Young woman dancing her way out of poverty

Moesha Kibibi Tajiri, who was born and raised in Majengo slums Nairobi, shares how dance changed her life after her parents’ death and how she is touching the lives of  the less privileged through her proceeds. 

Harriet James @harriet86jim

“Dance is like the air I breathe. It’s my passion. Dance has changed my life. It has also helped me transform the lives of many people all over the country,” Moesha Kibibi Tajiri, a professional dancer begins. 

A member of Focus Beyond Imagination (FBI) dance crew, Moesha shares how the group’s win in Sakata season 2 dance competition in 2012 became her breakthrough in her life.

While her group enrolled for the competition, Moesha who hails from Majengo slums, Nairobi hoped their win would get her money for school fees and also to support other girls in the slums who were like her. Her prayers were answered.

 “It was the best day of my life, one that I will never forget. I was able to pay school fees from Form One to Form Four at Our Lady of Mercy High School Shauri Moyo.

I also moved my family to a bigger house and further assisted some girls in my neighbourhood including paying tuition fees for four girls,” she recalls.  

With the win, FBI group got invites not only within the country, but also internationally and represented Kenya and Africa in global platforms.

The fact that she was the only woman in the dance crew and the first female to represent Africa in the World Dance Olympic and won made her proud.

Tough life

But life wasn’t always a walk in the park for Moesha. Moesha grew up in a harsh slum environment. Her mum passed on in 2009.

Her father died a year later in 2010. “When mum passed on, I had just completed Class Eight in 2008 at St Brigids Primary School, Nairobi.

I even got placement at Ngara Girls High School, but couldn’t join Form One immediately because of financial constraints,” she recalls.

Moesha further recalls sleeping in the streets and was almost raped a couple of times. She opted to sell groundnuts at Gikomba market and rented a house for Sh500 just to escape street life. 

But it’s her passion for dance that would help her break the yoke of poverty. Her late dad had always inspired her to dance.

As early as when she was six years, he would take her to cinemas since they didn’t have electricity or television in their house.

“When I was young, I enjoyed watching dance movies and imitating what I saw. Every time there were dance competitions in our ghetto, I used to participate and win.

Dancing made me happy and stress free and I realised that I could express myself better when dancing,” she says. 

In 2009, together with nine others , they formed FBI dance group. She was the only girl in the group.

They participated in Sakata season 1, in 2011 where they emerged second. The group was awarded Sh250,000, which they shared equally.

This money enabled Moesha to enroll at Our Lady of Mercy High School in Shauri Moyo in 2012 to continue with her pending education.

Their second attempt the following year saw them emerge winners and went away with Sh 1 million. 

The group continued in their winning spree around the world. In 2015, they won Faites Danser le Monde, which was held in France. They were the only African dance crew out of 17 countries.

The same year, the group was invited to the World Hip Hop Dance Championship in San Diego US.

They ended up winning the Best Cultural Art award in the grueling dance competition where they faced 63 countries.

They won the same award in the same event held at Las Vegas in 2016. They returned back to the US, this time in Nevada, Arizona to win the same award in  2018 and 2019

Giving back

Moesha received a lot of messages on her social media platforms from young people requesting assistance in one way or another. This made her form “The Coming To Your Hood Initiative.”

Under this programme, she would tour slums, talk to teenagers and assist them as she could.

Moesha is also the founder of Divas Power Organisation, a group that empowers youth through education and talent development and currently mentors 2,500 youths all over the country.

Her selfless service saw her at one time receive support from Churchhill Show, Nana Gecaga and the late Bob Bollymore.

“I commit 40 per cent of the money I make from my performances to the young people I mentor.

I always try to work hard so that they can have food on the table, go to school and have shelter — just meet their basic needs. But due to Covid-19 pandemic, it has become a challenge,” she continues. 

Covid-19 effects

Following the pandemic, there has been no events and shows. However, desperate times calls for desperate measures and Moesha had to devise a way to take care of the girls.

“I began making potato crisps and tea to make ends meet. Some of the children that I mentor also joined me in the initiative,” she reveals. 

Moesha also discovered the power of social media.  “I’m using social media to inspire, motivate, teach and also showcase the talent of the children that I mentor by uploading fun, dance and inspirational videos on TikTok,” says Moesha.

Her content revolves around inspiring real life stories. Her most memorable moment on TikTok was when she emerged the best TikTok Dance Creator in 2019.

 “This opportunity shone a spotlight on my community development work and actually resulted in some of my followers lending support to my initiatives.

A lot of people have come to know how I help thousands of children across the country. It is through TikTok that some people came through for the vulnerable youth I support.

These people brought food and clothing donations – it was incredible,” she says.