Mtoto wa jirani, loosley translated, is Swahili for the kid next door. (If you’re a fan of Cartoon Network, that should ring a bell!)
I picked up this moniker as a child when a group of gossiping househelps referred to me that way. They had a habit of comapring the neighbours kids and property. It became apparent to me that they saw me as different from all the other kids simply because I chose not to do as they did.
I was raised with the view that if I did what everyone else was doing, I would end up like the rest of the world (and judging by the current state of the world, that’s not very good thing!) This principle has guided my thoughts and actions so far. I cannot say it has failed me. Its worked pretty good for me up to this point in life.
My conviction then becomes to share this with others. The best way I know how is to share my own thoughts and experiences and those of others.
In the real world, I go by the name Simeon Oriko, age 22. I’m a former student at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton where I majored in Business Information Technology.
Besides this, I’m also the founder and Executive Director of The Kuyu Project which is a digital literacy initiative aimed at teaching African high school students how to use social media and other digital tools to effect social change in their communities.
My interests lie mainly in tech around ICT4D, mobile cloud computing and African technology.
I’m a simple kid with a simple dream…to change the world!
