The Taalanta Initiative is a program created by the Olemotondo Youth Association to address unemployment among youth in Ongata Rongai, Kenya. It aims to harness the talents of local youth in arts/culture, sports, education, and empowerment through activities like a recording studio, radio station, competitions, and training. The initiative's main focus areas are utilizing skills in audio/visual, art, fashion, and nurturing youth talent to help them succeed. Funds will come from arts/culture programs and events to support initiatives in the other sectors and benefit the whole community.
Call for Papers Radio Asia Presentation (1) VOTY Radio circa 2006
Talent Initiative Seeks to Empower Kenyan Youth
1. “every man has his vocation,
talent is the call”
Ralph Emerson
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
taalanta.co.ke
2. .
8 / Art & Culture
Arts and culture is an area that holds a lot of potential despite it being the most
underrated sector in the country. Taalanta seeks to harness the full potential that lay
inside the youth of Ongata Rongai through the discovery, nurturing and
commercialization of skills that fall within the areas of Audio Visual Production(s), Art
(FineandDigital)andFashion.
11 / Education
The education sector is by far one of the most important sectors for Kenya as a country. It
holds the future of the country's economy, working on the fact that a more educated
workforce is a more effective one. It is with this deep rooted belief in education and its
importance to our future that Taalanta will be setting up programs that will be running
parallel to the national system in an effort to make learning easier and more accessible to
theyoung.
13 / Empowerment & Mentorship
Empowerment is the ultimate end to this initiative. Having youth who are driven and have
a purpose that is in line with the national values is important in the fight against
hopelessness. This will be achieved through trainings to groups on various skills that
could help them grow and help them make a sustainable and decent living. This would be
the proverbial “Teaching the person how to catch fish, instead of giving them fish to eat.”
Support for the different initiatives in these groups will be provided to enable them
maximizeontheopportunitiesthatavailthemselves.
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
19 / Roles & Responsibilities
Shall be chaired by the groups Chairperson and will comprise all partners of the
initiative, with outgoing Chair and Vice Chair persons qualifying as automatic members.
Other honorary members to the board may be nominated by the group members. They
Shall control the trust fund, play an oversight and advisory role to the initiative and be
ambassadors oftheinitiative
7 / Solution
The Taalanta Initiative seeks to bring hope back to the youth of Ongata Rongai by
promoting self-empowerment and self-reliance through the promotion of talent. It seeks
to reach out to the masses of hopeless but talented youth and other persons within the
town, in an effort to harness their dormant potential. This dormant potential will be
harnessed through various interactive and engaging channels which will include Arts
and Culture, Sports, Education, Interactive Events and Competitions (Community based
andSchoolbased)andEmpowermentandMentorship.
1 / Cover Photo
UnemploymentStatisticsKenya2014.
pg 8 pg 11 pg 13
3. .
18 / Structure
As enshrined in the group's constitution (Olemotondo Youth Association), the organizing
and management of the initiative and its programs shall be an exclusive preserve of the
group, with the groups chairperson heading the initiative and the vice chairperson being
thedeputyheadoftheinitiative.Theorganizationalstructurewillbeas illustratedabove.
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
10 / Sports
The importance of sports to the society cannot be overstated. Not only does it keep our
children healthy and active, teaches them how to work in teams and how to interact with
other people in a peaceful and social manner, it also acts as the glue that brings people
from different backgrounds together and gets them working as one. Sports like rugby and
football have made themselves national passtimes, with people all over the country
congregatingatdifferentplacestowatchtheirfavoritesports.
5 / Executive Summary
Unemployment has been a major issue that has plagued the Kenyan youth for a long time.
The unemployment rate is highest among the youth, with a large percentage of the jobs
going to the slightly older, more educated and experienced people. This lack of
employment has driven many youth into detrimental habits and addictions such as drugs,
alcoholismandcrime,causingahugeloss ofliferateamong theyoung.
12 / Events
Despite Taalanta's main focus being around the youth and their empowerment, it is also
very important to include everyone else in the activities that are spawned as a result of the
initiative. The events chapter of Taalanta seeks to enhance cohesion and togetherness, in
thespiritofour nationalmotto.
