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EDITORIAL Beat the Negativity and achieve! How do you get up in the morning? Do you drag yourself out of bed probably still angry at all that went wrong yesterday or you jump out of it eager to find out what the new day has in store for you? I have gone through bouts of doubt and self doubt these days that finally it just dawned on me that we are participants in our future. How we look at our challenges determine in great part the outcome. It can cause you to become a cynic, lose your enthusiasm and positive attitude, and cause you to soon expect the worst of any situation. Inspirational speaker Harry Jones puts it this way « being exposed to it in heavy doses can take its toll. It can cause you to become a cynic, lose your enthusiasm and positive attitude, and cause you to soon expect the worst of any situation ». Being activist means going against the wave almost all the time. And you sure receive lashes each time you stand against a wave. And young persons involved in development work, especially around Africa are often tempted to see things only in terms of « what is going wrong and what has not gone right» Given that, that is one way of seeing things, this month, we invite you to choose the other way. When you are blessed with a new day, face it with positive expectation. Take it like you would a blank sheet of paper. It is all yours to decide what you put on it. To help the month in grand style, here are five motivational quotes from my special selection The man who believes he can do something is probably right, and so is the man who believes he can't! - Anonymous It's not what you are that holds you back; it's what you think you are not. - Denis Waitley, author Fall seven times, stand up eight. - Japanese Proverb Failure can be divided into those who thought and never did and into those who did and never thought. - Rev. W.A. Nance Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed. - Michael Pritchard ■ POCHI TAMBA, CEO , NAYD International NAYD MEMBERS The Role of Youth in Managing Food Scarcity 
s
we advocate for youth empowerment I will suggest a clear path that
Kenya can
reduce food scarcity and also other countries Through a range
of measures aimed at especially the small scale farmers including
subsidies, we can generate enough food for today and tomorrow hence
not only protecting our lands by frequent tillage but also keeping
our environment safe for future generations Food security
for Kenya lies in the hands of small scale enterprises. This is not
to suggest that large scale producers are not important. But it is
much easier to manage the enterprises. For arguments sake we assume
the 10 million at risk of starving are grown up productive individuals.
If they are provided with right seeds, fertiliser subsidy, advised
on planting and is followed up to ensure quality control for only
one hectare of land. I understand a well professionally managed hectare
(2.5 acres) can produce up to one hundred 90 kg bags of maize. We
are talking about one billion bags (10m farmers at 100 bags) of maize
from 10 million hectares of arable land only. A one billion bag contribution
from small enterprises only. So, why are we still hungry with a
bowl in hand? We lack an entrepreneurial approach to government policy. For
instance what acreage is under maize production and what is the unit
output as we talk today. What size of acreage and average output
is desirable for our food sufficiency? How can this be achieved so
that we can even put some food (surplus) on other countries bowls? Subsidies
as far as farm inputs are concerned are very crucial both in the
short and long term. In the short term farmers must be provided
with seeds and fertilizers. Right now the concern of the farmer is
how to put food on the table. Planting seeds are far in terms of
priorities, yet we are heading into most productive season of long
rains. Therefore, as the government works on relief food programme,
the current disaster can be positively used to rally millions of
Kenyans into productive farming. Not all small scale farmers shall
be able to mechanize operations. Appropriate technology affordable
to many should be promoted by, for example, acquiring simple irrigation
pumps and hay-making machines. A culture of water harvesting and
irrigation would succeed in putting more acreage under food production.
