Skip to main content

Champion Spotlight

 This article highlights three of our youth champions. As we share more about them, we hope you will be inspired or will inspire other youth to take action in solving community issues. Enjoy!

CLAIRE LUNG'AHI

 


Background

Claire pursued BSc Community Health and Development from Jaramogi Oginga Odinga University of Science and Technology and graduated in 2018. She has been a full time volunteer since 2017.

She is a SRHR Educator at Positive Young Women Voices, Women Leadership Champion at International Community of Women Living with HIV (WLHIV) Kenya, and also a GBV and Child protection Advocate/Documenting Officer at Dandora Community Justice Centre. Claire does all these on voluntary basis.

Passion and Interest

She is passionate about community service by linking Health and Development especially amongst adolescents, women and youth. Her passion is to advocate for period positivity by challenging societal mentality towards Menstrual Health Management. Claire also raises awareness around teenage pregnancies and build the capacity of teenagers around the same. She trains WLHIV on human rights, leadership and overcoming stigma and discrimination.

Leadership and Interests

Ms. Lung’ahi mentors 90 adolescents per month in Dandora and sensitizes her community on SRHR and Gender issues. She has mobilized and distributed Menstrual Hygiene kits for 500 girls in Dandora. Claire is a champion for rights of WLHIV in Embakasi North through leadership training and focused group discussions around stigma and discrimination. She also writes articles around women and Gender issues.

Aspiration

Claire aspires to be a SRHR and Gender specialist.

Motivation to join YSD Nairobi

Claire believes that youths have the voice and power to shape the future. “When youths join hands they are able to amplify the voice of the community. By being part of YSD, I'm able to get the knowledge, skills and experience to challenge societal norms lagging youths behind. I have gained a sense of belonging since I'm able to socialize with powerful and diverse youths who we share different ideas and experiences,” She says.

Message to youth

“We don't need to wait to be involved in decision making processes let's involve ourselves in these processes. We don't need to be invited on the tables because we can grab the tables by ourselves and voice out our concerns. We shouldn't always be seen only; let us be heard too and our decisions be implemented. The time's now!”

 

EDWIN OGENDI MICHIEKA



Background and passion

Edwin is a skilled counsellor, a mentor, a mental health advocate and a youth leader with a background in Environmental Health. He is passionate about building resilient communities and enhancing resilient minds. Through the initiative “Juu Iko Sawa”; “Juu” referring to our head and symbolized mental soundness; he has been able to engage with youth in Eastleigh to promote mental health, raise awareness against drugs and substance abuse and strengthen their resilience.

Leadership and Achievements

Edwin is the founder of Diplomats for Health in Resilient Community (DFHRC), an organization championing for mental well-being of young people by creating safe spaces to build ‘Resilient Minds, Resilient Youths’ through various youth engagements. He has been able to do advocacy programs, mentorship sessions with youth and coordinate various programs. Edwin is also one of the team leads coordinating Awareness and Advocacy activities.

Motivation to join YSD

Edwin’s motivation to join YSD was informed by it being a platform for youth to engage freely for personal and professional development. By being a member of YSD, he has been able to advance on advocacy skills, leadership, strategic planning and good governance skills hence appreciates the tremendous growth he has had.

Aspirations

Edwin hopes to create safe spaces within his community for healing purposes and to continue fostering resilience in youth and encourage youth awareness on mental health through peer-to-peer support groups. This will be his motivation to advance in the field of mental health.

Message for youth

He says, “I have been able to grow and develop my resilience and successfully navigate life and challenges encountered on my way. Hence, youth can also embrace those life challenges they encounter daily since they’re are inevitable. This they can do through mobilization of resources to invest in their resilience for a successful life.”

 

VINCENT OYIER

 


Background

Vincent Oyier is a Youth Coordinator passionate about facilitating training, providing measurable growth and value among rural and urban communities. He believes in building a sustainable career progression, identifying diverse opportunities and challenges that enhance growth and prosperity through volunteering.

Passion and interest 

He is passionate about active citizenship, inclusion of youth, person with disabilities, women and other vulnerable groups in the global development agenda.

Leadership and achievements

Vincent has volunteered with Youth on the Move as a youth coordinator empowering people with epilepsy, Pacemaker International that promotes access to community education in underserved arears within Nairobi, and VSO/ICS Kenya- a program that gives people in different countries a unique opportunity to work together, to develop and share valuable skills, and to make a practical contribution where it is needed in local communities.

Motivation for joining YSD

Vincent believe youth have the capacity to identify and challenge existing power structures and barriers to change, making a sense of personal experience and asking questions about the world around them. YSD provides him with the platform to do that.

Aspirations

He aspires to become role model in championing for an empowered community by providing a platform where youth actively participate in formulation and implementation of the right policies of leadership and inclusion of person with disabilities.

Message to the youth 

“The future belongs to young people and it is us who will be affected most by the decisions we take today on climate change, food energy, economic stability and the continuing challenge of world poverty. So it's important that we, the youth, take keen individual and group interest in these issues now and make sure our views are heard.”

 

 

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 28, 2020 at 9:25 AM

    Inspiring. Let's keep with the spirit of serving humanity.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Climate change- the elephant in the room!

You might have already heard of the term ‘Climate Change,’ but what does it mean? Conversations at local, national, and global levels have highlighted the urgency of tackling climate change to save life on the planet and protect future generations. Communities are rallying to call upon their leaders to make decisions that put climate resilience at the centre of development. If you are new to climate change work, this blog should help you understand a few things about climate change and why it is a pressing need globally.  The UN defines climate change as the ‘long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.’ These shifts can be caused by natural phenomena such as variations in the solar cycle, though human (anthropogenic) activities have been the main drivers of climate change since the 1800s. Humans burn fossil fuels that emit Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous monoxide, which destroy the ozone layer, trapping the sun’s heat a...
Post a Comment
Read more

International Day of the African Child 2022

Author: Christine Ogola Did you know that on 16th June every year the world celebrates the International Day of The African Child? When I was invited to a conference about “Day of the African Child” I had no clue what it was about. I did a quick search on Google and got my answer; It is a special day, dedicated to celebrating the African Child, a time for the world to reflect on the children’s rights, progress made towards creating an enabling environment for children to grow and thrive, and the barriers they continue to face. The theme of this year was  Eliminating Harmful Practices Affecting Children: Progress on Policy and Practice since 2013. Over the years, I am proud to see the creation of many Africa-Led Movements to end Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and Child Marriage, driven by courageous and tenacious survivors across the most affected countries in Africa. Young people have also been the heart of sustainable development. Today’s generation continues to work towards brea...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Involve African Youth in Peace and Security

Photo | Courtesy Africa’s population is expected to reach around 2.3 billion by 2050. About 41% of the people in the continent are below 15 years old while another 19% are youth between 15 and 24 years old.  The Africa’s youth population is growing rapidly and is expected to reach over 830 million by 2050. It is also important to note that, youth comprise over one billion people, 600 million of whom live in violence- and conflict-affected areas.  They also represent one-third of those displaced by conflict. Estimates of direct conflict deaths in 2015 show that more than 90 percent of all casualties occur among young adult males (UNFPA, 2015). It is quite evident that, young people are vulnerable and account for the greatest population affected by conflict. The history of insecurity in Africa associates high youth unemployment with the numerous situations of instability on the continent such as political strife, violent extremism and terrorist activities such as Al-Shabaab in...
2 comments
Read more