TONY MINTOS FORGES CAREER OFF BEAUTY AND SALON PASSION

Tony Mintos, after spending much of his youthful time experimenting with a number of odd jobs, saw his passion for beauty push him to take after  his mother's skills back in the days. 

He was born of a single mother. Growing up, her mother owned a salon from where much of his zeal in the industry developed from. Now, he pays his bills and caters for all his expenses from his beauty shop at Msanifu Kombo street, Mombasa county.

"I was raised by a single parent (mother) with two siblings. My mom was a salonist. Now I have a wife and a daughter,"  said Tony.

"I did a broker job. I was a gambler at some point too. Branded clothes, (mostly T-shirts), operated as a tuk tuk driver and a teacher at a beauty school. This is when I realised I had passion in salon and beauty. I'm glad that it pays my bills and caters for all my expenses,"  said Tony, smiling with content.

I'm crossing the road towards Minto's beauty hub adjacent to National Library, Mombasa county. Promptly, I manouver through the multiple stalls, mainly dealing with phone accessories on the ground floor. I take the purple-coated steel stairs to the top, to meet the owner of Minto's salon and beauty hub.  Blow driers and shampoo jericans are scattered all over as Tony directs his employees who attend to dreadlock clients on a busy Monday morning. We choose a quiet corner and take seats to commence the interview.

Mintos beauty hub offers a wide array of services with most of their clients appreciating the passion Tony puts into his work. They are experts dealing with dreadlocks, artificial locks, braiding, nails, facials, make up and many more. The venture was put up in 2018 but Tony had first came up with the idea two years back, in 2016. The enterprise has now survived the market for one year and few months. And Tony is keeping abreast of technology to reach more clients in 2020. 

"I ventured in 2016 February. But officially opened my own salon in 2018. My business has survived the market one year and some months and I thank God for this,"  said a humble Tony.

The young entrepreneur delved into the beauty industry after extensive research and consultation from his circle of entrepreneur friends. He used passion and his love for the art to endure much of his clients' needs, of which majority are satisfied with services they offer at Minto's beauty hub, if positive social media feedback is anything to go by. His biological mother owned a small salon back in the yesteryears. Tony learnt most of what he required to thrive in a profession that is largely dominated by female entrepreneurs.  He highlighted also how men should be appreciative towards their partners, affirming that many women understand their men's hustles regardless of the nature and type of the businesses.

"My mom was and has been my greatest supporter. My wife who is with me through my highs and lows. She is one understanding person. And she tries so much to understand me when it comes to the nature of my job. Equally, I had a mentor who enabled me learn most skills for instance, dreadlock crocheting, dreadlock styling, artificial dreadlocks for beginners and few other beauty skills. Moreover, I could not have reached as far without God. And I thank Him for giving me the talent, passion and everything else,"  said Tony, as he went to  check a client on hair dryer.

At Mintos beauty hub, the services offered cost an arm and a leg. But are definitely worth all that. Artificial dreadlocks could cost at minimum KES. 6,000 and dreadlocks could cost up to KES. 8,000 depending on the hair type. Bulky hair and damaged hair could even cost up to KES. 10,000 depending on the extent of wear and damage.

In a bid to diversify the services at his venture, Tony mintos prioritizes professionalism. Employees prudently employ passion whilst dealing with clients and this guarantees customer satisfaction, while at the same time beating off competition from other enterprises offering the same services.

"We are professional and passionate. We try to understand the needs of each client in order to offer the best in the industry,"  said Tony.

The business is well located in a busy street, few metres off No Maneno Bazaar at Digo Road, Mombasa. Its establishment faces the busy road, in the second largest city, a few blocks off KFA Mombasa. Most client's will be at lunch break from hefty office work. A time when many hustle into the salon for a quick grooming, styling or dreadlock straightening. This gives Tony quite a good number of customers on a good day. At least 15 customers. This is overwhelming yet neutralized by the heavy staffers base. So he uses all the monies to pay his employees. Furthermore, he gets a little something for himself and his family.

" When the business is good, I get a good number of clients when you judge against the small space I have for now. 15 customers at least, when the business is good,"  said Tony.

"I do not check my profits on a daily basis but the venture enables me foot my bills and meet my expenses,"  said a confident Tony.

Like any other business, the daily outcomes might be capable of throwing you off your rocker. Leaving you frustrated and in loss. Challenges are not as much but however little, they are vital in a business dealing with service delivery. Present day customers want an astute end product. This trend pushes internal customers to give more than their best. 

Tony explains how meeting clients' demands, might be a headache at times. Also,delays in beauty products render the business' operations stagnant. And with time unaccounted for comes losses. The hair products including cosmetics, shampoo, hair relaxers, hair gel and other hair accessories. They are  sourced from Kenya's capital Nairobi and sometimes the merchandise arrives late, inhibiting effecient service provision.

"It is not easy meeting each and every client's expectations. Delays on product supply sometimes pulls as back. We majorly depend on the Nairobian market for all products we use at Minto's Beauty Hub.

He intimated also, that most of his clients are ladies. With few men who often check into his salon for dreadlock straightening, waxing, retouch, extension, dye, thickening and other services per customer desire.

" With artificial locks, you walk out with long "locks". Artificial dreadlocks can be installed on either relaxed or natural hair. The client can undo and return to their natural hair" explained Tony.

On the other hand, it will take about 6 months to lock, and about two years to achieve the length of artificial locks. It can be done on natural hair only, which has very big growth. The only disadvantage with permanent locks is that it is not easy to get back your hair after installation.

