James Ouma, one of our reporters in Nairobi, Kenya recounts how he helped deprived children acquire sanitary pads through a radio show. For the past few weeks I have been searching high and low, calling nearly everyone on my phonebook asking for - Yawn - sanitary pads for a group of girls whose 'problems' became 'my problem.' I was in the editing suite at work surrounded by five women. - We were editing the following Saturday’s SUNRISE AVENUE, a children’s programme airing on KBC TV, when a lady colleague came in. After the usual greetings and small talk she dragged me away from the others. “I’ve just heard over the radio….” …

A story is being told of a teenage girl who had wonderful dreams that got battered and shattered by the harsh realities of life. She was a girl who was destined for greater things. She had the ability to be anything she wants to be in life. Life had so many opportunities and all she had to do was make her pick. But the friends she kept introduced her to the streets and soon she was having a baby. - As this was happening, all the good friends she used to keep turned their backs against her. The many men who used to follow her up and down are nowhere to be seen. She is now wondering which way to go as her stomach becomes bigger with each successive day. She is now walking with her head dow…

Entrepreneurship is an art that needs diligence, patience and innovation. This AfricaNews reporter met with Beatrice Adega, an entrepreneur who sells charcoal and sukuma wiki (kales) from the Kibera Slums in Nairobi, Kenya. Her story is a proof that with determination and sticking to your guns one can get whatever he or she wants in life. - Africanews.com: How do you raise money for your activities? Beatrice: We meet and contribute and loan money to members so they can engage in business. Initially, I used to wash clothes for people from which I got the money I started the business with. Now I am selling Sukuma Wiki and charcoal with the loan I got from the group. I have a lot to thank th…

- Kiandutu slums is one of the biggest slums in Thika which came as a result of closure of many industries in Thika town, and the collapsing of coffee plantations. This led to many of Thika dwellers living in poverty and engaging in petty jobs. Most of the people found in Kiandutu slums are single mothers, blind people and street children who occupy 75% of the slums. Kianjau Primary School is one the schools found in the middle of the slums and being a government school it has a big population of the needy kids. Most of the pupils in the school go there not because they need education but because of the free services they can get there which include free food. This helps the families who…

- For the past few weeks I have been searching high and low, calling nearly every one on my phonebook asking for – yawn – sanitary pads for a group of girls whose ‘problems’ became ‘my problem.’ I was in the editing suite at work surrounded by five women. We were editing the following Saturday’s SUNRISE AVENUE, a children’s programme airing on KBC TV, when a lady colleague came in. After the usual greetings and small talk she dragged me away from the others. “I’ve just heard over the radio….” “That the condoms have finally been found from a willing donor?” I asked. (There is currently a deficiency…

- Rhoda was a nice and hard working girl who was also obedient to her parents and other elders too. Every morning before she left for school she always did two things other than brushing her teeth and taking her breakfast. Rhoda had an arrangement with her dad to brush his shoes and feed her mother’s poultry for a fee. So every morning Rhoda earned a ten shillings coin. And every morning she padded a coin in her saving’s box. “What are you going to buy with your money?” asked her mother as the two went to the local market. “A chick,” Rhoda proudly replied. “I know the chick will one day produce lots of eggs,” she replied. “I w…

- I am writing this inside a matatu (a kind of mini bus used for public transport in Kenya). Matatus are a necessary nuisance most Kenyans have to put up with. The matatu crew seems to thrive on laws that are especially designed for the concrete jungle. They pick passengers anywhere but drop them on designated stages. The matatus, which are always in a hurry, don’t come to a total standstill while they pick or drop passengers. Pregnant women are not an exception. As soon as the woman sets a foot on the first step inside the matatu, the matatu zooms off from the stage and into oncoming traffic the way they do in Grand Auto Theft’s Vice City. Woe unto the woman if s…

- I think the mobile phone is the most useful, and misused, communication gadget ever made by man. But it has also made me acquire habits that have made most friends say i am arrogant, selfish and inconsiderate, thanks to my cell phone. I have made it a point of ignoring flashers of all kinds, be they genuine or not. This didn’t come automatically though. A long time before I became arrogant, flashing and flashbacks used to give me a heart attack. I would rush to the shop to buy airtime the moment someone flashed my phone thinking I was just about to save a life in distress. I don’t know why but I kind of associated flashing with emergencies. That stopped one night when I…

- [img]~[img]Going through the obituaries in our local dailies you can easily tell whether those left behind by the departed are gainfully employed or not. Those employed have their names followed by two things, a bracket, where their places of employment are proudly flaunted for everyone reading the orbituary to see (to read actually) and a comma. The jobless, on the other hand, have nothing after their names other than just a mere comma! Just sample the following and you will know what I mean: Death and Funeral Announcement of Johnston Sol (Rest in Pieces!) It is with great sadness that we announce the untimely (what is a timely death, is it the one that announces its coming?) dea…

- [justify]With a lot of things seldom going my way I always find I have every reason to whine, complain and feel frustrated. I have reached a point in life where if I were to look at the things that don’t work I would simply wallow in self pity. I don’t know if I am the only one who seems to find fault with ‘me’. I always want to blame myself for this and that. Take yesterday, for instance, when I was on my way to town for a presentation. Though it was a wonderful day, I felt the world had yet again short changed me. The weather was too cold, the love of my life wanted to be reassured of my undying devotion, and as the traffic moved at a slower pace towards Muthur…