Getting an ID
Is the simple act of being recognized as a youth recognized as a youth
But it can feel like climbing a mountain
Carrying paperwork, patience and prayer.
We’ev stood in lines that stretch longer than our dreams
Waited under sun and frustration
Watched hours melt into dust
As officer say ‘’kuja kesho’’
And tomorrow becomes a revolving door
We keep pushing but never enter
But today
Something is shifting
The doors are opening wider
The weight on our backs feel lighter
Because there is free applications for new IDs
And six months of free renewals
For lost IDs
And this is not a small change
This is a breath
A window
A way forward for youth whose futures
Have been waiting at the gate
For far too long
But hold on before celebration loudly
There is another shadow hiding
In huduma centre and sub-county officers:
The mountain of uncollected IDs
IDs waiting,sleeping and gathering dust
Like forgotten dreams
Some says handreds .
Some says thousands.
Names typed,photos printed,cards ready
But the owners are nowhere in sight .
Its like your identity finally arrived,
But you didn’t
So like a coin
The two sides exists:
Youths struggling to get IDs
And IDs struggling to get youths
And how does it make sense ?
Coz it feels like a comedy and a tragedy at the same time.
A joke and a wound stitched into the same sentences.
And as the youth of today’s movements
The pulse of the present
The muscle of the future
We cannot pretend we don’t see the irony
We cannot ignore the truth
That our power lies in being counted
And being counted starts with being identified
An ID is not a card
A beginning
A key
A doorway
A job
A bank account
A vote.
Changing The Mindset
Loureen Alma
