A LIFE CHANGING EXPERIENCE

Man is a social creature who really likes to meet and socialize with others. It is naturally written in my blood that we cant live without one another and we have to treasure everyone in our society and more so, recognize the family and its role in modeling the character of a person;Family: A social unit where the father is concerned with parking space, the children with outer space, and the mother with closet space an aspect that grows up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies. That gives me a real understanding of the role of family in nurturing the intrinsic worthiness of a person.

Doing my internship at the regional office in Nairobi has provided me with a chance to explore the main idea behind the reaffirmation of human dignity, a journey that has proven to be worthy in my life, WYA you have really touched my life and know I'm aware of the intrinsic worthiness of person in the society. KUDOS for the pathway you have set in my life and I will forever emulate it for the rest of my life.

Lastly I would like to salute my colleagues for the great work they have done in the effort of marketing WYA. Maisara I will miss your smiles and creativity, Sharon the joy you have imparted in my life shall be like a night candle, Kachoul, thanks for your inspiration, may the Lord give you the desires of your heart.

Love you guys......:-), :-*

MERRY XMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR WYAA FACULTY

Onesmus Mutua

A POLISHED GEM

Interning at the Regional office in Nairobi has provided an opportunity to be trained on various matters not learnt in school. It was a school of life for me. I am a polished gem now and I believe am ready and able to move to the next phase in my life. Thank you W.Y.A and W.Y.A.A

Sharon Wangechi

THE BEST FALL 2009 INTERNSHIP

Hannah Ondiek, 21 years,Kenya

In 2007 immediately after High School, I did an internship in the World Youth Alliance Africa office. We were in the old office in the city. Esther Kanyi was the Director of Operations and our supervisor then and Winnie Beauttah was the Regional Director. It was great working with them and I learnt a lot during my internship. Apart from serious work, we had short salsa dance lessons in the office on Friday afternoons, and we were always laughing about one thing or another. It is funny because some of my fellow interns in the 2009 Fall North America internship keep asking me why all the Kenyan’s they know are always happy, I guess it is because “Hakuna matata”. It was a great experience and I guess the highlight for me was accompanying Winnie the Director then for her visit and trainings to Uganda. I have also had the pleasure of working with Irene Mwangi Regional Director and Hezbon Mogambi Director of Operations and they are just amazing.

The WYA International internship in New York has taught me a lot and I hope more young people from the Africa office will have the chance and will to come and do this internship. The beauty about this internship is that we have people form all over world from different backgrounds working together. It has been great working with and learning from people from Guadalajara Mexico, Austria, and Belgium, Philippines, Nigeria and different states in America.

We as interns at World Youth Alliance have gone through thorough training on United Nations negotiations and documents and how they affect us, and have been following through different Working groups and some third committee activities. We had the Halloween costume party which I was in charge of and with help from Mary and all the other interns we were able to have people over and enjoy dance and interact. Other projects were the City adventure, the African event, conferences, trainings, cocktails and parties. At the UN Headquarters, New York

It has been a great experience and I am grateful to everyone who made it possible in one way or another.

Hannah Ondiek hannah.wyaa@gmail.com

Kenya chapter committee member

Fall intern North America 2009

Nairobi, Kenya.

DDD

Decade of Dignity and Development

…the verdict…

Q. What did you like most about this event?

A. The various facilitators/speakers were great and congratulations on a successful conference. (Yaw Ofran Dapaa, GHANA)

Q. What did you least like at the event?

A. Nothing I can think of.(Dualle Hafsa Abdi, KENYA)

Q. What were your expectations?

A. To have a discussion with other young people, to share views and experiences and consequently gain an in depth understanding of WYA’s philosophy.(Obadios Ndaba, RWANDA)

Q. Were your expectations met?

A. Certainly yes! (Charles Egwuba, NIGERIA)

Q. What topic/themes covered interested you most?

A. The role of young people and youth organizations in developing Africa’s potential.(Gladys Madara, ZIMBABWE)

Q. In what area would you like us to improve on?

A. Take us to the community, we would like to see the people of Africa.(Mdemka Sakhumzi, SOUTH AFRICA)

WHY I LOVE WYA

Amira Ali, 20 years, Kenya

This being my third internship at the WYAA office, I wanted to ensure that all the knowledge I accrued in my previous internships were put into use. This meant that I would carry out my projects with more experience, diligence and utmost efficiency. All my expectations were more than met as evidenced by the big success of the seminar we organized for the high schools on the 13th June 2009. I must say that I feel confident of my abilities as an organizer, goal-oriented, time conscious, detailed and an inspiring leader judging from the fact that the students were ready to listen to me and work with us on the preparation of the seminar. Needless to say I feel honored to have had a chance to work with WYA again.

