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Radar reporter Millicent Nangor's great blog on @thewip: why mobiles are vital to rural populations in #Kenya:

Lodwar is the headquarters of Turkana county in the Northern part of Kenya. It is a semi-arid area and most of the population depends on pastoralism and food aid.

Farms do not exist there unless there is irrigation. Traditionally, women and girls are expected to stick to house chores. Most of the women and girls are still illiterate because there are some people who don’t value girl’s education. Girls are normally brought up well so that they fetch a high price as a bride. To them, Nairobi is the real Kenya while they are far away from it.

In such remote areas of Kenya, access to electricity is difficult. It is hard to gather and share news. For people living in these areas, mobile and SMS reporting creates a sense of belonging and responsibility as people speak for themselves.

Mobile phones are becoming cheaper and cheaper, making them affordable for people in rural areas with little disposable income. Mobile is an equalizer. It moves beyond gender discrimination. I consider a mobile phone “the power in my pocket” as I can voice the news of my people instead of others doing it for me.

“At least it’s easier and possible now to communicate with someone far away, compared to when we didn’t have a mobile phone,” says Brenda Akiru, 19, a resident of Kakuma.
Another resident, 20-year-old Festus Imuton says, “Mobile phones have really helped me to know many things happening both within and outside Kenya.”

When people can speak for themselves, democracy is greatly improved. Each of us can contribute to nation-building. I feel proud to be a citizen journalist, especially as a young female, which is uncommon in many remote areas. We are used to seeing the media elite do the reporting, especially men.

Since most girls and women are illiterate and unemployed, many politicians will take advantage and give them bribes during elections. I will therefore play my role as a citizen reporter to look for such issues and report any kind of discrimination and mistreatment of women and girls.

As a trained reporter, I am also going to educate others so that they too can report for themselves rather than waiting for media elites to report on their behalf.

I believe mobile will be an eye opener to girls in remote areas, and will show them that they can make a real difference.