I am a 6th born in a family of 9 children. Three siblings as well as my parents are deceased. Our dad passed on when I was barely 4 years and thus I missed paternal love. I grew up in Mukuru; the second-largest slum in Nairobi, Kenya. I was surrounded by crime, drugs, and substance abuse, and hopelessness. I chose to hold on to education by default as the only hope and through a scholarship I graduated with a diploma in hotel management. Employment in the hotel industry proved a mirage and I ended up in community development, helping register a youth self-help group in 2009. This marked a journey of volunteering which lead to my certification as the first Center for Nonviolent Communication trainer living and practicing in Africa. I am inspiring other youths from Mukuru to become conscious that one’s background doesn’t dictate the future and that we are a product of our choices.
I am passionate about contributing to the awareness of our compassionate nature and integrating it in daily lives within our communities for a peaceful world I long for. SINA to me is a safe self-learning space for less privileged youths. I got to learn about the power I have to create what I want rather than depend on other people or institutions. At SINA I got a chance to share Nonviolent Communication (NVC) with communities who would have otherwise never got a chance to experience the power of this tool. Feedback from a participant from South Sudan was “I learned an alternative way to resolve conflicts other than fighting. This is a priceless gift I live with”.