kati ya wanawake

Action by Storm

2008-10-15T18:36:00.000-07:00

It seems as if this month is filled with one name. Ory Okolloh. In the last month, I have come across her name several times and finally I decided to do what Google allows me to do best. I looked for her.

I am glad that I found her. Atleast virtually. If you haven't had a chance to listen to this inspirational woman, mother, sister and African, I suggest that you click here. In her talk about her life, being African and being subject to gazes full of pity, I felt myself speak. When she talked about being in the Diaspora and the pull of

the Diaspora, I knew she was speaking not to me but about me.

Her brainchild, Ushahidi, "bearing witness" was home for me when Kenya was on fire. Together with a team of revolutionary Africans (David, Juliana, Eric and a team of volunteers), they are providing this valuable resource to NGOs, for free, to monitor emergency situations. Her team is handing power to the masses, because through their mobile phones, they can create change come war, rain, flood and drought.

Ory, by her move to change things has re-stirred something in me.

In the next few weeks, please be on the look out for a move to a new home site and the long awaited video uploads from other powerful voices.

Equity and equality

2008-08-08T12:34:00.000-07:00

It is perhaps not by chance that I find myself embroiled in discussion concerning the face of feminism. While there are various ways to undertake change for the good of the community through the empowerment* of women, one that strongly takes center stage is the idea of equality. Please see my post "Circle" and resulting comments.
Feminism to me goes beyond equality into the realm of equity. Only because through equity do I see an "equal" and mutual respect for all the roles played by the different members in society. Through equality solely, I have no so far seen the respect for a "stay-home mom" as I have through equity which in my perception entails a respect for the role played by a "stay-home mom" that say, a CEO of an oil company might receive. Both roles are important in sustaining the economy and should be rewarded along similar lines. Notice that I have not said a "male" CEO rather, it should be taken that it is not the sex of the holder of the position but the structure that causes disempowerment of "stay at home moms."
Therefore as per my earlier post "Circle" it is not the fact that I was being "bid on" as a woman, that would disempower me, rather it would be the structure under which that negotiation process and surrounding practices, was carried out. In my perception of the structure of bride price and the surrounding rituals, it serves a purpose and that being to hold a family together. There have been other negotiations that have torn families apart, however it is not the fact that the negotiation was over a woman that caused conflict. Rather it was the spirit (therefore structure) under which the negotiation was carried on.

Now to open up a can of worms so the cliche goes...what do you think about female circumcision/ FGM?

*a word that I am yet to fully decipher

Nyambura

2008-08-04T09:42:00.000-07:00

This poem is from a deep soul and supporter of kati ya wanawake - a tribute to a sleeping sister:

Silence

Storming into our lives
At a tender age,
You weaved another God's umbilicus
Among friends and strangers
Offering what was beyond us,
A first born to our first borns,
A sibling to the only child,
A sister, an auntie, a friend,
To those who know kinship beyond flesh and blood
Sealing the bond
With the quietest of smiles
The beauty of your soul
Invisible in the eternal depth
of Silence
that was the hallmark of your presence

It is well my baby girl

Circle

2007-05-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

Last weekend saw the move from one phase of my moon to another. In completing the first 4 steps (of 5) in the Kikuyu marriage process. I am now the mother of my father-in-law, the worker within my in-law's homestead and the first wife to my husband. Traditionally.

I never understood why brides cry in that moment when they are handed over to the other family...until I burst into uncontrollable tears. I can't even explain why it happened. It just did.

So now each morning when I wake up, I think about my husband and the family we will have together. And about the work that is still left undone so that my daughter will carry on the pride of her mothers before, in being an African woman.

Then I remember Saturday, just last Saturday and how religion played a large part in the day. How the ceremony was seen as part of God's way.

And it seems okay.

In my home as the bride price was being exchanged I thought about the bad publicity that this ceremony gets. And as the items were shared out among my relatives, I remembered the role that this process plays. It is not about greed or commodity exchange but an actual appreciation to the other family for the raising of a woman who will become the ground for the future of the Agikuyu.

