Annette Atieno: Splurging on one thing that makes me happy every month keeps me sane

Annette Atieno is a dynamic communications professional specialising in social change, behaviour change communications, and advocacy, experienced in regional engagements, working with international NGOs, local CSOs, and both government and private sectors. Annette is the author of countless emails and a short story, has produced a podcast episode, and has successfully grown dhania on a balcony. She is most notably a broke MA student, pursuing a Masters in communication for development.

1. What made you decide to pursue a Masters, especially after having worked in the field you're working in for so long? How do you think this will help with your work? Could you get a little into what you do?
I studied biochemistry for my undergraduate degree. However, and I say this all the time, Kenyan universities churn out a lot of biochemists and there are only so many jobs. I got into communication by mistake. My mentor kept affirming me and my work and I pursued it more aggressively. I now use my comms knowledge and skill for good, essentially to make the world a better place for sexual and gender minorities, and women. To be honest, there is only so much a person can get from experiential learning. I wanted to buttress what I had learned from all the work I had done but also, I wanted to make myself a more attractive choice in the job market.

2. You call yourself a broke Masters student, but I suppose a lot of students are broke as well. What are the options around this, especially considering that education can sometimes be either unaffordable or lacking in quality? Did you look into scholarships or grants? What are people supposed to do, and how hard is it to find support, whether from government or otherwise, to go to school?
My undergraduate degree was in a public university. I was a JAB student and those days it was really affordable. I remember in my first year my mum paid Sh16,000 for the year. The whole year! And that was inclusive of accommodation. But then for my Masters I chose a private university and I found myself needing Sh150,000 a semester. And that is just tuition fees. You have to find money for upkeep and accommodation to add to that.

I came to the very quick realisation that I could not afford it, but I just had to, so I opened an M-Changa account and begged and pleaded with friends and relatives to just believe in me. And they did! But also, I have hustled out here! I look for a consultancy here and there until I make the fees. It has not been easy. Some semesters I just could not afford it but I’m almost done and I’m thankful for that. I did look at bursaries and a work-for-fees programme in the school but that needed me to essentially work fulltime at the school for a pittance! It really was not making sense as a lot of bursaries and scholarships apply mostly to undergraduate students.

3. You've done a lot of creative work, including a podcast episode (where can we find it?) and a short story, most recently published in South Africa. What drives your creativity – is it an outlet, a necessity or a hobby? What is the story about?
I did a podcast episode with Afroqueer Podcasts (now AQ Studios) called Paula’s House that essentially chronicles a bit of my life as a young queer woman. I did a short story with Taboom Media called Pieces of Me in their anthology Whispers and Shouts (accessible online) which is also about my life (interestingly) before Paula’s House. I just like to overshare (lol) and these two pieces allow me to do so with a lot of people at the same time.

4. There's an age-old argument about how you should do what you love and you will never work a day in your life. Do you think that is true? Does passion always have to correlate with what pays the checks?
I think it’s true, I just need someone to pay me to watch documentaries and nap all day! The work I do comes from knowing that I belong to communities that are constantly under attack and someone has to be brave, get in there, and do the things necessary to try and keep as many people as possible safe and alive.

5. What are you doing as a typical Kenyan in this season of economic upheaval to survive? What do you think we as Kenyans can do to maintain sanity and also hold our government to account?
Staying delusional and waiting patiently for the end of the world (chuckles). But seriously, one of the things that keeps me sane is splurging on one thing that makes me happy every month so it does not feel like I’m in perpetual survival mode. A lot of organisations and individuals are putting in the work to keep the government accountable especially in regard to the state of the economy and they really should be supported. As an active citizen, find out what your role in all of this is. You might not be the demonstrating type but you could take part in public participation forums. Vote with your best interests at heart and put pressure on your local government to do better and be better.