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Tag: student

  • A DIVE INTO FASHION

    By: Valyne Laibuta (vklaibuta@gmail.com)

    Photos courtesy of: Sapatu Kenya

    Wambui Ndaiyo. Founder and lead designer at Sapatu Kenya.

    This week I got the opportunity to interview the lovely Prisca Noel Waiganjo also known as Wambui Ndaiyo. Wambui is not only a third year Public relations student at Daystar University but she is also the lead designer and founder of the fashion brand Sapatu Kenya.

    Sapatu Kenya was born in 2015, “I took a short course in tailoring and design after high school” says Wambui when talking about how Sapatu Kenya came to be. She adds, “it also helped me cope with depression.

    Before joining the tailor and design school, Wambui described how she would take her mother’s clothes are transform them to be more modern, sexy and sophisticated, this is what inspired her to pursue her passion in fashion design.

    Wambui went on to describe Sapatu as a clothing brand for the modern African woman that promotes body positivity, sophistication and confidence. From her collections, I could tell that Sapatu Kenya lives up to its purpose.

    “The kind of fashion you would find at Sapatu Kenya, is based on diversity. It is a brand that implements its creativity to ensure our clients are satisfied with the products” Wambui when asked about the kind of fashion found at Sapatu. She adds that Sapatu Kenya aims to provide clients with unique and stunning pieces that you will not be able to find in a typical clothing store.

    Prisca recounts that her favourite collection was based on shoot that she did with her couple of her friends a year back known as the forest shoot. Her main aim with this collection and shoot was to inspire people to lean on nature when they are feeling overwhelmed with day to day activities.

    “Nature is the foundation of everything and fashion itself. Nature allows me to reach into my creative wits and create something that’s uplifting and relatable”.

    Speaking about the challenges she has faced with starting and running Sapatu Kenya, she says that “starting any business is not easy”. She wishes she had not rushed too quickly to the creative side without first considering the business side of the brand.

    Organization and marketing of her brand proved a challenge to her in the beginning, luckily she had help from her friends and also help from Urban Change Lab that allowed her brand to reach a larger market.

    While interviewing Wambui, I found her to be remarkable and hardworking; along with her brand and her studies, she is also the Public relations manager of Urban Change Lab.

    She describes Urban Change Lab as a platform that allows local craftsmen to showcase their products abroad. The craftsmen and clients are able to interact in transparency, the clients are able to also send in their ideas and be able to be their own designers with the help of these craftsmen.

    Urban Change Lab is a new form of comfort shopping that allows people from different parts of the world to share ideas which are realized by craftsmen in Africa. The platform allows both the craftsmen and client to interact fairly and share ideas.

    Wambui believes that this platform might open doors to job opportunities in Africa especially to fellow designers who would like to gain internationally recognition.

    She concludes the interview by offering advice to upcoming business owners, that they must be focused and set realistic goals for their businesses. She also urges the ambitious women out there trying to be billionaires before they hit 30, that it is not too early to start their journey into the world of business.

    Wambui is an inspiration out there to those studying or working but have always been dreaming to start their own brand that it is never too early to start and whatever challenges come your way, you must work through them and keep pushing forward. I hope her interview serves as inspiration to someone out there.

    If you would like to watch the video interview, click here.

  • THE WOMAN BEHIND THE SPORT

    By: Valyne Laibuta

    Kalaine Kathambi is a student at Daystar University who embodies excellence. She is not only pursuing her degree in Marketing but she is also one of the most valued female players for the Daystar Hockey team. Outside school, she also plays for the Reiners Hockey Club.

    Her love for hockey began in high school when she was in form two and once she picked up that hockey stick, she has never looked back. She describes hockey as being “thrilling” and unlike other sports, hockey puts more emphasis on the skill and technique. Therefore, due to her zeal and hard work she has perfected her skills and technique on the hockey pitch, allowing her to be able to go against the boys without even breaking a sweat.

    For Kathambi, hockey is more than a hobby because it has provided her with the platform where she has been able to find herself and grow into the strong woman she is. She adds, “Hockey has become her outlet” when she has been experiencing a bad day and needs to release that negative energy. Unlike other players, she goes that extra mile such as going to train even on days that the team is not training, investing in the best hockey gear and going for a morning jog to ensure that she is at the top of her game.

    “As females, our voices are not heard,” she said, “During tournaments, 16 male teams are enrolled while only 8 female teams are enrolled”. This is one of the challenges she has faced as a female hockey player. It is saddening that female hockey players can put in the work but still not be valued as highly as men. Another challenge she has faced is the injuries she has sustained during training, matches, and tournaments. She jokingly describes the injuries she has sustained such as “having cut my lip by being hit by the ball”.

    “It was the last game I played in high school” describes Kathambi when asked about her most emotional match, “it was a goal that was meant to determine if we would make it for nationals and I could not score”. She adds that she hopes to redeem herself when she meets the goalkeeper from that last match in their upcoming match against Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology.

    Lastly, she concludes by urging the Ministry of Sports, culture and the Arts to invest more in hockey and encourage more high school hockey players to pursue hockey once joining universities. She hopes to see more and more people joining her to train with the Daystar Falcons.