Last week I was thrilled to facilitate AFS Yes Alumni seminar for the first (and hopefully not the last) time. The workshop was held at the Crescent Camp, Naivasha with the theme of Empowering the Youth for Peaceful Change.
Lots of Quotes and Stories
Despite having spoken at many events before, I was incredibly nervous on this occasion. I hadn’t worked with a young audience before and I was unsure what approach to use. In the end, I opted for a new method, using lots of leadership quotes and personal experience working for a prominent politician, working in Kariobangi, and working with the Sabaot Land Defense Force (SLDF) ex-combatants in Mt. Elgon, to emphasize key points. By the time the seminar started I was calm, and thoroughly enjoyed myself. And judging by the feedback from attendees, I think the seminar went down well.
Kariobangi Cleanup
After the workshop in Naivasha, the AFS Alumni joined Hands of Love Educational Centre parents and the Kariobangi community for a cleanup exercise on 15th April to mark Global Youth Service Day. This was great.
I have to mention though, one group of girls from Korogocho were making things difficult for everyone but ended up teaching me an important lesson. They taught me that to be kind, to be selfless, to sacrifice personal convenience and gain for the greater good is awesome. The mettle of a good leader. It sorts of drove home the message from the seminar. It is easy to blame others (above and below you), and yet at the end of the day, you have to hold your tongue in order to look inward and ask “How did I contribute to the problem and how can I make it better?”. This is amazing, a form of awesome completely based on how you choose to think and act.
Thank you
I got carried away writing this post and I think it is better suited to my personal blog. Anyway, let me conclude by thanking all the wonderful Naivasha seminar attendees and the parents and others who joined us for the cleanup exercise. Huge thank you to AFS Kenya for organizing an awesome seminar and supporting the cleanup exercise.