14 / Starting Point
Our starting point shall be to set up a work station where we shall run a recording studio
(audio visual) and a radio station albeit online as we work towards securing broadcasting
waves or developing our own application (a modern and cost effective approach), We
shall also operate from the studio a vibrant and interactive online platform, our gateway
to the world in terms of showcasing and marketing talent(s) and works of Art and Fashion
including modelling. The work station shall be the nerve center and focal point of the
initiativesoperations,when we start,as manyprogramsarefieldprograms.
20 / Conclusion
“We make a living by what we get, and we make a life by what we give.” We trust our
initiative through our programs and platforms will go a long way in showcasing talent
and empowering many person(s) by creating opportunities for advancement and even
profitability thereby bringing hope to the hopeless individuals especially the Youth from
our town that lack options in life but are rich in talent. We hope our initiative will be a
'vehicle' into the future of our town and a model that can be replicated in other towns in
terms of harnessing talent and creating new opportunities. Lastly in the words of the
great Nelson Mandela, “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great.” We can be that
greatgenerationbutonlyifweempower theYouth.
pg 18 pg 10 pg 20
4. introduction
Proposal
Introduction
The Taa'lanta Initiative is a brainchild of Olemotondo Youth Association, a
group formed by theYouth of Olemotondo neighborhood in Ongata Rongai.
The group is a subsidiary of Olemotonja Community Group, a nyumba kumi
group formed by the residents of Olemotondo and Njambi road Ongata
Rongai.
The group was formed in July 2014 with the aim of self-empowerment
among its members through commerce, the interchange of tools, ideas, and
skills so as to improve the economic and social welfare of its members.
Blessed with a wealth of educated, brilliant and self-driven minds, the group
stands out from the rest of the youth associations in Ongata Rongai. The
diversity in talent among the members puts the group apart from the rest,
with skills in Information Technology and Telecommunications,
Accountancy, the Culinary arts, Education, Art, Music and Law among
manyothers.
The Initiative was spawned from the realization of the fact that the youth
within Ongata Rongai are plagued by unemployment & underemployment,
joblessness and a general lack of hope, leading them into crime, drugs and
alcoholismandas thesayinggoes, “everyobnoxious actisacryforhelp.”
The effects of Kenyan youth losing their lives to such vices can be felt, with
the economy suffering. To change this situation, Taa'lanta Initiative seeks to
bring hope to theYouth and all other person(s) who lack option(s) but are rich
intalentby providingplatformsfor talentgrowthandnurturing.
Its main areas of focus will be in the fields of Arts and Culture, Sports,
Education, Interactive Events and Competitions (Community based and
School based) andEmpowermentandMentorship.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
5. executivesummary
Executive
Summary
Unemployment has been a major issue that has plagued the Kenyan youth for
a long time. The unemployment rate is highest among the youth, with a large
percentage of the jobs going to the slightly older, more educated and
experienced people. This lack of employment has driven many youth into
detrimental habits and addictions such as drugs, alcoholism and crime,
causingahugeloss ofliferateamongtheyoung.
In Ongata Rongai the youth alone make up 65% of the total population, with
most of these people fighting for the same jobs in Nairobi as the rest of the
youth in the country. This leaves a huge percentage of this number
unemployed,underemployedandwithouthopefortheirfutures.
According to the 2013 Kenya Economic Report , Kajiado county ranks well
within the bottom half of the unemployment list, it being a little over the
nationalaverageunemploymentrateof12.7%(seefigure1.1).
With the ever rising population, and ever growing number of academically
qualified youth, formal employment for the foreseeable future is still going
to be a major issue. Only a handful of people will have the right paperwork to
fill these positions, essentially locking out the slightly less educated and
uneducatedyouthpopulation.
Many of the youth only get the opportunity to finish secondary education,
leavingthemshorthandedwhenitcomestowhitecollarjobs.
The Kenyan society doesn't help with the situation, with most youth being
forced to shelf their career worthy talents for the more formal sources of
income. The perspective taken by society stunts the growth of alternative
careerpaths,affectingmostlythecreativeartsandsports sectors.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
7. solu-tion. Workable
Solutions
The Taalanta Initiative seeks to bring hope back to the youth of Ongata
Rongai by promoting self-empowerment and self-reliance through the
promotion of talent. It seeks to reach out to the masses of hopeless but
talented youth and other persons within the town, in an effort to harness their
dormant potential. This dormant potential will be harnessed through various
interactive and engaging channels which will include Arts and Culture,
Sports, Education, Interactive Events and Competitions (Community based
andSchoolbased) and EmpowermentandMentorship.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
8. art&culture
Arts &
Culture
Arts and culture is an area that holds a lot of potential despite it being the
most underrated sector in the country. Taalanta seeks to harness the full
potential that lay inside the youth of Ongata Rongai through the discovery,
nurturing and commercialization of skills that fall within the areas of Audio
VisualProduction(s),Art(FineandDigital)andFashion.