Or as I was told, "Ciana nii cia agikuyu. Ti cia muhiriga wa aiicakamuyu, na ti cia muhiriga wa aangari." The children belong to the Kikuyu (my ethnic group) not to the house of Aiicakamuyu (his clan) or to the house of Aangari (my clan).

The brideprice which will be paid throughout my lifetime will be the link between my mother and her son-in -law. Through it my mother will maintain a relationship with my husband and through it she will know that I am well taken care of. She is to protect him as his father is to protect me, because I am now his (my husband's father) mother. My first son will be named after my husband's father.

In it, I see a ceremony that brings a circle to it full circumference.

Which is why I cried.

dance my feet, carry me quick

2006-11-12T19:20:00.000-08:00

It has been a brilliant year. In it I have been to 2 parts of Africa I never thought I would be going to. First it was YOWLI in Senegal and recently to meet the family of a very close friend in Mauritius.

And in each of the places it was beautiful to see how women saw and understood themselves. In Senegal some of the women fashioned their hairstyles extravagantly and darkened their lips with almost-black lipstick. They expressed their sexuality openly among other women and aggressiveness when need be, even with their male counterparts. They took care of their image as they defined it for themselves. I attended a wedding party in the street, a woman's only event where I found myself charged into a frenzy to dance by 8 drummers who sweated hard as they pounded into the drums.

In Mauritius, I saw what I thought India, the US and Kenya would look like if blended together. The families I came across were close. Here they valued dance too and friendship. And rum and wine. I danced sega in a sega outfit and danced with different women of different ages. Kissing each three times on the cheek to say hello and goodnight.

There is such diversity on this continent and I cannot wait to see where my great maker will take me the next time.

This is to the beautiful women from the beautiful continent.

YOWLI we are.

2006-09-05T02:50:00.000-07:00

In July this year, I was privileged to attend the Young Women's Leadership and Knowledge Institute (YOWLI) in Dakar, Senegal. The institute, which ran from the 23rd June 2006 to 23rd July 2006, brought together a new wave of activism. Here I met remarkable young women my age (18 - 33yrs), who were working in their little corners of the globe to make the changes that many societies will surely benefit from. The conference was organized through the African Women's Millennium Initiative on Poverty and Human Rights (AWOMI). It was the Director, Yassine Fall's dream to see women from all over Africa and the African Diaspora, come together to discuss issues like, poverty, GBV, and the economic policies that did not favor the societies we live in and the women who often go uncounted when it comes to GDP. There were also discussions on ICT, accountability and the use of the media to engage youth on the events of their changing world.

At the institute, there were young women from South Africa, Mozambique, Cape Verde, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Brazil, Haiti, Morocco, and 18 other countries. Each woman brought her expertise and areas of focus whether it was in Law, GBV, Sports, and AIDS/HIV etc.
The taught sessions were led by Yassine Fall, an economist with the United Nations, Dr. Habib Sy, Executive Director, Aid Transparency and Assitan Diallo, a leading gender rights activist from Mali. There were visits to parts of Senegal that bore significance to the institute and the learning attained there. These visits included an area occupied by flood victims who remain ignored by the government despite international coverage on their plight.
YOWLI culminated in a conference from July 16th – 18th 2006, attended by representatives from UNEP, Ms. Esther Hewlett, Founder, Youth Philanthropy Worldwide, Hon. Phoebe Asiyo, a former Member of Parliament, Kenya, Amina Ibrahim, Special Advisor on MDGs to the President of Nigeria, Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, Susan Nkomo, Women's Affairs, Government of South Africa, Barbara Charbonnet, Columbia University Earth Institute, among many other great leaders and role models.
For this year, the goal of the newly formed YOWLI regional branches is to seek and demand Accountability from the government, multinational corporations and local organizations. If the say they will do something, they have to make sure they will, furthermore, their actions should be to the benefit of the people they claim to represent and the same people they claim will benefit.

