The other day some people broke into my mother's kitchen in our rural home and stole stuff. The most interesting thing that they went away with included cooked githeri (mixture of maize and beans) which was in a big sufuria, all the chicken plus chicks, not to mention the eggs that were about to hatch. When this was reported to the local chief, the prime suspects were some young men.

I watched Shuga last year and it blew me away! I had never watched a TV program that spoke to me the way Shuga did. Each of the characters I could resonate with. I knew friends like them and I was some of the characters on the show. For those who may not have gotten the opportunity to see the show it spoke about a group of young friends , their night life, their search for employment, their freedom, their relationships and the choices they made. It brought out issues around HIV/AIDS and some of the situations that young people in Nairobi so often find themselves in.

Every time I hear this phrase I remember one of my favorite ones, “I take risks coz I’m all that”. The first time I heard it I thought it was a little on the rude side but come to think about it now, its about being bold and doing what I want to do while making a conscious decision on my body, my life,my friends and everything that is around me.I was reading an article the other day in one of the local dailies that was titled “Young women would rather contract HIV then fall pregnant”.

I was in a matatu the other day and besides the loud head thumping music was this huge sticker saying " HATA NIKIPIMWA, HAKUNA DAWA". (EVEN IF I GET TESTED,THERE IS NO CURE/MEDICINE) I asked myself how many people get to see this sticker day in day out and what goes through their heads when they see this kind of a message. Because of the nature of the Matatu I was sure that most of the passengers are young men and women. So day in day out we have young women and men being encouraged not to bother getting tested because there is no cure for HIV/AIDS.

We are past the middle of the second year since the Grand Coalition Government signed the National Peace Accord. Several attempts by different groups have been made to pressurize the government to implement Agenda 4 recommendations of the Peace Accord. The issues addressed by Agenda 4 include youth unemployment, the resettlement of internally displaced persons, and the formation of a local tribunal to try perpetrators of post-election violence. So far, the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation team has been formed and sworn in.

I will make a difference in my small ways