Fun galore at Kids Festival

By Phares Mutembei

The April holidays started in exciting fashion for hundreds of children who attended the Kids Festival at the Carnivore grounds in Nairobi recently. The event, organised by Laugh Industry with support from Barclays Bank of Kenya, Standard Group, Kenya National Library Services among others, was a talent pool even as children got an opportunity to be mentored by various role models.

The children, who came from all over Nairobi and neighbouring counties, had a memorable day as they engaged in talent shows and interacted with some of Kenya’s biggest youthful entertainers.

Some of the children who attended the fun-filled event. [Photo: Pius Cheruiyot/ Standard]

It was also fun learning about money from managers of Barclays Bank, who were only too happy to teach the children.

"Yes, I have been working hard at school to improve my grades. I love working hard because it makes my parents, teachers and myself happy when I improve my performance. So today I am having my treat as a reward for the hard work. I am having a lot of fun here. I have visited many tents to sample storybooks, played at the play station and had lots of delicious food," said Sydney Mbuhu, a 10-year-old pupil from Nairobi South Primary School.

"I have met many famous musicians and actors and they gave me a lot of advice. I want to be a musician when I grow up," said Sydney.

"My friends and I are also here to have fun, because we need to relax and get away from books for a little while. I am having a great time because I also met and talked with Churchill and Eric Omondi, who gave me good advice on how to achieve my dream. In the future I want to be a successful businessman, probably dealing with minerals such as gold and diamonds," said Darryl David of Epren Academy, Nairobi.

The KTN/Standard tent was one of the most visited, with children getting an opportunity to interact with journalists and ask questions. They spent time in the tent reading copies of Generation Next magazine.

Churchill, one of the country’s biggest entertainers, was at hand to explain what it takes to become a successful public speaker and the feedback from the children was overwhelming.

"I want to be a journalist in future and I now know that I have to love the language subjects and be a keen observer," said Siwo Nelson.

"I am so happy because I am having a lot of fun and meeting people that I only see on television. I have danced, watched the Tinga Tinga cartoons and drawn a lot of pictures," said Lillian Ndule, 9, and in Class 5 at ACK St Paul’s Academy in Athi River.

She and other artistic youngsters had the chance paint, draw, watch cartoons and read storybooks at the Kenya National Library Service’s mobile library. Their paintings and drawings were pasted on the bus for everybody to admire.

"Our aim is to give children a chance to have fun in exciting activities, as well as encourage them to develop a love for reading. There is so much fun in reading because it opens an exciting world to them. We also want to mentor and encourage them to engage in activities that develop talent," said Churchill.