 But I think for me, I was not to say that I did not believe in myself, if I had not done that, I don't think I'd have gone to the end, I believed in myself so much. But politics sometimes is in reality. What's up everybody, welcome to SPM Buzz. My name is Liz Jackson and today I have yet another exciting guest. I have the beautiful Anita Soina. Hi Anita. Hi, how are you? I am travelling. You are on the road? Yes, I am on the road. What is your name? My name is Vumbi Batochanita. I am from Geneva. Oh, you never know? You never know? Yes. So, how are you? I am fine. So, today I want to tell you a story, mainly because there is something big that happened this week. You are chosen to represent, as you can see from the t-shirt, sanitation and water for all. What is this about? Is it like located in Kenya? How to do it? Okay, so basically sanitation and water for all is a global partnership. It's a UN partnership that has and I can say one of their main thing is actually to achieve water, sanitation and hygiene for all. That is wash, water, sanitation and hygiene for all. I can say it has so many partners and Kenya is one of the partners. So, where were you when you received the news that you've been selected? Because we are the ones who actually revealed the news. If you remember you saw like we made this poster of big announcement and all that. I knew about it. I knew that I was going to be of course end of December because it's something that I was going to start to begin at the beginning of the year. And so I was just waiting for Muakayanzi. But that time when it was being revealed, I was actually in the house. Tulko tunawasha, Nyumba tunawakatens tunawasha and all that. So, it felt different. I didn't feel kama ni kitwenye ni mekwa ni kijua. Ni li feel ni kama ni oni nambiyo time. And I was very excited. So, I want to take you back to politics kiasi. You were once the previous election. You were the youngest MP candidate. Like, hey, how was that whole period for you? That period was many things. The period was very tough. I can say I think I used to tell myself if I have gone through this, I don't think there's anything else I can go through. And then also it was a learning time for me. I can say it's a moment where I learned so much. And even it also opened my eyes in terms of the community work that I do. So, I can say it just came with a lot of things. But I got stressed. My team never saw that. But during the campaign period, there are times I would just cry and just ask myself questions. And then tomorrow I'd continue and go back and campaign. I want to know, like, when you're in the campaign period, is there a time you know very well you're not going to win, but don't end there? Yes, absolutely. I don't know for other candidates and aspirants, but I think for me I was... Not to say that I did not believe in myself. If I had not done that, I don't think I'd have gone to the end. I believed in myself so much. But politics sometimes is in reality. We are looking at the culture of politics in Africa and even in our country. And politics is a charm. So, sometimes you just can't lie to yourself. You just look at the way things are going and you know that you could be having the best manifesto. We had like two debates. I won, I was the best in all the debates from rankings from different people including the what have them. When it comes to election, you start looking at so many things. First of all, the election day, it's very aggressive. You know, can you handle even the things that happen during election? Election day to pekeake. Is your strength really enough for that? So, looking at party politics, it's a place where let's say UDA was very dominant and then maybe followed by ODA. There are some candidates who even didn't have to campaign like parties will campaign for you, you know? So, we didn't have that luxury. So, but also you don't, but it's not to discourage anyone that at yukuna una eveno. Sometimes you can beat all the odds. But for us, we already saw the dynamics of politics, especially where we stay, it's a cosmopolitan area and I can say mass size are minorities here. It got to a point, we got to Nambiwa, masaya kuna kujakum bakura, patumia wachia zile, considerate zingene ziko uko. So, it was a bit tough here. Was it hard or easy for you to get up as party that you're going to fight with? I can say that is the most difficult thing. First of all, looking at why I fight, of course because I just felt like we need, you know, I see my friends, I have a friend in the UK parliament, Nadia. Nadia was elected when she was so young and she's championing for community issues and you really feel it. I felt like we need to have that in our parliament where it's not opposition versus the ruling but really all of us united to speak for the people. And now getting a party, you have to think about so many things. You know the end justifies them. Sometimes you just have to go with the party in the same mass of that at the end. But I can say I was part of UDA since long time, before even thought of buying. I cross this country with so many young people in the lobby groups trying to campaign. But I think things are just different. When it gets to elections, there are so many factors like maybe money and so many other different things for you to have a party ticket. So sometimes I was forced to leave UDA and go to Kenyakwanza because I really wanted to go to the end. I really wished to go to the end of the ballot and I mean if I had gone for the UDA primaries and lost, I would be satisfied. But the