Connect with us

Africa

The Incredible Story of David Avido of Kenya, 24 Year old designing for the Grass Roots to the Stars

Published

on

By Dana Malcolm

Staff Writer

 

 

#Africa, February 2, 2023 – One Kenyan designer began a sewing business out of the slums where he was born; now he dresses some of the Caribbean and Africa’s most famous faces.

Born the oldest son of a single mother and from Kibera Nairobi, David Avido Ochieng did not have an easy start. In Kibera, the largest urban slum in East Africa opportunities for international success are hard to come by and yet Avido can now say he has dressed the likes of former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, Beyoncé, Chronixx, Romain Virgo, Tarrus Riley, Chris Martin, Ty Dolla Sign, Koffee and many more.

As explained on his website, David dropped out of school to work and support his family quite young. In just first form he was working on a construction site but he knew he wanted more from life. After quitting his job he danced and saved what he could and tried his best to complete his education.

He told Vogue magazine: “When I started dancing I used to save money in order to go back to high school, with the little that I could get from dancing and my mom’s money from doing work as a house help, we were able to raise 15,000 shillings and with that, I joined an adult school and skipped forms two, three and four.”

David picked up a sewing machine to make costumes and realized his talent.  By 2015, his brand LookslikeAvido was born. He completed a fashion & design diploma at Buruburu Institute of Fine Arts and began to sew incredible pieces right at home in Kibera.  Even as his brand is globally recognized, Kibera is where his workshop remains; David says, his homeland is his great inspiration.

“There is no barrier if you believe in your talent and take the next step. I want to encourage and create beauty, where people don’t expect.”

Talented and thoughtful Avido is well aware of the stereotypes surrounding him, his home and the black community globally.

“We know about injustice and violence, prejudice, racial and social discrimination – we experience it within Kenya and we experience it globally, as people look at us as the poor, the uneducated, the needy,” he said.

Featured in Vogue, CNN and other international publications, Avido remains connected to his origins in a tangible way and as his success grows his roots just go deeper. Twenty per cent of all sales of his jackets and other clothing items go directly back to Kibera; his website explains ​that all the tailoring, product photoshoots and collaborations ‘is all done here in Kibra.’

There is no fabric waste from his garments, instead, scraps are repurposed into masks and shopping bags for residents, all his tailors are local residents, a portion of profits are used to pay school fees and Avido and his team put in extra time to make school uniforms as well.

On his website, is a photo of him sitting around a sewing machine, his worktable resting on hard-packed earth with presumably a group of family and friends surrounding him, a source of pride. The introspective photograph could have been taken in Nairobi, Trinidad or Barbados, so nostalgic is the picture, the bench and the story of community success that it represents.

In a video posted to his YouTube, David sits at his new work desk, and beside him hangs a rack of clothes in the cramped space that serves as his kitchen as well.

“I’m the firstborn of Kibera,” He explains, “Every kid in Kibera is looking up to me— my main dream is to open up a place where I can inspire people to work.”

David has a dozen employees and is listed in Beyonce’s directory of black businesses; with an uncommon wisdom, the designer knows that his successes so far are not parking spaces but rather stepping stones as he faces his future announcing that the journey, for him, continues.

Continue Reading

Africa

Africa-CARICOM Day (September 7) Observed 

Published

on

By BETTY VEDRINE
Bahamas Information Services



NASSAU, The Bahamas —  At a press conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, September 6, Minister of Foreign Affairs the Hon. Fred Mitchell announced Africa-CARICOM Day which is celebrated September 7, and honours the third anniversary of the Africa-CARICOM Summit that established the foundation for a new and enhanced partnership between Africa and the Caribbean and between the African Union and the Caribbean Community.  Present were ambassadors, senior officials and stakeholders representing a cross-section of agencies.

