The Nairobi Arboretum at 9am is probably one of the colder parts of Nairobi at this time of day. What with the greenery and the tall trees. But it is not the normal kind of cold this Wednesday morning because though it is early, there is a lot of activity going on already. The cold you feel when going through the entrance is soon replaced with anticipation for the activities at hand when you reach the Arboretum Park. You might as well take off your heavy jacket and put it away from here on in.
Tents are up and stacked chairs are riding into the Arboretum Park through people’s heads, shoulders, and hands – for the strong bodied. People are moving up and down, organizers are giving out passes, while others tick off names in lists … it is the first day of the Storymoja Festival! And we are here to join the array.
Having partnered with the Storymoja Festival for several years now, we went in rearing to conduct our first blogging session. Today’s session revolved around the topic ‘A guide to being a teen on the internet and using social media.’ and was to feature mostly teenagers. Our venue, the Magic tent at the Arboretum Park had barely been set up when a crowd of eager, young and active boys and girls made their way in.
Rayhab Gachango and Wanjiru Kihusa started by finding out who made the audience. It became apparent that these eager young boys and girls were as young as 11 – 16 years of age.
Majority of the pupils had accessed, and continue to access, the internet through their personal phones while others use their parent’s tablets, laptops and mobile phones. It was clear that though some of their parents monitor their internet use, others have free reign in their online activities.
The session addressed the online risks that teens and young children are exposed to when they are online. Since this was a gathering of young minds, the trainers used real life, relatable bullying examples – based on one’s accent, looks, height and body weight – to explain the concept behind cyber bullying. Students were advised to approach strangers online as they would approach them in real life; with utmost caution.
Even as they were warned against sharing too much information online, they were encouraged to report any kind of bullying or harassment to their parents, teachers or guardians as keeping silent could only do more damage than good.
The young boys and girls did not shy away from asking questions and sharing their opinion, making today’s session a very interactive and interesting one.
We are looking forward to tomorrow’s session which will be at the same venue: Magic Tent, Nairobi Arboretum starting from 9.00am to 10.00am.