• The winners are selected via National Council for Persons with Disabilities
Image: Courtesy
Gospel singer Daddy Owen on Tuesday held the Malaika Tributes Award ceremony, an event started in 2012 to recognise unsung heroes.
Speaking during the ceremony at Kempinski, Owen shared how the idea of starting the ceremony came about.
"In 2012, I did my song 'Mbona' featuring Denno, and while doing a tour around Kenya, we met several people in the country," he said.
"I met a young man who was an engineer but he was in a wheelchair. The guy challenged me."
After he came back to Nairobi, he approached the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.
"It was amazing to find people who are doing so much despite their disability. Each year, we get 10 winners, each going with 100k cheques," he said.
"They use the money for the best. We have had great stories, we have awarded different personalities in the country."
Owen recounted how the event reminds him of the stigma he went through after he lost one of his eyes in 2002.
One of the beneficiaries of the Malaika Tribute awards is Ignatius Ogeto, famously known as DJ Euphorique, who has defied odds to be one of the best deejays in the country despite being restricted to life on a wheelchair.
"One time, I met DJ Euphorique and he expressed interest in becoming a DJ. He said he needed a machine. I told the guys he needs 500k, they raised money. Euphoric is a product of Malaika."
"If I touch someone's life today, that is what matters. This is how I give back to society."
The winners are selected through the help of the council.
"Most of them are there, registered with the council, and so shortlisting is very easy."
Malaika Tributes is sponsored by Safaricom and the M-Pesa Foundation.