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The Official
Launch of the Michigan Chapter of the
Kenyan Community Abroad
Speech by Dr Matunda
Nyanchama
Retired and Founding President of KCA
May 1st, 2004
It is a pleasure to be here tonight at the official launch of the
Michigan Chapter of the Kenyan Community Abroad (KCA). As a founding
member and president of KCA, I am extremely proud that the organization
continues to grow, almost organically.
Accept greetings of goodwill from the Kenyan Community in Ontario.
We would have come together with the president Dr Charles Mayenga
but commitments could not allow.
At the launch of KCA, few gave us a fighting, let alone a lasting,
chance. As Prof Vincent Khapoya and Karimi can testify, it has been
a lot of work and effort to make KCA what it is today. It was a good
idea back in the 1990s; it remains a good idea today. In the words
of Victor Hugo: nothing can stop an idea whose time has come.
At its conception, we envisioned a mass movement for Kenyans abroad.
In this view, KCA would be one big tent, embracing Kenyan people of
all walks of life, Kenyanists of all shades and ideas of all types.
KCA’s would provide the tent space in which these ideas could
find expression through information sharing, networking and consensus-building.
I am pleased to see the birth of the Michigan Chapter and welcome
you all to the KCA family.
In thinking about us, one can ask why we organize and hence why organizations
like KCA-Michigan must happen. Here are a few reasons:
- To attain those things we cannot realize as individuals;
the fact that 1+1 is usually greater than 2 in the case for human
interactions; by coming together, we grow and are able to harness
collective potential that is much larger than anyone of us can ever
attain. Wahenga walisema kwamba “kidole kimoja hakiui chawa!”
- To share ideas and learn from each others for
“no man is an island”. No matter how smart one is, one
cannot succeed alone. We have a saying in my language that "gesomo
tikeri kong’ainia", meaning one cannot grow or smarten when
left alone on an island.
- Support each other in times of need – we
are social animals and need each other to love party with but also
cry with when times mean so. Being so far away from our country, there
is always a time of need to reach out to fellow Kenyans. In this foreign
country, fellow Kenyans remain the closest we have to family.
- We share common interests and face similar challenges
as a people. We need each other to share our culture, leverage our
numbers and tap into our collective knowledge that would allow us
to achieve in these foreign lands.
- There is a lot more one can list as to why we
organize. In summary, we do so in order to meet our socio-economic
and cultural needs. A friend, speaking about why we needed to come
together once made a very remarkable point. He argued that he had
boys and girls who he was bringing up who would soon become men and
women; as a responsible parent, he said, it was his responsibility
to socialize his children with others with similar background and
values from where they could in future choose spouses! In the audience
tonight, we have handsome young men and equally beautiful women! Who
knows about tomorrow? The place they meet their future better halves
could be right here!
I would like to speak on the following three issues:
• KCA and the lessons I learnt from being
at the helm as a founding president;
• Our experiences in Toronto starting at the
formation of the Kenyan Community in Ontario (KCO) and what I think
has been the basis for its continued growth;
• Suggestions that you could use in growing
KCA Michigan Chapter.
Lessons from KCA
The KCA idea, as distinct from KCA, I believe has been around for
many years way before KCA came into being; personally I started experiencing
the tendency to organize along national lines once we started communicating
on the Internet some 13 years or so ago. At the time, the Internet
was mainly for gigs and technologists, and was found mainly in academic
and research institutions as well as in a few progressive technology-related
companies.
In the early 1990s, we technical people organized and formed the Kenyan
Association of Advancement of Computing Technology (kaACT) that focused
on bringing computing and networking technology to Kenya. Out of work
and discussions happening in that organization, seeds were laid for
the birth of
African Regional Centre for Computing (ARCC) and what later became
Africa
Online, perhaps the most successful Internet Service Provide in Africa!
KCA was founded on recognizing that we Kenyans abroad could do work
that could bring about change in Kenya and help empower us wherever
we lived away from home.
