Friday, April 20, 2012

Turn your 'Scars' into Stars


The world is such an interesting place to live in with two groups to indentify ourselves with: The have and have not. Bob Marley sang “some people have ways and means; others have nothing and others hopes and dreams”.
Today I want to share with you the power of following your dreams and having hope in whatever you desire to have in life despite your situation. My life as a child hasn’t been an easy road but what has kept me going is working hard and listening to my inner voice and taking action towards achieving it. In life there are many ‘scars’ that you might come across like people not appreciating your efforts, family lineage of abject poverty, your neighborhood, hopeless friends etc. Remember in every ‘scar’ there’s a star so you need to make you star stand out and shine all over the universe and opportunity will be knocking at your door steps.

 It has always been my dream to learn from other cultures while I pursue my dreams and I thank the D&F academy – Hamburg for seeing the potential in me. I know many would have loved to be at the academy which is very possible, but only if you pay attention to discovering more about yourself and start a worthy genuine course, not for awards and other recognitions, but to make a positive change within your family, community, other peoples live and the world at large.

My dreams and hope is to make Wilsen initiative a reality whereby it will be a centre for inspiration, talent exploration and skill transfer etc. This is just part of my dreams come true and I will not stop dreaming and working towards finding the stars whenever a ‘scar’ presents itself. Since computer is one of my greatest tools in my career advancement, I foresee developing an application called ‘Scars to Star generator’. Just thinking a loud and thinking it isn’t a crime so don’t limit yourself, generate those innovative ideas since whatever you see around us all started with ideas.

I believe that everyone has the potential to achieve whatever they want in life .Though the path might be bumpy and rough and without clues you should never give up. One day your star will shine.Wilsen Initiative “the champion in you…”
On the the picture with me is  Jens Lehmann ( former Arsenal goalkeeper), we only get see them on TV, newspapers, magazines, posters etc. I was very privileged  to meet one of the great football stars who played for great teams.

Long live D&F academy - Hamburg Germany


Picture: Jens Lehmann ( Former Arsenal goalkeeper and Wilson Masaka)

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Money versus Passion from the youth perspective

During this Easter holiday I spent time to look around the latest happenings in my community and I happen to meet my long time friend, David Mbuthia and we decided to do a short interview about him; with the main subject being money versus passion and find out which matters most while working on your career path and dreams.

Short introduction

David Mbuthia Mwangi (Identitie) was born in a family of seven and was introduced to the photography world in 1997 by Lana Wong (an
experienced photojournalist) based in America while working as a volunteer in a project known as ShootBack in Nairobi, Kenya. Over the years, his photos have been in various exhibitions in the world for example Grass root upgrade-reflection on Nairobi Eastland’s photo exhibition in 2012 and London gallery in 1999.

The current award he won was in Connect 4climate for change organized by World Bank in 2011 in Durban in South Africa at UN conference. Currently he is a volunteer at slum-TV an organization working in Mathare area. For last 15 years he has been doing documentary and artistic photography in Mathare slums and it environs.

Dream-Tank

His dream is to start a foundation that will teach photography to children in the slums. This will empower the children with skills that they can utilize in future and he is also planning to participate in a charity run and to use the proceeds to fund this dream foundation.
He would also want to host a solo photo exhibition about his work and to publish a book about his story and his career path of becoming an artistic professional photographer.

The Interview

Question 1: What inspire you?
Answer from Mbuthia: “Using photography to show the entire world what happens around and beyond. Photography is my voice for the voiceless and I want to show the ‘World our World’.”

Question 2: In your view, what matters most; Money or passion?
Answer from Mbuthia: “Passion, because it is a treasure inside me and I want to express and use it to the fullest to be who I want to be, on the other side money is just a means towards achieving a set goal and the full satisfaction is found in being passionate in whatever you do.”

Question 3: What do you what to tell the aspiring youth who come from under privilege community but have dream in becoming photographers, web designers etc?
Answer from Mbuthia: “Everyone has got a special gift or talent from God, and they shouldn’t fear challenges that come on their way. Challenges make a person stronger and focused in their future development and ways to find the best solutions to different situations.”

