MOMBASA: Jomvu artists are calling on the county government to be more involved in programs that promote artists’ growth.
The artists who had come together on ‘Good Deeds Day’ for the Sanaa Mtaani Program organized by Pwani Youth Network at Allidina Grounds in Jomvu said the county should do more to engage artists from the grassroots level.
“County should show up to such events as a way of showing support to upcoming artists who cannot access platforms to show their talent. You find that most of the time the county concentrates on these big artists who have already made names for themselves, but what we need is for them to come to the grassroots and meet all these talented upcoming artists,” said Rogo, an artist hailing from Jomvu sub-county.
As they entertained the over 300 people who showed up for the event, the artists had one message for fellow youth, and it was all about peace and security.
“Instead of getting into crime, use your talent to make a living. Do not fall into peer pressure and join gangs, your talent is free, sharpen it and use it to make ends meet,” said Rogo.
The event saw performances from Jomvu artists including rappers and dancers.
According to Judith Adhiambo from Pwani Youth Network, the event was to show support for the youth and their talents.
She called on the community to accommodate artists and give them a safe space and environment to showcase what they have.
“The notion that anyone doing hip-hop music abuses drugs is not true, we have heard from the rappers, most of their songs have very deep messages so let us give them a chance,” she said.
The youth champion also encouraged and called on county governments to support young talents.
“As an organization, we are here to support but there is just much that we can do. We are seeing youngsters whom we want to grow and this is where the county’s support is needed. They can reach and access where we cannot as an organization. We want them to link the youngsters with bigger opportunities,” said Judith.
“Young people have talent, we just need to show up and support them so that they do not join bad company,” she added.
Alfred Sigo is the Founder and CEO of PYN. He says the event, which was geared towards promoting peace, attracted more artists than they had anticipated.
“Two weeks ago we had a lot of incidences of insecurity in Jomvu sub-county, especially the Mikindani area. So the purpose of this event was to bring the youth together and engage them. So we hope this event was able to provide a platform to create awareness on the importance of peace and the role young people can play in being good peace and community ambassadors,” said Sigo.
“We had anticipated 25 artists but the ones that showed up surpassed that number,” he added.
Young learners who showcased their talents walked away with a package of learning materials from PYN.
“Through the School 2030 program that we are running in partnership with Aga Khan, we gave out 20 packages of learning materials that include a box of crayons, a few books, pens, sharpener, marker pens, and a few things parents need to buy for the competency Based Curriculum like manila paper, drawing book, and rope,” he said.
Through the School 2030 we will be distributing the learning materials in different communities,” he added.
Other partners at the event were Majestic Studios who support talent through the online platform.
