The Power of Declaration

Model: Angela Wambui @MissKenyaUSA
Photography: True African Original @TrAfOri

I woke up at 6am this morning, determined to write this long over-due blog post. 3 hours later, I haven’t even started and I’m in tears, over who knows what? Perhaps it’s PMS, maybe I’m just overwhelmed with everything that has been happening lately, or maybe I just need a cleansing moment.  Despite all of life’s challenges, the point of this blog post was to celebrate all the wonderful things that have happened in my life this past month. At the beginning of September, I set out to celebrate every day of my entire birthday month and accomplish several goals which I shared in my #ZaliwaZawadi #Zaobration blog post.  This was the first time I was writing about myself in a while, and although I felt a little self-conscious about it, I felt strongly that I needed to just put myself out there and make a public declaration.

Looking back at September, I am even more convinced now about THE POWER OF DECLARATION! I may not have achieved all the goals I set for myself, but I certainly went above and beyond expectations in some areas.  What was the reason for this? Because others felt touched, moved & inspired by the possibilities I was creating for myself, and my life, (Yes, this is Landmark Education language J) and wanted to contribute to my journey.

At the beginning of September, the idea of doing a video about my social enterprise ZeroByZawadi was non-existent. A brief conversation with a dear friend of mine Laura Rwiliriza @LRBalsera, resulted in her offering to make a film for me because she was inspired by what I was trying to build.  Within no time, she had mobilized her film crew, scheduled the shoot, and we were on location for less than half a day.  Then off she went to represent her film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), during which time we stayed in communication. I told her I really wanted to launch the film as part of my month of #ZaliwaZawadi celebrations, and although she wasn’t certain it was humanly possible, given the fact that she’d be returning to Nairobi, the last week of September, she said she would let me know as soon as she could.  Right before my birthday, on September 23^rd, she confirmed that it would be possible. So believe it or not, within just one week, with ZERO budget, we managed to create ZeroByZawadi’s first ever #AfroZen event to launch the ZeroByZawadi video in Nairobi, on September 29^th, 2012.  I’ve shared the story behind this miraculous 1-week journey via curated tweets in this storify.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thank a few people who believed in, shared & contributed to the ZeroByZawadi vision these past few weeks. These people remind me every day that, “At ZERO Anything Is Possible”:

• Kawira Mwirichia – For her beautiful ZeroByZawadi poster & banner design.

ZeroByZawadi_Banner

• Laura Rwiliriza & the Purple Native Films Crew – God bless your work always.
• Fazilah Bazari – my yoga teacher in Nairobi & host of our first #AfroZen event.
• Holistic Community Kenya – for partnering with ZeroByZawadi.
• Reinhardt Kisalia & the Digital Divide Data team – for the PA System.
• Apondi Nyang’aya & Angela Wambui @MissKenyaUSA – for being amazing MC’s for the event.
• All our friends who helped promote the ZeroByZawadi video launch on facebook and twitter.
• Seth Mureithi of @AlcoveKenya for livestreaming the event.
• Michelle @Mugzik of Peppercorn catering for the delicious tuna dish, chicken salad, bruschetta, fruit tart, & fresh fruit juice.
• All the musicians who blessed us with beautiful music: Danson Kiundi @Heroz_revolt (keyboard); Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o Jr. @NY_echO (saxophone); Josea Sanaa @JoshuaSanaa (guitar).
• Team ZeroByZawadi: Subira, Lewis, Josea, Joyce & Kibali @KibaliMoreithi
• All the guests who joined us in person & virtually.
• Charlotte Hill O’Neal a.k.a Mama C for this beautiful video message from the United Africa Alliance Community Centre:

 

So What’s Next For ZeroByZawadi?

Watch our social media space via facebook & twitter for the following:

• Pictures from our first AfroZen event in Nairobi
• Video coverage from our first AfroZen event in Nairobi
• A free AfroZen Music Mix
• An online store for ZeroByZawadi’s yoga apparel (If you are in Kenya & would like to purchase any of our merchandise, please contact us)
• Plans for a possible #AfroZenKigali event at the end of November
• Plans for a possible #AfroZenSydney event at the beginning of November

If you are interested in contributing to any of these ideas, please contact us via zerobyzawadi@gmail.com or on twitter @ZeroByZawadi.

