How did I find myself in the world of Sociology?

I was born and grew up with my parents and seven siblings in a mud grass thatched house. After my high school education, before I joined the University, I was into electrical and electronic engineering. This is the course that I wanted to pursue as my career, then after some time I changed my mind to study psychology. So how did I end up with a sociology degree and starting my own organization called Aspire to Inspire Society?

It was until I met Dr. Erick Masese, a senior lecturer of Sociology at Moi University, that I turned to sociology. The professor and I struck a rapport and he taught me alot in the field of sociology. With time, he became my mentor and I developed interest in studying sociology at Moi University because the field involved the study of social life, social change and the social causes and consequences of human behavior. I wanted to investigate the structure of groups, organizations, societies and how people interact within their contexts.

Using Sociology in Kenyan Communities

Immediately after my graduation in 2018 from Moi University with a BA in Sociology, I started volunteering with the Department of Social Development where I used my sociological knowledge to mobilize communities. We formed and registered groups and projects to deliver social welfare programs to vulnerable individuals and households. Also, we mobilized groups on how to access available funds, and report writing.

I have volunteered with local grassroot organizations like DWB foundation and Shining Hope For Communities (SHOFCO). My undergraduate degree in sociology and my experience of directly working with relevant grass root communities has motivated me to partner with others to find sustainable community owned solutions to global poverty and social inequalities.

Healing Communities in Kenya

I always want to do something that connects me to the community directly, I have this passion and it’s always burning in me. I want to HEAL communities by engaging them and helping them harness resources. For communities to be HEALTHY, they need awareness for them to come together, sit, and listen as I make them aware. They need EDUCATION for them to be educated. They need sufficient food for their AGRICULTURE, and for their agriculture to be sufficient they need LEADERS. I am focusing on a
holistic community development in Kenya.

There are many groups in Kenyan urban slums and rural communities in Kenya including community projects. These groups engage in crop farming, handicrafts, mats and pottery, table Banking merry go round and other income generating activities and projects. The main problem facing the groups include poor project identification, lack of mobilization and management of resources, poor record keeping, low levels of education, poor leadership, conflict, and inadequate resources.

Business and Entrepreneurship in Kenya

A majority of the small enterprise traders in these communities are not sufficiently trained on business management skills which are very essential in equipping traders with necessary skills on how to keep their business profitable and grow them to the next level for sustainability. In order to achieve this, I am doing a series of training programs using my sociological knowledge. I focus on building the capacity of entrepreneurs to establish and sustain viable and sustainable enterprises to serve as the backbone development and industrial growth and transformation.

My interventions focus on building skills and knowledge in business, including entrepreneurial skills, social life skills, family issues, community health, parenting styles, participatory development. Additionally, they focus on tapping into opportunities in key non-agricultural sectors and improving access to employment credit, financial services and other productive resources. These are all in addition to improving women’s and youth’s capability regarding women and youth’s economic and social empowerment.

Aspire to Inspire Society

Currently, I have founded a community based organization called Aspire to Inspire Society Organization (www.atisafrica.org) in Mukuru slums that works to empower young adolescents and teenage mothers. I am using my sociology knowledge to champion for equality, diversity and inclusion for a just society and an advocate for community first solutions.