fact that the primaries were not really... Hene, ilkwatu ina ikona changa motozake it became difficult for even me to get to the primaries. So I had to move to Kenyakwanza, yes. Okay, and during this whole season, campaigns need a lot of money. How was Anita getting resources? How was Anita handling all this? I got to the campaign on a zero budget. I don't know who does that. But I can say I was able to... Like during the campaign period at least I was able to do much that I didn't even think of before starting. And this is because I got support. Support from my friends. I got friends who used to check up on me and Arusha Kaketu. Some would just come and deliver posters. They'd ask for PDF and leteha posters. And my party leader, now Green Thinking Action Party, also supported us in the way that they called. And I can say, yes, so many friends that chipped in, kuna tula kwa tuonani urumia, unami ambia, akinemi kwa kia endata print kitu. I mean, I think it's really played well. But I'd not really have those resources. I think it's one of the things that even disadvantages women and youths in politics, yeah. But I thank God we managed. And now on those instances, when you joke on political rallies and all, did you one time or two times get to meet the president? Yes, yes, I met the president. And I think during that period it was one of... It was my first time talking to a very huge crowd about politics. Because now you are campaigning and you don't have the luxury to put up such a rally. But I really say he was so supportive. Because I remember when he came we were having the Bulbul, Gatakar, Kware and then Rongai. And he gave me a chance to speak in all the stops. Yes, all the stops. I was able to speak and all that. So I'd say it was a very good moment. I used to attend, even after I left UD for Kenyakwanza, I still used to attend rallies, our president's rallies. Because I was learning a lot, even those that I'm not speaking. Because I used to go to Kitengela. I cannot speak in Kitengela because my voters are not there definitely. But I just used to see how... I wanted to learn and just see how it does. And listen to his speech. I think I loved listening to his speeches during the campaign the most. I even travelled up to Nyamira. I went to most rallies. And let's talk about his daughter, Shaleen. Naonapale komitanda, you guys are friends. Can you take us back to the first time you met her? So I first met Shaleen, but we did not talk the first time we met. I think I was in Weston. I was having a meeting with one of... One of... One of... I can say the brother. And we were having a meeting on my book. I had carried my book and my hoodie. And I was just trying to explain, you know, this is what I do. This is my book. This is what I even brought to my hoodie. And then in the process, Shaleen came, actually, and won kwa naongia, akagali a book, akasama it's good, but I don't think she remembered me. And when I saw her getting involved in community work, I reached out to her and she planned for a meeting. I reached out to her and she really... I think she loved my work because she checked my page. She interacted with the content, with the organization and we met. So we planned a meeting, we met and I shared everything and anything that I wanted to share with her. Even things that are not in my space because I felt she's the right person to do so. And that's how we became friends. Is there a project that you're planning on working with together with her? Yes, and not only me. We're also planning to incorporate so many CBOs, so many, especially for the youth. We really want to see the African youth rise to use their voice, to step up to their positions and to continue solving different challenges. So the project that we are going to have with her, of course collaborate on environmental projects, different environmental projects, but also other community projects. If you saw on her page she talked about what are the 30 things that we feel should be worked on. So she's not asking in the comments, but because she has a plan, she wants to achieve the plan. Yeah. I want to ask you when the MCS wanted to impeach the Meru Gawana, you were very supportive of her. Have you ever met her or in that moment when she was going through all that? How did that make you feel? For sure I've never met her. I don't even know if I've ever met her. I like to look at things beyond just the, because when this fight started I saw it. I am one person who watches news every day. Everyone in this house knows Adanikingiasa Sita, Nitaingia YouTube, Nirudisha Nyuma, I watch news. So I was following Kini and to me I felt like it was more of, we have MCS in all the counties and sometimes I see how even our governor sometimes has difficult time. So I was trying to look at it and what was the problem. Many people are just complaining about the first gentleman and I'm one person who champion for women empowerment but without compromising the boy child. So I'm looking at this is just a first gentleman attending meetings with the governor. But elsewhere we see first ladies. No they're everywhere. Even in other counties they could be secretly running some departments just a first gentleman and people are complaining about that. The other issue was about the money, the fund issue and then so I was trying to do the one plus one and to me it wasn't making sense and I felt like it was unfair to her and so I was really trying to be genuine and if she was on the wrong still I would say she was on the wrong. So I was so happy when the case was