- The Kenya National Drama and Film Festival, held in April 2025, garnered the interest of various stakeholders.
- The festival featured various fields such as financial literacy, with the play highlighting the tradition of saving and innovative approaches towards boosting economic development.
- The Kerugoya Boys' drama script revolutionized the festivals by demonstrating the significance of prepaid cards in Kenya's payment ecosystem.
The Kenya National Drama and Film Festival (KNDFF), which took place in Nakuru, has proven to be both educative and enlightening, reflecting contemporary social patterns.
The students utilized the platform to showcase both their inventive abilities and their understanding of fiscal responsibility.
The theater festival held in April 2025 featured various performances and dance routines exploring concepts related to handling debt, building prosperous enterprises, and accumulating riches.
An illustration of this concept can be seen in "The Game Changer," performed by Kerugoya Boys. This contemporary dance piece showcased a storyline where a student’s pilfered allowance sparks the implementation of prepaid debit cards within their institution, thereby addressing problems related to theft and confidentiality concerns.
The student boasts to the others about having more wealth, only for some fellow pupil to take the funds during the evening hours. The educator intervenes by examining surveillance videos and subsequently introduces debit card usage to minimize dangers linked with dealing directly with currency.
This cutting-edge approach underscored the capability of technology in tackling common social and monetary issues.
What other schools have shown performances focused on financial literacy?
Elementary schools also took part, presenting shows centered around financial education.
The pupils from Kericho Primary performed a song titled "School Money," which encouraged parents to embrace modern savings methods such as using banks instead of hiding cash beneath their mattresses.
Turesia Mixed showcased Jeruto, a cultural performance highlighting that "preserving resources is a tradition that must be instilled from a young age."
In the screenplay, Jeruto takes her mother's money hidden beneath the mattress, but she later discovers the importance of saving at school, prompting her mother to set up a junior savings account for her.
What is the theme of the drama festival?
The performances were in harmony with the festival’s theme, "Empowering Technology to Cultivate Talents While Instilling Values for Community Flourishing."
The KNDFF Executive Secretary, James Indimuli, praised the students and highlighted the crucial part that technology plays in earning money.
Technology should be seen as a tool for enhancing productivity and fostering innovation," stated Indimuli. "It’s essential to reintroduce our core national values and instill these principles in the younger generation so they can utilize it for both economic and social progress.
Why did the drama festival include themes about financial literacy?
During the KNDFF 2025, Equity Bank funded all dramas and movies with a financial theme.
Peter Ndoro, Equity Bank’s Head of Education, disclosed the bank's collaboration with the Ministry of Education aimed at helping students demonstrate their abilities, earn income from their talents, and establish businesses.
The future we envision includes growing our economy by imparting skills that allow young people to capitalize on their abilities," stated Ndoro. "Fields such as performing arts, music, dance, drama, and film are integral components of the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC) and represent potential career paths for our youth.
Other themes
In related news, Diwida |.co.ke highlighted the play "Echoes of War" by the Butere Girls, which became an internet sensation, attracting nationwide focus despite significant debate.
After the police prevented journalists, students, and members of the public from attending, the students staged a boycott during the performance held in an empty hall.
This followed a tense incident at Kirobon Girls High School, where six journalists were injured while covering the play’s ongoing drama.