Category: Uncategorized

 

By Sharon Victoria

 

We recently celebrated world environmental day on June 5th and it was another opportunity to celebrate and appreciate the environment around us and come up with solutions to the current environmental problems. In light of that, we shall be talking about green washing, a big environmental hazard which has been a main concern of late.

 

In today’s world, environmentalism and environmental consciousness has been a hot topic of discussion that consumers are more drawn to sustainable products and companies. Due to this, companies have resulted to deceiving their consumers by green washing so as to still thrive in the market.

Greenwashing is the practice of misleading people into believing that a company and its products are sustainable and environmentally friendly when, in reality, they are not. This is usually done by placing misleading labels that claim the products are environmentally friendly, fake claims of supporting green initiatives.

 

Greenwashing has negative consequences for both the consumers and the environment. To begin with, it destroys consumer trust by manipulating them to take the sustainable route and in turn, the genuine sustainable markets face unfair competition and may also lose consumers on claims of greenwashing. The presence of these practices hinders the progress that many are trying to make so as to have a sustainable future thus derailing the plan of a better future.

 

The culprits of this vice are usually either in the food industry or the fashion industry. For the food industry you can get labels showing “organic” but you will miss the ingredients used or at times they omit the toxic chemicals used. In the fashion industry, fast fashion brands may promote clothing lines made from sustainable materials, but in turn it involves excessive emission of waste and exploitation of their workers.

 

To do away with greenwashing, companies need to practice transparency and accountability. Government regulations should also be strengthened and they should ensure that green claims are verified and standardized.

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)

By Caren Chelagat

 

Distant river banks and closed windows are witnesses

That pain cannot be written into lines

You’d probably misjudge my turbulent tides

A p0rcelain pottery it seems

Delicate and feeble art it portrays

Who can bell the cat?

Who can bound chains to the cat?

A fortitude threshold an intense pain

Everything looming bows down in the rain

We are tied to chains

The cat is having to its fill

While we are left with nothing to even quench our thirst

Deluge of information Flowing through

Conversations dripping too Sent by a deluge of mails

Flipping through the mail box

The rule had been passed through

Each and everyone had a say through it

But no thought was taken through

The top head belonged to the top dogs

As they sailed through their say throughs

That was implemented on their orders

The followers were just but a tip through

To convey information to jut but get a through pass

As they hailed to the top dogs

Without gaining truth

They just but followed with bitter truth through them

But their greed for promised toppings topped it all through

And they availed to follow it through.

By Wangui Njau

Njaucatherine3@gmail.com

Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of Christine Wambui

Pageantry, reverence, honor, and bliss dawned on the blazing 12^th of November 2021 in celebration of the 44^th Daystar University graduation ceremony and the class of 2021.

Graced by the presence of distinguished guests amongst them several Vice Chancellors of different universities like our former acting chancellor, Professor Kombo, now the Vice-Chancellor of St. Paul’s University, The President of the University of Northwestern, USA, Dr. Alan Cureton, The CEO of the Kenya Film Commission, a Daystar Alumni Mr. Tom Owase, few representative members of the diplomatic community and a representative Alumni’s of the graduating class 2001 amongst others.

Rising stars shining beyond all impossibilities was the theme for the day as Daystar accoladed all the Integral parts of the university who ensure the smooth running of Daystar as a whole and the 1400 graduates with their respective diplomas, Bachelor’s, Masters, and PhD’s.

The Vice-Chancellor professor Laban Ayiro left us with some powerful words “The people who change the world, the people who change institutions, the people who change homes are the people who, one, put God first and two, choose to be unrealistic in their approach to life,’’ said the Vice-Chancellor.

This was the most powerful and key takeaway of the day as truly the confidence you gain or perfect at Daystar leads you to a conviction that comes with your strengths, your character, and when you set foot in a room there is precedence all around you because you are a Daystarian.

All in all, the 44^th Daystar graduation ceremony was definitely one to be revered as the speeches were illuminating and thought-provoking, it was also a celebration of not only the graduands but also the people who mould us on our day to day life, the people who ensure we have a seamless learning experience, the people who work tirelessly and perform their duties that make our lives at Daystar simpler. However, the greatest acknowledgment is to God who has brought us this far and will continue blessing everyone especially our graduates in abundance.

