 Good morning, you are still watching your favorite channel, that is Y-254 channel on your favorite show, wait, favorite show on your favorite channel, there we go, English has almost left the building, so before it does, at Y-254 Facebook, Y-254 channel on Twitter, Y-254 underscore channel on the gram, hashtag of the day is WCW because we crush on our queens on a Wednesday, or you can use a generic Y in the morning, and it is a very, very special day, it is hashtag International Women's Day IWD and we are feeling some type away, since it just happens to be on a Wednesday, yay, 8th day of March, 2023, my name is Valentine or at Color Me Val. Now if you just let me just say a couple of people who are already socializing with us on our socials, see what I did there. I see you take a Makungeni while presented, to Vai, to Vai Junior, so let's keep up the good work. I don't know if you've seen that meme that has, the amount someone should be making, so that you ask for extra amount for salon. Droneidrae says, Happy Women's Day. Jella Mercy says, Happy Women's Day. Back at you, Mercy. Alright, Mohammed Ali says, Happy Women's Day to my beloved mom and Afeni Shakur, mother of Tupac Shakur, love these moms very much, alright? And my James, our top, top fan, a woman is so much more than just a human being, she has the power to create a life, to cope with so much pain and somehow always end up being the strongest one in the room. How poetic, Happy Women's Day to all the goddesses out there, that's very sweet. And he says, Mombasa is tuned in. I remember what to do and how to do it. Now without further ado, I will allow my panelists to introduce themselves kindly. Yes, I feel like clapping for them. Hey, welcome to set, welcome to studio. Yes, this is Y254, Karibusana, this is almost like home. I'm here every day, day to Friday. Please introduce yourself. What is your name? Good morning, my name is Jeanie and I'm a girl guide from Madagascar. We are in an exchange who called the YES program in Kenya. YES stands for Youth Exchange Soft to Soft. It's an international program. So we have 60 participants this year. So we are five in Kenya, we are among these 60 participants. So we are hosted by Kenya Girl Guide Association, who is the largest organization for girls and young women in Kenya. How is it, how is our food? Do you like our food? Yeah, I like chapati very much. Hey, Shonarwa, shout out to Shonarwa. What's your name? My name is Agnes Muhindu, I'm from Uganda Girl Guides Association. Also currently being hosted by Kenya Girl Guides Association. Yeah, it is a lovely time here in Kenya and to be able to celebrate women's day here with all the Kenyan women out there who celebrate you. How do you feel about that? What's the difference between the atmosphere I guess between Kenya and Uganda? Do you feel at home or do you feel homesick? I wouldn't say I feel homesick so much really. Okay, just maybe the difference with maybe some things. But guys, it's still East Africa. So I haven't felt like there's a very big difference, especially with the weather. Yeah, maybe just a couple of a few things. I've noticed that Kenya is so digital, they use M-Pesa, cashless transaction. Ah, you don't have money transfer? We do it but it's not so much like it is here in Kenya. Because I've noticed I can pay a matter too with M-Pesa. Yes, yes, yes, yes. In fact, I find myself rarely walking around with cash, which sometimes is a problem. So yeah, I have to pinch my ears. So welcome to the set ladies. Tell me what do Girl Guides do? Just because it sounds like something I used to do in high school. Okay, Girl Guides do a variety of things. I know basically like you said high school, mostly I think the thing that will come to people's minds is matching. And pirates and all that. And flags and raising flags. Yes, we do all that. But alongside that, as women, you see Girl Guides have different sections, especially probably I'll use an example of Kenya, which is most relatable to where we are right now. So you start with the rainbows, the brownies, the Girl Guides, the rangers. So those are the different sections of Girl Guides. Because as a woman, as you're growing up, you need different packages as you're growing up. So we tackle different programs like free being me, green tech generation, menstrual hygiene, health. So all these things, as you're growing up, we have different packages as a woman because talk of free being me. So here we are educating the girl child to embrace herself. You know, these things that we grew up and you're looking at billboards and you're saying this woman is hot and all that. Or the words they tell you as you're young, as you're growing up. You know, as young kids, there are things they tell us and it sticks to your mind. So you find that maybe they're going to define a certain beauty standard. And for you to feel beautiful, you'll feel like until I achieve that, I'm not beautiful. So when we come in with free being me as a program, we let the young girl explore herself and embrace herself. So it helps her to be able to grow up knowing that I am beautiful and there is no beauty standard. Because what is beauty? Everyone has a certain definition of beautiful. So I cannot necessarily be beautiful for everyone. But if I have accepted it for myself, yes, maybe I'm going to do my nails. But when I know that, yes, I do have my beautiful nails, but I just want to enhance what I already have. So when it comes to menstrual hygiene, maybe there are parents out there that are not