Tony used his equities, in starting up the venture which proved worthy a risk. His savings from past jobs also gave him a bonus. At first he realised that he had high demand in form of willing clients but was understaffed. This saw him record low profits.

" In setting up the beauty hub, I merged my savings from previous jobs andq11 some cash I had. I had a lot of clients but would record low profits when I started out. Because I was understaffed,"  said Tony.

In the near future, he sees Minto's beauty hub and salon expanding its establishment. He looks forward to offering direction to many employees. With him are also plans to get into other beauty related ventures.

Currently, the salon has offered employment opportunities to 15 persons who work at Minto's salon and beauty hub. 

Tony opines that remaining relevant despite competition, through creativity is his strategy moving forward. He thinks that  currently, more men are taking to such enterprises. And the few have experienced  wins and losses associated with salon and beauty investments.

To connect with Tony for any of services offered at Minto's salon and beauty hub, clients directly call the business line +254713768676 or the landline: 0101768676. He capitalised on the digital media as a procedure to reach many customers, through his Facebook page "Minto's Salon and Beauty Hub"

"Whenever you want to achieve something, keep your eyes open, concentrate and make sure you know exactly what it is you want. No one can hit their targets with their eyes closed-Paulo Coelho so said,"  explained Tony with a giggle, I released him to attend to a client after we had exchanged contacts.

ADVOCATE AGAINST CRIME THROUGH FOOTBALL

She leads me to a raised rocky plainfield adjacent to the football pitch at Fort Jesus, prominent as Makadara grounds. 

On the pitch, tension is rife and the competition even higher as young boys tussle across the stony pitch to win duels and score goals on either halves of the football pitch. This is her joy as she smiles delightfully upon seeing young boys of Mombasa's Old Town engage in athletics, especially football.

Naima Twahir, at 29 years was born and raised from Old town. She did not get a decent education while growing up, owing to unaffordable school and tuition fees at that time. Her struggle saw her attain D+ in Kenya Certificate of Secondary education (K.C.S.E), a factor she didn't allow to thwart  her belief. She had a supportive father who always believed in charity, who was philanthropic and didn't seem disturbed at all with her daughter nurturing young boys while keeping them safe  through football. Mark you, women were in the recent past not allowed to step foot on the Fort Jesus' Makadara football ground, a societal norm Naima has since defied.

"My name is Naima Twahir, a resident by birth of Old Town, Mombasa county. Currently, I sign off as the founder and executive director of Shakirina Youth for Development. On matters education, I have reached diploma level with a specialty in community development and I'm currently pursuing diploma in psycho-social studies," said Naima, all smiles.

As her father, Naima is a charitable figure in her own right who often assist youths to gain intellectually out of civic education forums organized by pressure groups, CBO's, NGO's and the county government. 

Privy, she has assisted many with procedures and advice on matters bridging courses which were manifest in the previous educational curriculum and on career choice and options that exist for youths who fail to meet the required grades for college or university admission.

"With my educational background somehow, things were not like I intended. 

After completing my primary school academics, there were challenges at home which didn't allow me to join secondary school. At that time I was very humble and modest, so I figured out how best I could benefit my local community by utilizing resources nearby. I started making sartorial garments which I would then sell at a throw-away price of about 100-250 shillings. I would make and sell around 10 pieces everyday," said Naima.

Little did she know that this business would open doors for her enthusiasm in community development that currently sees her spend the better part of her evenings watching young kids play football at Makadara grounds, something she uses hitherto as a tool to debugging crime and drug abuse within Old Town and the Coastal region at large.

"I have engaged in community work since I was a child. My mentor is my dad who is ever a cordial giver. Even though he is only a fisherman, most often he loves displaying gestures of charity to people around Old Town and beyond. 

Furthermore, he teaches young men from our locale how to fish and time and again, he would gift young fishermen with fishing equipments to act as a source of livelihood to their families," said Naima.

"I remember very well that I was among the best students at Mbaraki girls primary school. Missing out on a slot for high school really rubbed awfully on my confidence; and from where I come from, no one would come to correct you whenever something went wrong. To this end, it looked normal that being a girl, it was okay being confined at home since society thought I would get married off anyway,"  explained Naima, with an incoherent voice.

Her mother enrolled her to a 'madrassa'-an Islamic religious school wherefrom she had to endure more than 6 years since she could not join high school yet. After her classes, she would go to a vocational school where they taught her tailoring. This felt satisfying because she was able to grow spiritually and learn more about Islam. But whenever madrassa was closed, Naima would feel that a void existed in her life. This chasm made her feel that as a girl, she just needed to go to school and get empowered.

Most of the money she got from selling clothes, she used to buy sartorial materials. This because she was too young by then. When she got the materials, she would make clothes for people who were disadvantaged in the community.

"When I was 18 years old, I yearned to learn so much and this was with anguish. But my parents assumed I could not go back to school. At 19, I really struggled and opted to get married so that I could go back to school. So I got married off in an Islamic culture. From my marriage, I sired my first baby at the age of 21 years. At 22, I realized that I still had the potential to go back to school. In 2011, I started going round searching for schools which could accommodate me but at that time, it was expensive. Secondly, I had dumped my tailoring career because I was then a mum and my husband had no stable job. I was the sole bread winner and everything in the house," said Naima.

In 2012, she would trek round in search for people who could fund her education. But her community was against that because they thought she was mature, a mother and was also married and old enough to take care of her own affairs. To this end, nobody would have thought of supporting her.

