Page 81 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 8

RE - FLECTIONS

just as we now have quick every- their hands. I saw some of them is it very difficult for young people
thing because of the internet and trying to keep busy practicing bas- to pick up and emulate what is right
the increase in major areas of tech- ketball, listening to music, watching and creative from the internet, in-
nology. Quick fixes, micro-wave movies, talking to friends on Zoom, stead of the various weird activities
foods, drive-through burger and playing video games on the internet they emulate?
fries, research no longer requires with their friends at the other end of
the turning of book pages but one the connection. Looks like real fun And who is to be blamed for these
just types their search on Google for them, but I can clearly see the actions of our young people?
and they are good to go. Looks like futility in it all. For in my mind I am
it is a lot easier to do many things thinking, what happened to learning Enough blame to go around
now and truly it is so. And from the how to create something new from Blame games don't make changes,
way we are going and coupled with our popular "YouTube University"? responsible actions for change do.
how Covid-19 came to shatter tra- What happened to learning how to Because our young people were
ditional classroom learning through make handicrafts that will spur their born into an age of massive infor-
virtual learning, we will be raising a creativity with bigger things? What mation which is readily available,
generation that loves and appreci- happened to tilling the ground and and because they do not have any
ates shallowness in knowledge ac- planting things, if not for anything, clue of what life looked like in the
quisition, cramming of information just to see and appreciate the days of no internet, they are almost
just to pass exams and to feel edu- beauty of how things grow and how not able to curate any solutions to
cated, rather than depth of wisdom nature's life works around us? Am I their emotions or problems outside
found in the deep studies of things saying that technology is bad? Well of what they find on the internet;
– unless we do something about it. that depends on what you are doing making mentorship by older people
My wife and I visited a sister of ours with it, for clearly all the activities the key to saving our young gener-
for an interview for this magazine I mentioned are all available for ation. It's as simple as it can get, at
and after the session, we started learning online and more. least for a start.
talking over lunch and somehow
she got talking about her kids and The youthfulness deception We all have this responsibility to
how bringing them to Kenya from The teen age is a very interesting help our young ones grow in wis-
the UK where they lived was hard age and season. Like a bridge be- dom and accountability. Our entire
at first but later they appreciated it tween the days of no-accountability future depends on it.
because of the beauty that comes (childhood) and adulthood (ac-
with learning wisdom from nature countability), it can be quite scary
and all. From our talk and from the to cross that bridge, not knowing
various points that were made, it what awaits on the other side. And
was obvious that we have an issue because young people mostly now
in our society as to how to raise this have access to the internet, where
generation of young people that do things that are meant for the age
not have any connection to the age of responsibility can be easily
of learning through wisdom that accessed, they somehow try to
comes from how nature works, but replicate what they see. Maybe just
were born into the age of accumu- out of curiosity, or just to under-
lation of information which really mine the bridge season they find
is mainly information but without themselves in. Case in point, it was
much wisdom for life and living. recently reported that a group of
They were born into the world of young boys and girls in Kakame-
Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, ga, Kenya were caught having a
which all look "beautiful" but lack sex orgy in a rented house, with a
substance. video camera, apparently to film
the entire show. Another case is
During this lockdown, I watched that of massive teenage pregnancy
young people becoming more and among students. All these are taking
more confused about what to do place within these same months of
with all the extra time they have on lockdown. The question is this, why

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