SOCIAL HALL; A dream come true

When I finished form Four, I had a lot of time in my hands. Life in the village was a total contrast with what I had been used at School. In the village it was total boredom. I was a good basketballer, I used to play Table Tennis, Karate and I was also an actor and a debater. I have a number of certificates which I was accorded in drama festivals.

Having left school, I looked around even in the neighbouring villages for a place or an institution where I could while away the time and utilize my favourite talents. There was nowhere. The only game that was being played anywhere was football. Nothing else. 

I wished there was a venue, an accessible place where we can join with friends, to start a drama club, a debating club or play some useful games. I wished we had a place where we can converge and discuss issues affecting young people, a place where we can have weekend activities like dramas, discos, or whatever. But there was none. No wonder youths in the villages
are so Idle. Its only by the grace of God that I was not influenced into spending time in local beer dens. But I admit I got influenced into smoking cigarettes. I had to do something with my idle hands and minds. 

From the year 2001, I started a campaign for lobbying the government to consider putting up a social hall within our village. I wrote proposals to the local authorities explaining to them that local youth need a place where they can nurture their talents, show case them and, more so, get out of beer dens. I told them how young people are hanging around idle after a day’s work, including during weekends for lack of a better place to go. I assured them that the free time could be used to hold educative seminars on positive living, job seeking, HIV/aids and drugs, morality and other trainings. The free time could be used by the acting and music talented boys n girls for practicing and sharpening their talents. Then during the weekends they would hold shows by inviting the whole village to watch their talents and sometimes at a small fee.

I went on with this campaign, for six years. But no leader saw the sense or the need of what I was telling them. I became so furious whenever I attended a public meeting called by these same leaders, where they would take the podium and start lamenting of how young people have become idlers, alcoholics, drug abusers and prostitutes.  I wondered where do these politicians expect the 60% jobless youth to go or do for a whole day. Stay in bed?

Anyway, my efforts bore no fruit and after a decade of agitation, I finally decided to seek leadership myself and do what I have all along been telling them to do. God answered my prayers and in 2013 I was elected a Ward representative in Kiambu County government.

Apart from the usual duties of a Ward Rep, serving the community, representing them in the County Assembly and making sure roads and other projects are implemented in my Ward, hidden at a corner of my heart was a vision of having a social hall. I silently and relentlessly pushed for it among the relevant departments and departmental heads, and finally, two years down the line, I do hereby announce to all my people that construction of a social hall will start in a week’s time. Thank you God.

My people have been commending me for doing a lot of good things during the term I have been in leadership, but they don’t know that all those to me meant nothing compared to having a social hall in my Ward. This achievement brings in me the greatest joy than anything else in my life.

The land in which to build the social hall has been identified, funds for it has been set aside, the contractor has been identified and the Public Works Architecture has finished drawing the plans. It’s the harmonization of all these actors and the ground breaking ceremony that stands in the way. Funds set aside might not be enough to complete the one story building, but the fact that it is been build is enough satisfaction. God has warned us never to lose hope requiring us to keep knocking until the door is opened for us. And He will also provide the funds for completion of the remaining part. Say Amen.