QUELLI DEFINED...

INTRO:

40% of the African youth may not live past the age of 30, another 20% may not live beyond 40 years and probably another 10% may be lucky enough to see 50. It's not that the African youth is cursed to go past 50 but the truth remains that he/she is the "most endangered" amongst the youth in this world.

For most African youth the luxury of a meal 3 times a day or sleeping under a roof 365days a year is almost unheard of. For others school is another soap opera only attended by those whose ears are cut to listen to the "Mozart's" in form of teachers. It is therefore a case for survival for the African youth and thus he results to natural adaptation techniques.
Prostitution, drug abuse, excessive intake of alcohol; all this to either try raise their living standards or suppress the bad feeling of negligence and poverty within society.
The most depressing thing is that amongst these youth lies untapped talent...talent so great it could change the state of this continent.
The big question is why. Why they are engaging in so much premarital sex, homosexuality, bisexuality.Why are they indulging in alcohol, drugs.Why?

There are several schools of thought over this issue, one being alienation from their cultural roots. Another being a blind imitation of cultures from the Western World. All these focus on the lack of roots that ground them and keep them on a leash. One issue that is acknowledged as a key problem, but is barely addressed, is that of religion. Many a youth cringe at the thought of this word. Most parents, educators, the older generation and the church alike, have been successful at establishing professions of concern about our generation and religion, or the lack of it thereof, in the shaping of our destiny. Much has been said, very little done.

As a young person, a sense of belonging is prime. The transition from childhood to adulthood comes with it a strange new bunch of somewhat unique and inexplicable emotions and behaviours, but above all, it is the fear of most, the desire of all: a sense of belonging. If this desire is not satisfied in due time, it rapidly evolves into an obsession, that eventually nurtures a hub of all sorts of malpractices, all in a bid to be called ‘homey’ or ‘shortie’.
Quite frankly, the lack of solutions, clear cut, action-driven solutions, as opposed to all the looming proposals out there, is seemingly patronizing, and quite annoying. It’s time that we saw solutions underway. It’s time we walked the talk....

Who is QUELLI?

Quelli is a youth driven attempt at nipping this menace in the bud. A movement, in essence, not to rally up masses to express rage and hit the streets bellowing ‘Haki yetu’. We are all about creating a forum for expression for all youth, regardless of creed, tribal affiliations, educational background and virtually every other societal demarcation out there. Quelli is a unification under a common factor: being a youth. Together, we want to find the way forth, via expression artistically, expressing our feelings, our metamorphosis, and the difficulty faced. Helping one another go through this transit and emerge with a sense of direction, satisfaction, acceptance and above all, hope.

Quelli represents the combat that needs to be established against the woes that face all youth from all over the globe, as well as speaking an unaltered, uncoated truth.
It is easy, and somewhat understandable if one were to dismiss this as yet another ploy, but as a young person, just as any other, tired of all the patronization and talk about youth all over the place, I seek a forum to express myself, a forum through which I can seek answers, a forum through which I can find the truth, in its rightful definition, a place where I can connect with other souls, trying to find the way out of these murky waters. Hence the conception of Quelli.
A wise person noted that it is better to have tried and failed, than not to have tried at all. We are going all out, regardless of whatever pessimism, knowing that in the end, it is the truth that will prevail. That all the youth of today need is guidance, patience, love, identity, understanding, to be understood and hope.


George Kimble a geographer said "The darkest thing about Africa has always been our ignorance of it."

Quelli is every young African who dares to dream...Be a part of Quelli!!!