Five storytellers from across Africa will take to the stage in Nairobi next month to recount personal experiences that forced them to confront difficult choices, overcome fear and act when waiting was no longer an option.
The stories will feature at The Moth’s seventh Nairobi Mainstage on November 7 at the Catholic University of Eastern Africa’s LRC Auditorium, under the theme “Now or Never.”
The event will bring together Kenyan, Ugandan, Nigerian and Sierra Leonean storytellers whose experiences span serious illness, insecurity, physical endurance and family responsibility.
Hosted by Kenyan media entrepreneur and women’s rights advocate Adelle Onyango, the Mainstage will feature Anne Obure, Shakirah Namwanje, Odun Orimolade, Bernard Mbugua and Mahmood Bangura, who will share their experiences live and without notes.
For Namwanje, founder of WOMANDLA Foundation Uganda and an advocate for HIV and sexual and reproductive health rights, the defining moment came with an HIV diagnosis and the challenge of holding on to her hopes of becoming a mother.
Her story reflects broader experiences surrounding HIV in sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease continues to affect millions of people.
Mbugua, a human rights defender and EndTB campaign champion, will revisit his experience of being diagnosed with tuberculosis as a teenager. His story centres on the difficult decision between traditional and spiritual approaches to treatment associated with his grandfather and modern medicine.
The experiences of the two storytellers place personal struggles within wider public health challenges facing communities across the continent.
Orimolade, an artist, researcher and curator from Lagos, will bring a different form of vulnerability to the stage through an account of encountering an armed robber during a crime.
Her story explores an unexpected human interaction that emerged in the middle of a frightening encounter, challenging perceptions of danger and the people involved in it.
Obure, a hydrotherapist, swimming coach and business coach, will recount how a scuba-certification retreat unexpectedly became a test of physical and mental endurance.
Her experience focuses on confronting circumstances that do not go according to plan and finding the determination to continue despite uncertainty.
For Bangura, a Sierra Leonean social scientist and educator, the defining moment came through family loss and the responsibility that followed.
After becoming the guardian of his niece, Bangura will share his efforts to give her the education and opportunities her late mother would have wanted for her.
The stories reflect different forms of pressure, but share a common question at the centre of this year's Mainstage: what happens when circumstances demand action before a person feels ready?
Sarah Austin Jenness, Executive Producer at The Moth, said the Nairobi event would encourage audiences to reflect on how they respond when confronted with moments that require courage and decisive action.
Kenya has hosted Moth storytelling workshops for almost 15 years, a history that Jenness said demonstrated the country's strong connection with personal storytelling.
The Nairobi Mainstage has also become an annual platform for bringing together storytellers whose experiences connect personal lives with wider social issues.
Onyango, who has hosted the Nairobi Mainstage for seven years, said the personal stories presented on the stage continue to create a sense of connection between storytellers and audiences.
This year's accounts will move from experiences with HIV and tuberculosis to encounters with crime, physical endurance and the responsibilities that follow family loss.
Event producer Macharia said the five storytellers had each faced circumstances that required them to act rather than wait for a better moment.
Founded in 1997, The Moth has presented more than 70,000 true stories around the world and developed a network of more than 1,000 storytellers from more than 80 countries.
The November 7 Nairobi Mainstage will therefore place personal experiences at the centre of the evening, using five very different accounts to explore what people do when circumstances leave them with a choice between taking action and holding back.
