Everybody’s
got to start working from somewhere. The only exceptions are those folks born
with a proverbial ‘silver spoon’ in their mouth, meaning they can rely on the
family’s fortune and never need to work a single day in their life.
For Paul Mukoma,
his working life began upcountry on a matatu where he got his start as the ‘manamba’
(conductor) who called people off the street to climb aboard and then pay the
going rate.
That didn’t
last long however since Paul knew there were better things in store for him.
Nonetheless, back then he couldn’t have foreseen that one day he’d become the
founder and Managing Director of the Talenta Institute, a multimedia college
based in the heart of Nairobi’s CBD. It’s a school that teaches everything from
broadcast journalism, graphic design and animation to digital marketing,
DeeJaying, performing arts, music production and sound engineering.
It’s a
school, Paul says, that’s meant to fill in the gap between the theory that
media students acquire in school and the practical skills that are required out
in the real world.
“We also aim
to nurture young people’s talents in a wide range of fields,” he adds.
Admitting he
personally never went to a media college, Paul says that didn’t stop him from
starting a school like Talenta.
“What I’ve
seen is that young people need hands-on experience, and that’s what we give
them at Talenta,” says the former photographer and videographer who actually
started off in the hospitality field once he found his way to Nairobi.
“I’d gotten
a good job as a waiter at a leading restaurant in town,” he recalls, having
been taught by ex-Utalii College lecturers at the Career Training Centre (CTC).
“But I only lasted three months since I didn’t get along with one of the
managers.”
Fortunately,
that’s when he caught up with his former CTC lecturer named Njuguna who was now
a freelance photographer needing an assistant.
“It was
Njuguna who taught me photography and videography,” says Paul who ended up
starting the Creative Studio in Anniversary Towers with Njuguna. They filmed
weddings and all sorts of events. They even started creating content for
television.
But then one
of their clients wanted Paul to come make music videos for their church. “That’s
when we started making videos for Esther Wahome and other local gospel
singers,” he says. He won Groove awards working with Esther. He also won
accolades making patriotic music videos with Eunice Njeri who sang ‘Kenya
Pamoja’ during Kenya’s darkest hours of post-election violence in 2008.
By that
time, Paul had already set up his own company called Princecam Media. “I named
it that way because I was known as Prince at the time and I was never without
my camera,” he explains.
Still
friends with Njuguna, Paul set up shop in his friend’s basement at Anniversary
Towers. “We had many interns working with us at the time. Most of them were
either university or college students that I had to train since they had the
theory but no practical skills.”
That’s when
he realized that in spite of not having much money, he had cultural capital and
saleable knowledge. Princecam had already begun training raw talent in
photography, video and editing. But he realized that there was so much more
involved in making music videos. Issues related to costuming, hair, make-up and
presentation generally led him to see that the whole field of media was far
more multifaceted. Thus, the company was rebranded in 2017. And that’s when the
Talenta Institute was born.
Currently,
Talenta is based on the ninth floor of Ambank House, across from Kenya
Methodist University. But from the look of the numbers and the enthusiasm of
the students, the Institute seems it could soon burst at the seams. What’s
more, the courses being taught in response to students’ demands are growing.
For instance, Joseph Ochieng who heads Talenta’s performing arts department
also teaches contemporary dance and Joash Ouma is busy teaching modeling.
“One student
said he just joined us because he loved the name of the school. Talenta is what
he knows he has but he wants us to help him nurture that talent, which is what
we’re here for,” Paul adds.
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