Kenyan mobile phone operators have recently engaged in SMS lottery, offering prizes up to millions of Kenyan shillings. - These operators make publicity in newspapers, providing a number to SMS one’s lot to.

The residents of the eastern province of Mombasa find the mobile phone the most effective way to receive public health messages from authorities. - So far, rural radios and posters have been used.

As new technologies keep bringing novelties, the phone comes out to be a central factor in the entire process. In the news industry, especially in Kenya, the phone captures news meant for the Internet. - This short report features the VoicesofAfrica project, a training programme base din The Netherlands and aiming to empower journalists in Africa.

Mombasa residents in eastern Kenya have the last years started using their phones to receive radio programmes. - ‘Nowadays you can listen to news through phone and it is not a must that you carry radio every where to listen to news, we use phones to tune in to stations that we need’, says Mr. Alex Kyaro who owns a Nokia phone with the possibility to tune to FM.

Surfing the internet is no longer as before. The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) is rapidly becoming available in many parts of Kenya, where the last years have witnessed the laying down of the undersea fibre optic cable. - Residents here in Mishomoroni village in Mombasa are part of the regular Web visitors using their phones. ‘Phones with web nowadays are good , I use my phone to browse, sending mail and receiving and its good compared to when I used to visit expensive cabers’, says Mr. Samuel Mohamed 18.

Mombasa residents in eastern Kenya have been using mobile phones with camera for the last few years. Though the quality of the picture they make does not yet equal those made by traditional cameras, most phone users say they do not need a photo camera any more. - ‘The camera technology is good you can take your photos and if you have a phone with a camera you don't need to buy a camera, I myself I am using my phone to take photos and am happy’, says Mr. Emmanuel Hisa who owns a Nokia mobile phone. ‘This technology has brought about so many benefits including doing business on these cameras like you can be making photos with these cameras then selling them’, sa…

Recent years have witnessed changes in music consumption habits not only among the youngsters, but also among the older ones. The radio has ceased to be the sole music player, as sophisticated phones have emerged.The phone has the advantage of being portable of offering other functionalities. - ‘It is the most entertaining industry, I wish it can just continue because when you are working it saves time because there is no need of you going outside there wasting time in music shows, but inside the office you can listen to your own music from your own phone with out disturbing other people ,it really saves time’, says Boniface Syongo.

Africa's mobile market is said to be the fastest growing worldwide. The Kenyan coastal region is one example of incredible increase in mobile phone ownership. The fact is that many have phones without having electrical power, hence the emergence of a new profitable business : phone charging. - In Mishomoroni village in Mombasa, residents have started small phone charging kiosk. ‘I Am charging mobile phones and am really appreciating. At the end of the day I can have something to do with Ksh 100 and 150 and that money can help me to do several things and am living a very good life with this work of charging mobile here in Mishomoroni’, says Mr. Richard Otieno, a phone chargin…

Africa is done with the World Cup in South Africa, but the feelings among the villagers of Mishomoroni, near Mombasa, are that the competition leaves a stronger and prouder Africa behind. - ‘The World cup has brought a lot of encouragement to African teams as we can see that much of the African teams were eliminated in the first round but we can see that Ghana managed to go in to quarter final's which is a great hope and that we hope the African teams can do better than this’ says Mr. David Mwaringa who owns a cinema in the village.

As the World Cup was nearing local traders in Mombasa, Kenya, like elsewhere in Kenya, increased their stocks of football jerseys and were expecting big numbers to come and buy. - ‘I am a cloth seller here and I have been selling a lot of T -shirts during this season of world cup and now is when Ii expect to sell more to my customers.’ , says one seller.

A local community radio in Kibwezi District Eastern Province of Kenya, has recently started using mobile phones to let listeners alert other residents on insecurity issues, especially those caused by wild animals escaping from the nearby national parks. The system in which the radio and he phone is made to work is simple. - The station has acquired a simple mobile phone but with a loud speaker that can be activated to make big voice. This phone is placed at near the live microphone in the on air studio used by the radio presenters, enabling the incoming voice calls of the listeners to be transmitted through the studio microphone to radio receivers, thereby sharing the information with other …

The coastal region of Kenya is expecting to have better crops this farming season following sufficient rainfalls that allowed a regular farming season. - This report shows the feelings of locals about that good news.

For a few years now, Kenyans have been using their mobile phone to conduct their financial transactions. This time, the practice has become so common even in rural areas, where peasants previously had no access to banks. - The most used in Kibwezi is Zain-powered Zap and Safaricom-powered M-pess. ‘Nowadays I transact using Zap centres where I can buy and sell goods using my phone. I don't need to go to banks to deposit or withdraw money. I use my phone to pay bills’, says Cicilia Makau in Mtito andei town.

