 K mintyeosaunak nimlini groove-turi nug Grova Lower h NPT Eja uti bandina pata付umuki fama na kaka deductoty wendida ilinimisha kaka uzi M roar katani ligat kupiyu kanochia Millna mo that mo program manager for Mauna Africa Center for Transformation. This organization was started way back in 1999. It started as an informal organization, a cultural group that was focused on engaging young people through their talents, their skills and abilities. The aim was actually to create an alternative form of employment to young people. Over time, the organization was actually grown way back in 2020. In December we decided to register it to be a non-governmental organization from an informal to a formal organization. Currently we are mandated to work in five counties within the country, the Republic of Kenya. But our implementation here is actually here in Dandora as our starting point. So we are legally registered by the NGO Coordination Board as a non-governmental organization. My desire to found as a co-fund of this organization was actually to, I grew up in Dandora, seeing the challenges that young people were going through, which relate to almost the same kind of challenges that I was going through. And as a means of just trying to create a solution from the problem that has been persisting in Dandora is like what best can we do? So I was sitting down with a friend of mine who is called Emsika. He was one of the musicians for Kalama Shaka. So he told me why don't we come and sit down and recreate Maono Africa Center for Transformation as an organization that is going to deal with young people. So I came on board after the call from my friend and I told him I'm going to recreate it to be an organization that is going to focus so much on the talents, on the abilities and the skills of young people in Dandora. The motivation is actually to form a way of employment within Dandora, a way of income for young people in Dandora because we came to realize that there was a lot of idleness in Dandora. Young people are actually engaging in a lot of social destructive activities, engaging in crime, engaging in drug and substance abuse, engaging in girls, engaging in early marriages, early pregnancies. So we said no, this cannot be right and it's like when you are looking at it, it's like what is causing all these things? It was all because we were not able to get a form of employment and even the ones that had even been educated or even the ones that had even gone through the formal schooling could not at the end of the day still secure a meaningful engagement or a formal employment. So he said okay fine, Dandora is a place that is well known for talents and skills. Then why don't we create something that these young people will be able to earn something from what they are passionate about. And that is how Maono Africa came about. Maono is actually a Swahili word for them, a Swahili word in English it translates to vision. We seek to know how our hero got into this Maono project and why it matters so much to him. Dandora has the two sides of it, the ugly side and the good side. Having been born and raised in this place is like it's an experience that maybe I wouldn't want to I wouldn't wish any other person or a young person to go through. At the same time I would also wish some way to go through because it brings the element of the good and bad. The bad is that you can easily get into crime, you can easily get into these social destructive activities, cases of school dropout is very high, cases of violence within the community is very high, cases of crime is very high. So that is actually the downside of Dandora, of growing up in Dandora. We don't have role models, we don't have mentors, we don't have people we can look up to in terms of progressions in life. The other good side of Dandora is it's a place, it's a home of talent. Ya, so many young people, so many big names in the entertainment industry have actually come out from Dandora in terms of the football, in terms of music, in terms of dance, in terms of modeling, any forms of creatives, good names, big stars have actually come from Dandora. So that is the other side, the other good side of Dandora. It's also molded to become that kind of a hard kind of a person. Apawana semangaku na mamayako, the wrong language to use, but it builds you. Ya, if you look at it from the positive side, it builds you. But the question is how many young people are able to go through that process and come out to be better persons. So if you look in terms of statistics, very few can actually go through. And why is that? The question is, some of these young people are not able to be given the life skills that they are able now to be able to understand that this is my challenges or my problems is just a process of life so that which molds me or prepares me for something great to come. Ya, Dandora is known for the very good reason because if you look, if you google out to find out what Dandora is, what comes to your mind is the dam site. It's an area that holds to one of the biggest dam sites, maybe probably within the east or central Africa or the biggest in Nairobi so to speak. And the dam site has actually come with all the bad things. There has been a lot of fights, a lot of attempts to take the dam site from Dandora. So people who know Dandora, they do not know Dandora for the very good reasons. Ya, many people fear coming to Dandora because they know Dandora for the crimes. They know Dandora to be a place where by a lot of lowlinessness it's like a jungle where it's a place where there's actually no order. But what we're trying to do as an organization is actually to bring the media, to bring the positive aspect of Dandora because in every place that there's something bad there's definitely something good that can come out of it. So we are focusing so much on the gold aspect of it trying to find out what gold we have in Dandora and that is what we are trying to bring out to the media so that the world may know but apart from all the wrong on the bad reasons or the knowledge about Dandora there is actually something good that can come out of this place. Among Africa we are a creative space. Our focus or our strategy is sports and art which we are using as a strategy or as a means or as a tool to bring about social change and social development. So we are reinventing the roles of sports and art in addressing some of the challenges that young people are going through within Dandora. So Dandora is just the starting point. We are reinventing the use of sports and art in addressing the issues that are affecting young people within Dandora and we actually focus on Dandora as just a starting point. We are planning to roll out this program within the five areas that we are mandated to work with as mandated by the India Organization Board. So sport is just one of the key activities that we are using. Some of the other activities that we are having is like education. We are focusing so much on issues of retention, progression, transitions