completed and she was like vindicated so to I really felt so happy because I felt like that was justice. Last year you traveled a lot because guys if you don't know Anitansone is very big on the environment. She has a book The Green War I hope at atonecia you make sure that you buy especially there is this one specific trip that you got to meet Uhuru Kenyaza Talk to us about that trip. Oh yes that was in Sweden I don't know I posted you guys here and sometimes I feel like maybe people feel like I'm exaggerating the excitement but I think it's because of understanding my own journey and knowing how far I have come I met the president in Sweden we were attending the Stockholm Plus 50 so the conference was hosted by Sweden co-hosted by Kenya because we host the UNEP so there was a meeting being planned for the youth but before that the previous day my friend and I were just working kwa korido and this lady was I think she was part of the team reached out to us and she was like are you Kenyans and we said yes so she thought we were following the president where he was going so she told us just stand here you will see him and we were like him who because we hadn't even known which direction he had gone to so we stood and she was asking us what do you do with Ohio and she said okay so when the president came the lady stopped the president and said Mr. President the former president Mr. President please talk to this Kenyan and he was like how are you what do you do my friend said she's an innovator I said I'm an environmentalist and I'm running for office and that last bit was like you are running for office congratulations so the next day when we had a meeting with a youth when he was now coming to talk to us he actually said yesterday so the former CS for environmental BIKO was trying to tell him that Mr. President we have a politician and he's like I know yesterday I met an innovator and a politician and I was like wow and he was so excited about it and there is one thing that he told me when we had finished the meeting he called me aside together with the former CS and said don't be discouraged if things don't go well at the end so you know for someone else at Onakwa but for me it felt like it was one of the best advice that I ever got from him and yeah it was a good experience yeah and now let me take you to Cairo you were in Cairo Tuamil, what were you doing and did you get to meet the president the current president yeah I went to Egypt it was Shamal Sheikh in last year that is in November during the COP 27 these are conference for climate guys don't feel confused it's just a climate conference that happens annually so last year was in Egypt and when I went to Egypt I actually went as part of the young young I can say environmental leaders from Africa who was sponsored by the Wangari Mazai Foundation and when we went there I was you know it's just we used love to add our voices to some of these things and we went to follow up of course I was speaking in some side events I also met my team at Sanitation and Water for All and you know the blessings came with it and I wasn't really yeah I was able to be in some of the meetings hosted by the president especially with the Kenyan delegation but I didn't get to meet him one on one I think my friends got to have a meeting got to meet him during one of his meetings but I was speaking in another event but I was in some of the rooms in the meetings that he spoke yeah now the elections are over we're gonna have other elections in like 5 years do you have any plans to buy again? definitely for me I feel like political goodwill is what is pulling us back when it comes to solving global community problems including environment I feel like it's where the laws are made it's where so many things actually happen when it comes to change so yes I'm going to run for office we are still trying to to see even my mental wellness by the Iru Disao and Donif Kiria Kamani 27 but yeah I will run again for politics I will ok before to Malaysia I want to say the green war guys make sure you get a copy I know there is wisdom about climate in here actually this book it is the simplest and the most friendly is the friendliest book how long did it take you to write? it took me less than it was just like 2 weekends and the reason it took me but we had a fight with my editor he was saying the book is so small I told him when I go I have not studied environment when I go to a library to try and grab something I suffer, I struggle because it's so many words I told him I'm writing a book not for environmentalist I'm writing a book for other people to understand my story, my journey and also try to relate the things we go through to climate change so it's a very simple book and many people who have bought it are actually people who are not environmentalist so I'm happy because it's the target audience and parents are reading the book with children so it's available online Nuriya Store they deliver country wide and even worldwide they just delivered some to Sutherland the other day and I'm planning I'm working on a children's book now that has the colourful children's book alright guys that was Anita Soina so be sure to grab the green wall in Akahiwi Anita has told you guys where you can get a copy so make sure you get a copy of the green wall so leave a comment right there what do you think about Anita do you have any more questions we will always come I can come to the studio bana you have complained so much alright guys my name is Liz Jackson this was Anita Soina see you in the next one