2017 partnership brief

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Soma Schools Tour was started as part of our commitment to the growth of the creative industries in Kenya. The key objectives of Soma are developing and promoting creative writing and the arts to the youth in a school environment that has seen the arts scrapped from examinable curriculum, introduce African Contemporary Literature and donate books from the prestigious Kwani? Series.

In The Danger of a Single Story, Chimamanda Adichie (author of Purple Hibiscus, Half of a Yellow Sun, The Thing Around Your Neck and Americanah) says

“…all I had read were books in which characters were foreign. I had become convinced that books by their very nature had to have foreigners in them and had to be about things with which I could not personally identify. Things changed when I discovered African books. There weren’t many of them available, and they weren’t quite as easy to find as the foreign books”.

Writers published by Kwani? in the past and currently, speak to the high school students about their own journeys to becoming writers and the students learn what it takes to get a book from a manuscript to a published product in a bookshop. Students also get an opportunity to engage writers on various topics related to creative writing.

Since 2013, Kwani? Soma Schools Tour has impacted 21 schools and universities, 1,779 students and faculty and donated 500 books. Books on the Tour are at a highly reduced cost of Ksh 500 each, they include Kizuizini by Joseph Muthee, Stone Hills of Maragoli by Stanley Gazemba, The True Story of David Munyakei by Billy Kahora, Tale of Kasaya by Eva Kasaya, One Day I Will Write About This Place Binyavanga Wainaina, Boy, Interrupted by Saah Millimono, Hidding In Plain Sight by Nuruddin Farah, To See the Mountain and Other Stories (2011 Caine Prize Anthology) and African Violet and Other Stories (Caine Prize 2012 Anthology), Taty Went West by Nikhil Singh, Lusaka Punk (2015 Caine Prize Anthology) But here are small clear refractions by Ed Pavlic and Dust by Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor.

For more about these books, see http://bit.ly/1lhmUhT

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Alliance Boys High School, Kikuyu

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KIZUIZINI by Joseph MutheeJoseph Muthee was born in 1928. He spent seven years in detention during the Kenyan Emergency. He was taken in at the age of 23 and emerged, at 30, a man mature beyond his years. In prison he endured casual torture and hardship, hunger and precariousness. He currently lives and works as a farmer in Nyeri, Kenya.

THE STONE HILLS OF MARAGOLI by Stanley Gazemba Stanley Gazemba was born in Vihiga, Western Kenya, in 1974 and studied at the Kakamega High School. The African Review of Books described his book as “an ordinary tale of love, celebration, betrayal and revenge… all in a context that is at once familiar for its emotional impact and unfamiliar for its cultural environment”.

THE TRUE STORY OF DAVID MUNYAKEI by Billy Kahora In April 1992, David Sadera Munyakei, a newly employed clerk at the Central Bank of Kenya started noticing irregularities in the export compensation claims he was processing. On July 31 2006, Kenya’s biggest whistleblower passed away in rural obscurity, 14 years after exposing the Goldenberg scandal, Kenya’s biggest economic scandal to date, estimated at over USD 1 billion. Billy Kahora recounts his story.

TALE OF KASAYAby Eva Kasaya In 1991, Eva Kasaya, a 13-year old girl dropped out of school in rural Western Kenya and came to Nairobi to work as a domestic servant. For several years she was consistently physically and sexually harassed by subsequent employers. When she turned 19, she managed to go back to school and thereafter trained as a dressmaker. She also started writing about her life during this period, having never given up on becoming a published writer.

DUSTby Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor is a Kenyan fiction writer, conservationist, cultural activist; past Executive Director of the Zanzibar International Film Festival. Yvonne Owuor won the 2003 Caine Prize for African Writing for Weight of Whispers, a story told from the perspective of a refugee fleeing after the 1994 massacres.

For more about these books, see http://bit.ly/1lhmUhT

THE BOOKS ON TOUR

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TO SEE THE MOUNTAIN AND OTHER STORIES’, ‘AFRICAN VIOLET AND OTHER STORIES & LUSASKA PUNK AND OTHER STORIES

The Caine Prize for African Writing is named in memory of the late Sir Michael Caine, former Chairman of Booker plc. He was Chairman of Africa 95, and Chairman of the Booker Prize management committee for almost 25 years.The Prize is open to writers from anywhere in Africa for work published in English and focuses on the short story, awarding a prize of £10,000.

BOY INTERRUPTED by Saah Millimono Liberian Saah Millimono’s debut is a moving account of a boy’s life in a time of crisis. Tarnue is at times clear-eyed and wise beyond his years, at others bewildered by the impact of national upheaval on his already challenging existence as Charles Taylor’s forces enter Liberia.

HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHTby Nuruddin FarahA provocative, unforgettable tale about family, freedom, and loyalty. A departure in theme and setting, Hiding in Plain Sight is a profound exploration of the tensions between liberty and obligation, the ways in which gender and sexual orientation define us, and the unintended consequences of the secrets we keep.

TATY WENT WESTby Nikhil Singh An introduction to an electrifying new talent – an imagination unfettered by any known convention. As Taty navigates the collapse of an already chaotic society, struggling against present danger while confronting the demons of her own past, her story is narrated in prose that soars with elegance and swagger in equal measure. For more about these books,

see http://bit.ly/1lhmUhT

THE BOOKS ON TOUR

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Fill gap of lack of examinable arts curriculum in public schoolsSoon after the introduction of Free Primary Education in Kenya, followed the removal of arts subjects in the examinable curriculum, leaving students who were arts oriented with only the Annual Music and Drama Festivals to channel their creativity.

