This Year Tayari Begins, But We Want To Start At The End …
Jacqueline Tsuma
UNDP Regional Digital Advisor - Africa | Partnerships for Digital | Founder (EdTech) | Expert AI & Biz Startup/scale ups
Beginnings are stressful. I’d rather put off beginning something because, well, what if I fail? What if I never should have begun it in the first place? What if a million other reasons exist that it won’t work out?
So this is the end, just so you know. Not the beginning. I’d like you to imagine we’ve been hanging out the whole year, and this is like 24th December 2022.? Deep breath. Okay, let’s go…
It’s been a whirlwind year, so grateful for the success of Tayari.live and Tayari Transitions. Thanks so much for the support you have given us, we couldn’t have done it without you, you are WHY WE ARE!!
Where to start?
Well, we postponed going live for about 2 weeks because of COVID and cancelled Christmas plans. (Here’s looking at you Omicron, thankfully the madness around Corona is past and we are co-existing with it peacefully). After all that, we finally bit the bullet and put it out in the world on January 7th, 2022. We had to let go of the need for everything to be perfectly put together, seamlessly working, and trust that you, our community would be kind. And we were blown away by how kind you were! How you loved the idea of a native African learning language learning app, the idea of a place to get mentorship on Transitions, the chance for authentic communities where your children and you could engage with others around your shared culture, identity, your purpose, your transitions.
And you helped us create a movement. Because it’s our time in Africa. We looked for financing locally and internationally. And looked. And looked. We finally realised that we had what we needed all along, right in front of us! YOU. You who love being African in every way. You who wish your child would love it as much as you do. You who've lived outside of your home country for years, but miss home terribly. (And when you talk about home you’re not talking about the 4 walls you rent or mortgage in your country of residence, that's just temporary). Feeling nostalgic invariably has you playing your favourite tunes from back home on repeat whenever you can, wherever you can, because it reminds you of home. (Your kids know not to touch, or even look at, the volume dial when you are in the zone). You, who know time is running out to get your kids to feel the same way. You who fear those kids may be stuck in limbo their whole lives, feeling like they don’t fit anywhere - not in their adopted country where they’ve lived all these years with you, nor in the country of your birth that you call home. You crave for them to call it home as well, beyond their sense of duty to do so because of you.
YOU.
US.
WE All. Together.
Because, one thing I’ve learned from living in Nigeria, is how proudly and apologetically themselves a people can be. I am kind of jealous, if I'm being honest. I wish I’d grown up with the same pride in who I am, in what I can do and what I represent. With the same conviction that things from abroad are not better than things that we create locally. That in all honesty, the West could benefit from my skill, my talent, my knowledge, my being me.
That I am not playing, I come to the table on my own terms. That I am a force to reckon with. (That’s Nigeria in a nutshell).
Growing up in Kenya, watching MTV, Disney, Nickelodeon, I developed the belief that I wasn’t enough. That I had to change the way I spoke to be accepted. That getting the compliment that I “speak English so well” was the highest compliment I could ever be given. That speaking my mother tongue was optional and I could relegate it to that pile of things-my-parents-want-me-to-do-that-I-will-never-do.
I’m working on that, it’s been 43 years and I’ve done a lot of unlearning and relearning, I’m not there yet. But it’s interesting how one’s perspective can change in that time. With the maturity that makes us realize without roots we have no anchor. Without language we have little identity.
So, yes I’m jealous of my host country. I’m also jealous FOR them to take the world by storm as they are stealthily doing, through the global media, in music, movies and TV, go Naija!
And I’m also excited because, I and we know it’s not too late for the next generation, for our kids from all the countries of Africa, and we’re committed to making sure we don't miss the opportunity at hand.
And we saw that you were too. Maybe you hadn’t realised it yet. Maybe you didn’t get it right away. But then you did. Most likely though, you were there already, ready for it, eyes wide open.
And we saw you, we heard you…
We saw that you were tired of your kids only watching western cartoons on your TV screens. We saw you wear that Afro proudly after you shaved your permed hair to the scalp, that perm that you had won since you were a child. We know it had been because you thought that was what made you pretty. But you know the truth now and your children’s natural hair is proof of that.
We saw you bingeing those streaming movies with unapologetically black women and men, from Lupita Nyongo, to Idris Elba, to Issa Rae. We saw you listening to Sho Madjozi’s and Burna Boy's music. We saw you dancing to Kenyan Afropop, Naija Afrobeat, South African Kwaito.
