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    17Nov, 2022
    Why You Should Attend the CIDP Forum?
    Participants during the Coffee Bar Session. Photo: Philip Papa

    With the coming County Integrated Development Plan public participation forum meant to happen on 18th November 2022 at the Mukuru Health Centre in Imara Daima, our Coffee Bar Tuesday focused on how we can package ourselves together with like minded people and have a 1 voice that shall propose projects to the county to be implement within our wards and constituency. 

    The County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP) is a plan prepared by counties to guide development over a five-year period.The CIDP contains information on development priorities that inform the annual budget process for 5 years. The formulation of the CIDP is usually the first major task of a new county administration.

    With participants coming from Kwa Reuben, Viwandani, Kwa Njenga and Kware wards, we got to share some of the challenges that should be addressed by the 2023-2027 County Integrated Development Plan. Through the discussion, we got to understand that the majority of the challenges we face cut almost across in all areas represented during the discussions. Some of the proposed projects raised during the discussion were street lights installation, inadequate drainage system, youth resource centre, creation of ECDE and TVETs, secure land tenure, markets, 24 hour running water, more personnel and medication in our hospitals, access roads, empowerment on groups that are working on environment sector, more empowerment on urban farming, relocation of ward admin office among others. 

    Public Participation forum dates. Photo: Nairobi County

    We also shared some of the legal frameworks such as Constitution Of Kenya, County Governments Act 2012, Public Finance Management Act 2012 and Nairobi County Public Participation Act 2016 that promote and support the realization of public participation and communities being at the center of decision making. Article 1 of the constitution states that the power belongs to the people meaning, we the people have all the mandate to choose, propose and give priorities on what we feel would change our lives positively. Sections 87 to 92 and 115 of the County Governments Act, 2012 outline the principles of public participation.

    We also emphasized that all these projects will not be implemented by us saying at the discussion. We must turn out in numbers and propose them during the formulation of the CIDP that shall be held on 19th November 2022. It’s only through public participation, communities are able to share their proposals on some of the projects that should be implemented in the communities. Through this, they are able to scrutinize every project and give their priorities. At no point should we have projects being imposed onto us. Keeping that in mind, if they are existing projects that need to be completed then they should be on the list of our priorities.

    “Pia sisi kama communities lazima tukam pamoja and tuseme zile vitu zinatuaffect collectively unlike proposing vitu zinaaffect few of us. Pia lazima tukeep the government on toes in order to implement them.” Participants said

    As communities, we must understand that public participation is a process and doesn’t end with you only proposing. There should be a series of follow ups from both parties especially from the community. This helps in tracking progress of the projects. As we all wake up on the 19th, we must keep in mind that the change we need has to be proposed during this formulation stage. Let’s propose first and wait for the next process which shall inform the implementation of the projects. As young people from Embakasi South, we shall be dropping memoranda on some of the projects that should be included in the CIDP for the betterment of our communities. Young people have always and will always be the change makers. 

    We are also calling young people from other counties to make sure they are part of the process. As young people, we have to show that we have improved and bring forgotten young people’s voices to the table. See you on Friday 19th at the Mukuru Health Center hall. 

    11Nov, 2022
    Is COP27 Important?
    Participants during Coffee Bar Tuesday. Photo: Philip Papa

    With the COP27 conference happening from 6 November to 18 November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt and hitting our newsroom every day, how many people from the community are aware of it and its importance to common mwananchi. Our #CoffeeBarDiscussion hosted Kevin Odongo who is an environmentalist and founder of Green Ambassadors who is also meant to be at the COP27 conference in Egypt.

    COP27 which stands for Conference Of The Parties is the largest annual gathering on climate action that’s usually attended by heads of state, ministers, climate activists, civil society organizations and private sector. Kevin explained that the conference builds on some of the commitments made at the COP26 and brings new ones in order to deliver actions on climate. The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany in March, 1995 and this year Egypt is hosting the 27th conference since its inception.

    Participants got to understand how the COP27 came into realization with so many questions such as why do they always meet with no outcomes? Why do they meet knowing together that the biggest gas emissions state heads are not there? Why do they always make commitments and policies that are not met or implemented? How is it of use to us if common mwananchi is represented by the same leaders flying to Egypt through planes?

    Kevin Odongo shared that the commitments made there will not only help us as a country and also have mitigation and adaptation mechanisms for the future. In light of the current extreme heat, a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) which is a process that seeks to identify medium- and long-term adaptation needs has detailed approaches that we can adapt to reduce vulnerability, build resilience and adaptability, as well as incorporate climate adaptation into national policies and planning. Kenya already has its first plan on adaptation, and will help the government in mainstreaming climate change adaptation and mitigation.  

    “Ukiangalia had ice cubes siku hizi zinamelt haraka than before.” Participant said

    Also, he emphasized that approximately half of the world’s population is ‘highly vulnerable’ to the effects of climate change, including floods, droughts, tsunamis, and storms, and that is the reason why as a community the COP27 is of so much importance to us. This year’s COP will focus more on mitigation, adaptation, collaboration and make a delivery of $100 billion per year to assist developing countries.

