Thanks for making a shout-out about this incredible work, Nancy.

Last year, as an organizer with the Prometheus Radio Project (http://www.prometheusradio.org), I had the honor of working with some incredible community groups in Kenya as they built a network of independent journalists across the nation. Many of those same independent media makers are using M-PESA, and whatever time they can get in internet cafes from Kisumu to Kangemi, to get the word out about amazing community organizing projects meant to heal the country post-election, and to focus the power of everyday Kenyans on the corrupt system keeping them down.

I'd like to prevail upon readers who find this work inspiring to donate to them today -- even a few dollars can make a big difference, as you can see from Nancy's great WorldChanging piece. Donate through the Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center, which is fiscally sponsoring this project, and sending donations in large batches to Kenya -- your donations are tax-deductible! http://ucimc.org/info/donate

A text message costs about 7 cents -- so $7 means 100 text messages across the nation, or from Kenya to allies in the West and around the world.

$35 means that a group of youth in Kangemi can meet for a day, food included, and plan a video production about peace efforts forming inside their slum community.

$70 means that core Kenya Indymedia activists will be able to take the matatu 2 or 3 times across the country, to meet with media makers and to bring shared cameras and minidisc recorders used for making photoessays like this -- http://kenya.indymedia.org/news/2008/01/1950.php -- or audio interviews like this -- http://kenya.indymedia.org/images/Jimani.mp3.

If you want to see what you are supporting, Kenya independent media activists are telling their own stories right now at http://kenya.indymedia.org, and you can help them text their next dispatch or get a few hours time at an internet cafe to upload an audio interview.

If you need more inspiration, listen to one of John's radio productions on the crisis and its resolution here -- http://phillyimc.org/en/2008/01/43958.shtml -- and check out the Ten Things You Can Do to support these activists in their struggle.

You can also watch this fantastic slideshow of John and dozens of other African media activists building radio stations with Prometheus and global allies in Kisumu, Maseno, and in communities across Nairobi here -- http://tinyurl.com/26fov5 -- and join the Facebook group in support of these activists here -- http://tinyurl.com/2z29pb .

Hannah Sassaman
Prometheus Radio Project

--
-----

hannah sassaman
prometheusradioproject

building radio stations = awesome
http://www.prometheusradio.org
215-727-9620 x 501
267-970-4007

I should also mention Steph99's great piece on how Kenya's IndyMedia movement started and what it needs to grow. From her time in Kenya at the World Social Forum last January, Steph has some great first-hand reporting on the challenges of stringing together what you need to create alternative media in Kenya. She also details what you need to know to chip in a few bucks to the effort to keep Kenya IndyMedia going.