"After I managed to source an institution that could accommodate me, I was yet faced with another challenge. I was a private learner at the time, a factor which made me cough more fees. I would pay 5,000 shillings per month whereas other students paid merely 2,000 shillings. In 2013, I sat for my K.C.S.E and recorded a result of D+. To me, It was unexpected I would get the grade after sitting as a private candidate for my papers at Chandaria hall," said Naima with contentment.

Naima then had to go back to the education department which advised her to pursue her career option. This time round, she was to register as an ordinary and not private candidate. However, she would begin at certificate level.

She went to Technical University of Mombasa, formerly prominent as Mombasa Polytechnic College where her efforts hit a snag because they were only taking students with C+ and above. This nonetheless did not make her despair and so she moved to former Mombasa Technical Training Institute (M.T.T.I), currently known as Kenya  Coastal Polygechnic which accepted her at certificate level.

My education was incoherent at this point because of my social responsibilities. I was also divorced since my husband envisaged my further education as a threat. That I would get empowered and go above him. To this end, we parted and I had to raise 2 kids on my own as a single mother. I also went back to my parents' home," said Naima.

In 2015, Naima did her certificate examinations and managed a pass mark. In 2016, she started her diploma course in psycho-social studies but this was short-lived; since she had to stop the following year.

"Right from whence I cleared my certificate course, I loved hanging out with kids, both boys and girls because from my life experience, I felt like these kids needed us more than we needed them. Most of them come from single parent set ups and go through a lot," explained Naima.

In 2016, Naima initiated a project in Mombasa's Old Town after a group of juvenile gangs started orchestrating crime ranging from petty theft, mugging and violent robberies. These kids were young boys who came from single families and who thought nobody was caring for them and who used crime to seek for community attention, love and affection. 

With these kids, some of them never saw their dads again after divorces and they would launch constant mayhem to show they also belonged to the Old Town community.

" We gave the project the title 'PREVENTING VIOLENT EXTREMISM THROUGH SPORTS' -at that time, we had more than 120 boys aboard our project. In the beginning, everything was okay but as days whiled by, men in the society saw it a threat. Like why is she into sports? Why is she with our boys? So instead of supporting me, they were against what I was doing.Threats started coming in that we would get clobbered for being at Makadara grounds. Still, I did not give up," cringed Naima.

The numbers went down at that time. The boys wouldn't show for training sessions anymore and the impact they thought they were creating didn't materialize. She had to lobby for different approaches to hold the boys down. She found men who supported her course to validate her presence at Makadara grounds.

"We used to do group discussions with the boys which really worked. Most of them began to open up and spoke of their challenges and as moderators, we would try to find viable solutions," said Naima with ecstasy.

EMPOWERING WOMEN ON FINANCE: LIVING UP KENYA

She is a 29-year-old with an elegant smile and whose concern for neglected women and youth affairs popularizes her within Kilifi county and beyond.

After campus, she hoped to source employment, which was not forthcoming. Having acquired a decent education at the University of Nairobi, a BCOM (Bachelor of Commerce) majoring in accounts, she had to adapt, adjust and tumultuously come to terms with the naked realities life had to throw at her. That a job was not easy to source. Presently, she signs off as the founder of Living Up Kenya. In an exclusive interview with Coast Woman Magazine, Rehema Madzumba reveals her mission to empower women and youths to invest in their own futures.

"I am a 25 year old, young woman with roots from Kanamai, Kilifi county. Brought up in a middle income family, I am the firstborn in a family of four siblings where education and good morals we're a serious part of our upbringing," said Rehema.

Having graduated with a BCOM (Bachelor of Commerce, accounting option) she had to get accustomed to staying home for two years after completing her course. She was still job hunting and that wasn't an option for her hence her perception of life after school changed. Her perception had quickly been countered by the reality that she couldn't rely on finding employment.

"I thought of different possibilities and it is at this time that it dawned on me that the outside world had very little to do with my level of education but my social orientation, creativity and aggressiveness is what would save me," intimated Rehema.

With the outside world exposure, Rehema used what she learnt during her stint in varsity to equip Kilifi youth and women with basic finance education to bolster them in business management. This with an aim also, to make the targeted persons fully self dependent with the ventures they run for livelihood.

"Living up Kenya was hence born as the signature under which exploits would follow despite the job market being poor. Under this company, we address the challenges faced by the youths and women of Coastal Kenya and more so Kilifi county in their everyday lives," said Rehema.

"These challenges are but not limited to; unemployment, lack of sufficient civic education, drug abuse, unequal marriages and radicalization." said Rehema with glamour and zeal, to advocate the aforementioned through her company.

Rehema is enthusiastic about charity. A philanthropist and also a mentor who is passionate about personal finance and educating people about  it's importance in self growth.

Citing retrospective researches, it is evident how high levels of dependency of youths and women in the Coastal region are. Youth for instance need to access vocational schools to gain skills that could be turned into a thriving entrepreneurial venture. To this end, Living Up Kenya saw it a compelling force to set it's objectives in living up to it's institutionalization.

Living Up Kenya was this established to eliminate dependency mentality from Coastal youths and women, equip youths with skills to help them better their lives, lead as an example to example the youths of Kilifi county that anything is possible. Furthermore, these were the major objectives that Living Up Kenya intended to implement in it's push to liberate young adults and women on matters finance.

Through her company, Rehema successfully managed to coach 24 women on basic financial management at the Kilifi stage market for three years. years mentored women are now independently running their businesses and fully liberated from dependency.

