Currently I'm writing a letter to Africa which will be posted soon...
Dear Africa,
Monday, April 29, 2013
I Love Africa T-shirts Design Launch
As I had promised to launch next T-shirt label before 1st May, this weekend I had the pleasure of launching I love Africa T-shirts design during the GoDown monthly GIG. I thank everyone who purchased the first copies.
You can place your order at wilson.masaka@gmail.com
Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Guest Lectures at CMETrust – Discover Your Youthful Potential.
On 23rd April 2013 I had the pleasure to be invited by the Canada Mathare Education Trust (CMETrust) to give lectures to youth who are on school break after the first term. The mission of CMETrust is to advance education in Kenya by providing secondary school scholarships through funds raised annually, to students from Mathare Valley Slum, Nairobi; and, to raise awareness in Canada about education and poverty in urban Kenya. During school holiday’s CMETrust organizes lessons in multiple fields for example life skills, entrepreneurship, leadership among others and for more details kindly visit http://cmetrust.orgCMETrust is a youth friendly organization.
It is amazing to experience how they connect with their youth who are enthusiastic about learning new things, and they are informed about their environment. Titus told me they chose me because they wanted to connect with people who live or have lived in similar neighborhoods as their target groups, and have succeeded in life in one way or the other. This opportunity wouldn’t have come at a better time , because I love teaching, sharing, and inspiring the young people as a way of promoting good leadership, developing responsible citizenship and giving back to the community.
My ideas are all collected through the Wilsen Initiative (WI) www.wilsenx.com, which is a project that is registered under the government of Kenya and seeks to educate, connect and inspire the younger generation who are future leaders in our great nations.
Summary of the day;
1. Introduction: Who I am, my work, family, dreams e.t.c;
This was categorized in story form under four major topics ;
3. Group Assignment. Each group was expected to come up with a name and a mission statement on how they could bring positive change in Mathare.
4. Reflection: Unique Selling Point (USP), Personal branding and doing(PB) and individual Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats analysis (SWOT).
Generally these were the key topics during the well attend sessions. In my plan I balanced between main lectures, group presentations, individual presentations, question and answers, and of course breaks in between! I thank CMETrust for this great opportunity and I’m always willing to visit any youth led institution in the country and abroad to share my story and that of many others. All this falls under my passion of doing what I love and loving what I do!
It is amazing to experience how they connect with their youth who are enthusiastic about learning new things, and they are informed about their environment. Titus told me they chose me because they wanted to connect with people who live or have lived in similar neighborhoods as their target groups, and have succeeded in life in one way or the other. This opportunity wouldn’t have come at a better time , because I love teaching, sharing, and inspiring the young people as a way of promoting good leadership, developing responsible citizenship and giving back to the community.
My ideas are all collected through the Wilsen Initiative (WI) www.wilsenx.com, which is a project that is registered under the government of Kenya and seeks to educate, connect and inspire the younger generation who are future leaders in our great nations.
Summary of the day;
1. Introduction: Who I am, my work, family, dreams e.t.c;
This was categorized in story form under four major topics ;
- Life in Sport
- Community service
- Design Development
- Technology & Teaching
3. Group Assignment. Each group was expected to come up with a name and a mission statement on how they could bring positive change in Mathare.
4. Reflection: Unique Selling Point (USP), Personal branding and doing(PB) and individual Strength Weakness Opportunities Threats analysis (SWOT).
Generally these were the key topics during the well attend sessions. In my plan I balanced between main lectures, group presentations, individual presentations, question and answers, and of course breaks in between! I thank CMETrust for this great opportunity and I’m always willing to visit any youth led institution in the country and abroad to share my story and that of many others. All this falls under my passion of doing what I love and loving what I do!
