Mtaa Bila IDLENESS!

We have been on the forefront in organizing the annual end of the year soccer tournament in Mathare North community for the last four years. Our main theme for this year is Mtaa bila Idleness, which means a community without idleness, as it was said an idle mind is a devils workshop.

The tournament features sixteen senior teams that participate in the two weeks competitive tournaments with an aim of fostering peacefully coexisting of people in the community while embracing peace, love and unity despite of our background, tribes, political affiliation etc.

This year we have lined up three activities as follows;

1. Soccer tournament for the senior teams.
2. Soccer tournament for U12 & U14.
3. Art expression; My country, My future for young people of 14 -16 years

Soccer Tournaments

Soccer is the number one sport in majority of the informal settlements in the world. The power of a ball can't be underestimated. Looking back history getting a real ball wasn't easy, even though our creativity and innovation wasn't limited we created soccer balls from pieces of papers and threads. We played together in school corridors, opens spaces, community field and even organized for friendly matches with other youth (soccer everywhere). These environments made us be known in the community, despite not having a structured soccer academies like in the western countries and through soccer some of us were able to arrive to our careers of choice and on the flip side due to social economical situations many talents were lost on the way.

U12 soccer tournament, Drive-In primary school in Mathare North

This year, schools have been closed for two months, many young people are all over the streets, some not knowing what to do or how to spend their time, parent on the other hand not knowing how to deal with their children during the long holiday. We have organized this tournament with the intention of creating a platform that will engage the youth in a meaningful activities that will train them some life skills that they wouldn't get in the classroom.

Art expression; My country, My future 

This is a platform that will bring young people of 14 to 16 years together at the GoDown Art centre on the 11th of December 2016. Our main theme My country, My future aims at creating a positive dialogue that will promote the values that will foster peacefully coexisting of people. Next year we will be having the general elections and from the street talk and media there is little evidence in organizing a celebration of things that bind us together as Kenyans apart from the forthcoming Jahmuri day celebration on 12th December  (Independence day) which is gazetted. 

It is so unfortunate the small gains and activities such as what we have organized doesn't get the attention in the mainstream media, majority of top news is when remarks are made that are controversial to the norms are made especially towards polarizing us further through tribal affiliations, political affiliation etc.  Thanks to the new media, we are able to share our passion, activities and create platforms that appreciate our diversity as Kenyans even in a little way and as key stakeholders of the Kenya that we want to see.

Coming soon at the GoDown Arts Centre

Target Group

Our target group (14 to 16 years) won't vote come next year, but we want to start somewhere by inculcating a culture of a new generation that appreciates our diversity, make informed decisions and promote the great values of peace, love and unity (peace ambassadors from within). For a great nation to meet its development agendas, we need the effort of everyone without excluding the children and the youth, their energy needs to be linked to deliberate program and activities that will promote great citizenry.

Expected Impact

We work with renowned artist and community youth leaders in facilitating these workshops. The participants get a chance to evoke new ways of thinking through artistic expression, work together and dialogue through meaningful conversations. We envisage a community of positive role models who are responsible to the community whereby engaging in activities that promote great values (Peace, love, unity, hard work, teamwork, empathy etc.) for a better tomorrow.  After art and craft was abolished in the 8-4-4 system the interest of  many young people participating in artistic projects has gone below the expected levels because some think it isn't a career option.

At Wilsen Initiative (WI) we promote art and soccer activities as our vehicles of delivering value through learning new skills that wouldn't be trained in the confines of the classroom. Art is a wide field with many genres from music, painting, choreography etc. 

Patrick Mukabi “Panye” internationally renowned artist facilitating in one of our session dubbed Plus One Talent (POT)

We use visual expression (painting) where the participants design their unique composition in relation to the subject matter. Art and sport are career options for the youth in the 21st century whilst learning other important skills that will make you an all rounder person.

More about Wilsen Initiative (Wi) www.wilsen-initiative.org

It Wasn't Me

Failure Vs. Success.
Is it I or We? #Leadership101

There are many types of leaders out there, and the subject here isn't about experience, academic, knowledge and skills. But there are only two things that separate the good versus great leaders or even think of mediocre leaders to bad ones.

An average leader

An average leader mostly use the phrase I... when they succeed and when failure comes knocking they will use WE.. even when it was their mistake!

Good Leaders

Good leaders will use WE... always without accounting for their actions and seems not responsible until there's a clear success.

Great Leaders

They will always give credit when it is due, they will go the extra mile of appreciating their junior staff for their dedication and contribution. They are not biased and they are ready to face the situation head-on and offer clear direction. When failure sets in and it is them who caused it, they will admit by saying or confirming to their team I FAILED... and when they succeed, they appreciate the team as WE... and they know when to account for I... 

What type of leader are you? 

How many leaders do you know who admits when they fail? Failure is the greatest opportunity for learning many ways of doing things better.

The Office Isn’t the Place to Source for Creativity

I got a chance for the last 2 days to spend time off my office desk and from the usual routines like traffic jam, long to-do list, long hours of work just to mention but a few. Even though I was still at work, the environment provided bundles of unlimited creativity at a place called Maazoni lodge in Machakos County. I have come to recognize and appreciate how the mind works better and in different ways when exposed to different environments and challenging situations.

I would like to share these moments hoping that you will be inspired; by the way you don't need sophisticated equipment or latest model of DSLR camera to make a great photo, everything depends with all you can see and capture, and with the advent of smart phones you can make amazing photos for your blog and other social media channels.

