{"id":21709,"date":"2021-07-09T13:41:45","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T10:41:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/?p=21709"},"modified":"2021-07-16T18:09:11","modified_gmt":"2021-07-16T15:09:11","slug":"my-kenyan-adventure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/en_gb\/my-kenyan-adventure\/","title":{"rendered":"My Kenyan Adventure"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/span><\/div>

During my first semester as a Master of Public Health student (Fall 2020), I enrolled in Behavioral Communication Strategies for Global Epidemics Programme (BCSE). Our team focused on increasing effective mask-wearing in the Kibera Slums, Kenya (Africa\u2019s largest informal settlement). The location was chosen simply because a group member had recently traveled to Kenya and had mentioned their visit to Kibera, and we additionally had another group member that worked for the Kenya Ministry of Health. While searching for any potential data regarding mask usage in Kibera, we came across multiple articles about a young fashion designer who was making and distributing masks for free across the slum. His name is David Avido, and he has been recognized on a global scale for his fashion design and has designed clothes for various celebrities (even recognized by Beyonce- his work is incredible), but amidst the pandemic, David put everything on the back burner so that he could do his part to help protect his community. According to his feature in Vogue<\/a>, David and his team had distributed approximately 10,000 free masks across Kibera at the time. David was even awarded the Presidential Roll of Honour for Outstanding Professionals in the Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic.<\/em> President Kenyatta stated, “David is a designer from Nairobi City County who has been making and distributing free face masks to residents of Kibra. This award acknowledges his selflessness and dedication to selfless service to fellow Kenyans at a time of crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

We wanted to get in touch with David to find out more about his efforts and potentially incorporate his initiative into our project. Our team attempted to reach him but was left disappointed when we did not receive a response, so we went in a different direction with the project. But alas! On the day our presentation was due, I got a call from David Avido, and we conferenced with another teammate. He told us compelling stories about life growing up in Kibera and the challenges he faced living in the slum. David grew up in extreme poverty, as does a majority of his community, but his challenges are what ultimately inspired him to create more opportunities for Kibera to thrive. He flooded our minds with his knowledge and passion- it was nothing short of inspirational. Our project for BCSE was due in just a few hours, but we decided there was no option but to include David’s selflessness and resilience in our project. We weren’t one of the top teams, but we were ecstatic with the result- actually speaking to someone that was making an impact on the population we were targeting made the project feel so genuine and meaningful.<\/p>\n

Following our submission of our final BCSE project, I sent David a message to thank him for taking the time to talk to us, and for permitting us to incorporate his efforts into our project. I told him how inspired we were by him and I asked if I could purchase a few masks from him to support the cause. He responded, “Just pay for the shipping, I don’t charge for masks.” In my head I thought, wait, I can’t do that. if I accepted these free masks, it would take a mask away from someone who needs it. A<\/em> lightbulb went off in my head- these are cool masks, I know plenty of people that would pay for them, especially if they knew their purchase would be benefiting others. I told David that I wanted to help, and asked if he was interested in sending me a bulk shipment of masks that I could sell to my friends\/family\/community so that I could send 100% of the profits back- allowing him to distribute even more free masks around Kibera. The next thing I knew, I had 500 handmade masks from Kibera at my doorstep. The purchase of one mask here provided at least two individuals in Kibera with a free mask.<\/p>\n

Soon after, I even began taking orders for matching masks & fanny packs, delivering them, and sending the profits to David for yet another incredible initiative- paying school fees for children in the community whose families did not have the means to pay, and additionally to create school uniforms for children who could not afford one. At the end of the fall semester, David invited me to Kenya so that I could gain a better understanding of what was happening on the ground in his community. Although perhaps unwise to travel during a pandemic, I felt strongly that the opportunity would further expand David’s efforts and ultimately allow him to help even more people- so I packed my bags and took off to Nairobi. While I was there, I posted information and photos on my social media accounts throughout my stay; I told friends and family that while I was there, I would take orders for a variety of clothing articles, and bring them home (saving them international shipping charges). This was more successful than we ever could have imagined- I had to ship packages home to keep up with the demand, on top of the entire suitcase I had dedicated solely to LooksLike Avido<\/a> orders.<\/p>\n

To date, my friends, family, and community have made it possible to raise approximately $7,500 to support David’s efforts for the Kibera community. Their purchases have allowed us to provide hundreds of free masks to Kibera residents, pay school fees for more than ten children at a local primary school (who otherwise would have dropped out due to their inability to pay), and create school uniforms for an additional ten children who did not have the means to purchase one. Not only was this opportunity a trip of a lifetime, but it was the most fulfilling and rewarding experience of my life.<\/p>\n

We will not stop there! As mentioned, David does not sell masks, a mask alone is not available for purchase on his website (only with the purchase of something else). However, David and I continue to work together so that I can sell the masks individually and send 100% of the profits, as part of an ongoing effort to support the Kibera community. During times of great challenges, I am happy to share this good news with the people that made it all possible; these accomplishments could not have been achieved if it were not for the incredible support from the NYU community. BCSE has opened doors that I never would have imagined possible. Aside from this experience being the trip of a lifetime, David has provided me with a letter of recommendation that I can utilize for future job opportunities. He has also invited me to be part of his NGO (AVIDO Foundation; currently under review by the Registrar of NGOs at the Non-Governmental Organizations Co-ordination Board of Kenya). This will allow us to continue supporting Kibera, and to create opportunities for those who are significantly disadvantaged.<\/p>\n

I am beyond grateful that I decided to take BCSE in the Fall 2020 semester, and for the NYU Faculty members who paved the path to this incredible opportunity. I am overwhelmed with joy and gratitude and look forward to what my 2nd year as an MPH student at NYU will bring.<\/p>\n

About the<\/strong> Behavioural Communication Strategies for Global Epidemics Programme<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Strathmore University Business School and New York University School of Global Public Health partnered to offer the Behavioral Communication Strategies for Global Epidemics Programme.<\/h4>\n

The course focused on the integration of three public health disciplines for emergency action: epidemiology, behavioral health\/intervention research and public health communication to provide students with a knowledge base and foundation of skills to design and implement strategies in disease prevention and response in outbreaks and humanitarian situations.<\/p>\n

The goal of the course is for participants to develop proposals aimed at reducing exposure risk and mitigating the anxiety that has taken hold of communities all over the world. This highly interactive course engages leading experts that are directly involved in the COVID-19 response.<\/p>\n

By Alisa DiMaggio<\/strong><\/p>\n

Would you like to share an article? Write to us at sbscommunication@strathmore.edu<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21711,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21709","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMy Kenyan Adventure - Strathmore University Business School<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/en_gb\/my-kenyan-adventure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"My Kenyan Adventure\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/en_gb\/my-kenyan-adventure\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Strathmore University Business School\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-07-09T10:41:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-07-16T15:09:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sbs.strathmore.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/IMG_6112.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2160\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2421\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"sbs\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"sbs\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/my-kenyan-adventure\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/my-kenyan-adventure\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"sbs\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d3fa78c302c9226e141112880076ec94\"},\"headline\":\"My Kenyan Adventure\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-07-09T10:41:45+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-07-16T15:09:11+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/my-kenyan-adventure\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2074,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/my-kenyan-adventure\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/07\\\/IMG_6112.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/my-kenyan-adventure\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/my-kenyan-adventure\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/sbs.strathmore.edu\\\/my-kenyan-adventure\\\/\",\"name\":\"My Kenyan Adventure - 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