" Successfully, we organised and held a 'Women in business forum' at Bofa Beach Resort in May 2017 which attracted 30 businesswomen in Kilifi. This is an ongoing movement where we sharpen women's soft skills in running thriving enterprises," said Rehema.

Consequently, Living Up Kenya held the Kilifi Youth Summit at Titanic rooftop in July 2017, a forum which brought together 220 youths from the area. This resulted to most of them changing their perception and starting small scale businesses - a fact which was displayed in the 2018 forum listed below.

"On demand by Mombasa youth, Living Up Kenya then organized the Mombasa youth summit at Swahili Pot Hub on September 2017, a forum which was attended by around 400 young persons from Kilifi, Kwale and Mombasa county," explained Rehema.

In running their conferences and meetings, the organization liaises with foreign technocrats who give speeches during the forums that Living Up Kenya plans for it's targeted youth around Kilifi county, Mombasa, Kwale and beyond.

" The Kilifi Youth Summit series moreover got repeated in January 2018. We brought in a young Kenyan speaker who is based in the United States and this event was a great success," said Rehema with satisfaction.

The C.E.O Living Up Kenya has given talks in numerous forums around Kilifi and Mombasa counties to youth and women groups in pursuit of changing the dominant mentality of people living in perception and blanketing the reality.

To expand the scope of her knowledge and in a bid to network, Rehema collaborates with other organizations related to the type of issues her company deals with. This collaborations have helped in exposing her to new opportunities that would place the founder in an elaborate place to assist youths and women across Kenya's Coastal region.

"Over the last two years, I have also worked with Gapeka Children's Hope Centre (G.C.H.C ) in the socio-economic empowerment programs where I doubled up as fundraising manager. Gapeka is a non-governmental organization dealing with children issues, situated in Kilifi county.

Living Up Kenya was founded in 2017 and has consistently been working closely with relevant authorities to put on board pertinent issues affecting young adults and women in managing their finances, planning and liberating themselves from social distress and poverty- which is crucial an issue especially within remote areas of Kilifi, Conyi, Chumani, Roka mentioning just but a few.

In March 2019,she scooped an award for 'youth value award' by I Change Nation, which is an organization based in the United States of America. Living Up Kenya sources funds to sustain and plan it's organizational activities, tumultuously meeting goals for it's establishment through her, her husband and few friends that support her course to the Coastal society.

SALUMMY:DRIED ROSE PETALS AND LAVENDER BUDS

Salma Abdulatif Yusuf, who is commonly known as Salummy saw writing as a tool to contribute towards community change. Her expressive writing was mainly aimed to speak out the less discussed topics, having been groomed from an Islamic community where topics like sexuality, gender stereotypes and virginity are uncommon when spoken out loud amidst folks.

"My name is Salma Kauthar, but I'm majorly known as Salummy. A brand name that came out after a blog I was running called salummy.co.ke, so I still stuck with the same name and it evolved and people started knowing me as 'expressing_through_salummy', my Instagram page which focuses on telling positive stories and poetry," said Salma.

"I was born in Kilifi County but bred in Mombasa. A little bit of my childhood was spent in Tanga. Growing up, I spent most of my time in Mombasa; so to say I have lived most of my years in Mombasa county and most of my activities are carried out within the county," said Salma. Even though she undertook a Bachelor’s programme in Maritime Business Management, Salma saw a different calling in a field she had a passion for.

Writing thus enabled her to voice, on behalf of the voiceless women the things that are often swept under the carpet especially in the community she grew up from. Moreover, during her spell at the campus, she took part in community development as a member of ENACTUS (Entrepreneurial Action in Us), which is a global association pioneering entrepreneurial change in the community using innovation. Here she learnt how to channel her writing through her expressive blog, into solving community problems back in Mombasa county; her resident hometown.

"Having taken Maritime business management, as a choice of career in University did not end up being my calling. So when I was in school, I did some projects with ENACTUS - a business club in Moi University that mainly focuses on how young people could use the power of entrepreneurial skills and innovation to make a change within the community," said Salma. ENACTUS enabled her, at only 23 years of age to initiate an organic beauty company using her own savings. She stands today as the founder of Salummy Beauty Products. This was established after constant wails of discomfort from women severely affected by lengthened use of chemicals on hair, from which point she savored capitalizing on the niche, en-route venturing into the beauty industry.

"I realized that with time whenever I went for ENACTUS community engagement activities, there is a certain level of satisfaction that I used to get from it. " explained Salma. On the interior of a much spacious hall at Leven house, Ndia Kuu Road, at Fort Jesus, A big letter "S" sits beautifully on a wooden stand. This is the first initial of her brand "Salummy" that she has worked so hard to establish since 2015, even though her writing skills were nurtured from a tender age as 10.

Inside this room that she uses to mentor other young girls into picking up roles in society for the betterment of the Coastal community, chairs and neatly spread tables, subtle lighting, wall including plaques, wall murals, paintings and pictures of past events neatly filled the space therein.

Everything combined well to conjure the atmosphere of an Arabic food parlour. But much bigger in space. And this is the place where Salma does much of her reading, meditations and meetings with friends who help her push her brand forward. According to her, it offers a place from where much of her writings can be knitted from. The space cum office is open once every week, a time she plans, reads, researches, analyzes future goals and evaluate past expectations with a team of ambitious colleagues.