The organization was formally registered in the course of 1996 and
had its first elections in 1998. Much as we focused on the political
process, we ensured that organizationally, we incorporated foundations
to ensure that we became a big tent to serve Kenyan abroad. Interests
that included personal and collective empowerment, networking, sharing
ideas and more!
So what did I learn from leading the organization?
- Focus is essential: without clear focus on objectives
of the organization, you would fall short of planned achievement!
How well we focused on the mission is a matter for historians to talk
about. However, we believe that this is an essential element for any
organization to succeed. There will always be detractions, expressions
of pessimism, setbacks and many more. You should draw lessons from
these rather throwing in the towel.
- Networking, relationship building and relationship
nurturing are central for success. Since “no man is an island”,
no organization or individual can go it alone! We had to work with
individuals and organizations, some of who we didn’t like too
much, but who were crucial for our success.
- Creating a presence and influence in communities
we reside in, our constituency in the Kenyan Diaspora as well as institutions
and individuals back in Kenya. It is essential to ensure that you
attain for what you do and acquire the respect and hence the influence
that is due to one. You must ask
yourselves the following: if a tree falls in a forest and no one is
there to see it, did the tree fall?
- That the fact that people do not agree with
you it doesn’t mean you are wrong; the fact that they disagree
with you does not mean they are your enemies. Remember that progress
is composed of antithesis, thesis and synthesis! Diversity is the
basis for development! Nature demonstrates this too well with life
of low gene pool diversity dying off sooner than later.
- TRUST: it is essential to build public trust through
leadership’s personal integrity, transparency and genuine commitment
to serve the interests of the organization and its constituency. When
trust erodes and accountability dies, leadership should be ready to
step aside to save the organization!
Kenyan Community in Ontario
Founded in 2002, this organization aims to serve Kenyan community
interests in the province of Ontario. Membership continues to grow
and we have recently held our elections, being the transition from
the founding leadership. Of course we have a number of other organizations
– Nyumba,
Pamoja, and Association of Kenyans in Canada. Like KCA Michigan Chapter,
we partner with these organizations to serve our members. We position
our efforts to ensure maximum synergy as opposed to competition.
Here are a few tips from KCO lessons:
- Participation in the communities in which we live
is essential: we live and pay taxes where we work and live. Yet our
ability to benefit from government programs hardly matches our contribution
in taxes! An organization needs the capacity to lobby governments
and other influential institutions from which we can get collective
benefits! And you cannot be recognized as a player unless you are
organized and have the numbers to back you!
- Alliances with similar-minded organizations is
essential – in Canada KCO is a participant in affairs of the
African Canadian Social Council, an organization through which
we become part of a collective voice on issues affecting African Canadians;
KCO representation can also be found in efforts to create a Canada-wide
African Canadian Umbrella Organization as a voice of African Canadian
interests. It is expected that this organization will bring substantial
benefits to communities like ours.
- Strategic planning: it is said that if you do
not know where you are going, any road will get you there! We started
this year to create a formal document that would form the basis of
programs for the community. It takes in members’ and it is intended
to:
• Identifying our community priorities as
an organization
• Establish a measure against which elected
officials would be measured
• Building consensus with the membership and
obtain community buying to organization plans and priorities. Through
member participation in focus groups, feedback on draft plans and
formal adoption the membership become part of a collective whole and
own identified programs;
- Membership Participation through standing and
ad hoc committees with specific focus as the Youth issues and program,
Women affairs and events, Professionals concerns, Settlement of new
immigrants, Trade and others!
- Working with charitable organizations and governments
to ensure funding for organization programs. There are usually a number
of sources that support organizations like ours. Unless one does ample
research and identifies those opportunities, you are likely to lose
a number of opportunities.
Moving forward
Moving beyond subsistence – yes let’s discuss how we support
each other in times of need like settling or meeting sickness needs
of relatives back in Kenya. Empowerment is the next level at which
we must move to. Let’s remember that it is always better to
teach someone how to fish rather than giving the person fish! Once
they know how to catch fish one can be substantially independent.