The initiative seeks to help youth talented in these areas to be able to realize
the full potential of their talents, help them build brands around themselves
and their talents, give them a platform that will help them show their talents
to the world and enable them to make a living out of their hard work and
efforts.
This area shall work as the starting point for the initiative, branching out to
the other focus fields through the infrastructure set up within the arts and
culture section.The idea is to set up a recording studio within Ongata Rongai
which will work as the center of operation for Taalanta. The studio will be
run by professional music producers within the association. The board of
directors will operate from these premises as a starting point, with the head of
Arts and Culture overseeing the entire sub project and managing multiple
activities which will include an online radio station (Taalanta Radio) which
will be one of the portals on which the initiative will market itself and reach
out to the youth.The station will run online with the aim of securing airwaves
and broadcasting to the whole of Ongata Rongai, and eventually the entire
country, a recording studio(Taalanta Recording Studio) which will give
youth with musical talents a platform on which they can receive professional
advice on their music, get to record and have their music published and learn
about the music business. In collaboration with Taalanta Radio, they will
also be able to get airplay and marketing for their music, putting them in the
best position to take off with their careers,a photography and video studio
which enable musical artists to be able to shoot professionally done music
videos to enable them compete on a global musical stage. This photography
and video studio will also run the professional fashion shoots and engage in
the production of films and documentaries, an online platform which will
host information on Taalanta, and most importantly have a gallery
showcasing art pieces, photography, videography and fashion work
achieved by the youth within Rongai. It will be the main marketing platform
for all the talent from the youth both to local and international art and culture
enthusiastsandpotentialinvestors.
Income from the Arts and Culture subsection of the initiative shall be
obtained through Publishing successful records, Publishing and marketing
signed artists, Creating commercial and advertisements, Marketing events
and artists, Creating and managing online platforms, web based programs,
and even social media accounts for institutions, groups and even businesses,
Sale of branded merchandise, Selling advertising space on our website,
radio and other platforms, hosting a showcase portal where fashion and art
works can be auctioned, this will also by extension promote and market
modelsandCreatinganonlineshop platformfor businesses inRongai.
. . . . . .
9. art&culture
Arts &
Culture
The bulk of the income will come from the arts and culture subproject, which
will be used to fund projects in the other 4 sectors. This income shall be
spread out in an effort to maximize the reach and impact of each project run
by the initiative, and to ensure that the entire community of Ongata Rongai
benefitsfromour ventures.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
10. sportstalanta Talanta
Sports
The importance of sports to the society cannot be overstated. Not only does it
keep our children healthy and active, teaches them how to work in teams and
how to interact with other people in a peaceful and social manner, it also acts
as the glue that brings people from different backgrounds together and gets
them working as one. Sports like rugby and football have made themselves
national passtimes, with people all over the country congregating at different
placestowatchtheirfavoritesports.
Ongata Rongai is no different, children grow up wanting to play for the
national teams but never really getting the chance due to the lack of formal
and competitive leagues.Taalanta seeks to find talent in the sports sector, and
create a youth system that will see these remarkable athletes get to compete
withthebestintheworld.
An under 14 football team coached by a member of the association showed
such great potential after it was invited to participate in the Moran's world
cup, which it went ahead to win. The amount of talent on display within the
sports field in Ongata Rongai is remarkable, and only needs a guiding hand
to get it into full stride. Harnessing this full potential within the sports sector
will be achieved through showcasing talent within the different sports by
recording and publishing live matches in an effort to bring locals closer to the
sports, get support from local sports investors and get talented youth from
theareatakenupbylocalandinternationalteams.
The initiative is working towards finding the best talents in different sports
and creating teams to represent the county in the main national leagues and
tournaments. Taalanta will invest in the young upcoming talents by hosting
school tournaments which will include different schools from the area, in an
efforttoencouragesportingcompetitionandtalentgrowthatayoung age.
