Author - Jammy

Your name and what do you do?
My name is Linus Okok( DADDY the dancer). I am a Choreographer, a dance director & a Dancer.

What is your earliest memory of dance?
I was eleven when I went on stage for the first time. That was way back in2006. I’ll never forget that day.

Was there a moment you realized that dance was going to be a significant and important part of your life?
Yes!!! I remember back in 2015 I choreographed & directed a dance for a certain college here in Mombasa. The school performed well & reached the national level in the Kenya National Drama Festivals College category. After the competition, the school offered me a scholarship, and that’s how I joined college.  Since then, I realized DANCE was going to be a significant & important part of my life.

Tell us about your style of dancing? How often do you practice?
I have based in lyrical theatrical dance. This is a style whereby, the dancer tells a story through emotions & movements instead of words. I practice everyday at least 4hrs a day.

Where do you get your inspiration from?
I get inspiration from the music I listen to as a dancer, music can either BUILD or DESTROY you. In most cases music has led me into creating choreography. From the lyrics, composition, arrangement and emotion, Good music has a way of inspiring people. You can tell a singer’s’ emotion by listening to his/her music & those are the same emotions, the dancer is supposed to transfer to his/her audience. There are music that puts you right in the mood of creation.

Do you think artists in Mombasa are well branded?
No, they are inactive in social media where they should be engaging their followers daily and creating anticipation of what to expect from them and promote their current work, but they barely do so.

Most creatives in Mombasa are not paid for their Art, what do you think we should do to eliminate this issue so artists can be paid for their work?
Simple!!! Only two things required.

1). No artist should ever go on stage without an agreement/contract.

2)Artist shld be educated on the difference between showbiz & talent business.We have great talents in coast but our artist aren’t enlightened enough on the business part of it.Your talent shld be your business.

If you were given resources to create space and options for Artist, what would you do?
I would build schools & institutions for art, and no artist would go on stage without papers, whether talented or not. If a lawyer attends law school and a doctor attends medical school, why shouldn’t an artist attend an art school? Also make sure artists royalties are paid on time, media houses should play 60% local content.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
In ten years?…I see myself as a lecturer in a leading University, teaching Art.(Theatre & performing arts)

Parting shot
Dance is poetry. If it doesn’t speak for itself,then it makes no sense.

Your name and what do you do?
My name is Nadia Naddy. I am an Author, a Blogger and a Female Empowerment Activist currently based in Berlin, Germany taking up my Maters in International Relations and Cultural Diplomacy.

Your recently published a book, tell us about it?
Yes, I recently published my first book under Amazons Publishing house called ‘CREATIVESPACE’. My book addresses the misconceptions about feminism, why Feminism is important and the fundamentals of women being each other’s keepers. I went deeper into understanding what this misconception is about: Through my real life experiences, quotes from men and women from different parts of the world, Religious quotes from both the Quran and Bible and Inspiring quotes to uplift oneself. This is in hopes to change people’s minds and give them a clear understanding and appreciation of the movement.

You blog a lot, did that help you in writing your first book?
It actually did, being an inspirational and motivational writer on my blog has helped me broaden my thinking capacity into coming up with a book concept that would be easily readable and understood by everyone. On my blog I use quotes and large paragraphs to get my message across, which brought me to the idea of having collective quotes and paragraphs all in a book to be easily understood and getting the message out there.

What message do you hope to send to your readers?
I hope to make them understand that feminism isn’t about favoritism of one gender over another, rather it’s a concept that should be used to bring genders together to work as one towards uplifting and respecting each other.

Where is the book available?
The Book is available on Amazon Central ($), Amazon UK and Amazon Europe (€). I also have a few books in stock as I am coming to Kenya soon, DM me on my Instagram page: fiercena_ddy to get a copy.

The tone of feminism has become angrier and more resentful, and the explanation is often that there has been a “backlash” in the culture. What do you think?
In any given situation there is bound to be backlash towards a concept or a cause that opposes traditional norms, therefore in my opinion it’s inevitable. However, I think as feminists we need to not retaliate rather take time to understand what the backlash is all about and be able to work around it so as to create an understanding towards the people and the concept itself. It wouldn’t be correct if I were to say all that feminist claim is right, however it would be wrong for me to stand and be against a cause that will uplift those in despair and join together those that feel left out i.e. The Male, Other women who feel they don’t belong and so forth.

Feminism is still frowned upon in Mombasa, are you prepared to receive the backlash?
I mentally and emotionally prepared myself to receive backlash from the society in Mombasa the moment I started writing the book. However, to my personal beliefs and research being a young feminist from Mombasa I am not going against any religious traditions. People in our society need to learn and differentiate between religious and cultural values, because our culture frowns upon empowering the women and not our religious values. And this is why I made sure I quoted both religious books, the QURAN and the BIBLE in my book to address the issue of not being able to be a feminist all cause of religious claims.

