I have a friend called Tom who is always looking out for me for journalism and writing opportunities. A week ago he calls and tells me the British Council in Kenya are holding a cultural event and they need journalists and writers to cover the event. Of course I was excited and wasn't going to miss the opportunity for anything. So I get mentally prepared and anxiously wait for the big day.
The event was a two-day symposium which was to take place in Nairobi-Kenya where I stay. On 28th February I woke up earlier than usual to ensure I arrived at Nairobi National Museum- where the event was to take place on time. It was my first time attending such an event with so many people from disparate parts of the world brought together by culture. While chatting with citizens of South Africa, Colombia, Vietnam, UK and other countries, I learned that we were so similar and experienced the same cultural heritage challenges despite our differences. Challenges such as the wide gap between the youths and the elderly generation in preserving culture, poor government policies on cultural objects, neglect of cultural heritage sites among others.
Among the twenty plus speakers, I was mostly inspired to be a change maker by those with cultural heritage initiatives. Andiswa from South Africa help preserve indigenous languages in her country by digitizing so that they don't go extinct. She elicited exciting emotions in the crowd after showing us how people from her tribe her tribe- Xhosa, speak in click sounds.
Ngugi Waweru from Wajukuu Arts works with the youths in Mukuru, a slum in Kenya. He has a creative space where he trains the youths and kids in artistic work. Ngugi's project has saved the lives of many youths in the slum by providing them a source of income and preventing them from engaging in criminal activities. Chao of African Digital Heritage takes pictures of old railways in Kenya and document them for preservation. Emily Drani from Uganda inspires the youths to be cultural heritage custodians through clubs, debates and competitions where they learn more about their culture.
Have you ever been curious to know how people with disabilities live in your community? I interacted with Sarah of Africans With Disabilities who I had a lot to learn from. Sarah proposes policies, and advocate for the rights and inclusion of people living with disabilities. It was heartbreaking to learn that culture negatively affects people with disabilities. Most communities in Kenya associate disabilities with a curse, especially when a child is born with the condition. Some parents or relatives even end up abandoning the affected kid when they can't stand ridicules from the society. In other parts they consider such kids outcasts and shatter their dreams because of their conditions. While talking to Sarah I came to know that I had also discriminated this group of people by sympathizing with them.
"They don't need sympathies. They want to be given equal opportunities like normal people. In a job position for instance, a person with disability shouldn't be given priority because of their condition but rather their merit" Said Sarah.
Sarah is also a host of Sign TV which is the only channel in Kenya that exclusively caters for the needs of people with disabilities. One thing I was surprised to learn about her is that she has a professional background in Finance but completely left the field to serve her community.
"One day I went to visit my mum who was working in a special needs school. When I arrived there and saw the kids, my heart skipped and I felt so much compassion towards them. From that moment I knew I wanted to see them more often and it became my full time job with time. I do what I do because of that instant feeling I got that first day."
When the symposium ended my head was spinning from all the lessons I had to take in. From the fact that I didn't know much about Luo culture, which is my tribe, to the awakening that I had never done anything to improve culture for inclusive growth in my country. It was a huge challenge thrown in my basket to learn and at least make others aware about the importance of culture for inclusive growth.
While there were so many activities and people I interacted with, I went home thinking a lot about Sarah's initiative. I want to start by telling Africans, more so Kenyans, how to live with People living with disabilities. I want to write a lot of stories and make their voices be heard. I'm soon meeting Sarah again to discuss how best we can work and write authentic stories that will change how the community view people with disabilities. The symposium's theme 'culture grows: Between yesterday, today and tomorrow' is etched in my mind and I will continue living knowing that if I don't make a difference, no one will.