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African Empowered Communities-Kenya Chapter working with Grass root Communities January 2014-March 2014

The African Empowered Communities-USA in Conjunction with the African Empowered Communities-Kenya Chapter came to the following planning understanding.

1. Make the year 2014, a year of engaging in self development on the part of the members of Kenya Chapter.
2. To establish community development projects
3. To identify and work with young persons as a means of providing a platform where they learn, plan and commit to life preserving practices.
4. Engage community leaders in conversation, dialogue and commitment plans to improve on living standards of people.
5. Mobilize the business community to partner with the chapter as well as improve on self/individual enterprising skills so as to generate incomes.
6. Provide feedback on a regular basis.
7. Plan for the Expo 2014 to be held in July in California.


The African Empowered Communities developed a 3 month plan towards the above objectives.
It was realized that community engagement of any sort is a pivotal entry point and a means to win the trust and confidence of people. The Chapter left no stone unturned when it came to visibility and launching itself before the Kenya communities. Bravo African Empowered Communities-Kenya Chapter.

Making it clear that African Empowered Communities-Kenya Chapter is for the people and by the people!

No one should be left out when it comes to mobilizing communities against poverty, ignorance and disease!

Always working with community leaders, who are the gate keepers has been the key to community engagement.

The community structures and systems include the religious investments, schools, hospitals, community/social service points.

One of the schools where the Chapter members hold Community meetings

Kenya Chapter joining in the drive to support girl education

Supporting girls in schools with life preserving prophylactics improves on their retention in schools. Bravo the  Kenya Chapter Team!

African Empowered Communities-Kenya Chapter

Involving everyone.

Pupils give a standing ovation!

Every one catered for,

Senior students and teachers involved in a debate on poverty in Africa!

"What can we do about poverty in Africa?" Seems to be the question on the faces!

The young too can be involved in matters of development

The Kenya Chapter leader moderating a planning session.

Session on-going

Feedback time

Partnerships with long established schools of Kenya

Community Meetings

Meetings

Meetings going on.

Kenya Chapter has demonstrated its touch with communities. This is a very important phase in mobilization for social change.

AEC- Kenya Chapter celebrate the life of a member

This is how AEC- Kenya Chapter sent off one of its very energetic members. We join them in prayer and celebrating the life of Rossy.

It was a tragic end of life for Rossy who was a member of "Abakwana" ( Mukwano) a sister organization with AEC-Kenya Chapter based in Mumias town (460 km) west of Nairobi and 24 km east of Busia.

This is what one of the members talks about Rossy:

"We worshiped with her at Bishop Hannington Cathedral in Mumias and she stayed in my house in Nairobi on 6th December during her graduation at Mt. Kenya University." 

     

We join hands with all of you in Kenya. This is part of our procedures at Africa Empowered Communities-USA. We all belong together in joy and sorrow. We hope that in future we shall have mechanisms to be there for each other in person be it in joy or sorrow.

May Rossy rest in eternal peace.

Development lessons for persons of African descent; A writing project by African Empowered Communities-USA

Development lessons for persons of African descent

There are points I want to bring to the minds of readers of this very important paper. The paper is both a notice-board and a cultural manifestation by Africans in the Diaspora. 

There is a self evident belief and confidence we humans are capable of. It is what makes us get aware of our surroundings and seek to utilize them for our benefit.

We get exposed to human life and cognizance that we could have made it better were we to be given a chance (second chance). This does not mean we were failures in a pre-Diaspora life. True so much could have been destroyed but there are those who are in the Diaspora knowing they came to pursue full life's meaning. A moving target.

There are also those who still look at life from a bitter angle. Persons who are still bitter and angry at what they think is 'not' good in their eyes. Amidst all this the Diaspora offers stimuli of vast characteristics ranging from visual, aural, sensory to tactile that was not possible in Africa. We come to learn skills to manipulate the stimuli for our good. This is what improves our competences. As we gain and improve on our competences we are improving on our resilience as Africans in the Diaspora. We are able to socialize, have homes, have permanent addresses, engage in home-making, get children to schools, engage in community services and contribute to the hosting Diaspora. These are the soft milestones we should celebrate everyday!

Africans were missing out in the Diaspora. Regime changes contributed to this. Many countries have contributed increasing numbers of their people in the Diaspora. Africans are part of the 20th Century Diaspora bloomer with a unique typography in the various host nations. Whereas other countries may boast of learned, professional, skilled and economic immigrants or visitors to host countries, Africans have only contributed such calibre much recently. 

The Diaspora is a patch-work of communities with roots of countries of origin. These communities have gone into a range of specialties which offset dislocation issues and act as survival mechanisms in the Diaspora. A cursory exploration of immigrants from Africa in Australia, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy, Sweden and USA into who is working where will give you a picture of what am arguing. Just ask yourself: Who are in the auto-parts garages? Who are in the health-care services? Who are running worship centers? Who are running refugee support centers? Who are running eating places (dunkin' donut for instance)? Who are running hair salons? Who are running thrift shops? Who are running small business centers (photocopiers, sending mail, fax and stationery)? Who are in hotels? One will find an established network of who is who and this will have a leaning towards countries of origin.

It is also makes community networks a potential for establishing thriving businesses and livelihoods. This brings me to two concluding points: Western medicine meeting African medicine and the concepts of human development. In some African countries a child who was rather precocious, inconsistent, in-disciplined and highly active was thought to be also 'very stubborn' and the stick was never far away. In the Diaspora we have been exposed to research and care for problem children (children with adjusting problems is a friendlier term). We have now been taken through an understanding of ADHD (Attention deficit hyperactive disease), we have also come across information on effect of saturated sugars in sweets and puddings on under fives. Many stories of children who are overly active after a high sugar intake are rife. We can now relate tolerably and know how well to treat our ADHD children. We have learnt this parent- filial tolerance and now have improved on our ADHD awareness.  

How have you improved on your connections in USA? How have you helped promote social development between yourself, other Africans, USA-based society and various entrepreneurs?  What more investments have you engaged in? How have you promoted further understanding of issues around humanity? Have you contributed to globalization? Be part of the development wave please.

Some interesting links to get more insights into African business-Start-ups/ readiness in USA:

1.http://www.voanews.com/content/vietnamese-americans-tend-to-live-in-enclaves/1700747.html

2. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/Ola-Ojewumi/post_4562_b_2960388.html

3. http://www.nairaland.com/1361875/african-americans-living-doing-business

4.http://www.southafrica-newyork.net/consulate/

5.http://www.statisticbrain.com/african-american-black-statistics/

6.http://www.africa-do-business.com