Below are some pictures - they speak more than words!
 |
| Introduction, expectation and this is / was my journey? |
 |
| Lectures on session |
 |
|
Individual
presentations; Who I am?
|
 |
|
Discussions
in groups: creating a name for the group and mission statement for what
you would wish and also works towards positive change.
|
 |
|
Presentation
of slogan and mission statement for positive change.
|
The Voice of the Voiceless in Kenyan Football
Girls, in African tradition, were for many years left at home to take care of their little siblings, fetch water and generally do all the household chaos. Africa has come of age in almost every sector empowering the girl child who has been neglected and exposed to many challenges in life for example, early marriage, lack of education just to mention but a few. In the 21st century Africa has tried all ways possible to change some of the out-dated traditions, and for that effort even if it is a small percentage, we need to celebrate our continent as we continue to address gaps that still exist without endangering the boy child.
In Africa sport was a taboo for women in terms of participation or any leadership role.
You could rarely see any woman attend a football match in the stadium, participate in playing, or even participate in safari rally competition among other sports. Many changes and challenges have happened in the women's sports arena with local and international organizations strategizing on how to cube different types of exploitation and gaps that keep on rising as whenever the opportunity presents itself. There are many youth institutions in Kenya that strive to empower the girls in sports and education for example MYSA (http://www.mysakenya.org/) , Chrisc Kenya (http://chrisckenya.org) just to mention but a few.
On the contrary, in 2011 Kenyans had hopes for tremendous changes for better in Kenya football which included the women. Even though there has been some positive efforts like the Kenya Premier League (KPL) a lot is still left to be desired, worst of all the women's football. I remember vividly the energy and professionalizing expressed during the launch of the women’s leagues at City Stadium. This positive energy demonstrated at City Stadium hasn’t lived the test of time and the question is what is happening or what did go wrong? People would expect with the new officials things should change for better but somehow this isn’t true.
As a leader you need to inculcate a new spirit, systems and culture of working for a common goal, and thus in most cases you can’t solve today’s problems with yesterday's solutions. I am one of the many people whose hope has been fading as the clock ticks closer to the next football elections. Someone should urge the officials to increase the gears in addressing the issues affecting footballers in my great country Kenya. Flashing back, there were tournaments like Sakata sponsored by Safaricom, Extreme, tournament among others which have ceased in the football arena due to legislation that was put in place to have the checks and balances of any tournament organized. As a former footballer, I see this move was well intended, but it also needs to accommodate promotion of football from the grassroots by having reasonable rules for sponsors willing to support different tournaments.
The hard fact is that not everyone can play in the lucrative Kenya Premier League (KPL). We need good leadership and management at the grassroots level too. On the other side, last year there was a women's premier league that was played all over the country promising the ladies better things to come, and maybe make football a career of their choice.
The sad story is that almost one year now last year’s champions haven’t been rewarded. So the question is where is the award promised? When is it going to be given to deserving women who spent their time and energy playing in the scorching sun in Matuu, Machakos County and rainy fields in Western Kenya? Who will come to the rescue of the dying talent in the country that is untapped, and worst of all abused? Even though there is some light in the tunnel with a new sports act in place, and the new government inaugurated this year, we have renewed hope that they be in the forefront in supporting the women in sport .
A case in point is Mwanaisha Mwae from Kayole who started playing football since 2006. Football has helped her interact with different people , keep fit and healthy, avoid idleness, avoid peer pressure and bad company. On the other hand, Kate Syprine has also played football in all most all the regional tournaments and she has participated in the Norway cup in Olso, Norway. Football has helped her support her education, keep healthy and most of all shape her future. I featured Kate’s story in 2011 and here is the link http://wilsenx.blogspot.com/2011/09/unknown-heroes.html These are just a few examples of the potential the girls to have.
It’s very sad that we only see the women's football highlighted when they play for our national team with only one weeks preparation before facing the likes of Nigeria, South Africa and Nigeria who have invested tremendously in girls' football by having football academies.
The coverage always doesn’t go along way, or get featured in all media because as soon as our national team gets eliminated from the international or regional tournament qualifications, you hardly hear a thing mentioned about the women's football. I hope by sharing this article someone out there would see the potential to support Kenyan women's football, and as a football fanatic I will try everything within my reach to keep on encouraging the women in my areas of intervention.
Much thanks go to the corporations that have been in the forefront in supporting sports for example; Super sports, EABL, Safaricom, Airtel, Brookside, Kenya Airways, and many others. We need everyone on board especially in sporting the women's football.