No creative writing programs + lack of contemporary reading materialStudents follow a set standard that they then reproduce at exams. Rarely do schools provide students an opportunity to develop their innate creative abilities.

Our commitment to the growth of creative industries + creative expressionKwani Trust was founded as a space to develop new writing by providing training opportunities.

To inspire a new generation of creative writers The engagement between published writers and upcoming writers allows us to inspire a new crop of writers so as to keep the Kenyan literary space vibrant.

Why the Soma Tour?

Book signing at Alliance Girls High School, Kikuyu

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60%male

40%female

Kwani? Soma impact in schools

by gender since 2013

Presentations of poetry by studentsA light segment during the event to loosen up the atmosphere and provide the talented students an opportunity to hone and showcase their craft.

A talk on the book processSince 2013, Kwani? Soma Schools Tour has impacted 21 schools and universities, 1,779 students and faculty

Presentation of books to schoolIn 2013, Kwani? donated a total of 250 books from the prestigious “Kwani? Series” to schools and community libraries. In 2017 & 2017, with your support we are looking to increase book donations by 100 books per year.

A talk by two to three writers on their personal journeys and reading of book excerptThe writers have varied backgrounds, each with a unique journey that led to their becoming a published author. It gives insight to the students into what the possibilities are for their future

EVENT DETAILS

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Alliance Girls High School Kikuyu

Alliance Boys High School Kikuyu


Allidina Vishram High School,Mombasa

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Encourage youth to take up writing and publishing careers• Givetheyouthinsightintowhatittakestobeacreativewriterand

contributetotellingtheirownstory• Presentthebookprocessandintroducethevariouscareersbetween

thepages• Inspirenewgenerationofcreativewriters

Introduce the youth to African Contemporary Literature• Literatureoutsidetheexaminablesetbooksinschools,tobroaden

theirperspective• Allowstudentstoseenewpossibilitiesforthemselvesinthewriters

beforethem

Leverage support from corporates to donate books from the prestigious “Kwani? Series” to schools• Partnerwithusinmakingthebooksavailableinschoollibraries• Enablethereconnaissanceteamtogofurtherafieldtoreachremote

schoolsinNorthEasternandNorthernKenya• Showcommitmenttothegrowthofcreativeindustriesandcreative

expression

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

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Aga Khan High School, Mombasa


Lions High School, Kisumu

Alliance Girls High School, Kikuyu

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Why Partner?

• Utilizing engagement with education pillar under your CSR docket

• Leveraging an existing engagement in investing in educational initiatives

• Prospecting school faculty for your products

• Association with the leading literary organisation/brand in East Africa

• Brand visibility; recognition, brand placement on location, social media and local press

YOU

KWANI?

KW

ANI?

WRITERS

• a caring brand • product sampling • logistical support

• personal journey• writing process

• subsidized books for library

• talk on book process• careers in publishing • submission process• product sampling

BOOKS

ABLE TO MAKE INFORMED CAREER CHOICES

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A WRITER

BRAND AWARENESS

YOU AND SOMA

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ALMASI [DIAMOND] main sponsor

• Named as main sponsor• Brand visibility / association with 10 schools in 2017• Opportunity to co-brand event• Your representative accompanies our contact person in making

corporate soft-landing in all schools• Website banner on Soma webpage• 10 invitations to special 2017 Kwani? events (book launches,

intimate writers’ conversations)• First choice of seating Annual Kwani? gala dinner and logo on red

carpet banner• Acknowledgement in all branding materials related to Kwani?

Soma Tour [t-shirt, e-flier, web page]• Naming on each individual book title donated to schools as the

book donor “Book do nated by...”• Invitations to participate in select 2017 Kwani? events• Photo and video coverage of all Soma tour events• Media/press mentions as main sponsor• Present Kwani? books to host schools• 4 times per school

Ksh.1.6 million

100 books marked “Donated by Kwani

Trust & You” donated to 10 of the schools

on the tour

11,000 TWITTER

16,000 MAILING LIST

8,442 FACEBOOK

Kwani? Social Media mentions as co-sponsor: 35,442 followers

SPONSORSHIP VALUE ASSESSMENTOFFER

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11,000 TWITTER

16,000 MAILING LIST

8,442 FACEBOOK


• Co-Sponsor status• Logo on webpage and event banners• Invitations to special Kwani? events• 4 Invitations/tickets to special events (gala dinners, book

launches, intimate writers’ conversations)• Association with three schools on the tour• Media/press mentions as co-sponsor

YAKUTI SAMAWATI [SAPPHIRE] co-sponsor

Ksh.650,000

40 books marked “Donated by

Kwani Trust & You” distributed to 3 the schools on the tour


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DHAHABU [GOLD] partner

• Partner status• Logo on webpage• Invitations to special Kwani? Events• Association with one school on the tour• Media/press mentions as Partner status


15 books marked “Donated by

Kwani Trust & You” distributed to a

single school on the tour

Ksh. 250,000

11,000 TWITTER

16,000 MAILING LIST

8,442 FACEBOOK


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You and Kwani? Soma

YOU

KWANI?

KW

ANI?

WRITERS

• a caring brand • product sampling • logistical support• donate subsidized books

to school library

• personal journey• writing process

• subsidized books for library

• talk on book process• careers in publishing • submission process• product sampling

BOOKS

ABLE TO MAKE INFORMED CAREER CHOICES

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE A WRITER

BRAND AWARENESS

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THANK YOUContact Velma Kiome General ManagerKwani Truste-mail: [email protected] Mobile: +254 720 987 227 Office: +254 (0) 20 444 1801Skype: vkiome Twitter: @mzinduzi

http://www.kwani.org/

2017 partnership brief

Documents