thecommonwealth@60: The kenyan Style

About 243 youth participated and these were mainly students of Kenyatta University; the main campus and Ruiru campus.

Initially, the walk had been planned to start from Nairobi city all the way to Githurai, about 20 km, but the organizing team decided to change the starting point. This was due security concerns since there was a planned riot by an outlawed sect (Mungiki) and the University of Nairobi students over alleged extrajudicial killings in Nairobi the same week. Sure enough, the University of Nairobi student rioted the following day and there was chaos in the capital city. All in all, the walk started from Ruiru town to Githurai, a distance of about 6km.

The walk was to be flagged off by the British High Commissioner to Kenya H.E Ambassador Rob Mc. Caire but due to an understandably packed Commonwealth Day schedule and a short notice, be sent an apology not to attend. The RYC flagged off the walk.

At the finish point, there was entertainment from a local youth entertainment group and a blood donation drive courtesy of the Bloodlink Foundation, Kenya. The significance of the blood donation drive was to instill social responsibility among the participants and also to express solidarity with the victims (most of whom were youth) of the recent fire tragedies at Molo and Nakumatt supermarket in Nairobi. During the entertainment, there was a blend of music from the diverse tribal and cultural backgrounds and a clear message of unity and anti-tribalism was passed.

The day was also marked by a great desire from the young people to know more about the Commonwealth and more specifically the division that deals with the youth issues, the Commonwealth Youth Programme. Information was disseminated through t-shirts, fliers, the banner and one-on-one interaction between the Kenya Commonwealth Youth Representative and the youth.

The 2009 Commonwealth youth celebrations will be remembered most as the day when most youth knew about the CYP and also as the day when a most diverse group, in terms of tribe, political affiliation and culture, joined in marking the day. For sure, in the Commonwealth, diversity is our strength and should be used to bring us together.

By: Michael K. Mburu

Commonwealth Youth Caucus

Kenya Representative.