of young people through the education ladder to the vocational skilling. We also have the health program where we focus on the four key areas within the health. We have programs on HIV and AIDS prevention. We have programs on mental wellness where we are using dance as a strategy in addressing challenges that come with mental wellness. We have programs on gender-based violence and sexual reproductive health and rights within young people in Dandora. The other programs that we have on board is the livelihood programs but we are focusing so much on how do we bring the social enterprise out of it. Some of the dance that young people are doing how are they able to get a living out of it. So we are trying to professionalize the sports and art that we are having within our center. So the last activity we are having currently we are partnered with Freedom Fund. We are doing an activity on child domestic worker exploitation and abuse which is actually quite rampant in Nairobi Dandora being a hotspot area. So we have been doing a lot of awareness, creation just in incentivizing the community and people around on the challenges that comes around with the issues of child domestic work exploitation and abuse. So the other key element is we have mainstreamed all our activities to include a person with disability. Most of the activities that we are having be it sport, be it dance, be it modeling we are having young people who are actually able differently and they are able to participate in our programs. So it's one of our core value the element of social inclusivity. Maono, a center for transformation uses art as one of its main tools to change the lives of young people in Dandora Slam. My name is Prayan Washira Papi and I'm a member of Maono Africa Center of Transformation as a dancer and Maono Africa Center of Organization like this covers a lot of aspects according to arts and craft. We have acrobats, we have the dance, we have the models so this space is used to nature talents the kids out here there is this notion when somebody gets to say you come from Dandora people are thinking about crime and most negative things so here we try to at least capture one or two or three with our motto saying each one teach one when you get to at least be in this space you get to at least go and teach somebody else what you learn so apart from the dance and other activities we cover other aspects like mental health we cover gender based violence where we come and get to there is people who come here and do some advocacy on it I knew about Maono back in 2019 they were doing mobilization wanting people to come to this space getting to know what are the core values and things they are mission which is to empower the society so when I got to know about Maono I was not really interested because many organizations are based for girls and not covering boys in the society so when I came and discovered this center it's more center to transform me I was at least indulged to be working with them my name is Daisy Omboy I'm the current Miss Maono I'm 17 years old the first time I met Maono was last year I didn't know how to model I didn't know about anything I was just in drugs so I was just passing through and then I saw some dancers Ken invited me in to see what they were doing so the question was so when I went Maono me changed here to life so I knew about Maono I knew about Maono so when I met Maono I knew about Maono so when I met Maono I changed here to life my name is Roto Mazi but my stage name I'm known as Rutra or Tiwa I'm 19 years old and I'm a dancer in Maono yeah I met a crew because Maono is located in Fist 3 in Dandora Fist 3 so that crew is in Dandora Fist 5 so we didn't have space to train so due to that I was introduced to Maono by one of my friends so I joined it here supported my education nile maliza shule 2021 so he me kwaikini support na Fist Pia Pia easy unapua information about GBV unapua 2-year education about girls kuna organization na kuja na patina na Maono so we as dancers we get more information about what's happening outside here and we appreciate it they actually quite many I don't know to name names I think you have just talked to this lady called Daisy you have talked to her she is actually one of our models now currently participating in the Miss Nairobi through the delight fashion in town she is a lady who was referred to us like a year and a half ago and I remember the first time that I happened to have met her she was this kind of a lady who lives in her own world having pierced almost her body throughout she had dropped out of school and she was coming from this kind of dysfunctional kind of a background of family setup so through our intervention we are able to bring her in within our facility or our center we have been able to talk to her many times we have been able to take her through many trainings like they usually have the girl power talks each and every month we have been able to connect her or to refer her to other trainings the life skills training and I can say that today as I talk to Daisy she is definitely a different person from the person that I actually met sometimes back somebody who now have some value somebody who now cherish life somebody who looks at life from a different lens from a different angle her desire, her passion to make to succeed in life has actually grown from actually from the moment that we met and to me that is what the Maono Africa Center for Transformation is all about we are actually here to transform life we are not working so much in numbers but we are working with a human being at a time that one person transformed is already an achievement for us actually dance comes like our main groups were the dance and the football team we started with the football team but now the dance came in and when the dance came in is like there is a whole vibe now these young people want to identify with the dance and music so it captures the majority of the young people that you are having within our facility majority being young girls and young mothers even now these people who are beyond our target age group actually want to participate in the dance so any program that you want to implement or you want to role within dance has been like the catch the carrot, the bait of it so once they have been able to come within our facility maybe through dance then we are able to start implementing the other programs within so they can come maybe for a dance we tell them okay fine it's not just about dance this kind of talk before you engage in dance then after the dance we can also have a sitting with them and also have this kind of talk with them and through that I have seen a whole transformation out of it because we have even been giving them even giving them even teachings even about dance so elements of discipline has actually come to play in their lives elements of character development has actually come to play in their lives element of them being able to express being able to talk is becoming part