Lastly try to imagine, if every corporation would have a team of their own, wouldn’t that be a source of employment? These and many more options are what we need to think about to come up with innovative ways of tackling the gaps in the society. Remember not everyone can be a pilot, lawyer, accountant etc. So, what are you doing to support women’s football in Kenya and participation in other sports?
Written by the founder - Wilsen Initiative (WI)
You could rarely see any woman attend a football match in the stadium, participate in playing, or even participate in safari rally competition among other sports. Many changes and challenges have happened in the women's sports arena with local and international organizations strategizing on how to cube different types of exploitation and gaps that keep on rising as whenever the opportunity presents itself. There are many youth institutions in Kenya that strive to empower the girls in sports and education for example MYSA (http://www.mysakenya.org/) , Chrisc Kenya (http://chrisckenya.org) just to mention but a few.
On the contrary, in 2011 Kenyans had hopes for tremendous changes for better in Kenya football which included the women. Even though there has been some positive efforts like the Kenya Premier League (KPL) a lot is still left to be desired, worst of all the women's football. I remember vividly the energy and professionalizing expressed during the launch of the women’s leagues at City Stadium. This positive energy demonstrated at City Stadium hasn’t lived the test of time and the question is what is happening or what did go wrong? People would expect with the new officials things should change for better but somehow this isn’t true.
As a leader you need to inculcate a new spirit, systems and culture of working for a common goal, and thus in most cases you can’t solve today’s problems with yesterday's solutions. I am one of the many people whose hope has been fading as the clock ticks closer to the next football elections. Someone should urge the officials to increase the gears in addressing the issues affecting footballers in my great country Kenya. Flashing back, there were tournaments like Sakata sponsored by Safaricom, Extreme, tournament among others which have ceased in the football arena due to legislation that was put in place to have the checks and balances of any tournament organized. As a former footballer, I see this move was well intended, but it also needs to accommodate promotion of football from the grassroots by having reasonable rules for sponsors willing to support different tournaments.
The hard fact is that not everyone can play in the lucrative Kenya Premier League (KPL). We need good leadership and management at the grassroots level too. On the other side, last year there was a women's premier league that was played all over the country promising the ladies better things to come, and maybe make football a career of their choice.
The sad story is that almost one year now last year’s champions haven’t been rewarded. So the question is where is the award promised? When is it going to be given to deserving women who spent their time and energy playing in the scorching sun in Matuu, Machakos County and rainy fields in Western Kenya? Who will come to the rescue of the dying talent in the country that is untapped, and worst of all abused? Even though there is some light in the tunnel with a new sports act in place, and the new government inaugurated this year, we have renewed hope that they be in the forefront in supporting the women in sport .
A case in point is Mwanaisha Mwae from Kayole who started playing football since 2006. Football has helped her interact with different people , keep fit and healthy, avoid idleness, avoid peer pressure and bad company. On the other hand, Kate Syprine has also played football in all most all the regional tournaments and she has participated in the Norway cup in Olso, Norway. Football has helped her support her education, keep healthy and most of all shape her future. I featured Kate’s story in 2011 and here is the link http://wilsenx.blogspot.com/2011/09/unknown-heroes.html These are just a few examples of the potential the girls to have.
It’s very sad that we only see the women's football highlighted when they play for our national team with only one weeks preparation before facing the likes of Nigeria, South Africa and Nigeria who have invested tremendously in girls' football by having football academies.
The coverage always doesn’t go along way, or get featured in all media because as soon as our national team gets eliminated from the international or regional tournament qualifications, you hardly hear a thing mentioned about the women's football. I hope by sharing this article someone out there would see the potential to support Kenyan women's football, and as a football fanatic I will try everything within my reach to keep on encouraging the women in my areas of intervention.
Much thanks go to the corporations that have been in the forefront in supporting sports for example; Super sports, EABL, Safaricom, Airtel, Brookside, Kenya Airways, and many others. We need everyone on board especially in sporting the women's football.