What challenges did you face writing your book?
Putting a filter on my thoughts, as I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to go all in on my thoughts on my first book. It was very challenging because I am a very straightforward and blunt person, so I decided to be less blunt and see how it would all be received.

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?
To be honest I really don’t know. I believe in embracing each moment and opportunity as it comes. Yes I want to be able to touch people’s heart and minds through my words, my actions and the values I live by but it is something I strive as I go forward. Who knows maybe I would be the Next Oprah Winfrey…

Parting shot
Do what you strongly believe in, always stand tall no matter the circumstance and never be scared to fall. It doesn’t matter how many people believe and understand what you do, as long as you believe in it. Then it’s all what you need.

Your name and what do you do?
My name is Haytham Bhalo. I am a Corporate Banker working for one of the fastest growing banks in Kenya. Away from the bank, I am a photographer and a community activist.

You have a full-time job, you do photography and have a family, how do you balance all that?
By planning my days, there is no shortcut to it. My career as a banker is very demanding and I must admit it comes first before my other interests. I believe in giving to Caesar what belongs to Caesar so I balance photography and blogging around it which leaves it to after 5pm and the weekends. If I get a client, I make it very clear on my availability and why. Otherwise I would jeopardize the quality of my input on every side. But this of course comes with sacrifice like having little time for things like socializing. I think of family as something that drives me as a person, I don’t really have to balance it because it is more of a support system for me.

You have done quite a few start-ups, what made you go in photography?
Oh yes I have! I’ve failed and succeeded. You win some you lose some, that’s life, right? Initially photography wasn’t a start-up but an interest. I have been a creative my entire life and always attracted to imagery. So photography began with my phone. The more I pursued it the sweeter it got. It got to a point owning a DSLR camera felt like the next move to taking my photography to the next level. I thank God I found the means to acquire one and the rest is history.

How did you turn photography into a business?
I was sharing my work through social media and months down the line I would get people expressing interest and requesting for quotations. I would pass it off as no I don’t want to monetize this! I don’t want to spoil my happy place! Then one day my brother, without my knowledge, referred me to a successful aviation school in Nairobi who were looking for a good photographer. They approached me, I hesitated at first until they told me what the offer was like and the Kenyan in me figured what the heck! Pleasure might as well be profitable!

You are from Mombasa but live in Nairobi, How do you compare work ethic between Nairobi and Mombasa?
Compared to Mombasa, Nairobi is a bigger and more mature market. Life is a bit faster in Nairobi, a lot faster to be honest. Nairobian’s sense of urgency is more pronounced mostly because their attitude is more of ‘you snooze you lose’! Again, an average customer in Nairobi is more exposed and generally demands more in terms of quality so you simply can’t afford to be below par. However, Mombasa is not as bad as people are meant to believe. What Mombasa lacks in speed, makes up for it with generosity and warmth. I think people are slowly shaping up and it is just a matter of time.

Tell us more about Haythambhalo.com?
I thrive in learning new things but I also flourish in sharing skills and experiences. I must have been a teacher in a different lifetime. haythambhalo.com is an avenue for me to share my journey through photography. It’s a podium where I share ideas and tips on the things that I have come to know about photography. I also try to reach out to other creators; writers, painters, musicians and the like by providing my insights and reflections into the creative world. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter what your art form is, we all share the same creative energy.

Do you think creatives in Kenya are getting enough resources to grow?
Did you know that the top earning YouTuber in 2016, Felix Kjellberg, made $15 Million just from YouTube alone? We have not even talked about sponsorships, endorsement and product sales. Convert that to Kenya shillings and Felix made approximately 4.3 Million shillings every single day during that year. Now, to start a YouTube channel, you only need a phone with a camera and an Internet connection. See where am going with this? We may not get all that we need but we have more than enough. It is high time we stopped whining and focusing on doing what creatives do best, be creative!

If you were given a chance to do whatever you want right now and unlimited resources, what do you picture yourself doing?
Travel the world and make photographs! There are way too many places I wish to visit and tell stories about through photography. I want to explore cities in India, Morocco, Tibet, Thailand, the list is endless!

What advice would you give to a form four student?
That I wish we could trade places. Man, school life is so much easier! And Fun! But I will tell them what I wish I knew when I was in there place. That you realize many years after school and when you are all grown up, class assignments, homework and reading for exams never really go away after school. Only that they then come in the form of responsibilities! Life is all about doing what you are supposed to do. You are in school to study, do just that because it is what is you are supposed to do. If you are to study for one reason and one reason only, let it be because you are practicing to do what you are supposed to do!

