Drama, Dance, Music, & Sport for Kisumu Youth

The recent elections in Kenya and the ongoing conflict over the results demonstrate how the work being done at the Manyatta Youth Resource Center (MYRC) continues to be as important as it has been since the MYRC was created in 2009. The slums of Kenya experience the most instability and Manyatta in Kisumu has not been spared. It is critical in these times that youth living in the slums have options and programs that keep them involved and active, away from the violence. The MYRC, supported by Equip Manyatta, has always promoted peace during tense times and has remained stable and successful throughout, never stopping its programs. During the lead up to the elections and since, the MYRC has been diligent in seeing its members make positive achievements.

Our largest program, the Manyatta United soccer club, continues to be effective as demonstrated by the successes of its veteran’s team, which plays in the County League, as well as our youth teams. Both our girls and boys teams were represented at the Society Empowerment Project Tournament in the town of Oyugis in August, and both teams ended up playing in the finals after the girls team saw off Matieko, from Kisii, 7-0, and our boys team finished off the hometown team 5-4 in a penalty shootout. Unfortunately neither team could see it through to the end and both teams finished second, but we were proud of their effort playing in a tournament away from Kisumu. Our County League adult team is in second place trailing Kisumu City by only two points. It has been a tough schedule, but we have won our last four matches.

Our soccer program continues to elevate its players to higher levels. Our most recent honors goes to E. Otieno who joined our teams at the age of 11. He recently joined the National Super League Side, the Nairobi City Stars. The Manyatta United soccer club hopes to help youth build upon their talent so they can follow their dreams. We were also excited to hear how our former player Sydney has made an impact after he joined the Kenyan Premier League team Tusker FC. He recently came off the bench to score the game-winning goal against Nzoia on October 21. You can read about the match and how Sydney changed the game by following this link. http://www.soka.co.ke/news/item/super-sub-sidney-strikes-as-tusker-pips-nzoia-at-sudi. Sydney was on our original U-14 team back in 2009. Our team also had three U-14 players playing for Kenya in Sweden during the Gothia Cup in September. Our program has now had its players play on teams representing Kenya in more than five countries.

Our recording artists have not stopped to rest either. Gabiro continues to perform solo shows as well as alongside big name artists. He released his latest song and video, “Low Key”, in which he moves from the hype and fast rhymes that he is known for and teams up with Matamu to create a song that, though it lives up to its title, is still a fun song to listen to. You can view his video by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TcarK2BEMA&feature=youtu.be. Nahna continues to perform and has also released a new song and video titles, “Baby Gochna”. The song was recorded at Street Breeze Records and the video produced by Crizo Mzeyah. You can watch her video by following this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D20BpGF0BWU&feature=youtu.be.  Both Nahna and Gabiro recently performed at the Kisumu Dala Sevens rugby tournament.

The MYRC also continues to create programs that help youth with a wide range of interests. On October 12, the MYRC held a photo exhibition at their office in Manyatta. This was an initiative put forward by visiting interns Nsreah from Spain and Hanne from Norway. They have been helping to teach basic photography skills for the last five months. Thank you to our Program Director Oballah for always finding ways to keep our programs diverse and for helping to make our program internationally known through its internship programs.

The difficult and dangerous circumstances in Kenya are far from over, but with programs like the MYRC working hard, the number of youth becoming involved in violence is decreasing. Young people can see the examples of Sydney, E. Otieno, Gabiro and Nahna and see that with hard work and dedication they can follow their dreams. They do not need to be distracted or get involved with things that do not further their goals. The MYRC will continue its work so that more youth in Kenya have the opportunity to safely pursue their ambitions.

None of this would be possible without your past and continuing support. When you look at the news about Kenya’s troubles, know that you are making a huge difference in the lives of Kisumu’s youth with your contribution.