comfortable sharing about that kind of discussion with a young girl. But we will teach her that maybe you can do this because it's a natural development for a woman. And it comes with different things, talk of maybe growing breasts and all that. And we shall tell her when it happens it is normal. It is normal for you to, it is okay. Maybe if you have an early development stage of nine years, you're growing breasts, it's fine. It's still okay. So we teach them like a lot of those things. And at the end of the day, you're free to actually go out there and explore all your full potential while accepting the woman that you are. It's quite lovely. It's really quite lovely. See now I see you're very prepared. I just want to add something that she has said, she has talked about some package. So with those package, we are spreading all over the world. That's why I said it's international because we are 10 million girl getting for 152 countries. So for this program, it's a program where we can share our experiences, where we can train girls and the young men for those programs. I'm talking about it. So we are like 10 countries in Africa who part of this program and two from Asia Pacific. So during our six month and one year, we are going to train girls. We are from different countries. We are going to train girls about how to be confident, how to be safe online, how to be proud of our periods. We are going also to teach them like how to make a reasonable pads, how to re-use it like not using the... What's the name of the other one? The disposable pads. I feel like especially with now social media coming in, there's such a definition of beauty like you said. And there's so much pressure. Like if I don't have that waist that looks like this and hips that go like that. If I don't have hair that looks like hers, I am not pretty, you know. And it's very beautiful that you're teaching especially young girls so that they grow knowing themselves. Alright, so now how to approach this? Okay, because it is International Women's Day. Honestly guys, I came prepared with a whole speech, a whole one. I was going to tell you about phenomenal women making fantastic moves in Kenya currently. But I caught myself and pinched my ears because charity begins at home. So while we start appreciating the women in our lives as again it is International Women's Day. Let me go first so that you feel a bit more comfortable, okay? So it just so happens today on set, the majority of us are females. So let me just start with the gallery. The gallery has Elizabeth, Sharon, it has Miriam. So I would like to appreciate all of them. First of all, Sharon, we don't speak much but I just don't have much to say sometimes. I know I talk a lot here but sometimes I don't have much to say but I really do appreciate you. And she stands, she sits at the TXTC, those letters, that one. And Elizabeth is our director of the day and Miriam is in charge of sound. Now these are very, very, very phenomenal women and we appreciate you this International Women's Day. Now if you come down, now the camera operators, we have Lady WaRui and she's also very, very phenomenal. I want to say she inspires me because while I was up, she'd be posting about the gym and every time I see it I know, oh my God, I have not gone to the gym. I should work out today. I really should work out today. So that's one of the ways she inspires me. I've seen a Nelly guy. Let me tell you guys, I'm hungry all the time. All the time. I don't know where the problem is and I don't know where the food goes to. But it's like I'm hungry all the time. And Nelly just was so sweet today after I complained about how hungry I am. She gave me tea. She was so nice. So yeah, very big shout out to you, Nelly. And I will be continuing as we go on. But now, tell me about someone in your life, a lady or a woman or a girl, who just inspires you or just makes you feel warm inside. Okay, okay. I want to share my, okay, she's there. I want to thank Alice. I really appreciate what she did to me the first time I went to come to Kenya. So she was the one who was talking with me. I can share everything with her. Also, I have my coordinator. She's Lynette, okay? So, okay, she's the one of our coordinator. She's the one, like, not our boss, but she's with us. So, I really appreciate she's like, she's older than us, but she feel like in the beat, like, she's always with us, whatever happened. Yeah. And the another one is a woman from my country. She was, she's the one who faced with the human race and our independence on 1960. Yeah, so I really appreciate what they did on the country, how she sacrificed her life for our independence. Yes. Wow. I really appreciate this one. Okay, so I'll start with my mom. Yes. You know, it's not that, it's not that everyone has a mother as a friend. So me and my mom can actually have, like, conversation. Like, we are, I don't know, the quality I'm in Kenya. We can say, like, banging KB. We can have that kind of conversation. Yeah. So I really appreciate, and also the fact that she has tried her level best, you know, to bring out, like, the best version of a woman in me. Yeah, she supports me all the way till here. Also, I'm just appreciating everyone at Uganda Girl Guys Association because, yes, they've helped to bring us to this place from our home associations. And then at Kenya Girl Guides, ladies, everyone, Priscilla, Limeid, Leia. I don't know who I've left out. All of this time. Tandy, Bro, Clarice. Oh my God, Lori. The one I've left out, she'll just