Please also let us know what you think of the video and share it with others if you like it :-).

Bless!

Yoga In Prisons In Kenya [Part 1]

Nairobi Children’s Remand Centre in Lower Kabete, Nairobi, Kenya

Every Wednesday afternoon, a team from the Holistic Community Kenya (HCK), led by Fazilah Bazari, one of my yoga teachers in Nairobi, facilitates a yoga session with the kids at the Nairobi Children’s Remand Home.  I’ve been meaning to go to one of these sessions for a while because I was intrigued by the whole idea, and had read about the difference yoga in prisons is making in other parts of the world, including India.  So I finally made the time and joined Dalia, Sheila and Sammy last Wednesday and I have to say it was the best use of my time that day.  Part of me was anxious about going to the children’s remand center because I’ve never been inside a prison, and also because the idea of incarceration of children just makes me ill.  I imagine the center is very different on other days, but on that afternoon as soon as we walked in, my spirit was at ease.  The big boys, aged 14-18 were already in position and had started their class under the leadership of Karanja*, one of the kids at the center. Fazilah really wasn’t kidding when she said that the yoga class was the highlight of their week and that the kids often started without them because they didn’t want to waste any time waiting for the teachers.  In terms of a sustainability model, this is already a really good indication that at least some of these kids might just maintain a personal yoga practice even after leaving the center.

Reverse Triangle pose – demonstrated by one of the older boys at the Nairobi Children’s Remand Home Yoga Session with HCK.

On the way to the center, I asked Sheila to tell me more about the program – how they started, what challenges they had faced, and what results they were observing.  To my surprise she told me that the director of the center was the one that had contacted HCK asking them if they would facilitate yoga classes for the kids.  I had actually just assumed that it was the other way around – that HCK had expressed an interest in teaching and then been invited to do so.  Just goes to show that demand-based initiatives are always more successful than projects that are started because some do-gooder from outside a community thinks that they can “come save the people”.

HCK has been successfully conducting these weekly yoga classes for the past 2 years and while there has been great progress, especially with the children who have been at the center for months, they have definitely had some challenges.  When they first started teaching yoga, many of the children were hesitant to do it because they had preconceived notions about the practice. These included anything from believing that yoga was a form of devil-worship, to thinking that it went against their religion because they thought it was a Hindu practice.  To help them ease into the practice Sheila says they explained to them that yoga was not religious and that by doing the various postures and breathing exercises, it would help them relax, strengthen their bodies and minds, and also open up new and unexpected things for them.  They also assured them that if they felt uncomfortable at any point with the practice, that they should feel free to say so.  Finally, they challenged them to take on an attitude towards life that allowed them to try on new things, experience it, and then decide for themselves if it worked for them, instead of simply listening to other people’s views.  This was therefore the beginning of many life’s lessons that the HCK teachers have been sharing with the children through the yoga practice, stories that they share & group discussions that happen at the end of each class.

The children are divided into three groups – the big boys aged 14-18; the small boys aged 8-13; and all the girls together (8-17 yrs old).  It was so moving to see these children sit quietly in lotus position as they meditated at the beginning of the class, and then moved into their sun salutations, which led to a series of other asanas (postures).  I wished I could split myself into 3 people so that I could document the entire process of each group, but I had to just keep going from group to group and taking pictures without causing too much distraction.  You can see all the pictures on the ZeroByZawadi facebook page. Note that all the faces of the children have been blurred so as to protect their identities.

I really wanted to participate in the class myself, but I guess I’ll have to go back to do that. And who knows, maybe one of these days I’ll get to the point where I’m comfortable enough to teach a class myself :-).

The best part of the experience for me was at the end of the girls class when Sheila asked them all to lay on their backs for final relaxation and then proceeded to lead a Journey Process for children in Kiswahili.  All the girls looked so incredibly peaceful, and even though I was filming it, what I really wanted to do was just lay beside them and allow myself to travel into whatever imaginary world Sheila was helping them create with her silky and gentle voice.  By the end of the journey, at least a handful of girls were fast asleep.  As if this wasn’t enough, Sheila asked them all to sit in a circle and share what they had learnt from the class, from the story she told them, and what they were taking forward with them.  She also asked them to cross their arms, hold each others’ hands, and talk about what this symbolized.  Unity, equality, community, togetherness, love and peace are just some of the words that they shared.

