people you win their hearts and triumph in the ballot.

YOUTH IN MOTION CAMP

Youth In motion camp

Young Achievers Network since its establishment in 2013 has been tirelessly working to see to it that youths have a platform for mentorship., charity and advocacy. We have gone to schools (primary, secondary and higher learning institutions) we have visited childrens home, we have worked with slum support groups, we have closely worked with local and international bodies to enhance youth voices and youth actions. These were our small winnings to ensure that the dreams, goals and visions of our youth are in motion.

Over time during our interactions with our volunteers, mentees and mentors we have identified the gap between dreams and actualization, static plans and rolled out plans, we have met people who have given up on their destiny, we have interacted with stories and testimonies of failure. But again we have also met champions built by resilience, determination and focus. Young people who are doing marvelous things in their 20s and 30s. These are people who broke the records, dared the undared, focused on the little things for big wins.

Bringing these two groups together has always been our joy. We have in several instances done it in our bi monthly cocktails, Forums, social media conversations  etc. But that is not enough! When we engaged some of our participants, the asked for more; more time, more youths, more days, more topics and even more speakers. In all humility as a platform for these young people we took up the challenge and organized our first ever camp, not because we were experts but because of the kind of belief our fellow youths have bestowed on us and we promised never to let them down. So 2^nd-4^th October 2015 we converged at IYF headquarters for an experience like no other. With youths drawn from almost all universities and colleges in Kenya, working class, hustlers and high level speakers and personalities we did it and that was just but the beginning.

One year later we want to do it same place but with a different touch, this time round we have opened up to more than 300 young people from Kenya and outside Kenya to come and be part of the movement. Youth In Motion camp is not just about spending 3 nights in  a place away from your bed, no. Its about setting those dead dreams, stalled visions and complicated careers into motion. It’s a journey of inspiration, motivation and rejuvenation. This is where contacts are exchanged, business deals are made, lifetime opportunities are carved and your future gets into motion. It’s a place to unwind , have fun and make it remarkable forever after, because that’s what it means to be young

This year’s Youth In Motion Camp will be held at IYF Headquarters starting 29^th September- 2^nd October 2016. Charges are 2000/=  payable via lipa na mpesa till 652372. Forward payment confirmation to Solomon on 0713234071. For any enquiries contact 0713234071/ 0724758827.

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Social media; antisocial behaviours

Its 9:30 am , an early Tuesday morning especially for those of us who are are beneficiaries of hardworking entrepreneurs who worked themselves out to employ us an 8-5 kind of a job. Unfortunately other than being non risk takers, most of us are also lazy, so we need a few hours to pick up the pace needed at the workplace especially on the early days of the week. The situation has been made worse by the July weather which has negatively influenced us to change the dress code of this high profile (blue chip) institution. 

Everyone has arrived other than the usual suspect... Sheriff is the name we fondly call him. We are not any better than him though, we are busy catching up with latest hashtag on twitter , posting long inspirational messages on facebook, reading the blogs and team mafisi are doing their usual trolls on social media feeding their eyes with assets beyond their reach . This defines our hardworking culture (if my boss hears this) . 

For those who are curious about where i work lemmi help you understand the setting.Itss a high class office in the outskirts of the capital with unlimited internet access, for research of course; i mean everything we do here has a background of research, reading things such as 10 things you didn't know about vera sidika and such like important topics in life, isn't that research? Back to the description, this place has human beings of all age groups, some old enough to be sponsors and others young enough to be sponsored, some with big bellies and others with 6 pack (by the way this where i fall). our clients are human beings from all walks of life ranging from sponsored entities, sponsoring entities, hit and run , vacated entities etc. 

So this morning, we are just doing what we  ' love' doing. suddenly, Risper screams followed by a couples of oooh noo mumbles, everyone looked at her astonished. You see, Risper is this workplace socialite who is always in 6 inch heels, she is well endowed in areas like mathematics , gossip and celebrity news . Everyone loves to hate her, she is a zero chills kinda lady who will never publicly show her emotions,everything about her is mystery. In a great understanding of her character,the bosses threw him to the communications and PR department.

Everyone looks up in shock wondering what has happened to our rather composed socialite. She is uncontrollable, no one really understands what has transpired other than sheriff who happened to be walking in at that time and carelessly asks ''kwani sponsor amepull out'' of course no one listens to him. Our HR walks to her desk to calm her down and understand the situation. 

So after like 10 minutes, since the drama broke out everyone ha gathered information which would be enough to hold a press conference. The news were not Good, Risper had learnt of her father's death on Facebook after a neighbor had posted it on his wall. 

This got me thinking, how would i feel if i got such news on social media, this doubles up the pain of losing a loved one. It is not only absolute mediocrity but also very uncultured behavior. To the breed of bastards who compliment their self esteem with gossip and idle talk, Let not your love for gossiping go beyond our socialites and politicians, before you post that message on social media, ask yourself what will be the implications, who is getting that information. Imagine we still respect you even though you are not the first to give us the news....

Social media ethics are so needed!!!!!!!

Passion for Christ

Passion 4 Christ.

Tried,tempted and tired
Defeated, struckdown and dismantled,
Strangled ,convicted and paralysed
For His Sake.
We have faced death along this journey,
But our faith stands strong,
That's why we call it passion for Christ.

With insults
Tonnes of insolence
But we keep to our silence
To answer them, we don't have a license,
For The Kingdom of God,
Is not a Matter of talk but of power,
So it becomes more than passion 4 Christ.

With moments of lack,
Days of Hunger,
Months of desperation,
Years of desertion,
This is our time of grief,
A moment of spiritual inspiration,
Soon we start the celebration.
Enjoying our Passion in Christ.

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Tribe ni jina, Kenya ni sisi

On Saturday I and a group of young people set out to Nyandarua county to mentor young high school students. It's not the first time I am doing it but there is something that makes this special was that I was going to a county I have never stepped foot into and more special was the young people who accompanied me. They were all from DIFFERENT TRIBES! Norah Moraa is a kisii from Nyamira county, Patrick is a Luo , Monica is Kalenjin and our host was a Kikuyu. As we travelled, joked, posed for photos and mentoring the students, we didn't do it because we were members of our specific TRIBES. No, we did it because we believe that every child in this country deserves better, not only from the government but from the society they grow up in. This is why I love being young, because youths means global. I am a firm believer of humanity, your tribe doesn't matter, what matters is our collective love and commitment to the future and the destiny of this great country. Shun TRIBALISM, commit to the future. Rise above Hate.