She admits that the projects she wholeheartedly did for ENACTUS while at Moi University went a long way in putting Salummy on the limelight. In 2016 and 2017, she participated in competitions (The Enactus World Cup, a global social entrepreneurship competition for innovative university students) for the association that saw her represent Kenya, in Toronto, Canada in 2016 and London, England in 2017.

"When I was in campus, I got the opportunity to represent Kenya twice as a member of ENACTUS. In 2016, we won the ENACTUS Kenya Championship with my team of seven other persons and we represented the state for the ENACTUS world cup, clinching the semifinalist which put us among the top 16 countries," said Salma.

"In 2017, my team won again and we went to London to represent the country. The theme of our project then was "How to transform waste into wealth. I think from this point is when people started turning heads. They started paying attention to Salummy as a brand back in Mombasa. I was all over the Kenyan media by then and this proved to be a good turning point in pushing Salummy as a brand to where she is now," explained Salma. The twenty-six year old reiterated that passion in writing is one of the key ingredients that make Salummy who she is. She started scribbling down catchy stories while growing up.

As her education progressed, so did her budding talent in inspiring and motivating by way of writing. "Salummy I would say is this young girl who is 25 years old and who has this massive passion for motivating people and writing to inspire masses. One of the key things that I think make me who I am today is that I'm a writer. I started writing at the tender age of 10 years old or so. And I didn't have many friends then, so my writing was my safe space. The place I could go to be myself. So I started writing and reading and at a tender age, I would read books that older people won't read. I needed to quench my unending thirst for writing," said Salma, with a cute hospitable smile.

She handled lengthier writings involving chapters and series while in secondary school at Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan Secondary and Technical school, Nyali, Mombasa town. Back then, she was more comfortable doing fictitious and imaginative writings based on true events and her classmates pushed her constantly with their mantra 'do the next one' . This is when she realized that her writings had a great positive impact on a lot of his peers. Now, she has amassed to herself a large readership base ranging from younger to older persons in varied walks of life. "I started doing series writing while in high school. I bylined rape cases, depicting diverse scenarios which were basically poetic fiction.

My classmates were really inspired. They almost always coerced me to unleash more episodes saying 'do the next one' and I touched so many people then," said Salma with content. While still in high school, Salma participated in tournaments which were ever forthcoming. She got an opportunity to represent the nation in an East African Community (E.A.C) organized writing competition and she did not disappoint. "I participated thus, in the East African Writing Competition and was among the top three - which was quite a big deal for me at that time because the tournament involved Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi and Djibouti," said Salma, chuckling. From these kind of tournaments, she realized that a love story had ensued between writing and her. And she made certain that her writings were easily relatable especially to people from her community. In her own community, there has been a long-standing myth of talking about things that people from their society barely talk about.

And this inspired her to write a book which was launched on March 1, 2020. The book speaks of pain, serenity and healing in a poetic manner. "From these tournaments, I realized that I had this thing with writing and I ensured that my writings are always relatable. That means that people could actually relate to the writings. At the same time, there was a myth of talking about things that people in our community do not talk about. Which brings me to something else. Right now I'm working on my book which is out, launched on 1st of March 2020, 'Dried Rose Petals and Lavender Buds.' This is a poetry book that I have been writing and can say that it is something which is a gift I have given myself because it is like a combination of older experiences that I have experienced throughout my life. It has healing and pain woven together. Dried Rose Petals is the sad part. The pain part. So these are the bitter roses and are dried so have no use. But Lavender buds means that now, you are sprouting into something else,” explained Salma.

“I come from a society of pain but how I use my pain to become what I am today and aspire even better tomorrow was the inspiration behind the poetic book,” added Salma. Most natives of the Coast flaunt an English life. To this end, Salma saw it inevitable to speak about cringe topics affecting the people therein. The poetic book, therefore, published issues regarded as abominable when openly talked about, something that never deterred her as she intertwined Arabic and Swahili culture throughout the piece of writing in a critical, poetic style. "So in this poetry book, I've talked about things that I know people in my community are not comfortable talking about. But I have talked about them very openly like issues of virginity and I think it is something like a taboo for you to openly talk about. But I talk about it in a poetic way. And it is a book that has instances of Arabic and Swahili culture infused in the writing. This is because most writings are usually done in just one language. But I had that aspect of bringing out various cultures as much as I can so that it becomes more relatable to the community.

And people know that somebody in our community could write something for us and not somebody else writing the same story of us for us," said Salma. In the exclusive interview with Coast Woman, Salma intimated her take on gender parity especially within the Coast, with the society regarding its women as being lazy and having a penchant for flamboyance. To her, a lot needs to be done to elevate the status quo of our ladies. She also views contemporary women as more goal-driven, aware and empowered.

Moreover, men are feeling the threat now, with women picking more elegant spaces in present time leadership, community work, entrepreneurship and many more sectors of Kenya's growing economy.

"When people talk about this idea of women and employment; as a woman I would say that currently at the Coast, there is a lot of improvement in terms of opportunities and in terms of the growth. Sometimes when I interact with men, they tell me, 'Oh! You guys are now beating us off' like it is now becoming an imbalance. Some of our men are seated at the baraza but women are out there doing their things. And I would say that this improvement is really really good. I would not say that I want to look at it as intimidating. But there is so much that women need to overcome especially in issues like Gender-Based Violence (GBV). Women still face a lot of prejudice in the working spaces and they still feel interrupted. They still feel they are not enough and they still shrink their voices. We still have women who contemplate shrinking themselves in meetings fledged with men. So we still have a long way to go, women also still face a lot of imbalance when it comes to family viz-a-viz career, especially because we come from a society that is so male chauvinistic," explained Salma.