    Kevin Odongo during Coffee Bar Session. Photo: Philip Papa

    With all our leaders representing us in Egypt, it’s important for us to follow up on what’s happening since the outcome of these conferences will determine the next phase of this world. If there is any financial commitment, we should be able to understand and get a share of it.

    The term Loss and Damage is not well known by most people, but here he explains it simply as the negative effects of climate change on society and the environment. There have been campaigns on #Pay4LossAndDamage where developing countries claim that developed countries have historical responsibility for climate change. They are calling for compensation from developed countries to help them address loss and damage that have already occurred and to minimize future loss and damage.

    “As we push for climate mitigation and adaptation, there’s need to have more awareness and simplify and localize information” Kevin Odongo said

    With the discussion touching more on what COP27 is focusing on, we also touched on what we as individuals can do in order to reduce the emissions that are contributed by human activities. Through the discussions, it was clear that we all have a role to play in making sure we save the planet. Some of the ways in which we can reduce emissions include ending the usage of fossils, powering your home with renewable energies, plant more trees, recycling, fly less or when need be, stop plastic pollution and drive cars that are climate friendly among others. 

    As Mukuru Youth Initiative, we believe in the power of having knowledge. It’s only through knowledge, that you are able to know what, how, where, when, why you need to do something. We continue to create spaces where information is shared for the betterment of individuals and communities. See you on Tuesday!

    2Nov, 2022
    Teen Pregnancy – What’s The Solution?
    Participants during Coffee Bar Tuesday. Photo: Julius Rasat

    Narok County Ministry of Education reported that 741 school going children were impregnated and out of that number 409 were below 18 years. It’s good to note that the data shared is only for the girls who have attended different health facilities and there could be many other pregnant girls who are not counted because they have not been to the health centers.  Mukuru hasn’t been left out or spared by this teenage pregnancy pandemic. There’s no data indicating the number of teenage pregnancies for Mukuru but we can tell that we have young mothers around. This week’s #CofffeeBarTuesday focused on some of the contributing factors that could lead young girls to be pregnant and get solutions on how we can continue protecting young girls.

    Some studies indicate that 1 in every 5 teenage girls between the ages of 15-19 years has already given birth or pregnant with their first child. Kenya’s Ministry of Health reported 45,724 pregnancies among girls aged 10 to 19 in January and February 2022. This is worrying and needs a lot of attention from the government, stakeholders, communities and parents. Teenage pregnancies are a major challenge for socioeconomic development.

    Through the discussion poverty, lack of access to sexual and reproductive health services, peer pressure from the family and friends, early sex initiation, sexual violence such as defilement/rape, harmful cultural practices such as child marriage, lack of goodwill from the government in prosecuting perpetrators, social media, technology- having too much accessibility to internet, drug abuse and substance abuse, societal pressure and recent demolitions in Mukuru Kwa Njenga were some of the contributing factors to the rise of teen pregnancies in Mukuru. In addition, lack of empowerment among young boys was cited as a reason why the numbers are rising.

    A pregnant school going pupil. Photo: Kwaela News Network

      “Young boys are not well informed on how to handle an empowered girl. It may happen that a girl visits her boyfriend and he does not understand how they can have safe sex. The girl will just accept whatever the boy decides, putting all of them at risk.” Participant said

    Participants pointed out there are a lot of barriers in accessing sexual and reproductive health services. Some of the barriers are that Embakasi South doesn’t have any youth friendly center where young people can seek SRH services, the already existing private ones are not conducive to seek services and there’s less information about what kind of information someone can inquire from those centers.

    In September 2021, part of Mukuru Kwa Njenga was demolished leaving residents homeless and not able to access basic services such as education, water, housing among others. Majority of private schools were demolished leaving thousands of pupils not attending school.  With only 2 public schools, this couldn’t accommodate the majority of the girls and this led to many girls getting pregnant, dropping out, getting married and others using drugs.

    With us understanding the problem, it’s easy to know how to get a solution. One of the solution raised by the participant was for the government to enforce its well outlined policies and laws addressing child marriage, defilement and access to highest attainable health. The government needs to work hand in hand with communities in prosecuting anyone having sex with children. For a relationship to work, there must be a boy translating to boys also needs to be empowered and with both genders empowered, it will be easy to curb teen pregnancies. As parents, you need to be watchful of what your children are searching online and who they talk or engage with.  Sex education continues to be resisted by parents, religious leaders, political leaders and other stakeholders despite data showing that young people are engaging in sex earlier than in the past.  Parents also need to be close to their children in order to share some of the changes our girls experience puberty.

    For us to end teen pregnancies, it is essential that we confront the hard truths of the issue in an honest and open manner. It should be noted that teen pregnancies hinder our girls from maximizing their full potential, which impacts their socioeconomic development as they are unable to further their education or achieve their career goals. However, some do come back strong and achieve everything they ever wanted. We all have a role to play in ending teen pregnancies. A key component of the solution is making sure that those who commit teenage pregnancies face the full force of the law. Also, we must ensure that all pregnant girls go back to school as soon as possible. See you on Tuesday!