Empowering Young People to Create Their Own Opportunities - An invitation for you!

A critical  element of creating peace is creating  an inclusive and empowered community. By inclusive I mean that individuals of all ethnicity  religion, gender, socio-economic and level of ability are a meaningful part of the community and have access to opportunities. The word 'empower' gets thrown around but few understand how to achieve it. 

Traditionally we think that it is through skills and resources that we empower. As a result of this we give developing countries  resources, money and train them. Yet are these countries empowered? Are they free of dependency? At Omni One we see resources and skills as a vehicle but without fuel it will go nowhere. What really empowers people then? That is a question worth asking. What is it that enables people to stand no their own two feet, become proactive in creating their future and the future of their communities?

It is a question we will continue to ask, but so far we offer the following ideas that are working very well in all communities we have worked in. Our answer is PASSION, CONFIDENCE and OWNERSHIP! Until we stop telling other people and communities what they should be doing, or stop consulting them and then doing it for them there will be no empowerment. What is needed is a space where individuals and communities can explore and ignite their own passion and realize their capacity to achieve their dreams starting with the resources they ALREADY HAVE!

I have been working in Kenya for the last 12 months, and in this time I have talked to many people about my past work on the Festival of Dreams. The sentiment of young people and stakeholders has been that Festival of Dreams is something that needs to happen in Kenya, that it is a missing piece to the puzzle of creating a peaceful, stable community. 

Like everywhere in the world, young people are a critical asset in the community. In Kenya, this asset is being wasted. Kenya has 70% of it’s population under the age of 30yo with 60% unemployment. There is poverty, drug, alcohol and politically fueled violence prominent and young people are stuck in a cycle of poverty that has existed for a long time. Jobs do not exist. In order for young Kenyans to break out of the cycle of poverty and violence they need to become masterful at creating opportunities that do not currently exist. Festival of Dreams offers young Kenyans the platform to create new opportunities and nothing like it exists in the country. 

The young people on the Dream Team at the Concept
Launch sharing issues young Kenyans struggle with

We’re aiming to raise $45,000 to kick start the first Festival of Dreams program in Kenya. This figure is the minimum amount we need to run the basic year-long project. It will give us enough time to start looking at longer term, sustainable funding sources that will ensure this incredible project can continue on in years to come, and grow to include other features like an alumni program and opportunities for past participants of Festival of Dreams to help organise and run the program. Eva Mackinley is the Fundraising Director for Festival of Dreams Kenya. Her story is below:

I was 15 when I attended the Festival of Dreams forum in Tasmania. To be honest, I didn't really know what it was at the time. I was going along because one of my friends was. I had no idea that what was to come would change my life forever.

Eva Mackinley winning Southern 
Cross Young Achiever Award
 from what she achieved through 
Festival of Dreams

At the end of that forum, I put my name down to volunteer at Festival of Dreams and spent that set of summer holidays in the office with Celia, who has become a life long friend and mentor. Over the next few years, I became deeply involved with the organisation on many levels, and it set me on a path that 15 year old me could have only imagined.

The process was simple enough. With a group of about 100 other young people from around the state, we explore our dreams for our communities. With the help of the program facilitators, learned how to turn those dreams from ideas into tangible project plans that we could take away and implement when we left the forum.

The power to create our vision for our community was completely handed to us, and for me it was the first time anyone had ever given me power over anything. I had met a group of peers who didn’t judge me, as we were all in the same situation, all unknown to each other. I could be whoever I wanted to be. I could be whatever I wanted to be.

The Dream Team at the Concept Launch. These are the
Kenyans building the project in Kenya. Everyone
is volunteering their time and resources. We all invite
you to partner with us to make this opportunity a reality

Festival of Dreams helps young people create exciting and much needed community initiatives. But, for me the true value lies in the un-measurable outcomes- being able to see what’s possible outside of the life you know, being able to think and problem solve, learning what it takes to be  leader- those are the essential by-products of the Festival of Dreams.

When Celia spoke to me a couple of months ago about her work in Kenya, and the context of the young people in that country, I immediately understood the need for Festival of Dreams to exist there. 

Young people in Kenya need something to empower them, to give them the space to create their own opportunities where none exist. In that way, a new generation of young people in Kenya will take ownership of their communities and work together to make positive things happen within them- simultaneously creating opportunities for themselves and breaking cycles of poverty and violence. 

Young people say THANK YOU!

I have been through this program. I know it works. I know the potential it has to change the lives of individuals and the trajectory of communities in unprecedented ways. Celia has seen and heard first hand about the need for this program to exist in Kenya.That is why we’re working hard to raise this money, that is why we've asked for your help.

We are inviting you to donate to this campaign and share this opportunity with your networks from now until September 6th. I know we can make this happen.

Thanks for reading, and we invite you to support Festival of Dreams in Kenya.  