Lastly try to imagine, if every corporation would have a team of their own, wouldn’t that be a source of employment? These and many more options are what we need to think about to come up with innovative ways of tackling the gaps in the society. Remember not everyone can be a pilot, lawyer, accountant etc. So, what are you doing to support women’s football in Kenya and participation in other sports?
Written by the founder - Wilsen Initiative (WI)
Friday, April 19, 2013
Wilsen Initiative (WI) New Logo, Mascot and Slogan
The idea of Wilsen Initiative (WI) is to spot talents and nurture it to the
right direction by providing the much needed platforms for a young
person to grow and express themselves starting with Mathare slums in
Nairobi and all over Kenya by connecting with opportunities in life. Some of the important life-skills worth learning
for a young person to take lead in their life and become a responsible
citizen are for example; Developing a Positive Attitude, Self Discipline, Patience’s, Hard-work, Tolerance, Goal Setting Abilities, Personal Branding and being a Positive Change Maker (positive role
model) etc.
As the founder of this initiative which started as a dream, developed into ideas and now we are at implementation stages combining efforts with like minded people we still need support from well wishers. The journey seems long a head of us but one day we shall reach our destination only if we continue with the great spirit of commitment and dedication. During my creative hours I designed a fresh new look logo, mascot and house-style for Wilsen Initiative (WI) please have a look below!
Note: Something to remember for aspiring designers that I train at Nairobits courses and anywhere else, when designing it is worth starting with a sketch using a pen and paper before you dive into the computer applications. Below is the results;
All the artwork are original ideas and are copyrighted to Wilsen Initiative (WI).
Contact me for business cards, T-shirts, website (dynamic & static), brochures etc. A percentage of money received from the work done goes to implementation of Wilsen Initiative (WI).
God bless you all.
Few days left... Celebrating Africa T shirt on the way before 1st May 2013. wilson.masaka[at]gmail.com
As the founder of this initiative which started as a dream, developed into ideas and now we are at implementation stages combining efforts with like minded people we still need support from well wishers. The journey seems long a head of us but one day we shall reach our destination only if we continue with the great spirit of commitment and dedication. During my creative hours I designed a fresh new look logo, mascot and house-style for Wilsen Initiative (WI) please have a look below!
Note: Something to remember for aspiring designers that I train at Nairobits courses and anywhere else, when designing it is worth starting with a sketch using a pen and paper before you dive into the computer applications. Below is the results;
All the artwork are original ideas and are copyrighted to Wilsen Initiative (WI).
Mascot, Slogan , Logo & Business Card.
God bless you all.
Few days left... Celebrating Africa T shirt on the way before 1st May 2013. wilson.masaka[at]gmail.com
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Brochure Design - Majano exhibition 2013
Today during my creative hours I designed a brochure A4 half fold - A5 size for the GoDown Art Centre Majano exhibition that will take place at the village market from 11th April to 25th April 2013. The exhibition will showcase Nairobi visual art ranging from painting, sculptures and mixed media by established, emerging and young visual artist based in Nairobi.
Don't miss! and in case you have any design related works ( T shirts, Posters, brochures, books etc) don't hesitate to write me at wilson.masaka[at]gmail.com
Coming soon! Tshirt design - celebrating Africa.
Coming soon! Tshirt design - celebrating Africa.
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
What is your Purchase Power (PP)?
Today I feel like writing a simple guide that I hope will help people during the hard economic times, especially the youth, make informed choices when it comes to financial matters. This is from my personal life journal that I would love to share and hopefully inspire others.
Here, my definition of Purchase Power is not only about money but the driving force that helps a person decide what to buy or not buy.
As time goes by, your savings today in the form of cash might not be ‘useful’ in the future. The power of savings is to invest your money so that regardless of inflation you still maintain the same standards. I came to realize this after many years of saving at a bank that gave me zero interest. I’m not a financial expert even though I love matters to do with finances, being an accountant is my third option in my career advancement.
On a daily basis we do buy goods and render services of which either is driven by certain factors in our lives. Today in a matatu traveling to work, I gazed around looking for answers to what makes people purchase what they want as a result of their Purchase Power (PP). As a social-entrepreneur designing websites and T-shirts for range of clients, I hereby share the twelve points that drive my purchasing power .