From a tender age, she knew that writing was her calling. And she shared that, were she to keep writing throughout her entire life, this is something she would wholeheartedly agree to. She has retrospectively represented Kenya globally through a diverse array of writing and leadership programs. Last year, she represented the state in the African Presidential Leadership Programme organized in Egypt. The year before, she was a Mandela Washington fellow representing Kenya at the Mandela Washington fellowship as an exceptional young leader. She has also had different programmes with foreign varsities including YALI, Hult Prize and the African Leadership University.

"Last year around July-August, I was selected as an African presidential leader, representing Kenya for the African Presidential Leadership program in Egypt. The year before, I was in the Mandela Washington fellowship. YALI, an initiative founded by Barrack Obama. I have also been selected as a speaker at the Global World Youth Forum, an annual forum that brings together 5000-7000 young people from around the world to discuss on various issues ranging from artificial intelligence, block chain technology, leadership, Africa Rising and Youth and Inter-African Cooperation where I was honored to be the youngest keynote speaker and to also meet Sophia, the World’s Famous Robot.

But one of my greatest achievements has been to serve as a Young Media Zone Expert for the World Export Development Forum organized by the International Trade Center, YALDA and USAID Ethiopia at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia where I got to interview some high profiled people from around Africa including the AU Youth Envoy, Aya Chebbi. One thing I have learnt from such forums is the power of exposure in allowing you as a person to transform from within and to be able to think outside the box. And now, I use this through my works to channel community change back in Mombasa and beyond," said Salma. "With my knowledge from such programmes, I allow the people I work with back home to gain critical thinking, analytical, and problem-solving skills. They can then be in a position to examine complex situations in life," added Salma convincingly.

The programs that come with her writing and blogging encourage targeted individuals to invest in the self. They also allow individuals to appreciate the undisputed value of reading. To this end, the programs are tailor-made to rejuvenate reading culture which is slowly drifting away amidst the citizenry.

"In our mentorship programmes at Mentor.Transform.Yield (MTY), the organization that I founded that focuses on youth empowerment , we encourage personal investment and consciousness of self. Because I believe the greatest gift one could give themselves is to invest in themselves. This means you have to nurture a productive morning routine, be able to read a lot, meditate, journal your way out, create a list of affirmations and find goals that can take you from one place to another," said Salma. During her own free time, Salma enjoys swimming, dancing, reading, travelling and she is also adventurous and has tried out mountain/canyon climbing, jet skiing, zip-lining and quad bike trekking at the Sinai Deserts .

However, the 25-year-old fears heights and would not stomach very tall places. Equally, anything with a long tail, for instance, squirrels, rats, snakes. She admits that such creatures would seldom please her as she has natural loathe towards them. Salma currently runs an active Instagram page where she showcases her work @expressing_through_salummy which she uses to jot down poetic rhymes and inspirational features. She has in the past enjoyed support from renowned organizations that offered her help, in pushing forward her writings and youth empowerment programs within Kenya and beyond. Machele Foundation, Premiere hospital, Miss Baus Collection, Educare International, Abdulswamad Shariff Nassir, mentioning but a few are some of the organizations which have strongly supported her past and underway projects.

NDELA MWIRI'S BUDDING SCREEN CAREER

At a tender age of 10, she had established herself as an enthusiastic actress playing different roles on national television. Ndela Mwiri, well known as "Lisa" from the role she played in Aziza - a drama aired on Maisha Magic East, shares filming, school and family in an exclusive interview with the Coast Woman. She is now 12 years, and it is two years since media houses queued for interviews. 

With a budding talent in acting and television hosting, she remembers fondly how her first experience in the filming world was. Gifted with rare eloquence, she has moved through the ranks, playing as Hannah in Maza and as Lisa in Aziza, both local T.V programs broadcast within East Africa.

 "The first time I was nervous and shy, but as we continued with the episodes, I got used to the environment, the set, the crew, cameras and people around me like film directors. It felt like home because I was frequently filming and I'm now much more comfortable with almost everything in the film," said a joyous Ndela, perusing through issue number 10 of the Coast Woman magazine, with Lulu Hassan's portraiture on the cover page at Silver Palm hotel and spa, Kilifi.

During her free time, Ndela enjoys acting, giving speeches while at school, hanging out with friends and she has also developed some love for nature and the environment. She aspires to put up initiatives to conserve the environment in future and push such campaigns through her acting. "When free, I enjoy acting, of course, giving speeches, hanging out with my friends and helping my mom at work during weekends and on holidays. Because I'm in boarding, we will always hang out with friends. 

I come home on weekends, where I keep and look after my pets: rabbits, dogs and fish. I have to feed them every morning. I also hope I can get more pets next year," said Ndela. She draws motivation from people around her including her family, the people on set and the entire crew during the shoots since she works with a lot of elderly people who can impact her positively. She also keeps tabs with popular television presenters Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdalla of Citizen T.V, who mentor her on media, guiding her so that her dream of hosting a kids program on national T.V can come true in the foreseeable future.

 " A lot of people inspired me like my parents and the people on set. Lulu, Rashid of Citizen T.V, the crew of "Maza" they all really inspired and helped me because it was my first time so they were literary teaching me, said Ndela," beaming with contentment. She drew her role models from the local and the international film industry. The crew that gave her the first opportunity out of the blues, to enable her to become cast, primarily because of her confidence and inquisitiveness while they were filming, were her initial role models. 