In  attendance: Jamahl Strachan, Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; H.E. Ambassador Philip Smith, High Commissioner of Social & Reparatory Justice; H.E. William Wong, Non-Resident Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco; Dr. Niambi Hall-Campbell Dean, Chairman of the Bahamas Reparations Committee; Gaynel Curry, Member of the UN 10-member Permanent Forum on People of African Descent; and Melvin Seymour, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Minister Mitchell said that historically, the relationship between The Bahamas and the countries of Africa, has been a strong one demonstrated by the strong stand  the ‘Father of the Nation,’ Sir Lynden Pindling took in l985 at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Nassau to free the iconic African leader, Nelson Mandela, who was imprisoned for over 27 years.

“The Bahamas was proud and honoured when Mandela visited in 1993,” he said. “In more recent times, The Bahamas has strengthened its relationship with countries of the African continent with a view to strengthening cultural, political and economic ties.  Expanding diplomatic relations and collaborating with Africa in the areas of tourism, finance, education, people-to-people exchanges, culture and exchange programs, strengthens economic activity and provides the opportunity for growth and development as we tap into the opportunities provided by new markets.”

He said that the government has appointed a non-resident Bahamian Ambassador to Ghana, H.E. Andrew Wilson and a non-resident Bahamian Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco, H.E. William Wong.

“We have made several official and state visits to the continent including one to Ghana and two to Botswana. The last state visit to Botswana was in July 2023 by our Governor General, H.E. Dame Cynthia Pratt.”

The Minister said that  a ‘Sister City Agreement’ between Nassau and Princess Town, Ahanta West Ghana will form direct connections between Africa and the people of its diaspora born in The Bahamas and in so doing, strengthen cultural, social and economic ties between both countries.

He also noted that a delegation from the University of The Bahamas Northern Campus, engaged in discussions with several universities in Ghana, which centered on enhancing relationships, developing MOUs and fostering faculty and student exchanges and joint research initiatives.

In addition, he said that The Bahamas played host to the Afreximbank Conference earlier this year — a first for the region.

“An MOU between The Bahamas Development Bank and the African Export-Import Bank, provides up to $700 million in investment for sustainable development projects throughout the Caribbean.

The Minister said that this year also marked the inaugural flight of Ethiopian Airlines to The Bahamas, which marks an ‘important’ step towards encouraging AfroCaribbean tourism and deepening both nations’ shared cultural legacy.

An exhibit featuring African art and artifacts followed the press conference.

 

PHOTO CAPTION

Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Hon. Fred Mitchell is pictured taking a tour of African art and artifacts following a press conference announcing the observance of Africa-CARICOM Day, September 7.

 

(BIS Photos/Patrick Hanna).

Continue Reading

Africa

UN Sec Gen says Africans must be honoured, supports reparations

Published

on

Garfield Ekon

Staff Member

The millions of African who suffered under the brutal regime of slavery, must be honoured through reparatory justice, according to Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres.

In his message to commemorate the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, on Monday, he said many of those who organised and ran the slave trade, amassed huge fortunes, and the enslaved were deprived of education, healthcare, opportunity, and prosperity.

“We call for reparatory justice frameworks, to help overcome generations of exclusion and discrimination. We appeal for the space and necessary conditions for healing, repair, and justice. And above all, we resolve to work for a world free from racism, discrimination, bigotry, and hate. Together, as we remember the victims of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, let us unite for human rights, dignity, and opportunity for all,” he said.

Adding that the lives of the victims were ruled by terror, as they endured rape, floggings, lynchings and other atrocities and humiliations, he noted that it laid the foundations for a violent discrimination system based on white supremacy that still echoes today, and descendants of enslaved Africans and people of African descent are still fighting for equal rights and freedoms around the world.

The commemoration was held under the theme: “Celebrating Global Freedom: Countering Racism with Justice in Societies and Among Nations,” and delivering the keynote address, Professor Sir Hilary Beckles, who is the Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Commission on Reparation and Social Justice,  urged the world body to back a reparatory justice programme ,and end colonisation within the Caribbean.

“I urge the United Nations therefore, as part of its reparatory justice programme, to recommit to recommit to the agenda of decolonisation so that this crime against humanity which began in the Caribbean can finally come to an end with the ending of colonisation,” he said.