By the characters of the participants, much of Africa and the African Diaspora are about to be shaken by the determination of the women to make a change. Keep checking for more on YOWLI or if you have a burning desire to learn more about the movement email me at katiyawanawake@yahoo.com

DUSC 2

2006-06-21T05:46:00.000-07:00

As I promised in an earlier post, I would like to point to a new link to the DUSC blog (look on the right of this post) pending the creation of the actual website (I am actually looking for a volunteer who would like to be involved in this great team). Email me katiyawanawake@yahoo.com

Also, update on a couple of things. Dr. Kameri - Mbote is part of the Consititutional Review Process (a sign of hope!).
Does anyone know how I can get in touch with Njoki Ndungu...I am thinking a nationwide campaign to make rape the forefront of issues. My friend was recently thugged by robbers at her house. They raped her househelp claiming that she looked innocent.

I'm taking possible ideas on how to make more people aware of what a violation rape is.

underground thunder

2006-05-06T22:45:00.000-07:00

As I try to learn more about the country I call home, I have in the last couple of months come across movers who have remained "hidden" except to the circles they travel in. By this I mean that there are really some brilliant leaders, researchers and scholars out there who are making a name for Kenya even as corruption tries to nibble into its worth. One such researcher is

Patricia Kameri-Mbote

I recently had the priviledge of attending a talk she presented on Law, Gender and Land: Kenya. I learned alot about the structure of Kenya's laws and if I dare say so, she has a number of recommendations (see below) that suggest a solution to the inequality of land ownership for women. There are more like her the deeper I dig and from her I see a brilliance that will bring Kenya to great prosperity.

Law Gender and Land: Kenya
Introduction:
• Resilient Laws that make land ownership hard for women
• Environmental degradation meaning that there is less land for cultivation
• Only 1/3 of Kenya’s land is arable – competition to own land

What has the Kenyan government done so far?
• Attempts to review constitution to allow women access to title deeds
• Land policy reform

o Masculinity currently determines who gets power in terms of land rights
o Access to land is possible but this is determined by the woman’s relationship to the male
o The law is limited in ways of mediation to solve land dispute problems
o Women have access to land but the decisions are still dependent on men
- These decisions include land and land resources e.g. goats, cattle etc.
o The women continue to work on the land however they don’t own the actual deed
o Control: some women have this but they are the exception (control refers to decision making)
o Ownership: statutory land laws identify the title holder as the owner, therefore the structure is in place to allow land ownership for the women however few women are aware f this
o There is some land that is without title and this land ownership is then given to the person in control

Land is a sign of wealth and an identity despite the land being unproductive and lying idle, hence a reluctance to leave rural areas to go to more productive areas

Other factors of influence include: Age – elders
Marital status

Law creates entitlements to land control

Kenya’s legal framework:
Centralism: state machinery making all laws legal
Pluralism: this is Kenya’s current system
Tiered interactive normative system within which there are others legal systems in Kenya’s case these include – statutory, Muslim law, customary law, religious law.
Semi-autonomous Law: family law
International Law: CEDAW to protect women, however the law still has to be made national by parliament and this can take years
Domestic Law: Constitutional law
- Kenya currently has two constitutions, as there is an ongoing review of the old colonial constitution. The current constitution is considered and operative constitution and in it there is an entitlements to fundamental rights and protection from discrimination e.g. sex

Other laws e.g. customary law makes it harder to implement this aspect of the constitution: in many ethnic groups one owns what they bring with them in marriage
The spouse is required to show contribution to land development to show interest in land. This often goes unrecorded in the case where the labor is not paid because the women’s work on the farm is taken as her duty.

• The pluralistic laws do not take the single women into considerations and instead consider the woman in transition. Through her marriage, she will gain access to land.
• Children need protection from losing land they are entitled to. The effects of HIV/AIDS has meant that children are left orphaned and their parent’s land occupied by relatives. There is also less focus on land for food production when the attention is on caring for the sick. This keeps the poor further marginalized.

Land tenure typologies:
Individual/ private owned – protected by statutory law and provided under title deeds
Government owned – given out of those in the government’s favor, women often left out of these deals because they are not as well connected
Community owned – group ranches often among pastoralist communities, began in the 50’s in order to consolidate land
- An example is the Rendille where the women have started conservancies with the permission of the chiefs. Here they build wells for easy water access.