My internship experience would not be complete without the people I worked with. I loved working with people like David. He is good at anything he lays his hands on! He delivers in all projects that he is assigned as he is spontaneous, innovative, social, resourceful and incredibly smart. I partnered with him in many projects and I found myself working with a man of high integrity and a pleasant chap too! I would work with him any other time anywhere. I also met Mutsa Murenje, an intern from Zimbabwe. A quiet, polite, diligent, good-hearted, humorous man with an impeccable talent in writing and a great mind to go with everything else!

INSET:WITH DESMOND ORJIAKO FROM THE A.U AND A WYA MEMBER FROM THE KENYA HIGH SCHOOL DURING THE WYA AFRICA DDD CONFERENCE AUGUST 2009 NAIROBI, KENYA

I found myself learning a thing or two from each of them and this makes my internship experience invaluable to me for a long time. I would not forget our supervisors, Hezbon and Irene, for their help all the way. They made it possible for us to carry out our projects with the least problems possible and I found that to be highly commendable!

MUTSA MURENJE PRE-INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

MUTSA MURENJE, ZIMBABWE,26

PRE-INTERNSHIP EXPERIENCE

A problem exists whenever there are facts to be accounted for, facts which are plain to any careful reader, a reader with an active orientation towards read material as opposed to a passive one. Perchance this explains why the late renowned political scientist Professor Masipula Sithole said that “Any social scientist, or even a layman, knows that an issue is generally studied when a problem has arisen.” A problem has indeed arisen especially with regards the sad and discouraging moments that I went through before the commencement of my internship at the World Youth Alliance Africa headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya in May 2009.

It all started in the year 2007 when I made an application to be considered for internship. I patiently waited for the response with joyous hope and longing expectation. It never dawned on me that I would later experience great grief and consternation. I was overly optimistic that the response would be positive. After all, I am of the opinion that optimism is the faith that leads to achievement; nothing can be done without hope and confidence. So it is for this reason that I was overly optimistic that my application would succeed. But the response was quite negative and I was almost down on my knees. I didn’t expect it. I wasn’t ready for that kind of response. My application was unsuccessful. I was really devastated.

But it didn’t end there. For we all know don’t we, that the failure of one crop does not deter the planting of seeds. Success is born of trying and trying again. In short, victory is born of struggle. I had to resume the journey again. I remember reading elsewhere that it’s not a long way to a man’s heart’s desire and that on the road to one’s beloved there are no hills. I had to wait for close to two years before I could be considered for an internship in Nairobi. But believe you me; it didn’t come on a silver platter. It had to be a long wait indeed and it came with a price. I had to come by bus yes by bus all the way from Harare, Zimbabwe. Yes right there in Southern Africa. For your own information, Kenya is part of the East African Community and us we are from SADC!

The journey was extraordinarily long and tiresome but eventually I made it. If I were somebody I would have given up prematurely. But because I am a called person as opposed to a driven one, I have strength from within, power and perseverance that are impervious to the blows from without. I know that somebody elsewhere may be going through the same predicament that I went through. My encouraging words are please don’t lose heart because if you do, you won’t be able to make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in. I, myself have made a career of humanity and this is where I am today. I put it to you.

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY FORUM 2009

KENYA STUDENTS SHARE THEIR EXPERIENCES

STEPHANIE WAMBUI, 17 YEARS

My name is Stephanie Wambui and I am a proud member of the African continent and citizen of The Republic of Kenya. People talk about experiences.. others talk about how they have been positively influenced, but i would like to talk about the transforming experience of the International Solidarity Forum. Kenyan weather is generally pleasant as it is warm and sunny for mostof the year. Ideally, when the plane touched down at JFK, the warm and sunny feeling was quickly replaced by what I would describe as extremely cold weather.

Without time wasting, me and my colleagues, Africana and escorting teacher Miss Kopiyo, quickly put on our jackets and other warm clothing. We were soon informed by the Regional Director for Africa, Miss Irene Nyambura Mwangi, who came to pick us up from the airport, that this was going to be the norm but that in due course we would adapt. The World Youth Alliance is a United Nations accredited orginzation and because of this, it has the permit to conduct its ISF meetings at one of the delegated conference rooms at the UN Headquarters in New York. At this juncture I would like to commend on the econimism of the WYA because for the three days that the conference was held at the UN, we would walk to and fro, as a group, instead of taking the occassional two-dollar-bus which would be a great amount of expense.With The WYA Africa Director of Operations, Hezbon Mogambi and my new friends from Mexico

In Kenya, cocktails for the youth are rare or even close to none as they are not considered an expense and not part of the curriculum. Thus my first experience was at the WYA house during the ISF evening cocktail which was formal yet to the point. The invited speaker came from the Mission of St. Lucia of whom i got a chance to speak to. Her talk was advocative as she found it very powerful that young people from all the world had come together to draft a declaration on the theme of this year's ISF, which was THE PHILOSOPHY OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND FOUNADATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS SYSTEMS, one that would declare WYA's stand on the matter at hand.The German mission was present as well with a couple of German youth, as well as students from the New Mexican state and the Italian misson.