forgive me. Yeah, all those ladies have made us stay in Kenya very beautiful. Like, we've not felt like we're really, really far from home ever since we got here. And they've supported us through the program and helping us even to get here. So, Kenya Girl Guides Association, all the women there. Amazing. The way you're talking about it makes me want to join. Yeah, just please come join us. No, we'll start guiding three years old. Wow. Do you? Second? Till, I don't know when. It's for life, like it's a forever and ever kind of relationship. Yes. We can join us. And it's voluntary. Let's meet her. We can recruit you. Recruit me and then take me to Uganda and Madagascar. You're welcome. I'm there to travel. Let me ask you a question. And it's often said that we are our own worst enemies, females. Either we're competing for something or we're competing for attention from men or guys or something of the other. Do you think it's true that we always have to fight within each other? What I would say about that is basically with ourselves is we critique each other quite a lot, maybe in comparison to the men. We critique each other so much in that what maybe I feel is beauty. If I look at you right now and I feel like maybe I'm looking at your nails and I'm not impressed, then I just kill the whole image. I'm like, she's not organized. She's not like this. You get. But I think this always starts from, like what I said, what beauty standards they have put in our heads from when you're growing up, evolving, and then the friends that are around us. They might even be your friends just because you met someone and you feel like they are very, very beautiful and you're following their Instagram and they are telling you, this is what you should be like. This is what you should attain by this age. This is how a beautiful woman is set out to be. This is the standard. You know, I think that's why at some point you end up having maybe even like, let's say maybe when it comes to like marriages and all that, because you're standardizing that my man has to have a car, my man has to have this, my man. That was her story. So why are you putting it in your own story? So I think that's where the whole maybe women kind of we start to be like enemies to each other. You know, maybe even if something is wrong, I think it's okay for you to tell me you need a redo. Like, okay, do it politely. Don't throw it in my face around people. I like how you put it. In our country, there is a particular law that makes sure that there is a certain number of women even in parliament that have seats in the decision making process. Is that something that you can relate with? Are there, do you have female representatives in your government? I'm not sure. Okay, in the government, all of the person that is a man, but I had, I remember there is a Julian, he was the ex-ministry of youth, but she did good things. So I think she was the one who is fighting with women's rights and the gender equality, like a woman supposed to be in the government. Because before we had like, we are doing an election. So there is a woman there, but they just neglected that she's not supposed to be a president. So after like 2012, they're starting to put in women in the government. So now it's become like women should go there. So we have election this year. So I think there will be a woman in, so I will elect the woman. Do you imagine that we would be good leaders or should we say that what they insinuate? Because they look at us females and, okay, sorry, I had like two ideas come at me at the same time. There's a school of thought that thinks that because we're feminine, that means we're going to cry about everything. So for some reason, if we're put in parliament or any other office, we will be ruling based off emotions. Do you think that holds any water at all? And then while you process that on the flip side is now the females who do not want to embrace the femininity because society makes it looks like if you're feminine, you're weak. So now you have to be serious all the time. You're not allowed to show any emotion or feeling at any one given point. Do you think any of these arguments are correct? Well, about what you said, I guess at the beginning about the feminism and maybe, okay, it's true. We are emotional beings, which is true for women. Okay, for me, I think you just have to find a way to strike a balance between the two. Yes, you cannot put out your nature, your emotional part, but then you have to think logically at some point. I think that's where the issue of we have to always have like mentors or leadership, maybe, where all those things are kind of programs, where you're embracing these things. And I think that's where this whole digito comes in because if these influences that we actually, because women, we do a lot of social media, Instagram and all that, the issue is we go for the beauty, for the music, which is not bad, but yes, maybe it would be good to listen to, okay, so this woman has been influential and all that. What got her here? How does she manage to strike a balance between this and this? Because no one is maybe a natural born leader. You find yourself evolving and developing. And actually, you know, even as girl guides, we appreciate that because that's one of the programs that we have. They teach you to be a leader and to do service. So you find that you're finding a way to strike a balance between your emotions and to take logical decisions. Because yes, maybe people are not going to tell you we are