Drama festival blends financial literacy skills and online safety

 Nyangweso Junior Secondary school from Nyanza presents a play entitled Kenya Sign Language during the Music and Drama Festival at Kagumo Teachers Training College in Nyeri. [Kibata Kihu, Standard]

More than 50,000 students participating in the ongoing Kenya National Drama and Film Festival are gaining critical financial literacy skills even as performances on stage spotlight pressing issues such as online safety and the need to nurture children’s talents under the Competency-Based Education (CBE) system.

The learners are being trained on how to manage bank accounts and strategies to monetise their artistic talent, in an initiative aimed at transforming creative passion into sustainable livelihoods.

Equity Bank’s Head of Education, Peter Ndoro, said the initiative is designed to position the creative sector as a viable economic pathway for young people.

“We came into these festivals very much aware that the creative sector is an avenue that can be used to create a career, a pathway, an opportunity for economic enterprise,” Ndoro said. “Our aim is to help these young talents understand how to monetise their skills and foster economic enterprise within the creative sector,” he added.

Beyond financial empowerment, the festival stage has emerged as a platform for tackling contemporary social challenges affecting learners.

MM Shah Primary School from Kisumu captivated audiences with a dramatised Kiswahili choral verse titled Utando, which sensitised the public on online child protection.

The performance highlighted the dangers of cyberbullying, online manipulation, and exposure to harmful content, calling for greater vigilance from parents and teachers.

Drama teacher, Zainab Bakari said the piece was inspired by the increasing exposure of children to digital platforms without proper guidance.

“Utando is about children being bullied or attacked through the internet. It emphasises that children must be protected online and guided on how to use digital platforms safely,” she said.

She warned that unsupervised access to gadgets leaves learners vulnerable to online predators and harmful influences.

“They must be under guidance because there are people online who can easily mislead them,” she added.

In another compelling performance, Adon Growland Schools turned the spotlight on parenting and talent development through a live TV broadcast piece titled The Voice of a Child. The production challenged societal norms by addressing the pressure some parents place on children to pursue predetermined career paths.

Trainer Susan Makale said the piece was inspired by real-life experiences within the CBE framework, where learners are encouraged to develop their competencies and talents.

“Our main aim was to let parents and the world understand that in this CBE era, they are supposed to allow children to practice their competencies,” she said.

Makale emphasised that forcing children into specific career paths undermines their potential.

“Some parents try to force their children to follow in their footsteps, but through this performance, the children are advising that it is not right. Parents need to listen to their children and support them in nurturing their talents,” she noted.