Local cinema owners in the coastal Kenyan city of Mombasa are testing their TV installations to make sure that their compatriots will follow the upcoming world cup due to start in a few days in South Africa. - Alex Wingi is one such owner in Bangale village. He says: ‘One thing is that my customers whom I have been showing the previous games are waiting to see if my new set ups will work. I hope they will.’ Alfred Sanga aged 22 is among those who are following on a daily basis whether Wingi's cinema set ups for the Dstv is functioning: ‘I am happy to watch the world cup through Dstv because we can not travel to South Africa’, he says.

Junda villagers in the coastal district of Kenya have turned an old orphanage into a school to help local children who either had to stay home or travel long distances to attend the nearest public school. - The teacher involved in the initiative inform that they lack all, including textbooks and other equipments. The kids are requested to pay 200 Ksh every month.

The high temperatures in the Kenyan coastal region of Mombasa has for long prompted locals to roof their houses with thatch, to keep the inside temperature low - They have been using special material known as makuti, but this is changing, as residents are massively turning to iron sheets for what they call 'change'

Year 2009 was for many Kenyans a year of hopelessness in terms of food security as the prolonged sunny season delayed the normal farming seasons. But this is now 2010, and farmers are rather getting their granaries ready to stock their crops, which they expect to be good. - In this report, a farmer tells how it feels like recovering food security.

Kenya in the last two years has been serious in its reform agenda after witnessing the worst post election violence in the last general election. The coalition that emerged after the unrest set up to bring about change and reforms, one of them being a new constitution. - This mobile report shows people in and around Kibwezi, who give their views on the awaited new constitution.

Four years after the Coconut tree wine known as Mnazi was decriminalized in Kenya's coast province of Mombasa, locals have re-integrated it into their traditions, this time without fearing police harassment. - This mobile report takes us to the Junda village, where residents explain the role the long-forbidden wine plays in their culture and traditions.

The long months of drought that hit most of Kenya has provoked long term consequences for local dairy operators. They have now to travel distances in looking for milk suppliers as local cows can no longer produce enough milk. - This report gives more details.

The residents of the eastern coast of Kenya, near the seaport of Mombasa have recently witnessed unexplained, unusual movements of the Indian Ocean waters. These suddenly flow to the shores, before suddenly withdrawing a few hours later. - This mobile report brings together the reactions of some villagers.

Villagers surrounding the seaport city of Mombasa, Kenya has engaged in large scale sand-digging activities, which are blamed to be turning some villages into deserts of sand. Mombasa is growing, but the city relies on surrounding villages for raw materials. - ‘My job is digging this soil to have money and send my children to school’, says Mr. Dumbwe Ralo of the Junda village. He adds that part of his earnings go to the local police to ensure that his activities are not halted. Mr. Abdallah Aubakala is involved in this business as one of the Mombasa sand suppliers. He says: ‘This soil is good for construction despite the fact that it destroys the environment, but we don…

With the changing lifestyle in modern-day Kenya, some traditions and taboos are being dismissed. One of these is the weaving of mats and other commodities, an activity that has been reserved to women for ages. - ‘We sleep on these mats because it is our tradition. When one dies we lay the mats in the coffins before the person can be buried, Mr. Pola Kombe, of the village of Baingala in the costal district of Mombasa says. Another resident, Mr. David Chaka, adds that men have engaged into that trade to assist their wives and thereby generate more income.

The residents of Kibwezi, Kenya are fond of all kinds of fruits but they refuse to consume water melons for some reasons. Those who raise them have no market in their own place. They have to take them to the main highway linking the capital Nairobi to the seaport of Mombasa. - ‘These fruits are not eaten by people around here’, says Mr Kyalo David with a stock of water melons along Nairobi Mombasa road. There, travelers by them. Veronica Ndiuku lives in Kibwezi and have planted water melons herself. Despite that, she is not ready to eat any: ‘You know these are new fruits, our bodies are not used to them.That is why we do not rush to consume them’, she says.

A few months ago, Kibwezi residents in Kenya were complaining about drought and absence of rains. Now it is the other way round. People are now complaining about too much rain, which are destroying water pipes, among others. - Mr Peter Ngusa a plumber whom I found repairing a pipe crossing Mtitoandei river said: ‘These rains will provide enough water for use in dams and other catchment areas but if due care is not taken on the already established water projects we may loose both’.