Impact Stories & Blogs

Waruguru Kiai, Cohort 5, Kenya

The YALI RLC EA program has greatly shaped my approach to social transformation in public service. For the last four years, I have engaged with more than 2,000 women and men with specific focus on devolved governments and good governance, financial literacy and access to government procurement opportunities. As a Nyeri County Youth Governor, I have engaged more than 100 Project Implementation Committees in over 10 Nyeri Constituency Development Fund Committees on Public Finance Management and Social Audit Strategies to avoid wastage of public resources.I have been able to leverage on the lessons learned to engage communities in Nyeri County in crafting solutions to issues that affect them through public participation and advocacy.

In recognition of my efforts, Parastatal News Services which focuses on development and performance awarded me with the 2018 International Women’s Day Award – Nyeri County - for being an exceptional woman who has touched the lives of women locally.

YALI RLC EA challenged me to take a proactive approach in effecting community change through vision and thoughtful action. As the Founder of Africa Rising Solutions, a social enterprise that focuses on Social Justice Advocacy initiatives in Central Kenya, I have been able to engage in ward-level capacity building programs teaching groups on the importance of transformational leadership. In addition, I guide them on how to access Government financial and procurement facilities. Nyeri County is often in the news for the wrong reasons and I also do advocacy against Gender Based Violence. I have been intentional to reach out to those that are seldom consulted or listened to by leveraging on local churches and both National and County administration structures.

In addition to conventional capacity building methods, I also use new media to disseminate information, engage youth and call to action issues of importance, with my blog, www.nyerionline.co.ke, being one of the most read and authoritative on affirmative action matters in Nyeri County.

In navigating through my leadership journey as the Nyeri County Youth Governor, lessons from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and Design thinking act as my guiding compass in championing for youth inclusion in the county’s leadership strata and prioritization on job opportunities and engaging youths in project planning, development and incubation of high potential ideas to steer development in the County.

In October 2018, I was elected to serve on the Youth Agenda Board as a Director. Youth Agenda is a youth led, youth serving organization founded in 1996, focusing on facilitating youth, national, county government & private sector engagements on participatory development of youth policies, plans, budgets, generating and disseminating youth focused information, providing youth employment and entrepreneurship support system and creating youth learning & mentorship platforms.