The cocktail generally was wonderful .Then there was work.The drafting, which constituted mostly the negotiations, was according to me the most intense times of the conference as there were heated debates and though there was not enough time to finish according to the time allocated, a draft committee was set up by the president of WYA, Miss Mary Halphine, with all the continents representred to prevent bias. I was fortunate to be a member of the committe as well as my colleague Africana, who made an outstanding contribution all through.

To conclude, I would first like to thank our Regional Director for Africa, Miss Irene Nyambura, for her consistent help, through the filling in of the visa to making sure we had accommodation and everything required for our survival in New York. I would like to also thank the president of WYA and her staff for inviting us and also their consistent concern over our welfare and allowing us to use their various facilities. To my parents this would not have been possible without their input and support. Last but not least, I would also like to thank our escorting teacher, Miss Genevive Kopiyo, for her complete and total input in terms of her responsibility over us. To the youth of africa and the whole world in general I would advocate that they join the alliance so that they can build on their leadership skills, build on the culture of life and build on their advocacy skills and work. Three cheers to the World Youth Alliance and its future members.

INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY FORUM 2009

STUDENTS FROM KENYA HIGH SCHOOL SHARE THEIR NEW YORK EXPERIENCE

AFRICANA NJERI WANJIRU,16 YEARS

It was a very long flight.Thirteen hours in the air is not a
joke. The thought of coming to America...mmh...it made me get bees in
my stomach not butterflies.Why? I was nervous, excited, anxious...all
the words to describe the feeling kept contrasting like stings from
bees.That's why..
I would reach a point and ask myself,"Afrikana, what are you
doing? What are you going to do in New York? Will whatever you do
there have any impact on you or anyone else?Yes?"
The only answer that came was,"Sit back and put your seat belt
on, the driver knows what He's doing." God knew what He wanted to do
in me.I always tell my friends that 'your life is like a road. With
your headlights, however much you struggle, you can only see 2 meters
ahead, not more.. Whatever lies beyond is a mystery. Only God knows
and that's why I trust Him. It's my faith.
When we arrived, the first thing that hit me was the....COLD!
My face felt like cold glass that even a slight twitch could shatter
and my fingers like ice sticks that could break anytime. Advice; The
next time you are given a warning, overestimate it, don't
underestimate.
The people here were very warm and friendly. I was the
youngest member present and have always wished to have an older sister
or brother so I felt privileged. There was Ms Genevieve K'opiyo, my
teacher, and Stephanie Gikonyo, my schoolmate. They accompanied me
here and we were experiencing everything together as a family; the
subways, the streets with fast pacing people and the beautiful sites.
There was Ms Irene Nyambura, the Regional Director of Africa.
She always made sure that we were comfortable. She was a blessing and
I can find no perfect words to express my gratitude.
Ms Mary Halpine,President of WYA Int. went through thick
and thin with the other officials to ensure that we were comfortable
especially in terms of accommodation. We were overwhelmed by her
hospitality. I was personally inspired by her ever graceful spirit that
unified us. In times of arguments, she always, somehow, found a way
out that we would agree to.
I cannot forget Ms Rebecca Ousten, Director of Advocacy.I was
deeply intrigued by her wealth of knowledge and her ability to
articulate wisely what was on her mind.
To the main thing ; the ISF. Being the youngest member, I did
struggle to fit in at first. Eventually, it became easy negotiating
the language. We would propose,argue then after voting reach a
concensus.
I really appreciating the lectures given to us by the
speakers; Julie Owen, Mr David Thunder(PhD),Prof. Habib Malik, Paolo
Carozza, Ambassador Davide of The Phillipines among others. That and
the negotiations helped me to percieve the human person in a new
perspective.
The human person has inherent and intrinsic dignity that
is the foundation of human rights. This dignity cannot be changed by
circumstances, stage of development nor talents. A slave has no less
dignity to that of his or her master and the modern man is not of
greater worth than the prehistoric man.We are all equal. We have the
capacity to reason, for intelligence and love. Just because an unborn
baby cannot show love or reason doesn't mean that they are lesser
human beings.They have the capacity to one day. They have dignity too.
I personaly came to a point to say that; 'DIGNITY is not
MEASURABLE like time, space and love. It is ever CONSTANT.'
I also came to understand that we often place all the blame on
governmental institutions for the violations of human rights.Yes it is
the duty of the international and national law and policy making
bodies to enact law and policy that promote the flourishing of human
rights but wwe shouldn't forget that we also have responsibility. We
should respect other people's rights too when practising ours
expecting nothing in return. The change should start with you then
slowly in solidarity we shall have a prosperous people who respect one
another, comprehend that they have dignity and are firmly rooted in
love.
My experience in America has changed the way I view people.
I have been able to meet people of different backgrounds and attitudes
and have learnt to understand and tolerate them. One thing that I know
I have to practise, that others find hard to do, is co-existing with
others.Understand people first before judging them. Understand your
environment too and respect it. CO-EXIST WITH OTHER SPECIES ON THE
PLANET.
Another thing that we ought to remember is where we are
from.When you go for conferences or anywhere else, remember what you
have left behind. Remember what has made you go there. Remember who
you speak for. This is something that many especially some politicians
and diplomats forget. There is a common saying that goes; 'Know where
you are coming from to know where you are going.'
I am a Kenyan youth who has dignity and I shall stand for
all that is right and true.I shall struggle with others in SOLIDARITY
to uphold the TRUTH. That is what I now know about myself.

