 Good morning Kenyan boy, Kenyan girl Itabidi menchize ya, Kenyan boy would you come, say, come and believe Inziza ho, na kini bal mura na zeya kama pema Okay What's your request? I'll just escape, but it's okay You're watching Lydia's breakfast show in this hair town that is Y254 channel but in particular, what ends in morning and the hashtag is social Friday You can find us on the Y254 Facebook, Y254 channel on Twitter and we ask you a question What will you communicate with your CUBLA smartphones? What will you tell them? How are you catering, baby? What will you do with the box below me? Tell us, please Maybe we should sometimes just put off all our phones and go back to the old ages to refresh, to reset, default settings but that's not why we're here We're here to give you a good time and give you sows We have another set of guests and they are amazing First of all, say, come and believe Inziza ho, na kini bal mura na zeya kama You will see those hairs that the wind blows for real Zangu nikiya chil, ini kofi ya Inikiya chil, zangu zio defi gravity I'll eat together I'll have to na kuna rasta Basically, there's a lot going on on this side It's a heavy, heavy, heavy set Just see it for yourself Good morning, guys How are you? Aki, your hair, though And your hair, though Kali fata jelia koi kupo You make me good Iriza, Iriza Good morning Let me start with the lady What is your good name? Hi, my name is Rachel Mugendi I'm really excited to be here Oh my God Really? Me too Thank you This is literally my first time We're going to have fun Thank you Take care of you, sweetie How do you find your social media first? I'm not very active actually in social media Okay, we'll follow you in But on IG at r.ay.chl it's like Rachel Ya, like that Kuna memfla ni inaza kadogi alafu kame chorwa aibara umo jyivi karenda jyivi My name is Leshaw Wajilo Wajilo We are friends from It's Leshaw Wajilo Not Leshaw Leshaw We are friends Hi, Rasta Hi What's your name? Ya, my name is Joshua I'm equally excited to be here I'm a little nervous but ya I made it on TV You should do a little haircut Ya, Rasta Ah, weh weh Weh weh Choma Okay, so what brings you both here today? So ya the two of us are scholars I'm from the equity leaders program I'm personally I'm going to have a I am in Harvard technically because Harvard second floor Kadipuna Salon I'm going to I'm going to watch TV Ya Wow Ya, so I'm a first year classes have started so ya Rachel Ya, I'm also as well as the program we actually met at equity leaders program and I'm currently at Ashes University I don't know if you know about it Tell me about it It's called Ashes University It's in Ghana, ya It's amazing We're going to be in the same vicinity as Fuse Dog Yes, please Karimi Karimi Hand luggage Okay, continue Ya, so we are I'm also currently in jobs so we started classes last week Ya, so actually have classes in like 2 hours Ya But it's good, it's good, it's fine Ya Kilam tu koei seta me omoka Tu metokako director siju ya me omoka hour siju ya kogana siju ya Amerika Weh, seta si tu omoki Ya, weh, pika om dodi omoka me omoka Omoka Papa God save him but he too jenga statue Ya, so Utencheze ya banzema Ya, lazima So, it's okay Nipe tu do kamafla Fla ko, it's alright How did you get to this point? How did you get to be in Ghana or in Harvard? Maybe start with you Um, so It's a journey It's a journey You see it in your program and then it happens So, I think it's a journey with KCSE Nili so ma high school Nili so ma tanda Nika pata e and then I got into Ya, circle flex Flexbo, flex Nika india Ikechi leaders program and then Nika pata internship Ya, I interned at a bank and then from there I got into a program for colleges abroad college counseling So, um it's like it's a whole process so getting again into college counseling took some effort I got into college counseling so college counseling facilitates you going so for you to go abroad it's almost as if KCSE all over again you have to read for an exam you have to write essays about you and your childhood Wow people joke about your trauma I guess for you to like write a very moving application What if we tell you we need to go abroad so ma tanda I imagine they want to hear that you want to go abroad you want to go abroad Ya, but like definitely it's very doable so ya, I'd say that's how I got here through Ikechi leaders program so maybe what I haven't specified right now I want to hear about the internship part why a bank did you want to be in a bank am I going to try that? Partly yes Partly no I'm not going to say but it came come up hard to your surprise so what usually happens equity has this program where people who got A's and people who are willing to fly you get an internship with the bank and the most appropriate place for you to work I guess as a phone for a liver would be at the bank so ya, that's how we got there and ya, I