starving and then you start crying and you're not giving them solutions. So why are they giving you the mandate to be to take that seat in parliament? Why are they giving you the mandate to speak on their behalf? So yeah, and about the weakness, but Jamie, do you like to talk about that? Okay, so the weakness, but I think let me just go back with the emotions. Sometimes it's very difficult to put away our emotions. You know why? Because sometimes as a woman, we are working also as, for example, our husband. But when we get home, we are still working with our household course. But the husband is just talking, put on the television, watching a movie and relaxing. But as for us, we can't do that. For example, we have our baby, we still have our dishes, everything moping the house, everything. So we can't put away, as for me, I can't put away my emotion or everything like that. So I can see just my husband sitting there like, why, why he didn't care for me? Okay, so that's sometimes my, okay, I will go back with my weakness. Let me talk about my weakness. That's my first weakness. But I can be like, I appreciate from those people and Flea and Cher that influenced me to help me to go through this, as being part of your get also, it's helped me a lot. As I said, I've been a gigante since six years old. So now it's almost 20 years I've been in. So it's helped me a lot, like to avoid, to make my weakness a strongest one. Yes. Oh, I like that. You're making your strength, your weakness to be your strength. Yeah. Okay, I like that. Recently, we had a conversation, okay, I'm about to make you famous. So there's this lady. Yeah, you know who Aziat is. Happy to have two women's date Aziat Nasinya, by the way. And Stephanie Ayata. So Aziat, she's been placed in a certain position for a certain committee as an influencer. And there was a bit of an uproar because people were complaining and why are you putting her there? She's not very, who? I want to say capable. They don't think she's very capable. And then someone accused her, someone in parliament, of course a man, accused the person who appointed her of having a crush on her. That's why she has been placed where she has been placed. So my question was, why is it that if you're beautiful, that means automatically there's nothing in between your ears. Your head is just a store for your teeth. Is that what we're saying? Why? Must you either be beautiful or smart? Can you not be beautiful and smart? And why do you have to work so hard to prove that you're smart if you're beautiful? Why? Well, I think it's just a certain mentality. And I think the issue is maybe, let's say the male version, I'm not, yes, I hope, I do not offend men, I'm not even offending them. Yes, I'm just saying maybe probably males have a certain perception of us and we also tend to make it look true. You like that you're balancing this perception. I really like it. Yes. So the issue is they take something, how they see it and we tend to also kind of not show them that that's not it. So maybe, yes, you'll find that from history, if you just keep from school, the beautiful girls, they always pole pole because slowly, slowly take that thing, had no hurry in life. Yes. And okay, let me like use an example of Uganda. So for us, I don't know, okay, the school system ends up from six, like high school. So you find that we have ads and then sciences. So we have those combinations. I don't know if you have them here in Kenya, but like you can choose to do the ads or the sciences. So because this course, once you go through, then you go to university and you choose a course that will be either ads or still sciences. So you'll find that most of the times, the science class does not usually have, it usually has like, okay, the people they consider pretty, let me just quote it like that. So you'll find the ads class is the one that has those hot pebs, the ones they consider hot. And then the science class will have those who are, hmm, okay. Personalized ones. Yes. So at the end of the day, so maybe we have something they call high school prom in my school. They call it social dance. So it's so weird how even in mixed school, the guys in the science class will not choose their own class method. They'll go and choose the class from the ads class, and they are debts to their dance. And then you're like, you guys sit with pebs in your class. Why are you coming to that section? So I'm just saying, we make it seem like that. And then also the problem is, maybe as females, we will outcast those people and be like, she's boring, hi, she doesn't even want to do anything. And then the issue is, we are affecting her self-esteem. She's smart, that's true. So you'll find that she cannot articulate anything out. So now, maybe coming to the issue that you said about Asiad, yes, I've watched her on TikTok and Instagram. Maybe, yes, everyone will think she's beautiful, but maybe, or they've not sat down to actually imagine how it has helped, what has helped her to come up to come up. Yes, maybe, yes, she's good at dancing. It is a talent, let her embrace her talent, but she also has brains alongside her talent. What do you think? Okay, as for me, she's talking a lot. That's why I'm waiting for her to talk also. Okay, as for me, we need like, as for your question, we need like to change the mentality of man, like to treat that well. Okay, so let me just take my example. We're from the school in my country. In my country, it's very different in Kenya because I've seen in Kenya that they are