Awakening Curiosity towards Resilient Communities

I’m deeply grateful to be part of a team of 10 incredible mentors from across the world as part of The Sawa Project . This is a regional mental health initiative led by the Kofi Annan Foundation , MCW Global , and the African Alliance of YMCAs . The project is funded by Wellcome . Investing in young leaders (25-35), the Sawa Project aims to strengthen community-led efforts to improve mental health awareness, services, and policies across Eastern Africa. For the first part of 2026, I’ll be mentoring one of 10 grantee projects, offering guidance on leadership, community engagement, and project management tenets. Sawa is a Swahili word that means “okay,”  or “in agreement.” Across Eastern Africa, it is a word used to affirm understanding, solidarity, and shared resolve. In everyday conversations, sawa signals that we are aligned, and that we are moving forward together. Why Mental Health, Why Now? Mental health conditions account for 16% of the global burden of dise...

Of course, as an unmarried African woman in her debut 30's, I was drawn to the provocative title,  I Will Marry When I Want  (1977), co-written by Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o and Ngũgĩ wa Mĩriĩ. I went in expecting exactly what the title promised, or at least what I hoped it promised. I was waiting to stumble upon doses of dramatic nuances on reclaiming romantic agency. Better yet, I was looking forward to a grandiose countdown to a rebellious wedding with a journey marked by societal defiance of the choice of a spouse.  But our departed sage, Ngũgĩ, had none of that in mind. So my sincere apologies if you are here anticipating a generous serving of ' tea ' about my own marital rebellion. Stay with me nonetheless; you might just walk away with insights far more unsettling and far more important than wedding bells. Though I am open to that happening soon too ;-) Source: Halfpriced books Instead of a love triangle, I was met with sharp critiques of power, neocolonialism , rel...

  Did you know?  Agriculture remains the leading employer and the primary source of income for most households in Africa ( the African Development Bank) .  Yet, despite its centrality, the sector faces systemic barriers that require innovation, entrepreneurship, and renewed youth engagement.  I took a few notes from the 3-part course highlighting how we can exploit the potential of agri-business: 1. Agriculture and Entrepreneurship: Creating a Way Forward Instructor: Keegan Kautzky: Director of Global Programs and Partnerships at World Food Prize Foundation What is Agriculture? Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock, processing and preparing plant and animal products, and then getting them to market. What is food security, and how does it benefit society?   Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food which meets th...

For the last 7 years, I have worked and researched within the world of philanthropy . I have developed great proposals, basked in the warmth of real social impact , and counted good money.  It’s been fulfilling work, both intellectually and morally.  In these years, I developed a  conviction that our world operates in an imbalance as I learnt the intricacies of wealth and generosity. As I advanced my studies, I figured that this inequality was not inevitable, as  wealth redistribution is possible! Hence , a simple way to tilt this imbalance, I once thought, would be to encourage giving as a sort of  moral correction to an unequal system. But, in a deeper reflection of analyzing financing around social causes, I find it imperative to interrogate dynamics around the 'generous' . By skewed definition, these are a handful of individuals who hoard unimaginable wealth, then “ give back ” through foundations that often bear their names. Why are they bent on...

Over the past half-decade, a new skill found me. I wasn’t looking for it. One volunteer position led to another, and now I find myself holding a camera as part of my work in development communication . However, the more I've practiced, the more I've realized that storytelling through images extends beyond capturing good angles or perfect lighting (though these are extremely important).  Borrowing from my background in advocacy and human-dignity training , I began to understand how every picture carries the power to define what is seen and what is believed. As I moved between field assignments and community dialogues, I started noticing patterns in how development work is visually portrayed. It's a typical show to see a sad child with outstretched hands, a woman walking under the sun with a yellow jerrycan, or the cracked earth in the Northern parts of Kenya .  Such pictures are meant to inspire compassion, yet they often repeated a single narrative : one of lack, dependenc...