It is shameful that areas that suffer floods are also among the first
to face starvation. For long term solution, the country should protect
forests so that rivers can continue to flow. This means that the
government must come up with a firm decision on protecting the Globalization and Globality 
t will be in interest of all to rethink about this good word and its practices-Globalization There are many advantages that globalization has brought to mankind First Business - there have been shared ideas
in business skills, movement of goods and services from one place
to another from USA to Japan to Kenya etc Second As Kenyans we can feel the benefit of
globalization in Telecoms like Ericson and Siemens are doing major
works through Telkom Third Education with online universities - I do not need to attend classes in person but can pay online to study even via Video Conference System Fourth Doctors and Nurses need not worry about catching up with new and latest developments in health world as can do so through phone-links Fifth Roads - you do not have to worry about who will make roads in your area via Globalization you can get Machinery from China, Funding from USA and Labour from China and brrrrr works is done here in Kenya like we have our Major Road from Mombasa to Nairobi being done by Chinese Companies Sixth Banking - when you plan to establish your
business you are not tied to source funds locally but you can do
same from many parts of the world so I may say Globalization has
done well in enhancing our lives but has cost us a lot in terms of
countries instabilities. ■
Youth Common Market
his organization networks young people around the world on, fighting poverty diseases such as AIDS and environmental care. ENTREPRENEURSHIP We encourage young people to participate in both local and international trade. Our member’s benefits from each other through controlled fair trade. Members can buy products from different regions of their country at a fair sale through the common market or from other countries within the agreed trade blocks. HEALTH We empower young people on the way to live a healthy life I.e. physical, Social, Interracial, Mental. We also encourage all young people to eat well, do exercises, and stay safe from diseases such as HIV/AIDS, being instrumental in the society, and living peacefully with everyone and positive thinking ENVIRONMENTAL: With the global warming, we are encouraging all young people to participate in saving our planet. We need to create a peaceful and safe place for generations to come. We ask all youths to do everything possible from all part of the world to save and conserve the environment. OUR STATUS: At youth common market we currently have 28,000 members from different parts of the world. In total, we have 2013 projects from different programmes REGISTER: We encourage people to register as a group of 15 and above, in order to come up with common activities on · Entrepreneurship · Health. · Environment. NB: Interested individuals are asked first to register with their groups before registering with us. BENEFITS: By becoming a member, you benefit from networking with many like minded young people from different parts of the world. You discuss on ways forward to meet set goals and lastly you can easily trade through our monitored fair trade. N.B we observe the set regional trade blocks i.e. AGOA, EU, ECOWAS, COMESA etc. We also give advice on what product is allowed to be trade between different countries. Email contact : youthcommarket@gmail.com MAYA Initiatives International Scholarship Scheme 2008/2009 report
I International is pleased to make public that the 209 edition of the MI Scholarship scheme was successfully carried out in January 2009, with 8 students benefiting from the scholarship this year. The Beneficiaries are named below. It should be noted that this year, four students additional help for diverse reasons. Three of the students, i.e. Mitcho Hysen, Mitcho Clovis and Tatang Jackson are in examination classes and needed more money to register for the GCE O’ and A’ Levels. One of them, Nkwanui Ernest is getting the MI Coordinator’s special encouragement for his hardwork and focus in class work. The students are 1. Ganje Solange, “My mother’s old age makes it difficult for her to take responsibility for me. She has a lot of difficulties providing for my books, school fees, uniforms and even food in the house. I have to love around to beg from my friends”
“I try myself to pay my school fees from class two and even repeated class three because I could not pay the fees, then I dropped out in class five to work some money to pay my fees”.
“My mother struggled without resting to make sure that we go to school. Presently, she cannot still do as she did because my brothers and sisters are all needing school fees, books, uniforms, etc”
“I sponsored myself from primary school to form three where friends and the Church helped me. I will use this scholarship to pay for my PTA levy and buy textbooks”
“I have paid my school fees for this year out of hard work, but I still owe PTA levy. I have not been bought my textbooks for compulsory subjects”
“All my kinsmen have not been to schools they lack education. I do odd jobs to provide some of my school needs”
“I have always done little jobs to raise part of my school needs. But now, things are more difficult because I have to register for the GCE O’ Levy”
“My father has so many children going to college and this year, two of us are in examination classes” All are students of the Government High School Bambalang, in the North West Region of Cameroon. The MI Scholarship scheme is a project run by MI to provide support for very bright orphans affected by severe poverty in remote areas. The aim of the project is to give any bright child a chance to stay in school and work towards a better future for him/herself. This is the second edition. Before this, Mi was focused on giving material support such as cloths, shoes and food to orphanages. MI is also working together with other Youth-Led programs in You can know more about MI projects, past, present and future ones by writing directly to the Coordinator through pochitamba@nayd.org. ■ POCHI TAMBA (Coordinator MAYA Initiatives International) |
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