#TheNewFaceOfActivsim: Behold, the social media activists

This is the new face of activism.

Fresh, bold and armed with a hashtag, this new crop of influencers begin their advocacy on social media, and no, they do not wield placards or brave teargas and engage in running battles with the police.

They have also gone beyond the hashtag and are effecting real change. Their spirited social media campaigns are not only raising awareness, but also raising funds to propel causes close to their hearts.

This new form of activism, the hashtag activism, begins with a social issue that evokes public outcry, thereby triggering a discussion on social media platforms. Hashtags such as #BlacklivesMatter and #BringOurGirlsback have commanded global attention not because of the millions of retweets or extensive mainstream media coverage, but by getting the world to talk about thorny issues.

Some may wonder though; is this new form of activism just a popularity contest to see who will trend longer, raise more funds or do the initiators actually leave an indelible mark in their societies? You be the judge as we reveal the stories and the faces behind the hashtags.

#Fatuma’svoice

With Chris Mukasa

Three years ago, Chris Mukasa decided to use art as a transformative tool, rather than just a source of amusement. He had no advertising budget or elaborate marketing strategies, all he had was social media. The result was a bi-monthly event called Fatuma’s Voice, a forum that uses music, art and poetry to discuss social issues.

Fatuma is a fictitious character envisioned by Chris, she is 50 years old and deaf. He then challenged the artists to give Fatuma a voice by talking about the issues that affect her. It attracts about 300 to 500 participants per session and over the last three years, it has managed an enormous digital footprint, reaching about 460,000 people over the last three years. This platform has also played a critical role in the rise of social conscience artists like H_art the band, Mufasa the poet and many more.

“Our African culture doesn’t allow for dialogue on certain pertinent issues,” Chris observes. A 2016 youth survey by The Aga Khan University Hospital shows that 73 per cent of Kenyan youth are afraid to stand up due to fear of retribution and only 52 per cent have knowledge of government initiatives for the youth,” he says.

Fatuma’s Voice gives room for the unspoken pains of life, and begins the healing process. Chris says the forum  has given relief and purpose to suicidal people and many others who had given up on life and fostered social conscience among Kenyans from all walks of life. Following the success of his forums in Nairobi, the Danish Embassy approached Chris and offered to fund his countrywide expansion. Besides this, the embassy also provided organisational and planning expertise to help him run the program. Today he conducts Fatuma’s Voice forums in Nakuru, Mombasa, Kisumu and Nyeri. His vision is to expand to Kigali, South Africa and eventually all of Africa.

“Our dream is to build an Africa that can speak for its self. Many young people fail to launch great ideas because they are waiting for funding. The best way to start is just to start, the funding will come.”

#40foraplate

Wawira Njiru, 24

Wawira Njiru is the founder of Food for Education, a school feeding program that feeds needy children in Ruiru. The hashtag was as simple as it was profound; a rallying call for well-wishers to donate only Sh40 to keep a child in school by buying them lunch. The campaign started small and snowballed into a movement, with several local celebrities joining the bandwagon. The list includes; Dj Joe Mfalme, Caroline Mutoko, Safaricom CEO Bob Collymore, businessman Chris Kirubi among many others. She started the initiative while she was studying abroad. She would hold fund raising dinners and then send the money she raised to her parents, who ran the program for her. When she returned home after her studies, she decided to grow the initiative, and turned to the most effective tool she knew; social media.

“It took about two weeks for the buzz to really catch on, and then it really blew up,” she narrates. “We started with friends, family and colleagues, and when it started trending, celebrities jumped in. We were able to raise over half-a-million in cash and kind.”

The program now feeds 300 children daily, thanks to a kitchen constructed with the proceeds from the social media activation. Wawira attributes the success to the authenticity of her message; she kept it simple, told it as it is and people responded.

The twitter-sphere remains a dark jungle that preys on the faint heart. If you Google the trending topics today, chances are you will stumble on trolls; the vain masses amusing themselves at the cost of a silent victim. Occasionally, we will come across a social cause that touches our soul and we will comment and then move on. It is therefore refreshing to know that change agents live among us, including the scores of people who generously give to these worthy causes.

