DOT Kenya-ReachUp! Program marks another season in Kenya's Coast Region

For the past ten months, DOT Kenya has been significantly realized across all corners of the coastal region of Kenya. So many activities of the ReachUp! program have gone on in this region that makes one wonder how fast time flies. It really does dash!
Most of this work was realized from the tireless efforts of Ainayat Adam, Chris Wasike, Wilson Oduor, Mutisya Maingi, and Purity Rifuata, who were on the ground in the positions of DOT Kenya ReachUp! program interns in the Coast Region. These were the loyal and committed fellows who did a lot of incredible advocacy for the ReachUp! program. The classes were remarkable, and for sure the participants gained even more than what they had initially hoped for.
Peter Mutie, our outgoing Intern Support Assistant (ISA) in the Coast Region, has been marvelous. Peter is quite an energetic, with an outspoken mind, and stops at nothing to meet his goal. He did all he could to ensure that the interns were comfortable in their service delivery. His coordination between the Interns and the office in Nairobi was highly timely and appreciated. It is obvious that as his time with DOT ends, he will be missed and recognized in the future activities of the organization in the region.
Irene Mlanga joined DOT Kenya in July 2011. She comes in as the first ever Program Assistant for the Coast Region. For the short period she has been with the organization, her work has been significantly recognized. She is gifted in essence, a committed employee, and for sure we could not have asked for more from her. She is simply an exactly fitting piece of our puzzle.
Over the last ten months, more than 500 ReachUp! program participants have graduated from 18 centers that are spread all over the Coast Region. These centres have gained great services from the ReachUp! program and the relationship with DOT has been of mutual benefit to both parties. Among the beneficiaries of the program are the AMURT Centres in Likoni, Diani and Malindi. We also managed to work with several Youth Polytechnics, CITC, Mazeras, CKC Sombeza, community based organisations like the Malindi Education and Development Association (MEDA), and the Ministry of Youth and Sports (MOYAS) in Malindi and Msambweni.
Although we pride in the numbers of graduated participants and centres, they were not attained without a hard work and several challenges. The toughest setback to getting bigger classes was that of language barrier. It is traditional knowledge among the Kenyan communities that the coast is a Swahili speaking region. It therefore means that the interns had a tough time to get participants for classes, which had to be translated to Swahili. Most of the people at the Coast only speak and comprehend the Swahili language other than their mother-tongues, and therefore the translation process for a big class is quite hectic.
Another challenge we faced was the high rate of illiteracy in the region. This region is a tourist destination, and therefore most young people have absolutely no interest in formal education. They prefer focusing on tourism-targeted businesses because through these activities they are able to make large sums of money within a short period of time. This is the lifestyle that has raised them, as well as their grandparents. It is therefore not easy to convince them that formal education is something beneficial to them.
With technology also comes the challenge of connectivity. There is poor internet connectivity on most parts of the Coast Region. This is because most of our centres were out of town. This made it very difficult to train the participants on the internet modules. This also affects phone calls because the network is mostly the same as that of the internet. However, our smart interns found a way to meet this challenge and succeed.
I am now the Field Officer for the region, but I enjoyed my 10 months of internship. During that period, I learned so many lessons on the ground as well as from my fellow interns during our monthly meetings.  I could never resist the temptation of checking what is fresh on our website each day. Every time I saw something new from the interns, local or global staff, I was mesmerized. It is clear to me that everyone at DOT is gifted and very generous in sharing talent and skills. I have never regretted being a member of this awesome community.
In a nutshell, the Coast Region has made DOT proud. Sincerely, this is one of the toughest regions to penetrate with a program like ReachUp!, but we are proud to have managed to change the lives of many residents. We appreciate the efforts of all the concerned parties and hope that even as the internship term ends, these interns will continue being very resourceful to the organization while in their alumni status. "As you start a new chapter of your lives, be the good ambassadors you have always been to us. We enjoyed working with you."
From Pwani (Coast) it is a very loud "Asante Sana!" to our out-going team of interns and Intern Support Assistant. I really had a great time with you all.

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