First Day of the Youth Summit

The bodaboda guy dropped me on the wrong side of an unfamiliar stage and I ended waiting for a Matatu for 30 minutes. It was a drizzling morning and I wasn't dressed for that kind of cold. As my teeth chattered to the tune of a harsh Kenyan winter, I watched two policemen merely 50 meters from me, taking bribes. A common scenery in Kenya... sadly.

Their victims stopped without being asked and they included the Matatus I was waiting... What irritated was how many stopped for the corrupt cops but couldn't stop for me because they were full. Eventually, mine came and soon enough I was in Ruaka.

I had to connect with another one more to get to my destination almost 40 minutes later. My first time in my favorite university in Kenya, St. Paul's. This one, sitting on the highlands of my birthplace County Kiambu, was chosen to host 'Kenya Youth Summit 2018' which I am a delegate.

My soul was on fire as I walked through gates irrespective of the biting cold. I am hopeful of taking up a Psychology Degree next year there if finances allow me to.

I made it to the theatre where the summit is being held right on time and it began.

After the host, a certain David Wachira based in Washington DC welcomed us, he urged us to say hi to a few people around. The room burst into life as a few hands and hugs were exchanged over diverse versions of Kenyan greetings. We had to be reminded of our purpose in the now noisy hall.

Education and jobs became our main focus during the first part of the day. Panelists who from organizations I have encountered with their work and some I have never heard of, conveyed some huge concerns on matters too big for a corrupt Africa.

According to the world bank statistics, there are 200 million young Africans aged between 15-24 years. 20 percent of them are already in the 40 percent of Africa's entire working population. The others are scavenging for none existing jobs thanks to a greedy few dividing Africa's resources amongst themselves. This has google serving over 33,000 people searching for jobs online within 24 hours.

By 2030, the youth population in Africa will rise to 830M closing into a billion with an added year or two... What will happen then? I can't help but wonder!

We later covered the impact of technology on Africa as people look to incorporate it with our economic side. For instance, Agriculture in Kenya is a way of life. We grow our own food making Agribusiness the largest frontier we have. As 61 percent of our income comes from Agriculture, we had to look for ways to accommodate technology in farming.

Services like MPESA, a mobile to mobile banking system is one way we have managed to really include anyone from anywhere in Kenya. The provider is also the leading mobile network in Kenya Safaricom with over 23 million registered Mpesa users.

MPESA has been spread to South Africa, India, Tanzania, Romania, Albania, and Afghanistan.

Tomorrow we cover Social Media and its impact on Africa... The advantages and disadvantages. I will try and share something.

Thank you for coming.

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