BY LOUREEN ALMA
Public participation inakuja na invite ya sms from ward Admins
Like a secret party where only a few names are on the list
Only invited people have the information
While the rest of us hear about it when everything is already decided.
We are the youths
We are the youths of kisumu
We are the youths of kisumu county
W edeserve a place to air out our views
Not through whispers
Not through forwarded screenshot
But through open doors and open ears.
Juu democracy bila vijana ni kama radio bila signal
It makes noise but no one is really heard on it
Like rain falling on rocks instead of soil
Wasted. Unheard. Unseen.
Ama sisi youths hatufai kuwa part of budget making?
Or is that youths hatufai kuwa part of policy making?
Ama budget making does not concern us?
Yet it is our future written in these pages
Our taxes in those figures, the budget estimates
Our lives between those estimated lines and calculations.
We are the youths
We are the youths of kisumu
We are the youths of kisumu county
We don’t want invites that come like midnight messages
We want participation that comes like sunrise
For everyone to see
For everyone to walk into.
Na public participation haifai kuwa kama a VIP club
It should be like a market place
Loud, diverse, uncomfortable and alive
Where every voice counts like every coin.
Because silence is not agreement
And exclusion is not order
For a nation that ignores its youths
Is like a drum with a broken skin
It cannot hold the rhythm of tomorrow.
For we are the youths
We are the youths of kisumu
We are the youths of kisumu county
And we are not asking for permission to belong
We are reminding you
That we already do.
Loureen Alma
Changing The Mindset.