Commission on the Status of Women (CSW)

The commission on the status of women is probably one of the most interesting commissions at the UN and also one of the largest. This is the commission’s 53rd year focusing on the equal sharing of responsibilities between men and women, including care giving in the context of HIV/AIDS. I have had the privilege of attending this commission to represent WYA. Since the beginning I have attended several events organized by African representatives.

One of them was a side event organized by the Mothers’ Union, a Christian organization. After sitting through the meeting, something that I noted was the way the audience oohed and aahed at the progress made in achieving gender equality. I was wondering if it was because the majority of the audience was made up of women and especially mothers. One of the panelists stood up to talk about the aim of the organization which was; to improve women’s lives, create awareness, provide training, involve men in care giving programs, empower women financially and fight for human women’s rights. This last point is a bit confusing, or is it just me?

I also attended an event about Bridging the Gap in a male dominated society- African perspective. It was organized by Worldwide Organization for Women. I thought I was educated on the African culture but after this event, I couldn’t be so sure.
A panel member was given the floor and she started her speech by thanking the “chairman,” Mrs. Carol. Her words were followed by gasps and whispers from the audience and finally somebody shouted, “Chairperson!” Another panel member also felt that she had to bring to light the point that she was at the commission and her husband was in the kitchen, cooking. There was a round of laughter and applause. I was left wondering if I had missed the joke about how it's funny for a husband to be home cooking.

I met an amazing young lady from Kajiado, Kenya who was going to give a speech on “Empowering the Girl Child”. She has been doing tremendous work with several NGO’s, speaking against harmful cultural practices that affect mostly girls.

So far, it has been a good week. It was interesting to hear what the African representatives had to say because, first I’m African and second I’m a woman. I feel however that, issues affecting young girls were not sufficiently dealt with and when they were, it was in isolation, as if young people were independent agents instead of members of a family or community. It made me think that the UN has a lot to learn from Africa about solidarity and how irreplaceable it is if we are to promote the well being of young women or anyone else.

Commission on Social Development, February 3rd-5th

With the cold of winter comes the Commission on Social Development, held at the United Nations headquarters in New York. The theme for this year’s commission is social integration.

This refers to the elimination of all forms of discrimination against certain people in the society, thus creating a “society for all”.

The WYA delegation was on time as usual, dressed for the occasion - suits and all. The Commission started with introduction and welcoming address by the chair. There were several presentations by various representatives.

In the afternoon we were divided into discussion groups, where we were supposed to look at the draft resolution and see if anything was amiss. Since we had looked at the document beforehand, we discussed our views with the other group members. We managed to bring up several suggestions for revision:

Removal of the list in naming types of discrimination or, insertion of the word arbitrary in front of the word discrimination so as to prevent loopholes. Most people agreed on the removal of the list because it may result in exclusion of other people

Replacement of “the pursuit of human dignity” with “the protection of human dignity” since dignity is inherent and need not be pursued, but rather must be protected and recognized.

It was interesting to hear WYA language being presented by the representatives of every group because it had been accepted as important (and also because we managed to have at least one WYA representative in almost every group). Hopefully, we will be able to see these changes in the final document.

There were several African countries that gave their reports on social integration. Among these were Morocco, Tunisia and Tanzania.

I managed to speak with the Tanzanian delegation, among them, a deputy minister. I was so excited to be able to speak my native language, Swahili, to them. The minister was very friendly. He introduced me to the youth representative from Tanzania.

I also spoke with the economic counselor from the Chad mission to the United Nations. I think I must have intruded on his coffee break, which turned out to be a good opportunity for him to learn about WYA.

Being at the UN is giving me insight as to how the United Nations works at policy making are made and I would urge more, young Africans to attend. I will keep you updated on more of the action.

Tessy Omina,
Kenyan Chapter-Committee Member
World Youth Alliance - Africa