She has followed programs on local and international television to keep her acting skills top-notch. "Locally, I have everyone who was in Maza and Aziza. They really inspired me. Globally, my role models are Lupita Nyong'o and some other actors and actresses in shows like Nickelodeon, Disney and family movies which have children as casts," said Ndela. Her activities while filming are marred by challenges at times and the young girl explains how acting isn't just a walk in the park. 

The rehearsals normally require a lot as compared to the actual filming. Moreover, she is now becoming popular in the mainstream media and events are always queued in her daily schedule. "Sometimes I will have shooting and then another major event will follow. For instance, I might have shooting and then a family event or a date with my friends-who assist me to knit sequences and scenes together during filming.

 I could have a school function also after a major shoot, and this hits on me as a stumbling block," said Ndela, smiling as she fondled with the mini microphone on her collar. "I have to find a way to cancel one or attend both. I, however, can't forego filming," said Ndela jokingly.

Ndela is currently waiting for her K.C.P.E exams in 2020 and to her, dreams are big. She spoke to the Coast Woman on her ambition to be a zoologist, environmentalist or an actor for campaigns in future. Someone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new, says Albert Einstein and also, dreams are extremely important. 

You can't do it unless you imagine it-George Lucas. In her endeavours, the 12-year-old studying at Mudzini school attributes all the hard work she puts into her acting, to her mother's support. Her mom enables her to diversify her acting skills so that whenever she appears on television, it appears unique, vibrant and fresh.

 "My mother supports me a lot. She is always with me during the live events, my interviews and award events. She is normally at work during our shooting sessions but whenever free, she always comes and sticks with me during filming," said Ndela with a broad smile. At only 12 years, the youngster has played different roles on national television and two programs aired on Maisha Magic East have provided her with a platform from where she can potentially develop into a superstar. She is even aspiring to get more opportunities in future under Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdalla's tutelage. She shared how her role in Aziza boosted her self esteem since she is an outgoing girl. Also, she narrated how the character she played almost portrayed the real her.

 The other film she took part in was Maza as Hannah. "In Aziza, I played Lisa. She was this diva and a slay queen kind of lady who always wanted what she wanted and somehow got it all. It has been awesome playing these different characters and getting to adapt to each setting," said Ndela.

 In her own perspective, the youngster views acting as a serious profession with a lot of challenges. She spoke how hard it could be exhibiting varying emotions when on set and how she takes a lot of time to compose herself so as to show emotions during the filming sessions. "While acting, I have to do some things I'm not used to like portraying different emotions. Let's say it's crying.

 I'm a happy girl and I'm sometimes expected to cry in front of the crew and really convince viewers and my film directors with my emotions. Such is so challenging when on set," explained Ndela. Recently, Ndela got recognised for her efforts in her budding profession.

 The Coast Woman issued a certificate of achievement during her gala awards held at Travellers Beach Hotel on November 15 2019. She also scooped another award organised by the crew that filmed her debut T.V film Maza two years ago when she was just 10. "I was humbled by the Coast Woman Awards Galla Dinner, where I clinched a certificate of achievement presented to me by Sibylle Kroener on the 15th of November, 2019. The other one was an award for Maza in which I won as best young actor in the T.V show," said Ndela.

"I was more comfortable with my role in Aziza as compared to Maza. But both roles we're good and I relished the opportunity to play a part in both television shows.," said Ndela, chuckling. Her lifestyle is more outgoing and this helps her be more creative preparing for the episodes. She balances between schoolwork and house chores, between family and leisure and she feels that she will ostensibly pick up more roles in future as she tries to actualise her dreams. 

She has become stickler to Steve Job's mantra that "your time is limited, so don't waste it trying to live someone else's life" "During weekdays, I'm in school. Shoots take place during weekends and holidays. I have Sundays as my free day. I hang out with my family, friends, develop ideas for my consequent episodes and generally have fun whether I'm home or at mum's workplace," said Ndela. With popular musicians facing government wrath for publishing our leaders' weaknesses and our skewed system, for instance, King Kaka who took Kenya by storm, late 2019 with his "wajinga nyinyi" spoken word, Ndela feels that the T.V programs in Kenya should be more lenient as media has its freedom. If the media doesn't defend media freedom, who will? She opines that the media should empower children to aspire and hold on to their dreams. "Our Kenyan programs should teach, especially children to be themselves and do what they want to do in future. They should start whatever career they have passion in at an early age. 

If you want to be a doctor and your dad is one, you got to follow him to work, get to know the kind of duties he does, how exactly he goes about it. You should watch also, science shows to create interest and sustain it so you can grow to dream of becoming a doctor in future. Most people cannot stand up for themselves because of wrong career choices. Do what you love," said Ndela in between smiles. Ndela still lacks an elaborate management team. However, her mum does her all the donkey work. She is the primary manager for now and gets support from Ndala's elder brothers and sisters. Ndela is lastborn in a family of five that includes two brothers: Khalfan, Kalachu and two sisters: Lindah and Maysarah, besides her. Moreover, popular T.V presenters Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdallah assist her in pitching her roles on television and mentoring her on T.V show hosting.

 "I do not have any management but I have one at the same time. My mother does it all. She does all the hard work for me. My family also helps. My brothers, sisters my dad really helped me organise my feelings in acting different scenes. They bolster my acting techniques with new ideas and this makes my acting fresh every time I'm on set. Lulu Hassan and Rashid Abdallah are like part of my bigger team also. They're always planning for my next move," said Ndela.