For over 400 years, more than 15 million men, women and children were the victims of the tragic transatlantic slave trade, one of the darkest chapters in human history.

Professor Beckles stressed that the payment of moral and development reparations for the crimes against African people, will at the very beginning represent the formation of a “new and more equitable” global order that will represent a break from historical backwardness and lay the future for the dawn of a “dignified dispensation for all of humanity,” he told his audience.

A partnership has been forged between ta 55-member African Union and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) of 20 countries with an aim to intensify pressure on former slave-owning nations to engage with the reparation’s movement.

Continue Reading

Africa

Commonwealth Law Ministers Meeting in Zanzibar calls for justice to become a reality for all 2.5 billion Commonwealth citizens

Published

on

March 9, 2024 – In her remarks to the opening ceremony on 4 March 2024, the Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland KC, told more than 400 ministers, senior government officials, and other dignitaries from across the world’s six regions:

“It is our responsibility to drive forward the paradigm shift agreed at our last meeting in Mauritius to deliver on the Commonwealth Access to Justice Declaration and ensure that people of the Commonwealth know they have access to justice because they can taste it, see it and feel it.”

In light of escalating crises around the world, she commended the work of Commonwealth law ministers while calling for even greater emphasis to be placed on justice as an “essential strength” in overcoming the current challenges.

The Secretary-General urged ministers ahead of their deliberations to dig deeper with rigour and courage to ensure that the commitments are not just words on paper but the lived experience of all.

A timely opportunity

The meeting was inaugurated by H.E. Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of the United Republic of Tanzania, who underscored the crucial role of law in addressing unprecedented global challenges and described the meeting as a timely opportunity to cooperate on strengthening legal systems.

She said:

“This forum will open doors for further collaboration, innovation, and collective action as we strive to meet the evolving needs of our societies.

“Together, we can build a better future where justice prevails, and the rights of every individual are protected to sustain sustainable development across Commonwealth nations.”

Reflecting on the meeting’s theme, ‘How digitalisation paves the way for the development of people-centred access to justice’, the President highlighted her government’s use of technology to enhance legal services, including through the rollout of time-saving e-courts.

She also spoke about the ‘Mama Samia Legal Aid Campaign’, which offers legal aid and information to citizens on various issues, including gender-based violence and dispute resolution.

Hosted by the United Republic of Tanzania, the biennial meeting is the principal decision-making body for law ministers from the 56 Commonwealth countries.

Over the next four days, ministers will deliberate on the policy and strategic actions required to address access to justice challenges, especially for women, people with disabilities and those living in poverty.

Ministers will also exchange innovative practices on evidence-based policymaking and the effective use of digital resources to bridge gaps and enhance the delivery of justice services.

Justice gap

More than 5.1 billion people – two-thirds of the world’s population – lack meaningful access to justice. Lost income and stress-related illness due to seeking legal redress can cost countries up to 3 per cent of their gross domestic product every year.

Hon Ambassador Dr Pindi H. Chana, the meeting’s Chair and the United Republic of Tanzania’s Minister of Constitutional and Legal Affairs, said the gathering would facilitate a meaningful dialogue to overcome legal hurdles facing countries.

She added:

“From promoting access to justice to strengthening legal frameworks, our discussions over the coming days will contribute to shaping the future of law and governance within the Commonwealth countries.

“Together, we can build a Commonwealth where justice and equality reign supreme.”

A moment of silence was observed during the ceremony to honour the late President of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ali Hassan Mwinyi, who passed away on 29 February 2024.

Alongside the meeting, a series of side events are being organised to ensure diverse perspectives, from disability inclusion to digital trade law, contribute to ministerial discussions.

A statement summarising the meeting outcomes will be issued on 8 March 2024, which will support countries in realising the mandates set out in the Commonwealth Access to Justice Declaration – a commitment by all 56 member countries to ensure universal access to justice.

Continue Reading

FIND US ON FACEBOOK

TRENDING