Parting shot
God gives us today what is enough to build a bigger tomorrow. That’s the natural law of life. God gives you a seed, water and sand, they seem small right? They are enough to give you a big tree tomorrow. When you look at Felix Kjellberg don’t wonder because you already own an internet enabled camera phone!

Your name and what do you do?

My name is Ibtisam Shariffa Habib. During normal working hours, I work at Unilever under the Unilever Future Leader’s Program as a Marketing resource, currently doing a Sales role in Kilifi for 6 months.   After normal white collar job working hours, I am an Entrepreneur.

What is TAJI? Tell us more about it

TAJI, is my almost one year old baby. She is the Brand I created for an empire I am very slowly but gradually building, in shaa Allah. TAJI basically means ‘Crown’ but also used to mean ‘Cover up/Hijab’ in Coastal culture…which enables me to stay true to what begun as ‘Hijabee Queen’, a modesty fashion agenda I was pushing while in University.

For now, TAJI are the bags that I design and produce. Something very close to my heart.  You can check some out on instagram.com/tajified/

What made you go into making the bags?

FUNNY STORY… People almost always expect me to say how I am a bagaholic and that’s how this started…truth be told, I am NOT.

I met a tailor on a random day who could make bags and so I decided to create a bag for myself. At Unilever, when they give us a laptop, they give us a backpack too… not a very pretty one. Everyone therefore carries the same bag (boring, right?) I digress, so I carried my newly created bag to work when it was ready and got so many requests about it… KHALAS! The entrepreneur in me found an opportunity and ran with it. By word of mouth, I started getting orders and eventually, TAJI had to be born.

What is your opinion on Muslim women empowerment?

I think ALL women need to be empowered to stand for what they believe is right. I am so tired of people confusing Swahili/Arab culture with Islam. If I hear one more person say women should not work and get married by 24, my eyes might now actually pop out of the socket cause I can’t roll them anymore. I think we should never stop preaching ‘Women Empowerment’, to the men and women too.

 How should Muslim women respond to the resistance they sometimes experience from their communities when trying to accomplish their goals?

By proving to society that their goals mean no harm to anyone and that they can achieve these goals while staying true to their faith. I sometimes understand the fear our families have because I’ve seen many who were ‘allowed’ to go achieve their goals but came back having lost their respect… I had to do a lot of convincing to live away from home when in University and then again to work away from my parents’ house… but I didn’t disrespect their views when they shared them. I just kept pushing my agenda and convinced them I was not a Muslim girl for them, but for ME.

You were selected in the One young world event last year. Tell us about it.

OYW is BEAUTIFUL. If you believe we can make a change to the society we live in, you should definitely consider attending one of the annual summit. It will open your mind to the millions of opportunities to make a difference where it counts. I was lucky enough to be taken to the Canada summit in 2016 by Unilever as the East African representative. It was four super intense days with leaders like Kofi Annan, Muhammad Yunus, Thuli Madonsela all insisting on the power the Youth has to make a difference in today’s world. They left me coming back to Kenya thinking, I NEED TO BE THE CHANGE I WANT TO SEE.

You created an Instagram page called Hijabeefied, what do hope to achieve from the initiative?

Hijabeefied is quite a personal journey that I decided to share with the ‘world’ that would be interested. Reason I started it is because of a girl I knew. Let’s call her X. X was a beautifully covered girl, not just your normal abaya… she wore a jalbaab too when she was in Coast. When she moved to Nairobi, that ‘freedom’ and the peer pressure… she removed the covering and got into the hot pants life. Not because she thought it was the right thing to do, but because she felt the need to look beautiful and couldn’t find beauty in what she used to wear.

To try summarize it all, Hijabeefied is for the X’s who need some encouragement and reminder that they can still look beautiful when they cover up. It is to remind the covered sisters that being covered will not stop you from achieving your goals as a Muslim girl. That modest fashion, is beautiful. Take some time and check out Instagram.com/hijabeefied

What can Muslim women do, on both an individual and institutional level, to create a meaningful and relatable reflection of themselves in mainstream social media channels?

We just need to be Muslim women really, kind to people and honest. Once we show the world who Muslim women truly are, the world will see us. As the only Hijabee girl at Unilever, I have been asked so many questions about Islam…some even asked how I managed to work yet I am meant to be oppressed somewhere in my husband’s kitchen as the second/third wife 😀 How you answer these questions and how you live with these people from a very different society is very important in changing what the world thinks.

What advice would you give to upcoming young women?

As long as you know your goal is halal, fight for it.

Don’t sit and expect it to be handed over to you, take the risks you need to, fight the obstacles on your path but always stay true to who you are. These people out here might not be very kind to those who are different from them, don’t let them change a good you.

Parting shot

Don’t ever expect people to support you in your journey, be ready to travel it alone. If you get supporters along the way…say Alhamdulillah and support them back.