Reflection on NGO Project

Poster at the Youth Hub depicting part of their Mission Statement

My team had the pleasure of working with the Mount Kenya Youth Hub for the last two weeks. The Hub is a platform for young people to gather and work towards social change through civic engagement, creative arts, workshops, and much more. The Youth Hub has many great things to offer, but they were in need of a way of advertising. So our group proposed to make a website and to create promotional videos for the youth hub and its dance group.  

Poster at Youth Hub

As great as it was working with the members and volunteers of the hub, we did run into some obstacles in completing the project. When we finally had all the info put together for the website, we were not able to create it. Unfortunately, one of the members helping us with the creation ended up having other intentions and was in it only for his personal gain. This member ended up getting kicked out of the hub. Additionally, the manager of the youth hub found out that because they are under the umbrella of Global Platform, they were not necessarily allowed to have their own website, and needed to have a page on the Global Platform's website instead. This was a problem we could not fix in the time that we had, but I am glad that we were at least there for the process, and were at least able to provide some support.

We learned how resilient and how positive the members of the Youth Hub were. Whenever a problem would come up, they would just keep a smile on their face and start a plan for moving on. For example, when they discovered that one of their members was not to be trusted, they didn't gossip or worry about it. They just moved on, and chose another member to take over his duties. It was nice to work in such a positive environment. We also got to sit in on some of their planning meetings, in which disagreements would often come up. The Youth Hub members always worked through these disagreements in a positive and efficient way. 

Workshop with Dutch Global Platform volunteers

Fortunately, we were able to help the Youth Hub by completing both promotional videos, where were great and the hub loved them! Despite the setbacks, I do believe that the website project can continue after we leave. We have given all the website materials to one of the members who was helping us, and we have total faith that the Youth Hub will end up with a page on Global Platform's website. The Youth Hub's members are extremely talented and capable, but I think it was good for us to be there as a sounding board for ideas, and as a mentor on how to advertise their great program to the world.

As a result of this project, I learned a lot about the Kenyan young people, specifically those in Nanyuki town. I learned that many of them care deeply about politics and civic engagement in their country, and that they know a lot about politics in my country! I was asked so many questions about current US politics, and I was really inspired to go home and become more educated and involved as a US citizen. 

I also learned that I had a lot more to offer to this organization than I thought. I was worried that I would be coming into an organization that really knows what it is doing and that doesn't need my help. They definitely knew what they were doing, but I learned that they could use my help, even in small ways. I never realized how much I know about creating a website, or how much I knew about how a website would look best for potential donors. It was nice to learn that I had something to share with the members of the Youth Hub, because at times, I definitely felt like they were teaching me more than I was teaching them. But  that was why it was such an exciting experience. I came to Kenya to learn, and I was really able to learn from the local people by getting immersed in the culture through the Mount Kenya Youth Hub.

Here is a link to the video of the Youth Hub's dance group! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DUj4j2eBNM