Competitions and tournaments shall be held at every level, from the primary
tosecondaryschool,aswellas theoutof schoolyouthwithinthecommunity.
These tournaments will reward winners in an effort to encourage healthy
competition and training among these youth. The Taalanta awards will be an
awards ceremony which shall be held annually, appreciating the efforts put
in by individuals and teams in the sporting sector. This will all be in an effort
to get the youth competitively engaged and give them a platform to market
theirtalents.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
11. eventstalanta Talanta
Events
Despite Taalanta's main focus being around the youth and their
empowerment, it is also very important to include everyone else in the
activities that are spawned as a result of the initiative. The events chapter of
Taalanta seeks to enhance cohesion and togetherness, in the spirit of our
nationalmotto.
Free to enter events will be held in Ongata Rongai, with the aim of bringing
together the thousands of people living in the town. Such events will include
family fun days where we will invite families from all over Rongai to come
and have a good time playing sports, listening to local talents performing live
on stage, sample local cuisine from our very own youth and many more
activities. The idea is to create a sense of pride among the people living here
towards the town, eventually making them more active in town affairs and
initiatives.
The different events hosted by Taalanta will also be a platform to showcase
locally made products from different industries, with stands being provided
for the youth to show off their goods and wares. There shall also be lifestyle
events with fashion shows, beauty pageants, musical concerts and festivals
beingheldtocelebratelocaltalents.
The activities and events will also include cleanup exercises, health related
activities such as marathons and fund raising events. This will all be in an
efforttoenhanceself-relianceandempowerthepeopleof OngataRongai.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
12. education
talanta Talanta
Education
The education sector is by far one of the most important sectors for Kenya as
a country. It holds the future of the country's economy, working on the fact
that a more educated workforce is a more effective one. It is with this deep
rooted belief in education and its importance to our future that Taalanta will
be setting up programs that will be running parallel to the national system in
anefforttomakelearningeasierandmoreaccessibletotheyoung.
The initiative looks to play a role in educating the future generations of
Ongata Rongai by coming up with interactive programs for school going
children in collaboration with the different schools within Ongata Rongai to
enable them maximize on the effectiveness of learning.This can be achieved
through facilitating academic competitions, science fairs, symposiums and
debates, among many other programs. Free tutorials and coaching for
students showing potential in learning will be conducted, with the aim of
gettingthemtoachievetheirfullpotentials.
In partnership with local stakeholders, a bursary fund will be set up in order
to give bright but underprivileged students a chance to make something of
themselvesthrougheducation.
Mentorship programs will be set up to enable captains of different industries
to come give motivational talks to the students and take some in for personal
mentorship. These mentors and guest speakers will be selected from
different industries in order to enlighten the children on some of the things
thatgo on intheseindustries,eventuallyleadingtoinformedcareerchoices.
Setting up a vocational training center where school leavers and all other
interested individuals can enroll and be equipped with various skills. Upon
successful completion the students will be self-empowered and driven
towardsabrighterfuture.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
13. empowerment&
mentorship
Empowerment &
Mentorship
Empowerment is the ultimate end to this initiative. Having youth who are
driven and have a purpose that is in line with the national values is important
in the fight against hopelessness. This will be achieved through trainings to
groups on various skills that could help them grow and help them make a
sustainable and decent living. This would be the proverbial “Teaching the
person how to catch fish, instead of giving them fish to eat.” Support for the
different initiatives in these groups will be provided to enable them
maximizeontheopportunitiesthatavailthemselves.
Mentorship will play an integral role with the youth and children of Ongata
Rongai, not only to get them to interact with some of the leaders in their
communities but to also give them hope for the future. Seeing physical
examples of people who were able to make it from the same state of
hopelessness that they are currently in would be a huge encouragement.
Interaction of the youth with some of their role models will also help to give
theyouthdirectionandpurpose.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
14. starting
point.
Starting
Point
Our starting point shall be to set up a work station where we shall run a
recording studio (audio visual) and a radio station. We shall also operate
from the studio a vibrant and interactive online platform, our gateway to the
world in terms of showcasing and marketing talent(s) and works of Art and
Fashion including modeling. The work station shall be the nerve center and
focal point of the initiatives operations, when we start, as many programs are
fieldprograms.