#Ivolunteer

With Phillip Ogolla

Phillip Ogolla pioneered the use of social media in disaster management while working at Red Cross as a social media officer. The i-volunteer program was the first in Africa, and its success has been duplicated in other areas of the world. It uses social media to crowdsource information about disasters by picking up tweets, photos and videos about an incident.

Philip developed this program when he realised that Kenyans tweet about incidents in real time, and using citizens’ reports is the fastest way to get data on disasters. The information is then analysed and used to inform first respondents of when and where the accident has happened and what equipment they need to save lives. The data collected goes into a system that can predict future disasters by analysing past events. This information helps save lives by preventing disasters before they even happen.

He says: “Social media is a double-edged sword, we were able to use it to save lives, but so many use it to destroy. I currently run a mentorship program where I teach high school children to use social media positively.

He was recently appointed senior social media officer of the African Wildlife Foundation, but still continues his mentorship programs on social media. 

#1milliforJadudi

ZawadiNyong’o

She made headlines when she raised over Sh7m in 48 hours for cancer patient Emmanuel Otieno (Jadudi) in collaboration with blogger Jackson Biko (bikozulu.co.ke). The pair didn’t even know each other before that but were united by purpose to put together a campaign that baffled the nation in 2015. They created  an intense buzz at the time with multiple news outlets carrying the story. African Cancer Foundation, ACF took up the case, managed the fund raising and continues to walk with Jadudi long after the masses have moved on to other things. Jadudi is currently recovering from his fifth surgery.  Zawadi founded ACF five years ago with nothing but a twitter handle and a dream to help cancer patients. Through crowd sourcing and a good understanding of how social media works, Zawadi was able to secure support and organize fund raising for her vision.

“Money is important, but it’s not a barrier,” says Zawadi, a volunteer at Africa Cancer Foundation. “There are always people who will show up to support a good cause.  #1milliforjadudi was my proudest moment on social media. Over 12,000 people came together as one, some giving as little Sh10 - it was a true expression of our Kenyan spirit,”

ACF not only managed the fund raising, but continues to support Jadudi.

But social media is not without its challenges. A single tweet sparked a scandal with allegations of misappropriation of the money raised.

“You may enjoy trolling someone, but it’s really hard to be on the receiving end of all that dirt. It made me want to cultivate a positive digital culture, that’s why I started my current platform, Digital Ubuntu Africa.”

#IbuaAfrica

Mumbi Ndung’u

Mumbi Ndung’u, is the 24-year-old founder and team leader of Ibua Africa. The online platform identifies and recognises young change makers who are making a positive impact in their communities. They not only identify change makers, but also verify the credibility of their projects, producing a YouTube video and conducting a twitter chat.

The aim of the twitter chat is to expose the work of social entrepreneurs by giving the public an opportunity to interact, question, and possibly collaborate with the change maker. The platform has helped these individuals secure funding for their projects and challenged other young people to be the change they want to see. Ibua Africa also trains its change makers in proposal writing, presentation and other skills that will help them scale up.

“People will not remember how much money you made in life, it’s the impact you make that really matters,” she explains. “Young people have so much potential, they just need to shift their mind set and improve their communication. We need to empower them so they can realise that they are the change agents,”

Her platform was inspired by an unfortunate series of events that shut down her first social enterprise. Together with friends from church, she had begun a street children feeding program in Nairobi’s CBD back in 2010. Within three years of inception, the program was feeding 230 people every week, but the City Council closed them down, due to what she believes was a malicious report by a detractor. Enraged by the incident, she reached out to media personality, Julie Gichuru, who was mentoring her at the time.

Her intention was to give some publicity to her grievances, but Julie advised her to look for a long-term solution. Mumbi realised that young change makers were facing insurmountable challenges in their noble initiatives, and so she founded Ibua Africa to aid them along the way.

She says: “We connect  them with the resources they need to work. Africa has so many problems, we may not be able to make a change, but we can help those who are trying to do something about it.”

To date, Ibua Africa has worked with over 30 talented young people running various projects. They have collaborated with popular and prominent personalities such as  TV anchor Janet Mbugua and CS Amina Mohamed. Their stories and profiles are on Ibua Africa’s YouTube channel.