was a kashia this guy over here was a kashia ya mi na zangoja ututu ticketu na tukua alafu una ambiwa wende kwa de mi na zangoja na ticketu yangu ni tungoja rasta umali zena manye ukuwa alafu na hi sorry, I missed mine ya, good morning you have the face you have the face walk me through your process actually I joined equity foundation very long time ago actually I was in Wings to Fly here so I joined in 2015 and I've been like there all like double time then in 2018 I did KCSE then I also did well then now I was able to join ringa ma ringa, ringa, ringa say you got A say it, it's okay ya, so after KCSE then now like they usually take a second lot like from the Wings to Fly scholars now the ones who do and now they take into the next round which is now where we met now that's equity leaders program so we we had internships and then now that's also where we found out about applying to colleges abroad and then it's seriously baby kai, kai but you make it look so effortless the way you're talking to it's like ah, dilipita, nika applied to go in the next bus we are here now no, it's not that easy it was seriously it's a whole it's like the whole of high school compressed into like 5 months ya, it's tough like there are a lot of essays and exams and then it's like again for you to become perfect you have to write it no, it's not good you write it again no, again again again so it's a long process ya, but then in the end it's worth it it's like eishbana ya, I can see the glow you can see it's worth it thank you, yes it's amazing if you would recommend this to someone how would you tell them to start off and if maybe someone didn't do as well as you guys at KCAC level is it still possible that they can be part of the program the equity leaders program we didn't know who she was but if you didn't we may not say that but if you feel like you didn't do well because doing well is very subjective depends the process is like open to everyone I mean what made it easy for us is because equity had gave us mentors like guys who had gone before us so in terms of if you have to write an essay and someone is to edit the essay someone who has gone through the process and can give you insight so I guess it's a matter of starting just I'm guessing if you're not part of the equity program it may be harder for you because equity gave us like a number of resources but nonetheless it's something that happens there are people who still get in outside of the program and the program is willing to help you as far as you've gone I guess and then again like if you want something whether you get help from the like from our source or not we'll get it if you want it so yeah if you want it and you want it bad enough you're going to get it seriously I like that COVID-19 has not stopped your reggae has it clearly you know without without that in August we'll omoka and fly out but no but hold it hold it COVID-19 is like hold my beer COVID-19 is like mepanik stuff is going on online so it's we're still having classes even though we're still in Kenya to come adju to come adju in some sense okay but I need to remove this from my head I need to remove this I need to I need to remove this I need to remove this I need to remove this Bro, what's going on? What's going on? What's going on? Where are you in your mental space? I need to remove this I need to remove this Anyway Wait wait wait Okay to say maybe in a few months or in a few weeks or next year I don't know I cannot predict the future but say the threat of COVID-19 is less does that mean you'll be able to freely to maybe Ghana and the States? Ya, of course Definitely You're looking for a job You need to confirm with me whether Ghanaian Jolof rice or Nigerian Jolof rice because now it's fighting Now it's fighting I don't know who is going to win but now I have a source she is going to the source so we are going to find out Ya I would like Jolof and Pilau In the same thing, don't break my heart No, but I think Pilau is better Pilau but it's similar Ni rangi It's not my biryani it's dream or what I think it means that you have to live near the coast just go learn how to cook like them because anyway that's not why we are here I'm hungry already we are not done with the show we are asking on the show how do you think people used to communicate without smartphones? Like 1900s I don't even know what we are because smartphones were for jajuzi I don't want to reveal I must go to my phone because I don't know but I did not grow up with phones, I did not find telephones but how do you think people used to communicate these are the ones we did in school drums and smoke signals Nye mli pita Nye mli pita ktsi smoke signal drums but they used to communicate it's like the old school I don't know it's like the old school I don't know but I think high school is a good place for communication sticky notes like in high