Thika Town Today Officially Goes Personal
Thika Town Today has officially started gaining face by
having members and fans physically meeting and interacting with each
other.
Thursday evening saw the first ever meeting at Moments
Restaurant, opposite Witeithie House. This was actually a great evening when
members actually put a face to the people they chatted with on a daily basis
via WhatsApp and Facebook.
The forum presented quite an awesome platform where people
from all cadres of life networked and exchanged business contacts, with a few
lucky ones actually sealing some business appointments. We were so amazed to
realise that the solutions to all our challenges lay within and amongst
ourselves, but that was only possible when we exploited the hidden
opportunities that were ever present in our midst.
Summing up our observations in just one sentence;- I can
only say that we are sitting on gold but looking for it elsewhere.
Introduction
The session commenced by a brief introduction of the
attendees by name plus what they did for a living. The members were dumbfounded
by the vast diversity and wealth of ideas they had at their disposal.
The intro was followed by the opening remarks by two of the
facilitators of the forum, Jaymo Wa Thika, a co-admin of Thika Town Today and
Mr. Alfred Wanyoike, the Thika District Business Association (TDBA) Secretary
who also happens to be the Kiambu Region Business Coalition (KRBC) chairperson.
The two explained to the participants why they, along with
four others, had thought about the group beyond regular chats and updates. They
said that socialising was good but there was need to add value into it by using
it to improve the general welfare of its members and the community we lived in.
This, they said, was only possible by taking advantage of the forum to network
and also make business.
Those in the business world can attest to me that business
is about numbers and networking. The more people in your network, the more is
your clientele. It is about knowing about what one wanted and how to get it. By
creating a meeting such this, the members would no longer be chatting with
strangers online but known friends, potential clients and future business
associates.
In this way, the platform will be transformed into an engine
of growth economically, socially and even politically for those who had an eye
for political leadership.
Honesty and Integrity
Otherwise, it was noted that for this to succeed, every
member had to handle their affairs (both within and without the group) in
decorum, integrity, and utmost honesty. Courtesy and respect for each other was
also paramount.
The floor was then open to the participants to express their
views on the group, its potential and the way forward.
The participants were all in agreement that Thika had so
many opportunities that were hardly exploited, especially in the human
resource. They were in consensus in the much they had been missing as a people
for previously ignoring the power in the people they lived with. They resolved
to make this platform the face and encyclopedia of Thika and its environs.
To reach more people, they agreed to source for more ideas
on how they would expand their market-base in order to tap even those who were
not in their social media fora.
Way Forward
It was resolved that the members would meet on Thursday the
26th of May at the same venue (Moments Restaurant) at 4:30pm so that
the can deliberate on the way forward for the group as well as deliberate on
the ground rules for engagement, both on our social media platforms and in our
day to day interactions.
They agreed that they would advocate for people being tolerant
of each other’s opinions as they did debate on matters of interest to both
their wellbeing and the general welfare of our beloved town Thika.
As Thika was not an Island, they decided that they would accommodate
issues outside Thika as long as they were relevant to the people, especially
the business community who had interests in other places.
Ultimately, they floated the idea of having a “Theme Topic” of the day every day of
the week so as to guide members of what to expect each day. Otherwise, other
updates such as news bytes, traffic or security alerts could be featured
anytime by any member.
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