MAY THE YOUTH ARISE AND STEP UP TO THE CHALLENGE- KENYA

The SG tasked me with the responsibility of a speech for the second meeting :D . Perhaps no one was prepared for a 10 pages wording, but here it is :D , a few weeks later.

Dear leaders. Wakanda Forever :D .

Ever since, I arrived at this role, I have just been talking about Africa. #ThisIsAfrica. #AfricaIsACountry, everything you can imagine about the continent, I have been talking about.

Now more than ever, we are called upon to seek in ourselves the African Values from within and without ourselves, for perhaps by accepting ourselves, we shall go in to the next level of creating The #AfricaWeWant.

Biko observed that in an African community: 

"Poverty was a foreign concept… It never was considered repugnant to ask one's neighbors for help if one was struggling .In almost all instances there was help between individuals, tribe, chief and chief, etc. even in spite of war” This explains why a community may have poor people but it may not have beggars” Today we even have street children. How can children not have home?

Times have changed. Now we realize, if we do not like the fruit, we must change the seed.

The dreams of our fathers is that Africa will think as a united team for her to attain her full potential. That there will be no barriers of trade, work, or Visas, or barriers to where you can go hung out for a weekend. You will be walking in to Uganda or Tanzania as you wish, like the way Emmanuel does. That the energies of the African youth can be fully harnessed in to achieving full potential. That the dreams of our founding fathers will be actualized by us through massive action. Maybe not protests, but creation of opportunities. That is what we hope to achieve through this AYDEC DREAM.

DREAMING A WORLD IS A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT, we cannot sit in our own at the corner and wish upon it alone, we must forge it together. So that each of us are dreaming good dream, not as the ones others are dreaming of how they will explode others.

And It is your presence that will make the entire journey worth, we hope that it will exciting, fulfilling and transformational for each of us here.

A question was asked, if there was no limitation, what would you wish to see. And the most amazing answer was given, stop wishing, and start doing. I have a policy, if you task yourself with stating the problem, then you should task yourself with the same responsibility to perform the solution. That as you claim your rights, then as well, you claim your own responsibility. 

The question is, WHAT DO YOU WISH FOR? DO YOU WISH FOR ANYTHING AT ALL?

What you wish for, you have the ability to create. We are all here, because we have wishes, some are known, some aren’t. We have Dreams of a possible Africa. We know the greatness that lays within not just ourselves, but Africa.

When I was at YALI, and my friends here will testify of the most awakening conversation, of the power of us coming together, but even more “the power of one individual”, Yours. That is, your power, and your ability to change this continent, even if you were alone. How much more us, when we are together? 

Today, as Obama puts it, I want you not to believe in any one else’s ability or the SGs direction to lead us in to the right direction, but your own. In your own leadership. To create possibilities in the sector that you seat on. The question is, “HOW WILL AFRICA CHANGE BECAUSE YOU CAME”?

First of course it starts with humility. Thank you for your humility to serve, and even dream for a better future for Africa.

This will not be about networks of Connection to the UNITED NATIONS or the AFRICA UNION, this will especially be about dreaming a new dream for the continent. Creating new possibilities for the continent. Become the UN or AU, ourselves, and even bigger. Not through policy only,( I am sure you are tired of the Committees that sometimes lead to nowhere) but through massive action with massive results.

That you task yourself with the responsibility to change the continent. Ours is an economic revolution. We are not going to the streets to shout and hail or even roll of the floor. We are going to the books and the hearts of men. To remind them of their own power. To reawaken their dreams and their hopes. Like a little govt that depends on you, we are action pact. That which we wish to see, we create. Be it schools, be it hospitals, be it industries even if it will take us 10 years to build this, we will arrive. 

We are not rich, but we believe in our own spirit and our own ability to fight for the dreams of this continent. We are rich because we are together, and change will certainly begin with us.

The cause of sin, and corruption, is actually poverty. Thus, if you can empower your people, you have prevented them from becoming thugs in the future, you have enhanced security. Everything is interconnected. We can’t escape politics, but we know that an economically empowered population can make better political decision.

Our great cause that we believe will change the country, not to give a man fish, but to teach a man how to fish. Through education and creating decent work we will have done our part. I know some of you are passionate about climate, but we believed, these two will take care of everything here. It will take care of hunger, poverty and even sorrow. The power of coming together is unbeatable. Such as unbeatable, Ubuntu, Harambee, ujamaa where people’s unity made them more powerful than any force out there. As the Kawangware route 46 put it, “People Power”, I have truly seen nothing more powerful.

Think of yourselves as ministers in your sector. Such like you are big brother or the fairy senate. The dream government that you would wish to have is you the individual. Give that sector that is your job life. May people never forget that you sat on that seat. No work is small, every work is noble, especially if it advances humanity. It is even more noble as you, to give your time especially because it is very precious. Someone said, if you are wasting someone’s time, you are wasting their money. Your presence therefore is very key, vert key.

