A Resilient Journey of Poetry, Photography, and Advocacy
My name is Kimani Anthony, and I’m a youth powered by a passion for both poetry and photography. My story begins in the heart of Kibera-slum, one of the largest informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya, where I was brought up amidst hardship, resilience, and strength among its community members. Growing up here has not been easy. I get up every morning with the grim realities that a lot of us face: stories of friends who have lost their lives to violence, youths who get drawn into crime, and a community where survival often seems like a full-time job. Many young peers around me have taken to crime as a way of life; it has simply become an option, rather than a choice. From a young age, however, I knew that I wanted to take a different route.
It was during high school that I came across the strength of poetry: it showed me that with words, one could frame what lay inside, a struggle that would be tucked away or even an aspiration. In poetry, I found my way of escaping, a medium to make sense of the world outside, a channel through which I could express emotions that otherwise remained bottled up. My poems are inspired by personal experiences and daily realities of growing up in Kibera: stories of resilience, pain, and hope. Writing wasn’t just a passion; it became a lifeline, a way to make sense out of the challenges I was facing.
It wasn’t exactly one of those obvious journeys into poetry that I hear a lot of people talk about. Growing up, I really looked up to my older brother, who at the time was an artist, and I could literally spend hours singing with him because I felt that music would be the calling. As time would progress, however, I knew that even though I didn’t have the voice to sing, I was able to connect with people in a very peculiar manner-with words. That’s when I started going out and performing my poems on the street corners, using slang and talking with the people’s language. Finally, a love for poetry opened up doors to another one of my passions: photography. With the help of my camera, I began capturing beauty, struggles, and stories across the community. Many times, I put the images together with the poems to tell a deeper story.
As time passed, I realized that my art can be more than a means of self-expression-it can be an instrument of change. Further, this realization made me use my poetry and photography as tools for mobilization. Soon, I started volunteering for a local NGO that works on gender equality, access to education, and rights of adolescents. It was with this organization that I found opportunities to mentor young people, through sharing experiences and ways of using poetry as a means to inspire and educate. I recited poems that spoke to struggles of growing up in poverty, the importance of making positive choices, and the need for young people to believe in their potential.
Emotional vulnerability-what I’ve come to learn along the way, most profoundly as a man-is critical. Growing up, young boys are taught to bottle up their emotions, to “be strong” and never cry because “a man doesn’t show weakness.” It filtered down through generations, creating a culture where many felt very much alone in our struggles. But my advocacy started going against this stereotype and encouraging other people that it’s okay to feel, okay to be vulnerable, and okay to seek support. I strongly believe being in touch with your emotions is a strength and not a weakness. My poetry has become a channel to challenge such obsolete beliefs, and I do hope to inspire new generations of young men who will feel empowered to express themselves openly.
It has been a journey that continues to date. I write, I photograph, and I advocate-outcomes of putting my talents to use to create awareness on behalf of the challenges and beauties of life in Kibera. My works reflect the resilience of my community, the strength of our people, and the fact that every young person can make a difference when given an opportunity. The injustice, the poverty, the violence that we face, I speak about through my poetry. But I speak about hope, about dreams, about the power of transformation. I want my story to be one that showcases, irrespective of your background, your voice matters and you are capable of creating change.
Living in a world where the odds were mostly against us, I chose to believe in possibilities. I pray my story will inspire other people in my community to be brave to dream, break loose from societal expectations, and unashamedly be passionate about what they do. This journey has taught me that resilience is not just making it through, but about finding purpose, rising above limitations, and deploying our talents in a manner that makes life better. I’m proud to be that young African giving through talent, and I am committed to using my art to inspire, educate, and uplift.
I think of my journey and am reminded of the power of choosing a path of hope and resilience, even when the world around me tried to dictate otherwise. A voice has emerged through the realms of poetry, photography, and advocacy-one that speaks not just for me, but for my community, one that calls for change, inspires strength, and dares to dream.
This is my story, among the many birthed out of the spirit of Kibera. I am Kimani Anthony, a young African through whom talent gives back, driven by a passion to transform my world one verse at a time and one image at a time. Hopefully, my journey will light a way for others to see that no matter where you begin, your story has the power to create lasting impact.