The important note; your choice of equipment will always depend on the assignment at hand, for example, shooting a full movie using your mobile phone is possible, but you will definitely miss important things like quality sound and lighting, long hours of doing simple stuff, low resolution challenge etc.

Just don’t be over ambitious that is why I have in my tool box a DSLR camera for big assignments like events.

#MobilePhonePhotograph
Model:  Infinix HOT 3 LTE

Personal Branding

Which of the following fits your brand as at 2016. #RealityCheck #TheChampionInYou #PowerBrand

1. You get paid for appearing at an event.
2. You get paid for performing at an event, 1 minute is billed in thousands or millions. 
3. You get mentioned in your absence as a great model. 
4. People like hanging around you and your activities, they get motivated with your posts, speech and aspirations. 
5. People name themselves after you AKA's and their siblings. 
6. You get paid / recognized because of your talents and skills.
7. You will be definitely be missed if you decide to leave either work, team etc.
8.  You have received recommendation from more than three people for an assignment. 
9. You are a brand ambassador of different causes and institutions. 

Choose three! What else is missing?

Working Alone Versus Working in A Team

I have worked in a creative environment for more than 15 years whereby teaching young people in creative ICT skills while also developing content for graphic and web design curriculum at NairoBits Trust. Generally, I have worked as the lead of the training department and on the other side since 2011, I have been working on my social enterprise called Wilsen Initiative (Wi).

The experience has been a good balance of working alone versus working in a team which has introduced me to different working styles and ethics in meeting the deadlines and set goals. Talking about graphic design, anything that is visual has many interpretation and as a visual creative designer, I have witnessed great ideas trapped into the argument of which direction to take because everyone preferred their ideas to be developed further and as a result delays were experienced and some individuals dropped from further engagement.

 I believe by default everyone is a designer, but there are great designers who have learned the cornerstone of design through formal education or self learning with a great track record of portfolios. The best part is that nobody as the monopoly of learning anything. So start today by mapping your learning journey in a team or as an individual.

 Do you prefer working a lone or working in a team?

 Having worked in both scenarios, the experience is great only if you work in a team that works towards a shared goal and driven by the same values, on the other hand working alone calls for extra effort beyond the call of duty, you have to master your learning patterns and be exposed to many learning experiences and ways of doing things that will enable you to handle the basic process without compromise. Below, I would like to share my experience working in a team and as an individual, as a Training Coordinator, Visual Communication Designer and Social Entrepreneur.

 Experience working alone; 

 Pros;

1. You are able to define your speed based on the assignment.
2. You are able to structure your working style & pattern (morning person or evening person).
3. No one to blame for the missed deadline.
4. Direct contact with the client.
5. Power of decision making.
6. Borderless control while working beyond the call of duty.
7.  Rapid ideation and implementation process. 

 Cons;

1. Must be proficient in the subject matter to handle the project in 360 degrees.
2. Might fall into procrastination.
3. Fatigue might creep in if you don't know how to manage yourself and prospective assignments.
4. Might spread too thin in almost everything.
5. Pipeline ideas focusing on one direction.
6. Full responsibility especially when clients don't pay for service offered. 

 Experience working in a team

 Pros;

1. Diverse skills from different individuals.
2. Division of labor and shared risks.
3. Specialization on certain areas that yield accountability.
4. Timely delivery where a compatible team works on a big project beyond one area of expertise.
5.  Burnout can be maintained through a balanced work and social life, can be achieved through structured delegation.
6. Wide ideation process that yields many options for implementation. 

 Cons;

1. Power of decision making is left to the team or must be clearly be defined.
2. Lack of meeting the deadline if one individual fall out of the team without proper notice.
3.  Different working style and patterns (morning people versus evening people) which might lead to conflict or task not been completed.
4. The blame game is the order of the day when a target or deadline is missed.
5. Must have a shared value system, goals, scope of work clearly defined. 6. People tend to only do what they are assigned. 
6. A project might fall into the trap of the BOSS syndrome. 

 Generally, whichever ways you prefer, you will encounter both scenarios working alone or in teams. Some people write in their CV's that they can work well with minimum supervision while others write that they work well in a team to achieve a collective achievement, what about you?

To work effectively and efficiently both as individuals or in teams, below are 10 points as suggested from my work diary; 

1. If you are doing a collaborative project where everyone need to give their opinions make sure the feedback loop is well managed with the influence of titles or positions in the organization.
2. Design the project plan, you can't go wrong with a Gantt chart.
3. Maintain a To Do list that you will follow 4. Reward yourself or team for project successfully finished and learn from those that didn't make it within the deadline. 
4. Treat all the members of the team with the same standard when they fail or succeed. No biases, biases breaks a great team. 6. Lifelong learning is a must as a team or as a person. 
5. The team leader should be a great listen, communicator and coach to determine the next phase. Leading self is the most challenging too!
6. Professionalism is paramount working either in teams or as an individual.
7. Define clear roles for everyone, not forgetting yourself when working solo.
8. 10. Break the big tasks into manageable activities assigned to individuals.

Don't fail deliberately, Fail honorably!

#EmbracingFailure I love failure, but I love it when I fail honorably.

There are two types of failures;

1. Failing honorably
2. Failing deliberately

Failing HONORABLY: Involves doing all it takes to achieve your desired goal, for example, prior planning, sacrifice, determination, focus, etc. In this situation great learning lessons are achieved if you fail to meet the goal.

Failing DELIBERATELY: This involves sitting and waiting things to fall in place. In this situation a lot of blame games or ping pong situations with zero learning lessons are achieved.