Think of yourself as entrepreneurs, where you have a chance to build something from the very start, from nothing to significance. Do not underestimate the value of small beginnings. We may look very clumsy, almost as if we are mad and going nowhere, but you can be underestimated, but certainly not ignored, if you work with diligence. That we shall not constantly beg for finances, but we shall use finances from grants and our contributions to start project that will outlive us. To have projects that will teach us, and projects that will give work to people and programs that will inspire more people to be job creators.

Think of this as a business. Never be part of projects that result in endless activities. There should be a reward for your efforts. For those of you who left home, to be part of us, it is a sacrifice. You could be sleeping right now, or washing clothes. Know that you are investor in the continent. May it build your career. May you go as wild as possible without limitation. For it is in being without limitation that we can go past where we have already been.

Our dream is to see more people doing great work. More capable people. More empowered people. Our dream is to remind people to dream a lot more, often, everyday. Dreams do come true, if they didn’t nature wouldn’t dare us. Thus in our time, we hope to see; SUSTAINABILITY, TRADE,THE ISSUES OF GENDER, both the boy and the girl child. Truly leave no one behind. EMPOWERING YOUTH through Education, FOSTERING ECONOMIC PROSPERITY through creation of more opportunities to work, BUILD CIVIC PARTICIPATION, GOOD GOVERNANCE AND RESILIENT COMMUNITIES, PROMOTING INCLUSION AND EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES.

We are not close, we are far, but like every journey, you don’t stop until you arrive. If you leave for Mombasa this Morning, you must reach Mombasa. You can’t reach Mtito Andei and come back. Vallerie said, it may take us more than the three years we have, and that is true, however let’s do the most that we can in the three years.

We are counting on each other. Afraid, even more excited. I know Kenyans have a good heart. I know we are great people, in-spite the innate potential for bad behavior, he he he. But we should not be underestimated, what we set out to do, we will achieve. We should never underestimate what we are capable of.

I will leave you with a phrase, incase you are doubting our own ability to change things. Our greatest change is, how can we re-ignite this hope, how can we change the face of the continent?

I tell you it is possible. It is not a matter of if, it is matter of when.

A Beautiful Lady from Rwanda said this narrative that move me. “When we were growing up, we saw war in Rwanda. Everyday in the news, that was all we saw. Today, Rwanda is the model of the new Africa. Clean city on hills, top with the inclusion of women, top in good governance. We are seeing a model of a country that is far beyond a role model for other countries to emulate.”

It is in our time where we can have the change we want to see. There is many people making policy out there, we have to be the ones who fold our sleeves and do the work. You only work for people you love, you cannot hate people. Sometimes I am convinced our politicians hate us. What we need is A heart of servitude. Someone has got to do it.

People will be taking part in side shows, we will be the real show. Thus, the greatest call then is to hold ourselves to a very high standard. What you promise, you must deliver. Teach yourself love. Love for people, what you do and the cause. Respect yourself enough to only take part in that which you really want to do. FOLLOW YOUR PASSION, even if it is not your passion, do a good job anyway.

Our greatest call then, is our great humility to serve, to collaborate, to have compassion mostly. It must come from our heart, our soul. To commit to a cause larger than ourselves. To empathize with those who live a life different from our own. To be the representatives of the people of wherever we come from. To be involved in local issues, even if they are boring. You are representing your people not just here in Kenya or Africa but to the world. We owe it to them to represent them well. So that through you, they are being seen by people who matter to them. And you are seeing them too. I hope you can see them, hear them.

I had stopped watching news, but now how can I not plug in to the same madness, and hope that we shall be part of that solution. Sometimes you just have to be the first, and then everyone else will join. But you must believe. Someone said, if you are part of the lucky one percent who is privileged, you owe it to the rest of humanity.

This is our chance to TACKLING INEQUALITIES & DISCRIMINATION and propagate INNOVATION FOR SOCIAL CHANGE. We know talent is distributed in excess, but opportunities are not, our greatest task then, is to ensure than opportunities are distributed. Especially in the rural areas, as many of you note, there is little there. This is a huge task, we cannot do that if we feel small. We need to find our courage and our own voice, and finally we must use that voice.

In the Greek Mythologies, a human being was equated in the same measure as a god. Now, we are not God, but we come from God. In the real essence when God told Adam, go and name the birds of the air and the animal of the air, he was tasking him with the task of speaking life in to these vessels. Today, you become part of modelling the entire Continent, and be part of the change we want to see. I hope that through this you will grow your careers, you network and your influence. Whatever it is you put in here, you can achieve. May God be with us!

Thank you,

Yours Truly

Kenya AYDEC Representative,

Esther Neema

#AYDEC #Africa #Kenya