Wilson’s diary Purchase Power (PP)
1. Customer Care
If you want to keep your customer coming back, you should create a good rapport with your customer as Mahatma Gandhi said;
It is unfortunate some of the institutions like banks, supermarket, hotel etc. haven’t realized this to be the centerpiece of making good sales. One of the connecting factors is greetings with a smile, and remember companies hire for attitude and trains for skills.
2. Designer Label
To some people this is a very big deal either because of binding contract or personal preferences. I rarely look at the designer label that much but I appreciate the good work done by fashion designers around the world.
3. Company
The company's reputation in the market is a key consideration in building confidence amongst their customers. If you build a strong brand you will have everyone in your bandwagon. Something to remember though, a brand isn’t only about a company or a logo but the emotion and trust that you create. “It is the emotional and psychological relationship you have with your customers. Strong brands elicit opinions, emotions, and sometimes physiological responses from customers. “ http://themarketingspot.com/2009/01/basics-of-marketing-brand.html
4. Needs
There is a simple distinction between Needs and Wants. Needs are something you have to have, And a Want is something you would like and to have. In our life there are some expenses that we can’t avoid such as food, shelter and water , no matter how much you want to limit your purchase power .
5. Cash flows and Budgets
You don’t need to be an accountant to monitor your cash flow or have budgets. This to me are skills of life, and remember being poor is sometimes a state of mind! Everyone has the opportunity to be rich and this is only determined by how you budget and use the cash at hand. Here I’m talking about the justified ways of getting rich rather than the norm of getting rich fast or dies trying through dangerous deals.
6. Price Tag
For any item to have price, there are considerations made, for example origin, cost of production versus profit margins, supply versus demand chain, designer label, trend, target group etc. There is no king to pricing, thus something else to consider is the business set up. For example in an open air market you have a chance to bargain as opposed to a supermarket. Therefore, carefully choose the locations for your regular purchases, and have an average pricing list for the same commodity in the market before you make your purchase. Please don’t take this literary as it depends on what you want to buy which will necessitate collecting quotations or window shopping.
7. Living Standard
The world hasn’t been fair at all and I don’t see it happening in the near future. Some people can afford rent for Kes 100,000 and say it is fair or cheap while in the same country a family is struggling to raise Kes 1,000 … count the zeros eeh! Anyway, we have the key to shape our future and live a better life. My advice; we should not live the life of a king if we can’t afford it.
8. Impulse Buying
This is when you purchase something and you had not planned for it. It has happened many times in my life and the best thing is to be aware especially when you visit a supermarket. The key advises here is to be aware when you are over doing it because this might lead to habits that you can avoid.
9. Origin
The origin of a product is also key when deciding what brand to purchase .The origin also comes with a price tag which might influence your purchase power.
10. Brand Loyalty
This is our commitment to certain good and services either because of quality, innovation, growth, customer care, guarantee etc. We subconsciously tend to stick with some products or services because of their continuous promise and guarantee of satisfaction.
11. Trends
Here we look at what's new in the market, who bought it, what version, what features does it have etc. We sometimes decide to purchase the latest arrivals in town because we want to be unique or to embrace the new features.
12. Social Circles
The social circles are the groups that we belong to because of common interests. If you surround yourself with people who like reading chances are that you will follow the trend or decide to drop it. This goes to party, fashion savvy etc.
This is my view and how I see it happening in ‘my world’ What is yours? - Share and get in touch wilson.masaka@gmail.com
Here, my definition of Purchase Power is not only about money but the driving force that helps a person decide what to buy or not buy.
As time goes by, your savings today in the form of cash might not be ‘useful’ in the future. The power of savings is to invest your money so that regardless of inflation you still maintain the same standards. I came to realize this after many years of saving at a bank that gave me zero interest. I’m not a financial expert even though I love matters to do with finances, being an accountant is my third option in my career advancement.