and parcel of their lives so dance has been a key we are looking forward to seeing how best we can professionalize it we can make it grow we are creating a dance academy out of it also as a means of sustainability as a source of income to the organization so so far we have done so good with us the journey has not been a small ride for Ken but does that detail him from his passionate vision some of the challenges we are going through one major key challenge is actually funding because for us to run a successful program we need funds for us to be able to reintegrate some of these young people back to schools we definitely need funds so funds become one of the greatest greatest challenge that we are facing as an organization then the other challenge I think is also maybe is sometimes the frustration that comes with young people of acting like a pendulum today is like a young person has been able to transform then the next person then he lapses again to the former state simply because you are not able to have that full like implementation kind of a program to this kind of a person so because maybe I have rescued a young person then is like I have taken the young person from the drugs but the family still undergoing a lot of programs so sometimes helping a young person without helping the family becomes a challenge so they hold some kind of a challenge to come maybe helping the child as well as helping also the family so it becomes so easy because the child will find comfort in maono but back at home he still undergo the same challenge so that is the kind of a challenge that you have been having despite all the challenges experienced Ken the maono founder proudly tells us of his achievements I am a fan believer in God, I am a Christian so I usually make sure that every day I get my my dose from the word of God that is one, two, I am most motivated in seeing a life change as I said from the word go is like I am not here to change the world I am only here to change one person that one person changed that one person transformed will be able to change the world so that has always been my motivation every day when I wake up in the morning I say I am going back to Dandola but I am going to bring to transform a soul I am going to transform a person so that is my key inspiration you will see lives change you will see souls change you will see Dandola the positive side of Dandola is going to come out so in 10 years time we want to see maono grown I am coming up with talent academies for balls soccer that is for dance for modeling for acrobatics and all that so just to make sure that young people are able to hang from what they love most what pains me is like seeing a young person now that is getting into the border the individual, the motorcycles as forms of employment to me those are not meaningful image of young people I want to see a young person who is passionate in dance is able to hang from dance I want to see a young person who is passionate in modeling able to hang from modeling that is my my desire in his closing remarks I would really appreciate the founders who came along and bring us on board they really trust us we are the front line when it comes to society forums when you get to mobilize do some outreach we always feel like we are getting to impact the community in a positive way but now they know about Moana in our community so I really thank them because I have seen people or rather my friends who came in in the space where they were using drugs and right now at least they are sober we are a scientific volunteer organization we work together we do drugs in September but we do not change what is happening I have learned that we have to work together we work together we work together we work together we work together we work together just because of Moana Ken, he is the manager Ken Etovili he has been like ok he has not been but he is like a dad to me he does everything to me I just see myself among his daughters so I appreciate it for supporting my talent I have been at home and I have come through so I have a good idea so I am a hero but I am not a judge but I am a hero and I have a good idea I have a good idea I have a good idea I have parents mothers I have come through so I appreciate it thank you I am not working solo I partner a lot because I know I am not able to do all these things I am not an expert I am not a master in all these things so my friend is so much in networking and partnership so where I see that partner is good in mental wellness I will bring the partner on board where I see the partner is good in sexual reproductive health and rights I will bring the partner in where I see the partner is good in soka I will bring the partner in where I see the media is good in terms of blowing up what you are doing I will bring the media in so our strength is so much in networking and partnership so we actually desire to continue the collaborations and we also trying to open up that space for more partners to come on board I would like to thank one of our key partners is the Freedom Fund whom we are currently working with in the implementation of the child domestic worker exploitation of abuse also want to thank NKARE foundation Petra she has been quite key with us together with Claire we have been working very closely with them in many areas that are not good in I would also want to thank many organizations that you work with here in Dandora we have Shofko Kennedy Dede has always come in to assist us as an organization to assist some of the programs and activities that you are doing so I am happy with the current partners that you have been having they know what you are doing they have seen what you are doing and they are willing to continue working with us as I am ending this we are coming up with a program maybe in next year that is called a Maono Wani experience so the Maono Wani experience is a whole integrated program that will make sure that after the one year we are having a found kind of a person who has been transformed by the experience it is a whole training for young people so we will be able to recruit a number and the work with the number throughout to the end of the year so after the end of the year they will be able to graduate will give them our certificates will have going to transform them to be our PA educators to be the TOT's and to be the people who will be doing a lot of the work within our spaces and just maybe also maybe one thing I think I have not said we also give the young people a lot of opportunities within our office space we are doing what we call a job shadowing for the young people so each and every day all the young people that we have within our center we have allocated a day for them and that day is once if it's your day if it's a Monday you will come to the office early in the morning and leave way back in the evening and we will teach you a training or give you that opportunity to be able to know what an office setup is all about what to expect in an office what to expect in an office