On Saturday, July 10th 2010 I had the pleasure of hosting a coffee house, along with the other interns and directors at the World Youth Alliance house.When the day began, I was nervous as to how the event would turn out as this was the first such event hosted by WYA Africa.The disc jockey, doubling as the sound technician, arrived early in the morning to set up his equipment.Once that was done, we simply had to prepare the refreshments, organize the house as well as the stage, and wait for both the performers and audience to arrive.
The performers started arriving about 1 hour before the event was to begin, with audience members trickling in slowly.By the proposed start-time, most of the performers had arrived and were ready to go; however, the audience members-who were less than those of us hosting the event-did not look encouraging.We decided to push back the start.In the meantime, the dj, with his impressive skills, entertained those that were present as well as attracted the interest of passers-by causing the wall at the back of our compound to be spotted with curious faces.These unexpected visitors stayed with us through the performances once the show began.
At 4pm, with all the performers present, and a substantial audience present, we began the show.We had a variety of performers, from singers to dancers and poets to comedians.The dancers, a group of young children from Mukuru, were the definite stars of the show.Their enthusiastic presentation of a traditional number as well as a poem, through which they compared the ‘old’ days to our modern times, enthralled and entertained the audience.A group of three young men provided the comic relief for the show through a skit and a narrative.The audience was also given an opportunity to spontaneously participate, as open-mic segments were imbedded within the flow of performances.At the show’s end, the dj played some more tunes as performers, audience members, and WYA staff mingled and got to know one another.
This WYA coffee house was called Art Dignified, the theme being to promote the dignity of the human person through different art forms.Art has a way of captivating those that experience it thus there was no better way to present the message of human dignity than in the creative form of art.On the other hand, we see more and more frequently that art, especially music and dance, is used to promote messages of violence, materialism, and overt sexuality.Having the performers use music and dance to promote dignity was a refreshing experience for the audience and the WYA hosts.
The event was a success, made all the more so by two prominent members of the WYA community; Mr. Oscar Beauttah, an international board member, and Esther Kanyi a previous director of operations.
Foyo Juma
EMERGING LEADERS SUMMIT
The World Youth Alliance Africa held a successful EMERGING LEADERS SUMMIT- a national Youth gathering on the 13th of February 2010 at Ufungamano House in Nairobi. The Kenyan youth have been on the periphery in issues that affect them, their communities and nation. As trustees of posterity, they need to get more involved in societal processes as they are key stake holders. The summit came two years after the post poll violence that rocked Kenya in early 2008. It provided an opportunity to identify progress after the post poll violence and steps to maintain the peace and the role and responsibility of the youth in doing so thus the theme of the summit was Peace: Our Responsibility for National Development. 200 youth leaders attended the summit across Kenya. There was a series of speeches, lectures from experts on matters of peace and development and group discussions among the youth. Among the key note speakers were Martha Karua-a member of Paarliament, James Hope- a representative of the US ambassador to Kenya,Florence Jaoko- Chairperson of Kenya Human Rights Commission,Jason Nyantino- CEO Media Development in Africa, Dan Kwach- Head of Data management at KDN and Youth leaders from Africa Youth Initiative on Climate Change.The summit will be an annual event.
SUMMARY OF PAST AND PRESENT EVENTS
TRAINING SEMINARS
Kakuma refugee camp, one of the largest refugee camps in the world, is located in Turkana district, in the northwestern region of Kenya. The town has hosted the Kakuma Refugee Camp since 1992. This camp serves over 65,000 people from neighbouring countries that have been at war for a long time. A majority are from southern Sudan, some from Somalia and the last major group from Ethiopia. Other groups include Burundians, Congolese, Eritrean and Ugandans.
WYAA in partnership with Don Bosco Youth office held successful two day training on Leadership and communication on 14th and 15th of October 2009. The Director of Operations, Hezbon mogambi also introduced the World Youth Alliance to 120 young people and screened an Ubuchindami film Children of Heaven.103 youths signed the charter and became members. A similar training was held earlier to young people in Makuyu on 1st and 2nd October.117 youth signed the charter. On 28th October 2009, 66 youths in Don Bosco Embu were trained and 60 signed the charter.
EMBU-EASTERN KAKUMA N.EASTERN
VIVIAMO! PROJECT
World Youth Alliance Africa held the first Viviamo! event in 21st June, 2008. Members, friends and supporters of WYA were invited to come join us as we shared love on that special day with those who are affected by jiggers. We held the event in Kanunga-Kiambu, Kenya and had the second Viviamo! project on 14th February, 2009 in Gatundu-Thika District, Kenya. This was done in collaboration with Ahadi Kenya Trust, A Kenyan NGO that is involved in the jigger eradication project. We looked for donations of clothes, shoes, dry food stuffs, Medicated soaps, disinfectant, Basins and gloves.
The aim of the Viviamo! project is to involve young people in a practical experience of the Dignity of The Human Person while giving them an opportunity to participate in person Centred Development activities. The Viviamo! project initiated by World Youth Alliance in 2003 has since expanded to each of the five WYA regions. It is an opportunity for our members to give them selves to a worthy cause while sharing the experience with other young people who share in the idea of the dignity of the human person.
DANCE WITH DIGNITY PROJECT
The WYA Dance With Dignity Extravaganza is a cultural project by the World Youth Alliance Africa which first took place on 30th August, 2008. The Dance Extravaganza project is to help young people who are talented in dancing to nuture their talents and use it responsibly to benefit themselves.
The event is an important opportunity to World Youth Alliance for building solidarity among youth, membership recruitment and celebrating the art of dancing with young people.
Our first event took place at the SOS center in Buru Buru-Nairobi, Kenya.
DECADE OF DIGNITY AND DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE
This year marks ten years since the World Youth Alliance was started by Anna Halpine at the United Nations in New York. As part of marking this important event, all five of WYA Regions will hold activities and projects aimed at involving our members and friends in celebrating ten years of WYA’s work in promoting human dignity-this is the ‘Decade of Dignity and Development’ (DDD).
World Youth Alliance Africa region has planned an international conference in Nairobi, Kenya from Tuesday 4th to Saturday 8th August 2009. The Theme of the conference will be ‘Peace: Our Responsibility for Integral Development’.
Our target audience will be mainly committed WYA Africa members as well as young people who would like to bring WYA to their countries and have an active membership there. We look forward to your participation in this conference.
Download the application form and instructions here. The deadline for applications to the conference is on Monday 29th June. All communications regarding the above should be sent to africa@wya.net with the subject Africa DDD.
CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
WYA holds Conferences and Seminars which focus on helping participants understand who they are as individuals, identify what they are capable of doing, and act according to their potentialities to become better people who make a positive impact in society.
The World Youth Alliance believes that formation of young people through training on the dignity of the person is the key to solving the problems we face in the world today. As young people we are the generation that will be the earth's future stewards and leaders. To meet this challenge, we must foster responsible leadership in every society with a personal commitment to care for both earth and neighbor.
Discussions focus on the history, content, and relevance of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights document.
World Youth Alliance Africa hosts seminars for Dignity in Leadership in schools e.g. the Kenya High School, and in other African regions like Zimbabwe. Students participate and express their determination to establish a local chapter of the Alliance.