Upon death: Law of Succession takes into effect except among the Muslim community (1981).
All dependents receive land with the woman being considered last
Upon her death she may not pass the land on to anyone
Should she remarry she forfeits all rights to the land – this is not the case when a widower remarries
25% of land belongs to the spouse through the Law of Succession and the rest is divided among offspring

Most women get around this by giving land to unmarried daughters as security.

Paradoxes:
1. According to the speaker, the law is not the problem as land access dependant on relationship to male holder of the title deed
2. There are too many laws and law institutions with overlapping areas of focus
3. The law does not match the situation on the ground
4. The laws are still applied in gendered contexts e.g. women are still considered as producer and not owners

Changing Paradigms: Suggestions
• Rather than create new laws we should work through the ones we have now
• Educate people on their rights and the fact that they can take the cases to court
• Creating test cases by using the courts
• Tying land rights to land use: giving the title to whoever works on the land and uses it most
• Taxing idle land
• Social Engineering: education women
• Community ownership through women owning land as part of women’s groups: increase the power through numbers

Conclusion:
1. Law has limitations, we should work around these
2. There is too much focus on the married woman, what of the single woman, unmarried, widowed, separated or divorced?

DUSC

2006-03-05T23:25:00.000-08:00

This entry though short is not one of lesser admiration for the work of a young man who together with a team of about 4 other managers are slowly building soccer for women in Kenya to international standards. The entry is a reflection that a feminist is not restricted to a particular category of certain sex organs but rather a true love and respect for women and their capabilities.

Three of the women from Dagoretti United Sister's Club, DUSC have been called to play in the World Cup qualifying match against Nigeria this coming April. These girls, Esther Nandika, Agnes Ocholla, Mercy Odero are only a small representation of a larger circle of women who through their own love for the game have kept it alive on parched soil, with little soccer equipment and not much support from their fellow male soccer players.

When the women began to win more and more games and collect sports equipment, the men began to say that the equipment really belonged to them. That women's soccer was nothing serious and their support for their male counterparts was in giving them the prizes they had worked so hard to win.

There are no bounds to a woman's sacrifice.

Congratulations to Esther, Agnes, Mercy and DUSC.

"DUSC we love you 'coz you tisha!"

More on DUSC, the young man and the DUSC management team later.

Shariffa Keshavjee

2006-01-02T15:12:00.000-08:00

As I was fixing the plumbing in the bathroom the other day, I remembered to thank Troop 564 of the Girl Scouts. I still have my "Miss Fix-It Badge" and thanks to it I can fix plumbing....along with a number of other cool tricks.

Then I remembered Shariffa. She is an Honorary Associate of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) internationally

WAGGGS

(based in England) and I was privileged to sit in on one of their monthly meetings in Kenya, under the Kenya Girl Guides Association. One of the things they discussed was a scholarship that they had managed to secure for a young lady from Kibera. They were having problems with getting her to come out of her comfort zone to pursue the opportunity before her.

She needed to become a Kenya Girl Guide.

Here is a picture of Shariffa (in light blue, bottom right) and the Shanzu Cadets.

Later Shariffa and I visited Hawkers Market (across from Aga Khan University Hospital on Limuru Rd. in Nairobi) where she showed me the school that she is a founder member of. The school is called the "Hawkers Market Girl's Center" and it was began for the young women in the area. Earlier I had met Wamuyu Mahinda who is a Team Leader at the HMGC)

Wamuyu wins award

She also showed me a composite pile project that the girls had set up. It was one that had brought in money to support the school and the young women's education, many of whom are from a disadvantaged background.

I met one of the young women who Shariffa was working closely with. She had been able to secure her a place as a masseuse at a yoga retreat center in Ukunda.

(Yes I bet you didn't know we had such beauty...).
Then I talked to another lady who had gone through the HMGC program and had got a job at a nearby hair salon. Mercy graduated from HMGC and now works at the Aga Khan Club. Through her salary, she has chosen to make a regular donation to the HMGC in order to help support the program that helped her.

Shariffa lent me "The Alchemist" and we sat in her garden and talked.

She is a founding member of the Friends of the Nairobi Aboretum, the group that has helped make jogging at the aboretum possible. There are benches to sit on and listen to the amazing birds sounds (no dolby surround needed). You can also learn the names of the rare trees.