On a daily basis we do buy goods and render services of which either is driven by certain factors in our lives. Today in a matatu traveling to work, I gazed around looking for answers to what makes people purchase what they want as a result of their Purchase Power (PP). As a social-entrepreneur designing websites and T-shirts for range of clients, I hereby share the twelve points that drive my purchasing power .
Wilson’s diary Purchase Power (PP)
1. Customer Care
If you want to keep your customer coming back, you should create a good rapport with your customer as Mahatma Gandhi said;
"A Customer is the most important
Visitor on our premise.
He is not dependent on us,
We are dependent on him.
He is not an interruption of our work,
He is the purpose of it.
He is not an outsider to our business,
He is a part of it.
We are not doing him a favor by serving him,
He is doing us a favor by giving us,
An opportunity to do so."
~Mahatma Gandhi
[The greatest servant to Humanity of the Century]
It is unfortunate some of the institutions like banks, supermarket, hotel etc. haven’t realized this to be the centerpiece of making good sales. One of the connecting factors is greetings with a smile, and remember companies hire for attitude and trains for skills.
2. Designer Label
To some people this is a very big deal either because of binding contract or personal preferences. I rarely look at the designer label that much but I appreciate the good work done by fashion designers around the world.
3. Company
The company's reputation in the market is a key consideration in building confidence amongst their customers. If you build a strong brand you will have everyone in your bandwagon. Something to remember though, a brand isn’t only about a company or a logo but the emotion and trust that you create. “It is the emotional and psychological relationship you have with your customers. Strong brands elicit opinions, emotions, and sometimes physiological responses from customers. “ http://themarketingspot.com/2009/01/basics-of-marketing-brand.html
4. Needs
There is a simple distinction between Needs and Wants. Needs are something you have to have, And a Want is something you would like and to have. In our life there are some expenses that we can’t avoid such as food, shelter and water , no matter how much you want to limit your purchase power .
5. Cash flows and Budgets
You don’t need to be an accountant to monitor your cash flow or have budgets. This to me are skills of life, and remember being poor is sometimes a state of mind! Everyone has the opportunity to be rich and this is only determined by how you budget and use the cash at hand. Here I’m talking about the justified ways of getting rich rather than the norm of getting rich fast or dies trying through dangerous deals.
6. Price Tag
For any item to have price, there are considerations made, for example origin, cost of production versus profit margins, supply versus demand chain, designer label, trend, target group etc. There is no king to pricing, thus something else to consider is the business set up. For example in an open air market you have a chance to bargain as opposed to a supermarket. Therefore, carefully choose the locations for your regular purchases, and have an average pricing list for the same commodity in the market before you make your purchase. Please don’t take this literary as it depends on what you want to buy which will necessitate collecting quotations or window shopping.
7. Living Standard
The world hasn’t been fair at all and I don’t see it happening in the near future. Some people can afford rent for Kes 100,000 and say it is fair or cheap while in the same country a family is struggling to raise Kes 1,000 … count the zeros eeh! Anyway, we have the key to shape our future and live a better life. My advice; we should not live the life of a king if we can’t afford it.
8. Impulse Buying
This is when you purchase something and you had not planned for it. It has happened many times in my life and the best thing is to be aware especially when you visit a supermarket. The key advises here is to be aware when you are over doing it because this might lead to habits that you can avoid.
9. Origin
The origin of a product is also key when deciding what brand to purchase .The origin also comes with a price tag which might influence your purchase power.
10. Brand Loyalty
This is our commitment to certain good and services either because of quality, innovation, growth, customer care, guarantee etc. We subconsciously tend to stick with some products or services because of their continuous promise and guarantee of satisfaction.
11. Trends
Here we look at what's new in the market, who bought it, what version, what features does it have etc. We sometimes decide to purchase the latest arrivals in town because we want to be unique or to embrace the new features.
12. Social Circles
The social circles are the groups that we belong to because of common interests. If you surround yourself with people who like reading chances are that you will follow the trend or decide to drop it. This goes to party, fashion savvy etc.
This is my view and how I see it happening in ‘my world’ What is yours? - Share and get in touch wilson.masaka@gmail.com