The girls’ circle at the end of the yoga session with HCK at the Nairobi Children’s Remand Home

Yoga Circle with Girls at the Nairobi Children’s Remand Home

Last, but not least, I got to interview one of the girls, who I’ll call Atieno, because Atieno is my middle name, and I really connected with her.  Atieno is a 16 year old, extra-intelligent young girl who was arrested just over two weeks ago.  She ran away from home 2 years ago and has been living with friends and lovers since.  Atieno was scheduled to go to court last Friday August 17^th, 2012. I have yet to hear what the verdict of her case was, so I prefer to share her story once I know. I don’t want to risk negatively affecting her case in any way, so stay tuned for Part 2 of this blog post. Part 3 will feature insights from HCK & the staff of the Children’s Remand Centre on what difference they think the program is making and what plans they have for the future.

What about you? Do you have any other examples of how yoga is being used in prisons in other parts of the world? What about other holistic practices like meditation, Tai Chi, etc?  What difference has yoga made in your life, if you practice it? If not, what other contemplative practices do you do to maintain your Mind, Body, Spirit balance? Please share.

Finally, as usual, I like to leave my readers with a little “Zawadi” (gift).  Here’s some #AfroZenMusic by Kenya’s Ayub Ogada:

Start Before You Are Ready

Just Do It!

There have been so many times in my life that I haven’t taken on a challenge because I didn’t feel quite ready for it. And while it is true, that one has to learn to listen to their inner guide to figure out what steps to take in life, I also know that some of the greatest accomplishments I have had has been when I just got on with it, did what I had to do, and just trusted in the process.  ZeroByZawadi is a perfect example of that. I still don’t know exactly where this journey will take me, but I’m loving every step of it, and meeting such amazing people along the way.  Just yesterday, my friend Joyce Muthoni, whose son I had written about in my blog post on City Council Police Brutality in Kenya, introduced me to a whole group of other incredible young women who I spent the morning with trying to figure out the best way to make newspaper bags. More on this another day.  It was really nice to finally meet Andrew, and he managed to make 2 newspaper bags that he was really proud of.

Anyway, the reason why I’m writing this post is really as a challenge to myself. I woke up this morning feeling like my brain was stuck on Gear 1, and even though I knew I should just get up, do yoga, and start working on my long list of things to do, I didn’t. I’ve been meaning to write a blog post about my amazing visit to the Nairobi Children’s Remand Centre, where the Holistic Community of Kenya does yoga with the kids every Wednesday, but two days later, I still haven’t done it.  I’ve shared some lovely pictures on the ZeroByZawadi facebook page in the meantime though.

So one of the things I do, to motivate myself when I’m feeling tired, weak, sad, or just bleh, is turn to my #Note2Self board on pinterest – my new social-media love. If you haven’t explored the big, wild, juicy, fun & incredibly informative world of pinterest yet, BEWARE!  Yes, yet another social media platform to get addicted to.  For me though, it’s good eye candy, what my girl @Lafrohemien refers to as “Eyegasms”, but also the place I go to curate content that I can then share easily. Check out my pinterest boards & let me know what you think.

Last, but not least, I present you the new ZeroByZawadi logo designed by one of my favorite cousins – Kwame. This is just the start of our identity design process. I figure, I can’t forever, I JUST HAVE TO START! At least now we have something ready for the International Etsy Craft Party – Kenya Edition, happening on August 25th 2012 in Nairobi.  If you are on twitter, follow @CraftAfrika and #CraftPartyKe for details & updates. We are so excited about the new stock we are working on for the ZeroByZawadi stand where we’ll create a #ZenZone in partnership with the MindBodySpirit store.

“Wish You Were Here” Etsy Craft Party in Nairobi, Kenya – August 25th at Kuona Trust, hosted by @CraftAfrika. Follow #CraftPartyKe on twitter.

 

What are some of the things you’ve been meaning to do, but haven’t started yet? Feel free to share if you like.

Bless!