Here are examples
Investment: let’s learn to save for the rainy day and take advantage
of investment opportunities in Kenya and abroad to ensure that there
will always be something to turn to in hard times. I once was in Texas
and was extremely impressed by the progress of a Kenyan investment
club. If one could grow the club’s holdings, one can go further
and start acquiring a number of assets abroad or in Kenya. Back in
Kenya, there are chunks and chunks of assets such as companies, real
estate, etc. for purchase be it through the stock exchange or otherwise.
If and when the investment spearheaded by KCA comes into being, there
will be ample opportunity to invest. However, one needs to start preparing
today! Take 500,000 to be the lower estimate of the numbers
of Kenyans abroad. Now suppose each of these put aside $1,000 a year
for investment. That gives a total of $500 million for investment
in Kenya or abroad. That is the power of numbers and the math doesn’t
lie!
Maximizing the giving to and benefits from communities in which you
live: ensure to give and also receive from where you reside. Our business
abroad should not focus just on taking for ourselves. We mist always
give back for that is part of being a good member of the community!
Presence and influence: unless people know you exist, you will not
have any influence. Let’s learn from the North American way
of blowing our own trumpet! Presence and influence can be realized
via many ways such as political mobilization and urging participating
in the political process in communities where we reside.
Supporting projects in our locales in Kenya: - remember the Kiswahili
saying that "msahau kwao ni mtumwa"; needy areas include healthcare
& nutrition; schools, including books, science labs, libraries
and more. Remember that, strictly speaking, you constitute a drain
on your locale’s resources, considering the investment they
made in raising you, feeding you, clothing you, educating you and
more! And now, you are not there to help improve the quality of life
in that locale. Let’s ensure we give back whatever we can as
a sign of gratitude and a means to offer others opportunities to succeed!
Participating in talent pools for competition for jobs especially
in Kenya; jobs that are currently going to expatriates whose knowledge
of the country is minimal and who end up taking money out of Kenya!
The KCA TAP project is one that should be supported and in which we
should all participate. We should go further and lobby the Kenyan
government to support her people in search for international organizations
where the country has membership. This includes the UN system, World
Bank, IMF, World Trade Organization, International Labour Union, COMESA,
East African Community, the Commonwealth and many more!
Political Participation in Kenya: the battle for dual-citizenship
was a good fight. Although it has not become law, we know there is
hope. The next battle should be on ensuring we can exercise our right
to vote. Remember, estimates of the number of Kenyans abroad range
between 600,000 to one million! Those are numbers that can make a
difference in electing MPs, councilors and especially the president!
Proposals have also been made that we seek representation in the Kenyan
parliament. I think it is a worthy idea that we must start socializing
now and that would bear fruit in the future, as happened with dual-citizenship!
For some, it may be abstract. For others it is as real as they come.
Remember we are not reinventing the wheel. There are countries such
as Italy that have successfully implemented it!
Ladies and gentlemen, fellow journeymen and women, there remains work
to do ahead of you and ahead of us all. We know, as Kenyans, where
we should be going. Getting there is the challenge for us all. And
where we are going is a place where we are fully empowered, are influential
in communities where we reside, serve our people in Kenya and in the
Diaspora, care for each other, attain our potential and more!
For those who have not joined in the journey, the train has left the
station! Better run fast to get aboard.
It has been a great honor to speak to you tonight; I am extremely
privileged to be here to witness the birth of yet another baby into
the KCA family. KCA-Michigan is a baby born today but who appears
to have landed with a bang; it has hit he ground running. Let’s
nurture the baby, feed it well, teach it well, educate it well so
that it can become a good teenager, a useful adult and ensure that
it gives birth to healthy offspring.
God Bless You All, God Bless KCA and God Bless Kenya!
NB: Dr Nyanchama can be reached at mnyanchama@aganoconsulting.com.
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