To the graduating class of 2021– Go shine your light and remember you are unstoppable.

By Victor Seda

(victorseda39@gmail.com)

Thumbnail Photo Courtesy of startatbest.eu

We all want to work in an environment that goes hand in hand with our expectations and beliefs. What about when we find ourselves in an extremely different scenario?

A workplace comprises of people with distinct personalities. Our unique worldviews determine who we are since we think and treat one another according to this perspective. The manner in which I treat my fellow workmate matters a lot. We are living in an era where a lot of stresses exist in our world that affect us. There are people who can control and solve their personal problems, those challenges consume others until it reflects in their places of work.

Obsessively Strict Leaders

When at work, we strive to please our leaders. We all want to be the best at what we do to capture the attention of these significant people. Benefits like promotions and incentives are some of the triggers of our motivation. The same leaders that we do our best to impress are the same ones that in certain cases are narcissistic, obsessive and unrealistically strict. Such leaders always want to be heard. A situation like this interferes with communication among workers and leaders. The demand of always saying Yes to their instructions is always so high to the point of being confident with your No is like writing your letter of resignation.

This situation might put you in a catch-22 situation whereby you do not know the right person to channel your complaints. Creating a team where you share your thoughts and experiences about the issues you face at work is key in balancing the pressure from work. It is also effective in reducing the narcissistic tendencies of the leader. This develops a sense of camaraderie. A support system that feels the same way as you do and goes through the similar challenges is beneficial in neutralizing the toxicity from work. Approach the leader as a group more often and give positive feedback about the job. Talk about the acts you feel the leader displays often and are interfering with your duties at your job. The leader will realize that his methods of leadership interfere with many people and will change progressively.

Rumors and Negative Energy

Negative talk, gossips and rumors are also another significant signal of an uncomfortable working environment. Here, you will find high levels of insecurity among workers. Negative energy in a work place always leads to a high turnover since there will be low morale and workers will give excuses of not doing work correctly. It gets to a point whereby employees feign sickness in order to escape from duties. This is a scenario where there are no authentic friendships. In the instance of high turnover, most employees leave the job and look for another job elsewhere.

Acknowledge that you are in an unsuitable working surrounding. This is the most important step in finding a solution to your deplorable situation at work. Actions like communicating effectively with your fellow workers, open mindedness about various issues come thereafter. This will boost the closure among workmates and there will be little to no secrets in the work atmosphere. Often you find that the remedy you have will interfere with the friendships that you have built. On the other hand, after acknowledging that there is a problem, the friendships will be broken but built again with true and genuine intentions.

The joy of anyone is working in an accommodating place that respects the views of every employee irrespective of status economically, socially, or politically. We sometimes find ourselves in a toxic work environment, but there are ways that we can change it to be a productive and strong relationship that works best for us. There is always a solution to every challenge that faces us.

When we look at these obstacles at work as an opportunity that can reveal our strengths and weaknesses, we can correct, polish and appreciate them so that we move forward.

 By Hellen Owuor

(hellenowuor10@gmail.com)

The emergence of Covid-19 took many by surprise, with the new virus spreading rapidly and introducing the need for extra safety precautions at an unprecedented level. The novelty of the virus, as well as the lack of information about its nature or behavior, gave room to a cloud of misinformation and conspiracy theories that many took as gospel truth. These conspiracy theories have caused and continue to cause confusion and mistrust among people, countries, governments, and their citizens, contributing to the covid-19 infodemic. 

One year down the line, several vaccines have been developed to prevent the spread of this pandemic. However, the widespread misinformation on covid-19 is slowing down efforts of governments and health practitioners to contain and eradicate the virus. As is the case in some countries, Kenya has seen the rise of misinformation, with many sharing some of these myths and false claims, believing them to be true. 

For the better part of 2020 when Covid-19 hit Kenya, the country was under lockdown. This meant less interpersonal interaction, as well as an increased reliance on social media for information. According to DataReportal, the number of social media users in Kenya increased by 2.2 million from 2020. That is 11 million social media users by January 2021. With this in mind, it is safe to say that the key avenue for the distribution of misinformation about covid-19 in Kenya has been through social media.

