Veteran journalist and the current communications director of Kisumu County Caren Atieno Otieno has been selected to participate in the prestigious French-African Young Leaders program.

Otieno will join with other 100 fellow cohorts for the 2021 program spearheaded by the French-African Foundation.

While making the announcement, Sterenn Dakouo, the officer in charge of the program for the foundation lauded Otieno for her dedication during the selection process.

He said that she displayed excellent potential and was among the 100 applicants with high-quality profiles worthy of consideration for the program.

“We are delighted to welcome you among the French-African family and congratulate you on behalf of all the founders, partners and members of the Selection Committee,” said Dakouo.

The program will sharpen her leadership skills and put her on the pedestals to compete with the best from across the globe.

To become one of the finalists, the communication director and also a communication lecturer at Maseno University had defied to defeat some 3,000 fellow applicants with an eye for an opportunity to participate in the program.

The French-African Foundation has organized a five-day seminar in Paris for the successful applicants in Paris as a part of the program.

In 2009 the 40 year old scribe while working with Citizen TV won Emmy awards with the global UNICEF Prize for Excellence in Television Programming at the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences which was feted in New York.

In 2005, she was recognised as the best performing artist colleges at the Kenya Schools and Colleges Drama festivals for 3 Years in a row where she bagged the Malaika awards.

Otieno told us that she hates failure, love winning and would always want to succeed in anything she does no matter what’s going on around her.

“I always feel that no matter what you do, do it with heart, mind and soul and for not just personal satisfaction but for the glory of God’s kingdom. These talents are God given and I believe in that Bible parable on talents in the book of Matthew,”she said.

She added that she is motivated by self-mastery; that strong motivation to develop and grow and lauded her father whom she says had always had a huge impact in her life stating that he works very hard and even now that he’s over 70, he just won’t stop which made her to believe that hard work and dedication pays.