We saw most of all that you wanted your kids to have the same love, passion and understanding of where they came from, and to embrace the identity that comes from that. But how could they genuinely call it home if they’d always felt like outsiders? How could you pass on your language when you hardly spoke it growing up? How could they engage with their culture when that culture is fast dying, and with it, the identity that set you and your country people apart?
领英推荐
This was me. This was Us. Together we started making our challenges a thing of the past, and went about creating a new future. We needed to make a change. If we didn’t want to go the way of the dinosaurs, something needed to change
Enter Tayari.live .
We thought together of all the lessons that we wished our parents taught us, that we’d have loved to see them teach their grandkids. And that’s what we created, so we’ve got you covered. We hope. And we’re still listening, so keep speaking to us (add your thoughts below in the comments). This one is for all of us.
We started with language, the vehicle of our cultures. We created lessons in Swahili, Yoruba, Krio, Shona, Zulu, and got tons of requests when you all reached out to us to nominate more languages.
We ran a crowdfunding project to get your help to get the video lessons done, and the gamified mobile app running and the little bits and bobs all set. And boy did you ever turn up!? We raised over $100,000 in funds in less than 60 days!! We made sure you as our backers got the BEST DEALS. We’re talking 1-year subscriptions to 1, 2 or 3 languages of your choice, a pass to our annual language immersion retreats for kids, lifetime grandfathered subscription price for you as our very first backers, among other awesome deals. And for those of you that really pulled out the stops? Well, of course you got lifetime access to all our learning videos for all our languages ever to be produced. Frankly, you blew us away because of how much you believed in us! Even when we had a hard time believing in ourselves.? We could never have done this without you. We cannot do any of it without you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
And when we launch our upcoming project for the crowdfunded production of a homegrown show steeped in our African culture, music and community that young African boys and girls all over the world would watch and LOVE, well, I won’t even say more, just look at the proof in what you helped us produce! An amazing series that told our stories. And your support and response were heartwarming, so much so that a production house picked up the series for season two. We could never have dreamed that this would happen.
Yes, because you believed in us.
And so, let’s all believe in each other. We are the #TayariTribe. Let’s show the world what we can do!
Back to present day... exhale, would love it if you would:
? Let me know in the comments below what’s the number one thing you wish your parents had taught you?
? Share this post and help us get the movement going, and
? Head over to www.tayari.live and get access to our first-look videos for Swahili learning.
? Keep it locked for our crowdfunding campaign launching on 17th January to get your help to make this dream a reality and reward our early members for their support!
Looking forward to walking this journey with you, from our lips to God's ears!
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Tayari means 'ready' in Swahili, a native language spoken in Eastern African, specifically Kenya, Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, Burundi and Rwanda.
Jacqueline Tsuma is a diaspora parent, business coach and all-round enthusiast for African and it's culture, for developing people and for leveraging digital and online media towards this end.
Congratulations Jacqy - my best wishes
Manager of Health Research at Métis Nation of Alberta
3 年This is amazing, Jacqueline! I wish my parents taught me how to speak my mother tongue - Tugen, one of the languages spoken by Kalenjins, in Kenya. But since I am responsible for my life, I am taking the responsibility to teach myself my language and culture as a whole. I am tapping into the knowledge and wisdom of my parents and using them as a primary resource. My prayer and hope is that I pass these teachings to my children and hopefully this can be passed down to generations to come. As I travel, explore and meet different people from all over the world, I am understanding the beauty of diversity and going back to my roots. I love where I come from, and it's about time I connect to my roots.
GM & Head of Wholesale - East Africa at EssilorLuxottica | General & Strategic Management| Medical Device & Pharma Leadership in Africa | Commercial and Marketing Management
3 年Such a great initiative to promote the learning out of our native languages. Witnessing the gradual decline in the knowledge of our native languages with our generations and our childrens generations this is such a welcome start to turning the tide. Kudos Jacqueline Tsuma!
Communication Specialist
3 年Congratulations!
Regional Programme Coordinator - Ending Violence against Women
3 年Love this! Like you Jackie, one thing I wish my parents taught me is their mother-tongue. Growing up a mix of tribes, I suppose they thought it would be easier for us to focus on one language, Swahili. Whilst I strenghten that, I look forward to engaging with my both my maternal and paternal tribal ancestry!