Giving Back
I conceived Driving Kenya Foundation in 2007 as a charitable trust of Adopt-A-Light to address the many social problems facing Kenyan who live in the slums.
As a self-made businesswoman, even without the decoration of degrees, I have given talks to MBA students and received standing ovation. My two businesses have turned over more than one billion shillings. Their potential was worth billions but they were cut short by corruption, a slow and compromised judiciary, a failed anti-corruption unit and a partisan and often incompetent public officers and police force.
These failures made my company an easy target for a hostile takeover, but I haven’t given up. Adopt-A-Light is still in sound health despite all these tribulations. Even then, businesses generally face social challenges ranging from work attitude, ethics, integrity, training to high costs of operations.
I believe that when one door closes, another opens. Venturing into the slums opened me to the world of poverty, where the needs of those who live there go beyond lighting. And so Driving Kenya Foundation was born.
The foundation seeks to bring together concerned Kenyans to engage with each other and stimulate change by caring enough to share. One day its members will be proud to have been the generation that put Kenya on the world map of social success.
I was inspired by the change brought about by the “million man” march. We needed a million Kenyans to come together not just for the impact, but to power change in Kenya through; the One In A Million fundraiser. Registration will restart in July, 2009. This is but one of the many fund raising initiatives the foundation would be running. “One In A Million” needs a commitment of a minimum of Kshs100 per month.
Having gone through the post-election violence, we realized that the social divide needs to be bridged, and urgently so. If a million of us contribute Kshs100 in a year we would build markets, expand or refurbish public schools, medical clinics etc.
If you take this a notch higher, say, through corporates and higher monthly contributions, and raise an average of Kshs1, 000 then we have Kshs1 billion a month. What can this do? Build for every Kenyan a stone-wall house with water and sanitation services as well as electrical wiring. This way, we will break the cycle of poverty and have every Kenyan own a piece of their country. This will strengthen patriotism and generate irreversible goodwill between classes.
And what’s more, we will create jobs, impart skills, and develop industries. As a rule, 95% of the funds will not only be channeled to the projects but 95% of all raw materials will be sourced locally creating opportunities for industrialization with various manufacturers. If you can dream it, you can believe it and help turn it into reality.
To bring the change we want in Kenya, we need money, and lots of it. We also need honest and committed drivers of the vision. I am honest, committed and ready to steer this project. I sold my house to sustain the city lighting project. Now I want a safer and successful country for my family, neighbors’ and countrymen, a strong motivation to deliver Kenya to the Promised Land. But I am just but one in a million. I need you and 999,998 committed Kenyans to make the million Kenyans for Kenyans and Kenya.
During my one year break from active business management, I came up with two other fundraisers, namely “Just 1 Shilling” and “Omega 10,000”. These two target on the one hand the people whose lives we want to change and gives them a chance to be part of the change they desire. Just 1 shilling brings producers and consumers together where the producer agrees to a charge of Just 1 shilling on his product and the consumer agrees to a purchase of goods with just 1 shilling loaded on them all geared towards Driving Kenya. Imagine every pint of milk, every bottle of soda, every beer, and every packet of anything; one would have the option to buy at the normal price or at Just 1shilling more to support our poverty alleviation projects.
This is so small no one will feel it, but we could raise billions and see the impact in more jobs and improved living conditions, in food and foreign currency earnings and in purchasing power. Who said Kenya can’t get out of the recession stronger? Can you feel it? Can you see it? Let’s get started. I need all the brands to join in and help driving Kenya deliver a perfect Kenya by 2015.
Many investors have lost confidence in the stock exchange. You cannot fault them, it is about our values and of course our integrity more than the world recession. As long as it is in the hands of the old boys club we will never know where we stand and what next, I expect more surprise from the stock exchange I believe the worse is yet to come. This is disappointing, and the impact on our people will be disastrous. As the Nairobi Stock Exchange, Capital Markets Authority and stockbrokers get their act together; we can unite and create socially-driven projects with minimum returns which will build a firm foundation for a prosperous nation.
International partners are willing to come on board if we show seriousness and honesty. Our government, on its part, must be zero-tolerant to corruption and the judiciary must accept that the time to be overhauled is long overdue and take the necessary steps to get on with it.
“Omega 10,000” is about the Kenyan investor who wants a return and is driven to invest to divert a revolution through job creation. This will raise funds that can help us not just to industrialize, but literally buy back Kenya. We will promote the “Buy Kenya, Build Kenya” and invest in quality production, management and service systems across the board.
The Driving Kenya foundation will have a communication tool called The Jigsaw. This will start off as a monthly magazine (with an online version) and soon after we will be having talk shows on television and radio. But the biggest and best communication tool will be you and I using the power of the word-of-mouth. Thereafter successful projects will speak for themselves.
The Jigsaw has many components. Besides its main objective marketing the vision for the Driving Kenya foundation that is putting the pieces together for a perfect Kenya 2015. The magazine has various sections like Enough is Enough for blogging to vent out our anger. Just Justice is a court of public opinion where we poll the public views and use the information to drive change. The Workforce column is dedicated to promoting job creation, while the Bright Stars recognizes inspirational Kenyans. Last but not least is Straight From My Heart, a chronicle of my experiences, which gives you a chance to know and engage with me as the driver.
I have invested a lot on all the related projects and am ready see them to the end. I will implement them as I did the Adopt-A-Light project; only this time round I will not be alone I will be with Kenyans of goodwill driven by the same dream and fueled by desire to see a perfect Kenya by 2015.
No amount of money is worth our security and well being. It’s all about giving, caring enough to share, and giving enough to receive the reward of a secure the life and country.
Give this a chance, sitting on the fence is not an option, neither is leaving Kenya to politicians and public servants, you and I have a lot to lose, don’t we?
Thank you and God Bless KENYA.