Question number 4: What is your best quote?
Answer from Mbuthia: “Think BIG, Start small, right now!”

Linkages to some of his stories

Contact David Mbuthia


Contacts +254731417646

Email: davidmbuthia83@gmail.com


Mbuthia's best quote: Think BIG, Start small, right now!”



Conclusion


This and mores stories you will be getting from Wilsen Initiative whereby we give upcoming artist’s a voice to make a positive impact in their community by inspiring others while they work on their journey of becoming champions.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Let us develop the passion for ICT from a tender age.

In my field of practice as an ICT trainer for the last eight years teaching web development and design, I have come across many students who are afraid of computer programming languages such as PHP and JQuery. Thus many opt for the visual look and feel, especially using Photoshop thinking that it easier than any other application. The fact is that it all boils down to learning the basics, being passionate, having good communication skills, listening skills, attitude, being pro-active, learning by doing etc. These are the key ingredients that you need to develop a strong mind set and skill set to make things flow towards your preferred career. “There’s no substitute for anything in life, you have to put hours of continuous research and learning. Open your eyes!” Wilson Masaka

During the first introductory sessions little do my students know that all subjects are important aspects of being a great web developer / web designers. I had the privilege to train 50 students at Nairobits Media lab (advanced level) the fundamentals of web design from both the technical and creative side. I must acknowledge that it is a journey worth traveling with the students and I not only teach them to be designers and programmers but also to be responsible citizens of our great nation. On the periphery I also learn a lot in the process and that is why I love teaching with passion and it is more of a mission or a calling.

I believe that no one was born stupid and at the same time with the know-how to do things. You have to start somewhere and that is why I advocate for self exploration for that special gift, passion, dream and talent that you have that makes you stand out from the rest.

In a class we might have slow learners, fast learner etc. It is our duty as students and trainers to learn more about ourselves and seeks necessary help from our mentors who are within our reach in times of need either in person or virtually on the internet. “If you do not plan, you plan to fail” this is one of best quotes I usually remember while conducting lectures which are intense, comprehensive and interesting.

I would wish if it is possible to make computer accessible to all age groups, of course with some guidance from all levels of our education sector. I believe that some schools have already embraced the advent of technology in their curriculum from the pre-units to universities but the only concern that I have, which is also shocking, is that this only happens in the well do families (upper class).

Things might vary from one country to the other but I am talking about my beloved country, Kenya. How many schools in the under developed (slums) areas teaches computers to the young kids let say among 10 -12yrs?

If we want great designers and programmers in future, I believe that computer introduction should be integrated as part of the curriculum in all the levels of the education sector to nurture and develop passion in the use of ICT. The question is, as one who has experienced the challenges in education coming from a humble background in the slums of Mathare, Where would I be if I was introduced to computers when I was 12yrs? This is the mind boggling question even though it’s never too late, so let us teach our son’s and daughter‘s how to use computers at tender age.

Remember the world waits at no one, things are moving at fast speed and we need to embrace technology if we want to join the so call first world countries.

To be honest I did not dream of one day doing computers in my life, it came as a surprise from my football and community service engagements with MYSA (www.mysakenya.org) and from there I developed the interest of learning computers when it was introduced to us by the Nairobits founders. In that regard, I thank everyone who us made this journey a success and special acknowledgement goes to Emer Beamer, Hester Hezra, Fiona, Ineke Aquarius, Faith Longwe, Warimu just to name but a few…

“I will strive to inspire many young people to be positive change-makers in our communities hereby engaging with the right networks that help uplift and realize their dreams, which is why we are working hard to see Wilsen initiative a reality”.

“Let us think food, shelter, housing, clothing, water and technology as the basic need in the 21st Century” Wilson Masaka founder of Wilsen Initiative

Testimony:
  • Special credit: http://www.butterflyworks.org/ great work you are doing, continue impacting many lives positively.
  • Special credit: NairoBits Trust www.nairobits.com - Continue with the great work of empowering youth with creative ICT skills.