April- project update

Since Ally has returned from Kenya and to reality, the project has slowed down a bit but it is once again gaining momentum.

At the beginning of February, Ally and Wambua- our GAPS Kenya staff member- visited several of the rural girls boarding schools where the magazine will be distributed. 

Our meetings with the schools firstly offered an introduction to the principal and teachers about the project and we then spoke to the schools 'journalism, media or writing clubs' which, at most schools, consisted of approximatey 30 students all of whom have a strong interest in writing and journalism. Needless to say, they were all very excited about the project proposal,  offered their ideas on what kind of content they'd like to see in the magazine and were also enthusiatic at the idea of producing their own content which could potentially be included in the magazine.

Ally also had a question and answer session with the students regarding studying and working as  a journalist and also a brief introduction to writing news or feature articles. From this, we have decided that for the next component of thee project we'd like to develop a journalism and writing module to be given to the students at these schools as they obviously have a strong interest in this area but lack the resources to develop and hone their craft.

We also had a project launch dinner with the students from KIMC, our editors Belinda and Wambua as well as another of our editors, Kwendo Opanga, who also shared some words of wisdom and inspiration with the students.

At the moment, we're dealing with some issues that have since arisen and we are finalising the content for the first edition which we hope to distribute by mid- May.

Phase 2: Module Training Session

On Tuesday 26th January Ally and Wambua met with the KIMC students for a training session using the resource packs developed by Melbourne University students in November 2009. The team of seven were excited to get started and although everyone was initially quite quiet, the group warmed up to one another and the discussions and brainstorming commenced.

Following initial introductions, we went right into the module material covering our major areas of health, social issues and human rights, business and entrepreneurship and journalism skills. Potential article ideas from these topics were also discussed as well as our new broader focus on other issues such as adolescence health, mental health and career pathways.

We then started brainstorming ideas for magazine titles. Some of these included; 'Girls did you know...', 'Diva' and 'Pretty, Hot, And, Talented GALS' (aka PHAT GALS). These ideas were all great but in the end we decided to use the sheng (kiswahili slang) 'G- Amini' which can be translated to 'believe in yourself.'  We all agreed that this title would be both appealing to young readers and also embody the core idea of the magazine; to empower and encourage young women.

After this, we began brainstorming and discussing articles for the first edition in which the key feature article will focus on a health topic. The content for the first edition so far includes;

• a major feature article on 'adolescence pregnancy' followed be case studies and interviews with young women about their experiences
•  an article on an area of women's reproductive health
•  an article on verbal, sexual and physical harassment
• a profile of Beth, one of our contributors

There is also scope for other articles to be included in this edition and ideas include; the new Kenya constitution that is currently being drafted, an article about studying and an article on highschool strikes.

The meeting concluded with setting the deadline for drafts to be submitted and planning the date of the 'G-Amini' Magazine launch party.

We are all very excited that the project has been successful thus far and look forward to watching it develop and become a reality over the next few months.

Dec/Jan Project Update

Phase 2: Training workshops with KIMC

Since last update, the modules have been completed and on the ground work has kicked off!

In December, Dharnae travelled to Kenya and began consolidating our partnership with the Kenyan media college; Kenya Institute for Mass Communication (KIMC). Following a meeting Beth, one of the senior students, it was decided that 10 female students would participate in the training  workshops and write the first edition of the magazine.

At the moment Ally is in Kenya continuing the ground work. The module workshops are scheduled to be held between 25^th - 31^st January with article writing to commence following this. An editorial team is also being formed consisting of Belinda; a development consultant in Kenya, a lecturer from KIMC, Beth; a student from KIMC, Wambua; a GAPS Kenya representative and Ally; a GAPS Australia representative to overlook the editing phase of the newsletter and select the articles for each edition.

The magazine's distribution has slightly altered since work in Kenya has commenced. To ensure that the magazine is reaching the desired audience and thus having the greatest impact we are initially targeting two rural girls secondary schools. These schools, one of which is Moi Girls Secondary School in Maasailand, have approximately 600 students from 14-20 years of age who come from various parts of Kenya and have sufficient knowledge of both English and Kiswahili. A brief presentation will be given to the secondary school girls prior to the magazine's distribution in order to present the project and establish a more personal rapport with the students and school community. The newsletter will also, as originally planned, be distributed to local NGO's, health centres and orphanages within the Ngong community.

We hope that by altering our initial plan the newsletter will target the desired social groups, allow us to easily receive feedback and potentially create a model that can then be applied to other parts of Kenya for the magazine's expansion.

Knowledge Transfer Award Ceremony

Wednesday 23rd September was the Knowledge Transfer Award Ceremony where we received our awards and heard about many other great projects organised by staff and students alike.

For us, it was exciting for the Elimisha Project to be acknowledged on quite a large scale and has reminded us how rewarding this project is not only for ourselves; but hopefully, also for the Kenyan women involved.        

Receiving the award from Vice- Chancellor, Glyn Davis.

Get Involved: Education students

We're also recruiting Education students (preferably postgraduate) for consultation sessions once the modules have been written.

These sessions are designed to review the modules produced and assist in developing the most effective and interactive means of delivering this information to the Kenyan students.

The consultation sessions are planned to be held between the 26th and 30th November. The position requires a 2-4 hour time commitment during this period.

 

To apply, please send a brief email outlining your experience and why you're interested in this position to: theelimishaproject@gaps.org.au

Stage One: get involved!

After much planning and deliberation these past few months, The Elimisha Project is finally in the first stages of production. And we want YOU to help make this project a reality!

Currently, we're looking for Medicine/Health Science/Public Health, Commerce, Media and Communications, Arts and Higher Education students for the module writing teams.

We're also looking for a Medical Unit Team Leader from any Medicine/Health Science/Public Health faculty to coordinate the health team and oversee the production of the health module.  

These positions are imperative to the greater success of the project as the modules will form the skills and knowledge basis for the seminars to be held in Kenya as well as act as a future resource for the Kenyan participants when writing the newsletter.

For more information and position descriptions please see our brochure, here. 

Or, click here to apply now! 

Applications close Friday 9th October 

About the project

The Elimisha Project aims to create a quarterly newsletter written by Kenyan women,  for Kenyan women who have limited access to information about health, employment, women's rights and social issues.

While the newsletter will be predominantly health focused, it will provide accessible and interesting information about all the above areas and include features such as: 
- success stories from local women

- medical mythbusters 

- student journalist profiles

Female journalism and media students from a local Kenyan college in partnership with students from Melbourne University will produce the newsletters' content in Swahili and English. Similarly contributions from Australian and Kenyan academics will be included to offer a diverse range of opinions and ideas.

Initially, it will be distributed in Ngong, and focus on issues and people relevant to this community. However, following its primary phase and feedback, we hope to evaluate the newsletters' success and potentially expand and adapt the project to other areas. 

We hope to give as much local ownership as possible to the students producing the newsletter and make this project a primarily Kenyan one. Through this, we believe the newsletter will be most relevant, informative and useful to young Kenyan women.  

We believe this project will not only give journalism/media students a hands- on experience in a highly competitive industry but will also inspire and empower its readers; showing other young women that they too have the potential to achieve their goals and influence their future.      

This project is supported by the University of Melbourne's 'Knowledge Transfer' program and Global Aid Partnerships (GAPS) Australia.