The following pages outline the specific startup requirements for the audio
visualstudioandcreativespace.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
15. Studio Monitor Speakers
Computers (Mac Pro)
Video and
photography
Equipment
Studio Microphones
and Headphones
Reliable Internet
access
CAK Broadcasting Waves
Studio Mixer
B E H R I N G E R
Studio Mixers
*
*
start-up
requirement
* Digital Audio Work Stations (Ableton Live)
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
* Audio Interface
* Acoustic Treatment
* Reflection Filters
* Musical Instruments (Guitars, Drum kits, Violins
Trumpets/saxophones)
* Microphone Preamps and Headphone Amps
* Monitor Management Systems
16. start-up
requirement
Lighting Requirement
Office Requirements (Furniture, stationery, printers
and space: Location for setup)
Art Supplies
legal matters
Business Licence
Music Copyright Society of Kenya Licence
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
17. start-up
requirement
(000) 000 000
OFFICE
FOR
RENT
Office Space
The total cost of setup and running for 1 year come up to an estimated total of
2.5 Million ksh inclusive of training and mentorship costs
*
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
Running Costs and Expenses
18. Talanta
Organizational Structure
structure
The Running of the organization shall give priority to skilled members of the Olemotondo Youth Association where
possible, with various other vacant posts being filled as required from other skilled parties.
Board of Trustees
Director/ CEO and Head of Initiative
Operations Lead and
Deputy Head of Initiative
Director:
Arts & Culture
Director:
Sports
Director:
Education
Director:
Empowerment & Mentorship
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
19. roles&responsibilities
Roles &
Responsibilities
Board ofTrustees
Shall be chaired by the groups Chairperson and will comprise all partners of
the initiative, with outgoing Chair and Vice Chair persons qualifying as
automatic members. Other honorary members to the board may be
nominated by the group members. They Shall control the trust fund, play an
oversight and advisory role to the initiative and be ambassadors of the
initiative
HeadofInitiative(H.O.I)
The Chairperson of the group shall be the head of the initiative and He / she
shall appoint directors to head the various departments, who have to be
approved be the groups executive committee, Chair the Board of trustees,
oversee and co ordinate the initiatives operations, be a decision maker on
affairs of the initiative, receive progress reports from directors, resolve
conflict and take disciplinary action on all matters of the initiative and
finallyapprovedepartmentalbudgets.
DeputyHeadofInitiative(D.H.O.I)
The Vice Chairperson of the group shall be the deputy head of the initiative
and He / she shall deputize the H.O.I as delegated, he/she will be the
initiatives administrative office in charge of finance and human resource as
well as the initiatives Chief Financial Officer and shall control the initiatives
finances including the account. They shall represent the initiative as a
signatory of the trust fund account, be the link of the initiative and its
partners. They’ll be the spokes person of the initiative, receive departmental
budgets from the directors and collect and compile reports from the
directors.
Directors
The directors shall report and consult with the H.O.I on matters of the
initiative, be the accounting officers of their departments and prepare
departmental budgets. They shall come up with programs, activities and
events for their respective departments, prepare work plans, KPI's, and
reports for their departments and finally nominate personnel in their
departmentstobeapprovedbytheH.O.I.
. . . . . .
ti T A L A N T A I N I T I A T I V E
20. Conclusion
“We make a living by what we get, and we make a life by what we give.”
We trust our initiative through our programs and platforms will go a long way in showcasing talent and
empowering many person(s) by creating opportunities for advancement and even profitability thereby bringing
hope to the hopeless individuals especially the Youth from our town that lack options in life but are rich in talent.
We hope our initiative will be a 'vehicle' into the future of our town and a model that can be replicated in other
towns in terms of harnessing talent and creating new opportunities.
Lastly in the words of the great Nelson Mandela, “Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great.” We can be
that great generation but only if we empower the Youth.
REGARDS
Eugene Odanga Masinde
Director Taalanta Initiative
TAA’LANTAINITIATIVE
THIS PROPOSAL IS BROUGHT TO YOU BY
ONGATA RONGAI . KAJIADO
Odanga Masinde
Email: ceo@taalanta.co.ke / Info@taalanta.co.ke Contact No: +254727172822
V www.taalanta.co.keisit for more information
Also follow us on social media at Taalanta Intitiative
& Olekasasi Youth Football Club