school when we were in middle school we used to play we used to have cameras and we used to go to the toilet and we used to say we used to go to the toilet you can just hear this man you can hear it from far alright so in conclusion what is your goal after you finish after you are done with your education is it going to be brain drain type of situation nye nimi tatua chakame omokame or is there a plan to come back and give back definitely for me I have a plan to come back there are loads that I guess needs to be done there is a few areas I am passionate about and I feel like maybe coming back to Kenya maybe you can say to CEO people who are making step on the example I mean and the whole equity group foundation, I mean there's a lot that people who are going to school to high school and they've been paid for fee. I myself am a beneficiary, I mean however wouldn't have happened, why not for equity. So it's just people going out there and there's many other companies or like private companies for that matter doing things to help Kenya. So I don't think we have to like sit and wait for the government to always come and help us all the time. Why are you speaking so much sense, so much sense. Oh gosh, God bless you John. That's why you're in Harvard. That's why. That is why. Alright, I want to tailor make this question for you. The same concept yes, but being a female and being educated and being in an African setting can be challenging. So sometimes people won't take you seriously. I want to talk to you. I want to talk to you because you're empowered and all this. But I want to say I see your heart. I've met you for like five minutes, but I think you're really sweet like even on the inside. So how are you going to translate this to empowerment for everyone? I've been empowered. You see, I believe that you... You see the way guys assume that because you're female, you can't do things. This has been drilled into society and these are things that we need to change. And you see you won't change that by telling people that you women can do things. You don't do that. What you do, you go, you work and then you show them yourself that things can be done and you can't think I'll do less because I'm a girl. And that's how I think this is going to go on because people will still think like that. And then personally I'm doing engineering. So you can imagine like, Where? Where? Engineering? Ati? Okay. Musketu mazematik, physics. Nani me choka. Like during practicals, people assume that I can't do things. They want to help me. I get it, it's sweet, thanks, but I can do it myself. Okay, like calm down. Keep calm. You know, like me panic. So you have to show them that we can actually do things. This way, please, that's not going to change anyone's life. So you take charge and you do what you're supposed to do. The same kind of breath. I want to ask two more questions. And for an African man, you have so many responsibilities. You have Are these things that you've written in stone in your own life? Or are you going to revolutionize? I'd say myself, I'm a bit of a revolutionary in some sense. What Rachel has been talking about is something on my agenda. I've personally been raised by a single mum and I have an elder sister. So women empowerment is something I'd say at the top of my list. Much of what Rachel has said is something I believe. There are very many attributes expected of an African man, which I guess some are valid. There are these reasons that you have to be hardworking. And what I would say is I don't think it's specific to a man. I believe everyone should be hardworking. I like that. Yes, there are expectations, but at the end of the day, I have to realize that it's me and it's my life. Not in a rebellious sense, but eventually it's the backstops at me. That was one question, the last one. This is coming from the depths of my soul. I don't know if it's African women or just women in general, but I don't think people in the West have this kind of pressure. You've grown knowing you're supposed to be someone's wife. I don't know if it's because of your thoughts. In fact, if you have an independent thought, fida, you are a bitter woman, if you reach a certain age and you're not married or you don't have kids, it's a problem. Do you suffer from these pressures? I panic too. We are friends. We are friends. Just calm down, guys. It's okay. Thank you so very much for coming, both of you. I want to exchange number and change it. I say, I'm the only one who can change it. So I gotta do what I gotta do. You need to change it. No, we are going to change it. I do it for Facebook, we smoke 5.4 channels on Twitter. Hashtag is a social faraday. I remember we're asking you how people communicate before the invention or before the establishment of smart phones. Do like you and then as we do like us. And then him, he'll do like you. Pa, pa.