NGUZO. Kenya

The Vision

The vision I am working towards is to see the people of this continent of Africa realize their potential and live free and dignified lives.  How will I achieve this? I empower young people to be change agents in their environment and that could be families, school, church, community, any space you find yourself in.  The truth is we will not change Africa without a focus on young people. Because stats show that 60% of the entire continent is aged below 25. UN estimates Africa population to be about 1.3 billion.  780m people below 25 years. These numbers tell me that we need to pay a close attention to the youth because in them lies potential for economic and social progress, or the demise of society. We ignore them at our own peril.

The prototype

It is a program called NGUZO (Swahili words for pillars). Our aim is to help teens and young adults attain all round self-leadership as they set a foundation for their personal and professional lives.

Imagine pillars on a bridge. They hold the bridge up. If they are not strong enough, the bridge collapses with everything on it. Our inward character is the infrastructure that holds us up through our lives. Nguzo is a self-leadership development program that seeks to inspire, challenge and empower young people through a journey of self-discovery, connecting with God and finding purpose in their lives. It is an 8 weeks’ program and has 5 modules. My target group is 17-25 yr. olds basically late teens and young adults. I did the first cohort in the first quarter of 2020.

I also have a YouTube channel that seeks to do the same. On the channel I give wisdom tips and encouragement to help young people live their best lives.

My Ubuntu.lab journey

When I joined Ubuntu.Lab in 2018, all this was just an idea. I wanted to share with youth the lessons that I had learnt along the way. 

Going through Ubuntu.Lab helped me to move from intention to action. I realized that I had a part to play in making our world a better place. So, I started writing this program Nguzo, in small steps. I started by going to high schools and colleges to learn more about the issues that I wanted to address and finished writing the program in 2 years.  I launched the program in February 2020.

Taking that first step to run Nguzo, helped me have courage to start a YouTube channel. So, I can say that Conquering fear that first time has unlocked other possibilities. I must keep remembering that the river cuts through a rock not because of its power, but because of its persistence. So, I must keep learning and to keep moving forward.

I am Judy Owiti from Kenya, I am a trainer and mentor. I do this through running a program called Nguzo and You tube.

How to reach me.

Email: Judymtsoli@gmail.com

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/judyowiti/

You tube – https://www.youtube.com/c/JudyOwiti