"We do not meet often because Lulu and Rashid are in Nairobi and I'm in Kilifi but we are constantly in contact and we also exchange phone messages. They are planning to meet with me soon and talk about something. I do not know what they've planned for me but I'm optimistic of future roles on Kenyan programs," said Ndela. The youngster discussed her future aspirations and what she would love her acting to translate into, in the foreseeable future. She loves nature and the environment and hopes to use her acting in future to advocate for the fundamentals that matter most to her, including environment and wildlife conservation.

 "I just want to continue acting, being in the media and having fun. Maybe in future, if I will still have my friends, we can make a Youtube channel or something bigger. Right now, I'm focused on my national exams so we cannot do Youtube yet. I want to continue acting and use that as a tool for awareness on environment which I love," explained Ndela, as she giggled gorgeously.

MOMBASA MUSIC - WHERE RAW TALENTS EXIST

In the context of covid-19, technology comes as a very influential tool for social communication and dissemination of information. Never before has the world experienced a demand for technology as in the 21st century.

In Mombasa's particularity, art and talent have in recent past been used as mainstream media for communication, entertainment and teaching of our Kenyan society. Since time immemorial,  people have viewed Mombasa as a town with lazy youths who lack unity, this is albeit wrong. People  also view coastarians as people who aren't hard-working, who have a penchant for flamboyance and strut. 

With popular music groups as Double Trouble who won on 06/8/2021 their first on screen exposure on national television KBC  (Pwani Fm) such aforementioned  stereotypes  have been ruthlessly demystified.

 Actually, Mombasa boasts big artistes who only flew to Nairobi since it is the capital and because big media hubs including popular Citizen Tv, KTN home, Ntv, K24 Tv, KBC and other budding media stations like Switch Tv, Tawala Tv which most are synchronized at the heart of Nairobi.

Otile Brown, Arrow Boy, Masauti are some among the big names doing it bigger in Nairobi. They are homgrowns of Mombasa county who have stuck to the originality of Bongo flava, offering stiff competition to Tanzanian counterparts and fellow Kenyan colleagues.

LUIZQUINCY.BLOGSPOT.COM; WHERE CREATIVITY SEALS YOU A DEAL

LUIZQUINCY.BLOGSPOT.COM; WHERE CREATIVITY SEALS YOU A DEAL

|Promotional write-up|

Never before has there been as much demand for technology as there is in recent times. And this is one crucial factor I input through all the write-ups I handle in this blog. 

luizquincy.blogspot.com handles diverse manuscripts ranging from creative writing |investigative features| entertainment features| Drug Harm Reduction Peer Education under Reachout Centre Trust.

In all my write-ups, I employ accurate, fair, balanced and factual-based content. I source my working ideas from music I hear, real world videos on social media, magazines and travelling sojourns which I use also to beef up my stories. To this end, all write-ups to this blog are nature-oriented and critically engaging to the brain.

I come from Shanzu in the outskirts of Mombasa town; while thinking of my content before branding my personal blogsite, I hoped I could use my skills in journalism including magazine/Newsletter designing to hit hard on the problems bringing us back as a society. I would reason when I was much younger. Like why are some places so developed as compared to others and why is development not uniform in most urban setups?

Well, it turned out I had answers to these questions. It has one or two to do with inequality in resource threshold and capital imbalance. If NGO's, CBO's and CSO's were allowed to operate tax-free, I opine a lot of growth could be evident at the grassroot level.

|Producer Super Melodies of Mega Family Records Academy|

Such solution focussed topics are what luizquincy.blogspot tries to do, and branding of the site was done to enable the interface be user friendly and easy to navigate through.

Retrospectively, I have managed to steal few techniques for local based artistes thereby enlightening them on how they can get places with their music only if they don't forget hardwork, patience and persistence. Such skills I managed to acquire in 2019 when I interned at Baraka FM as a radio producer.

Today, I'm glad that I have helped market my music producer Super Melodies through my convergence on social media platforms. The idea paid well when my exposure earned him a studio job at Nairobi and his current job as a music producer. My skills revolve around adding sound voices as effects on music, choosing Melodies for different music genres, segue editing on radio, uplifting presenter mentions and editing audio files.

Such skills when I shared them out to producers helped them understand radio production better as well as doubling their skills on music production since radio and music production are merely like siblings.

Albeit dealing so much with entertainment especially music, the blogsite equally runs political stories that cut within Uasin Gishu county where I pursue my degree program.

 I source news everywhere I traverse and interview selected sources before scripting any story. A story I did here on this blog headlined: DELIVER MORE ON INFRASTRACTURE; STOP POLITICKING gained much replys on social media handles @Quincy Kombe Thuo  on Twitter and @Quincy Kombe Thuo on Facebook respectively.

In the write-up, I lamented the sorry state of infrastructure privy the road network from Kesses all through Cheptiret. The highway is in shape still but these feeder roads suck so much during rainy weather.

The responses and critics I got from social media really motivated me to realise that my stories had a human interest aspect in between. And more so because all write-ups in this blogsite are public interest inclined. 

The topics are also geared to find solutions to the problems that affect us back home. My ideas through my writing profession have helped solve poverty amongst youth, unemployment for youth as well as offering sexuality education while not forgetting to speak of effects of early pregnancies.

Producer Super Melodies at studio, Mtwapa.

According to research I handled using questionnaires, observation and note taking shows that 45% of those youth reading content from this blogsite are working or have a brand or initiative to help alleviate our society through innovation and creativity.