Youth with special needs

No one told you this, well at least not yet, so here we go: You are most likely among the youth with special needs. This country has the majority of its demography comprising of the youth and while that would be a huge advantage to any economy, it is actually a limitation to Kenya’s economy. This is so because while that stands, it has been discovered that there is a new of youth who have been identified as…wait for it… ‘youth with special needs’. Unemployed youth; dropouts; Youth infected, living with and affected by HIV/Aids; homeless youth; physically, and mentally challenged youth; youth of the female gender and generally  underprivileged youth…who are content with being deemed as such: youth with special needs.

If the world was fair and kind, life would be boring. It is the entire struggle, the challenges and drama that make us come alive… that keep us keeping on, that make us want to fight all the more. So yes, you may fall under this category of youths but guess what? You are in no way less capable of making it and changing your circumstances as the next person and the person after them. 

You are special because you have something in your essence that many people seek but don’t find; because you are special in your own unique way… so make it count. They say when life gives lemon, make lemonade.  That, in my opinion, has to be the biggest cliché by now…Everyone is taught that, but remember, the world can only handle too much lemonade. I think when life gives you lemon, disinfect your surfaces, bleach grease and tough food stains from plastic wear, use it as décor in mom’s living room (she will be thrilled, trust me), relieve a sore throat…and if you don’t have one, find someone who does and feed it to them, shine the interior of copper cutlery because steel wool paired with that kipande bar is not always worth the hustle, brighten your laundry whites, clean out sticky foods from a grater; by Jove, do something different. Still wanna make lemonade? No? Haha, that’s what I thought. There’s about an endless list of things you can do with lemon, which is a true reflection of the hardships and shortcomings we face in life, there’s about a thousand ways you can turn that “mistake” into something great. Step up to the challenge. Remember, you never know until you try. All the best :)