just the school only for girls. But in my country, we mix them when we're starting with the gardenry until the university mix. You don't have any schools that are all girls. No. We don't have. I am moving to Madagasa. We mix. We don't have boarding schools. You don't have boarding schools. Yeah, because, you know, we have visited Pungoma last week. So we visit the boarding school. All of them are girls. So I was, ah! That's a shock. We don't have in my country. And, you know, I was very shocked. I want to be like them. You want to watch? To be like them, to be at the boarding school. You know, because we've been like studying with boys. They're just like, hey, you. Every time, like, we have different kinds of boys there. So I want to be like the 41. I want to be like you. You want to be like us. Yes. Okay, so we mixed boy and girl. So we start at school to teaching them, like, how to, like, the gender equality. Yes, we teach them. But now the problem is the old, the oldest man. We didn't teach them, like, to put this discrimination. Because, okay, let me just put the word discrimination. But it's not discrimination. Okay, discrimination. Like, for example, as a woman, you can't work at the bank. You're not supposed to be a bank manager. You're supposed to be a secretary. Wow. Okay, so every time I hear that. The first time I'm looking for a job in my country. Because I create a lot. You know why? I just send my letter and my CV in the bank. Okay, so they said, okay, as for you, yes, you do many things. But we can't recruit you as our manager. So I said, why? And the person, the boss, said we have never had a woman as a manager. So they just leave me like that. But after that, I was, okay, I need to find another one. But every bank, they just say the same thing. So I just want to, like, how if we just organize something for only four months to teach them, like, how to treat women? Or we start if we don't have that change. We are going to start with our little boys. So we just teach them how we are equal. Because I like this equality of woman and woman. Sometimes we are so discriminated girl of playing sport. Like, as you are a girl, you can't play football, for example. You can't play basketball. So that's why I create, like, I like basketball very much. I can play. So now I started, like, okay, this is only for boys. Okay, I can do it also. So I trade. Okay, so that's for me. I like how you, that doesn't put you down. I like how you keep trying and trying. You don't have boarding schools. I'm still at the boarding school. You don't? I was very shocked. They said there are only 2,000, 2,000 girls. She was so amazed by a boarding school. 2,000 girls? Only girls. Oh no, I like it. Wow. She said she wants to go back to high school here in Kenya. Yeah. Only 14 schools, only girls there. We take me to Madagascar. We'll make it our own personal. Yes. Have you stayed? Yes. Of course. Wait. Anyway, I have to wind up now. Now, time flies when we're having fun. Maybe give me your last remarks if you want to say hi to someone or if you want to address maybe the people on TV. Give a short motivational something to the girls out there watching if you'd like. Okay. I would like to say we celebrate the International Women's Day 2023 at Kiambu. At Kiambu County. With the Kiambu Government County. You can join us there. Yeah. You can join us there. Because after this TV, we go there. We celebrate. And also we have, we are going to make, to train an activity pack about International Women's Day at Salama Primary School. Yes. You're having fun, you know. Yeah, we will. And you know. Also, we invite all young women and young girls to come and join the gaiding movement. Trust me, it's not fun. It's not gaiding. Just even Val is going to join us. And at any age, guys, it's at any age. Just let your daughters and, and what? Yes. And wives and moms. Anyone can join the movement. We are going to be having a lot of programs until, okay, personally in July, she's living in December. Yes. You get access to very different platforms. So follow us on all our social media platforms at Yes Girls Movement Kenya. And you can visit us at Arboretum. Yes. That's where our association offices are. If you want, do you want our personnel? Media handles. Has is quite, her surname is quite difficult, but you can, you can follow me and then you can follow her. Agnes Muhindo on my Facebook. At the Larry 98 on Instagram. Yeah, you can use those two. I really want to ask now what your surname is. What's your surname? Rava Kenyain. It's Rava Kenyain. Okay. Rava Kenyain. Yes. Oh, it's on the first try. Okay, but I would not know how to spell it, but we'll get to that. Yes. You, thank you so very much for letting us host you. Thank you for allowing us into your space. Again, it is the eighth day of March 10th, International Women's Day. Appreciate somebody, you know, it gives you warm feelings inside or something like that or something special. Or maybe if you don't have someone like that, just you know, compliment someone today on the road. We go through a lot, guys. We go through a lot. Just compliment some lady today when you see them walking by. All right. Thank you so very much. Again, you can interact with us at WhiteFive on Facebook, Y254 channel on Twitter, Y254 underscore channel on the Graham hashtag. And WCW or right in the morning, we will see you tomorrow with one Stephanie Ayeta for hashtag Thursday vibes. Now, until then, please keep it Y254 channel because we have amazing stuff coming up. Bye-bye. Bye.