Social media has enabled people to access information and connect from anywhere in the world. This is beneficial, but at the same time, it has made it easy for those spreading false claims, especially with malicious intent, to reach their targets and cause harm to unsuspecting citizens, preying on fear and a lack of information on Covid-19 to drive their agenda. Spreading of misinformation begins from a specific person, group, or entity with ill-intentions to gain or harm another group for political, social, or individual gain. 

Once false information gets into the hands of vulnerable and unknowing citizens, it only takes one click, a retweet, share or repost on social media or through a messaging app to further spread the false information, and this is difficult to undo once in motion. 

Young people comprise the largest proportion of the population in Kenya. Out of the 11 million social media users, 70.8% are Facebook users aged 18-34 years (Statcounter). Between May 2020 and May 2021, Facebook was recorded as the most used social media platform followed by Twitter (Statcounter). On average, users aged 16-64 spend at least 3 hours per day on social media. That translates to at least 90 hours per month per person. Think of how much unverified false information may be consumed or shared in one month and the extent of damage it may cause.

As it is, misinformation is a considerable threat to the lives and health of Kenyans, and many myths about Covid-19 spread in the country in 2020, including claims that the disease does not affect Africans because of their skin color and environment, that it only affects the rich, that it can be cured using traditional herbs, that it was made in a lab in Wuhan, China, and many more.

The main impact of this information was apathy, with people going about their daily activities thinking that Covid-19 didn’t exist, or that it was not as serious a threat as had been claimed, thereby exposing themselves to more harm leading to a quick rise in infections and strained resources.

Following the development and introduction of vaccines, the misinformation trend has shifted away from the origins of the disease to the vaccines themselves. Some of the most common false beliefs are that the vaccines cause infertility, they cause blood clots in everyone who receives them, that those who are vaccinated are likely to die in 2 years, that the vaccine contains a tracking microchip and many others. These myths have resulted in the hesitance of Kenyans to take vaccines. As of May 2021, Kenya was ranked number 22 in Africa for the number of administered covid-19 vaccine doses per hundred people. Compared to the highest ranking, Seychelles, which had 136.74 doses administered per hundred people, Kenya had only1.8 (Statista). It is saddening to see the power of misinformation as the covid-19 misconceptions persist, not only in rural areas but also in urban areas where there is more access to information. 

This article is a call-to-action for the youth to fight Covid-19 misinformation, being the largest of the population, the most educated, and also the most technology-savvy, can protect themselves and others by ensuring that they can verify that any news about Covid-19 is true before sharing. They can do this by identifying and debunking false information shared online about Covid-19, as well as sharing pointers about media and information literacy with others.

Young people can also combine their efforts with thought and opinion leaders to conduct capacity-building activities in rural areas, constantly updating the residents of new developments and debunk misinformation. To ensure success, the youth should be aware of credible sites where they can get trusted and verified information about Covid-19, such as the WHO, UNICEF, and CDC. To be fully equipped at an individual level, there are also some courses and learning materials available online that they can use to learn how to identify and demystify misinformation on Covid-19 for example “Hands-On Fact-Checking: A Short Course” by the International Fact-Checking Network at the Poynter Institute and the American Press Institute.

In this fight against misinformation, the youth should be suspicious of any information they read or hear about Covid-19 regardless of it being shared by a close friend, politician, opinion leader, or family member. Before sharing, they should take these seven steps to ensure they are not contributing to the spread of misinformation: 

1) Check whether the source of information is credible and if other related credible sites have the same information.

2) Confirm whether the sources contained in the texts or content are trustworthy, analyze the language used as well as the date of publishing.

3) Check the author of the articles and their track record in their profession.

4) For images, you can conduct a reverse image search.

5) Keenly look at the statistics, whether the datasets are complete and corresponding.

 6) Be objective and liberal when conducting your investigations.

 7) Reach out to specialists in the field of fact-checking, for example, Piga Firimbi and Pesa Check in Kenya.

With a commitment towards protecting Kenyans from misinformation, we will move a step further in our fight against Covid-19 as well as prepare ourselves in case of future pandemics.

This publication was produced as part of IWPR’s Africa Resilience Network (ARN) program, administered in partnership with the Centre for Information Resilience (CIR), the International Centre for Investigative Reporting (ICIR), and Africa Uncensored. For more information on ARN, please visit the ARN site.