Click here to contribute to empowering Kenyan Youth

Eva Mackinley

Festival of Dreams Kenya Funding Campaign Director

Kenya Elections Tomorrow

Kenya in the lead up to the elections

Tomorrow Kenyans go to the polls to elect their 4^th President since independence. There is an inertia across Kenya as people apprehensively await the elections on March 4^th. Given that over a thousand people died in the 2007/8 elections and hundreds of thousands of people lost their homes it is not surprising that people are worried. The inertia is that generally people are not willing to commit to new projects or decide their direction until after the election. The economy grinds to a snails pace and people do not want much cash on them. Retailers do not replace stock for fear of looting. Nairobi town is quieter. The trolleys at the supermarkets are overflowing with all the staples people are buying in case they need to bunker down for the next month or so. I felt a bit stupid with my little hand basket with a packet of pasta, some chocolate and a few cans of beans. Is there something I am missing here?

Performers at Blankets and Wine advocating voting.

The inertia in Kenya is frustrating as we can’t move forward with any of our projects. It is like being in purgatory but with the uncertainty of whether we will end up in hell or we will just go back to normal after the elections.

The campaigns have been more cohesive than last time according to locals. At the last election there was not much tolerance for the diversity of parties to campaign in a tribally loyal area. This year other parties have been able to sell their polices, even if it has meant being stoned in some places. There have been a few deaths that have been attributed to politics but generally so far it has not been terrible.

Stefanie from Beyond Violence creating the pledge at the workshop

Yet the air is thick with fear. I am starting to catch it. The supermarket today was a sobering moment when I saw how packed it was with people buying food in case there was violence and they could not leave the house. My minor uneasiness has moved to moderate fear. Maybe I should leave Kenya for the elections? Visit my friends in India.

I facilitated a workshop in Kibera for youth on peace yesterday using Open Space. It was chaotic, mostly because we were disorganized and people were frustrated. The lunch did not arrive until 4pm. Hungry people are grumpy people, which is fair enough! I am grumpy when I am hungry. The whole day managing the space was hard work but some good work was done.

The theme of the workshop was ‘What are the triggers of violence in my community and what can I do to prevent it.’ The main triggers identified were tribalism and nepotism, where leaders favour people from their own family or tribe. ‘Nepotism also makes people not choose good leaders because they vote for their tribe.’

Workshop I facilitated in Kibera

 

Other triggers identified were lawlessness, being power hungry.

‘We beg our leaders to accept defeat if they lose so we can avoid violence’

The popular solutions identified to were choose leaders who stood for the unity of all Kenyans, who did not favour their own tribe, that community members preach peace, having peace concerts and forums…

Overall the response was that we are one Kenya, not a series of tribes.

While the election is one day away, on March 4^th, it could be round one of a two round competition. In order to win, the Presidential candidate needs 51% of the votes. Given there are 8 candidates it is unlikely anyone will get 51%. it is likely that there will be a run off in another two weeks between the two highest voted parties. So the tension will be here for at least the next three weeks. The two most likely candidates to win are the current Prime Minister Raila Odinga (Kenya has a President and a Prime Minister as a way to bring about peace from the last elections) and the son of the first President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta. Uhuru is in the international criminal courts with his running mate Ruto for crimes against humanity from the last elections. He is accused of insighting violence that led to many deaths. Raila is a candidate that many Kenyans thought should have won the last election as he was winning the count until there was a power cut and then when the power came back on, Kibaki was winning. Apparently the Chief Justice was forced to announce Kibaki’s victory at gun point before the votes had even been counted fully. So democracy in this country is at the end of a rifle or a shilling note.

Workshop in Kibera on Peace

Raila is also not squeaky clean, but he is  corrupt as he pays people to vote for him and creates lies to deface his opposition. But then again, that is normal political practise. Kenyan politicians are the highest paid in the world. While 50% of the population lives below the Kenyan standard of the poverty line and 40% are unemployed, Kenyan politicians have multiple helicopters and can afford to give out millions of dollars to win an election.

It would seem that Kenya has an absence of leadership with real vision and integrity. This is not to be blamed entirely on the politicians. Kenyans overlook  leaders if they don’t have the money to give them to buy their loyalty. It is said that in Kenya to gain power you need money, not leadership. It is highly unlikely that a poor person could ever rise through the political ranks in Kenya. So Kenya gets the leadership that is corrupt from the beginning, as to obtain the amount of money required to run for office, corruption is the usual method.

The campaigns have been making themselves visible to the community through trucks with loud music and speeches driving through the streets and giving out money. Advertising is everywhere. Every free space seems to be taken up with posters of candidates.

Dan the Magician at a school in Babadogo

Kenya’s current political structure gives the President a huge amount of power but that is supposed to change after the election. There is a new constitution that will be implemented after the election that marks the devolution of power to a small extent to the 47 counties. Kenya is in a period of transition. Done well, this will mean more democracy and power to the people. Done badly it will just spread the capacity for corrupt government employees to use tax payers money for their own agenda at the expense of the community.

Time will tell what happens. There is a general sense of people voting and returning to their homes to hide tomorrow. Let's hope that like Dan, the magician with the young girl in the photo above, what appears is something that delights and inspires wonder for the future. We will see….