Drama, Dance, Music, & Sport for Kisumu Youth

The year 2015 is nearly finished and the Manyatta Youth Resource Center has made much progress, but continues to look forward as we approach 2016.  A momentous change for the MYRC this past month is the relocation of our main office, back to the heart of Manyatta.  In 2009, the MYRC began in the McCogilo Estate within the Manyatta slums and in 2012 we opened a new office in Nubian Estate just outside of Manyatta. This new office served us well as it was near our training pitch and also allowed us to become organized.  Now in 2015, the members of the MYRC felt it was important to move back into Manyatta in order for our objectives to be realized.  By moving back within the slums, we will be closer to the community we are trying to directly influence.

Our members have been helped this year by the purchase of a motorbike.  The bike was bought with three goals in mind and has had encouraging results.  Our first goal was to help provide income for youth members at the MYRC.  Motorcycles are used as a method of transportation similar to a taxi in Kisumu.  This bike has given youth like Ochieng and Erick the opportunity to make an income, allowing them to provide food for themselves and also contribute to their families' expenses.  A second goal was to create a small income-generating project that had the potential to grow.  The bike has earned enough funds to pay for itself and the MYRC is already planning on buying a second bike to expand the business. Funds generated by the bike have also been used to assist our soccer teams. Our third goal was to have a mode of transportation for our management team.  Our officers often have to attend several meetings and events in a day, and having our new bike has helped save money used for movement and also has made it easier for our officers to be on time to their many functions. 

Our health department has also taken strides this year, creating many new partnerships with a variety of international and local organizations.  The health department has focused on training our youth about making healthy choices, reproductive health, and resisting drug and alcohol abuse.  The latest partnership has been with the organization Marie Stopes, which has a new initiative titled, Future Fab.  Our youth participated for three months in the new program, which targets youth living in slums, aged 15-19 years, who are at risk of dropping out of school.  Girls in the slums face tremendous challenges staying in school, and Marie Stopes hopes to reduce early pregnancy and marriage, as well as give young girls resources for staying safe from violence and abuse.
 
Thirty-two players from our soccer club participated in the Safaricom's My Professional Dream (MPD) trials in Kisumu, and after conducting trials across the country MPD released the list of players selected to travel to Nairobi. We were so proud to learn that five of our players were selected for the National Safaricom MPD trials. We want to send big congratulations out to those five players from Manyatta United FC.  We were proud, but not surprised that our youth were recognized. As of now, our adult team is ranked third in the Provincial League table, and our youth categories all top the table for their respective categories.  The MYRC continues to open doors for youth to showcase their talent and realize opportunities. 
 
MYRC musicians, dancers, dramatists, and producers also had the opportunity to participate in an event hosted and organized by our close friends and partners One Vybe Africa and Young Generation Centre called "Made in Kisumu". The event was held in the heart of Kisumu, at Kisumu Sport's Ground and even featured Kenyan international stars Sauti Sol.  Our artists and producers participated as event organizers and also as performers.  It is events like this that help contribute to the growing popularity of artists like Gabiro da Hip-Hop.  Gabiro's fan-base is continuing to grow and he will be releasing a new music video early in 2016. 
 
We also want to give a big thank you to Kisumu Governess Sherry, for donating a large amount of clothing to our youth.  As the holiday season nears, so does Kisumu's tough monsoon season with even more rain expected than normal due to El Niño.  Governess Sherry's donation will help assure that our most vulnerable youth do not spend this holiday season suffering in the wet cold. 
 
As we enter the holiday season across the globe we ask you to consider the youth we are working with and the obstacles they face daily.  A small donation of $10 will help us give a hot meal to 26 youth.  We ask that you help us bring the New Year in with hope and an increased capacity to assist those in need.  Please make a donation today that will help us serve our community and create a better tomorrow for youth living in the slums of Kisumu.  

We are halfway through 2015, and the Manyatta Youth Resource Center and Equip Manyatta continue to offer exciting opportunities and programs for Kisumu Youth. 
 
Our provincial soccer team continues to challenge opponents in the ongoing North Nyanza Provincial league.  Our adult aged provincial soccer team is made up of youth who started with the MYRC in 2009 on our first under-14 soccer team.  In late June, Manyatta United met a tough challenge when they defeated Superstriker’s FC 4-2 at Shaurimoyo playing ground.   Unfortunately, our goalkeeper has also suffered a major leg injury that will keep him from playing for several months. Injuries are a major problem facing the Manyatta United Football Club as the pitches we play on are poorly maintained and are often hazardous.  Your donations to our programs, not only help the MYRC keep their programs running, they also help provide for medical assistance our youth need on and off the field. 
 
We were so proud of our good friend and collaborating artist, Nahna, as she was selected out of hundreds of applicants to travel to Sweden to participate in the Ethno Sweden Festival.  Ethno World is a program that creates festivals throughout Europe to bring folk musicians from many cultural backgrounds together from all over the world.  These musicians are given the opportunity to learn about a variety of cultures and traditions and a variety of musical styles through a combination of seminars, workshops, jam sessions and performances.  These musicians teach each other through intercultural learning and exchange. Nahna works at One Vibe Studios in Kisumu who helped Nahna find this opportunity.  Nahna has also been supported since 2012 by Equip Manyatta who has helped pay for studio sessions, music videos and trips to Nairobi to expose her talent.  Nahna spent three weeks in Sweden sharing about traditional Kenya through music and learning about cultures from around the world, Nahna had never left Kenya.  
 
Nahna was also featured in the studio collaboration organized by Street Breeze Records, One Vibe Studios and the MYRC’s Starbell Records.  The collaboration originated when Starbell Record’s lead producer, Malique, and Street Breeze Records lead producer, Claster, decided they wanted to send a message of unity to local musicians and studios.  Photographer and producer G Man did the photo shoot of the collaboration. Rising producer and videographer Crizo Mzeyah shot the music video. Crizo has shot several of the videos sponsored by the MYRC and has caught the attention of numerous stars looking to get professional music videos made.  To see more of Chrizo’s work check out his youtube page at:
 
https://www.youtube.com/user/CrizoStudio/videos
 
The performing arts collaboration 2Jinyce is still going and continues to perform at primary and secondary schools throughout Kisumu. While 2Jinyce aims at inspiring students to follow their dreams and believe in their talent it has also helped participating artists gain local popularity. Founding member of 2Jinyce and Starbell Records artist, Gabiro, continues to perform all over Nyanza and his following continues to grow as well.  Check out Gabiro’s recordings at
 
https://www.reverbnation.com/gabirodahiphop
 
Equip Manyatta also was given a really cool opportunity to display and sell arts and crafts made through our program and by MYRC youth at Lauren’s Restaurant in Boonville, California.  Lauren’s gave us three months to exhibit a wide range of pieces made in Kisumu and bought by Equip Manyatta.  By selling the art at shows like Lauren’s we are able to continue buying art made by youth in Kisumu and help small businesses created by these youth grow.  The show ends at the end of August so if you are in the area please stop by and check it out. We are so thankful to Lauren for giving us this opportunity. 
 
Equip Manyatta and the MYRC would like to thank you all for your continued support and also for the support you gave us during our Microproject fundraiser. During those three months we raised enough money to help completely pay for the fees of 10 primary school students and 5 secondary school students for the whole year. It will also help us cover small fees and expenses for those youth who are just short of covering all of their costs. So, thank you!