FONA

I was in awe of her energy, her stories about growing up on the shores of Lake Victoria. She still remembers a few words in Luo.

Activism is alive in Kenya in silent ways and if we look around, it's in the faces of our aunties, mothers, grandmothers, sisters and daughters.

Thank you Shariffa for the inspirational time together.

Update:
Shariffa is now the National Vice-Chairman for the Kenya Girl Guides Association (KGGA), having began as a Brownie in 1958, moving on to become a Girl Guide, a Girl Guide Leader, a WAGGGS representative to the UN, and a Commisioner for Projects at KGGA.

And the winner is Karen Lucas...

2005-12-07T17:28:00.000-08:00

One of Kenya's young women music artists has won the prestigious Kora award for the "Most Promising Female Artist." The Kora Awards are the equivalent of the Grammy Awards.
Kaz who has always wanted to be a performer and has shown consistently that she has the stuff to make it work! She has also been on stage at the Phoenix Players Theatre and has traveled to South Africa to perform with other artists.
While talking to BBC Kaz had this to say about winning a Kora at the 10th annual All African Kora Music Awards:
"They call your name, you go up and you get the award and you go back to your table and you are like "Did that really happen?" Its unreal. It still hasn't sunk in yet."
Kaz's music, afro-fusion is a mix of African music and modern beats to create what is catergorised as "World Music." It's a relatively new form of music that seeks to stand aside from hiphop by creating a niche for African music in the world market.

Kaz will be launching her album later this year.

Stay tuned on where to get a copy when it comes out.

Congratulations Kaz!

Taboo Culture

2005-11-29T08:44:00.000-08:00

Islam and the Muslim culture have received a lot of criticism for violating the rights of women. However, is the criticism justified?
To what extend does this culture interfere with what a woman can or cannot do?
Is it regional: Are some Muslim societies more oppressive than others?
Who is the oppressor in the culture?
Is it the men who direct the code of culture?
Is it the women who are apathetic to the society the live in?
Or is it the religion?

Ayaan Hirsi Ali, a Somali immigrant to Holland and a Member of Parliament was the target of an attack that led to the murder of Theo van Gogh. Her script which chronicled the oppression of Muslim women was filmed and directed by this distant relative of Vincent van Gogh. He was killed and a note found on his body highlighting the threat to Ayaan Hirsi Ali's life.

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,337857,00.html

Ayaan Hirsi Ali is working on a second script.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4447366.stm

A great book if you haven't read it

2005-11-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

I read this book some months ago. The stories have not left my mind and today I picked up the book again. I remember sitting under a tree reading this book when I realised how small my impact on the world is without the influence of others. If you don't own the book, get a copy of it. I have two copies and I can send you one if you can't afford it.

“Walking on Fire: Haitian women’s stories of survival and resistance”
by Beverly Bell

The author conducted interviews of women’s istwa (stories) in Haiti (1991 – 1994) and transcribed them to create this book. At the beginning of each chapter she gives a brief history of the different struggles that women in Haiti face. She titles them as resistances. For each struggle the women face, despite poverty and persecution from the government, they are standing up to the oppression.

“Bat tenèb, to beat back the darkness, is one of the many traditions in which Haitians turn their meager tools of survival – in this case, cooking spoons and pots – into a mighty form of power. In a daring and deafening act, women in the slums beat against metal to raise their voices against repression. This book is bat tenèb.”(Preface xiii).

Right from the start the author introduces her experiences with strong women who have a long history of struggle and resistance. The struggle is daily in poverty and generational in governance.
Like much literature on women in poverty and development the feminization of poverty portrays the women as victims. However, the stories told by these women speak of strength to rise again. They are the victims in coups, they are raped and mutilated, they watch their children and husbands murdered and they suffer the consequences of famine and hunger. In peace and in war, the women face domination from dictatorship, local landowners and their husbands. In this cycle of oppression many of the women have organized themselves in “grassroots” groups to support each other.

“…each Saturday, when we have a meeting we put gourde in the fund. When we get up to fifty gourdes (U.S. $3.33), we give it to a peasant. She can buy a small basket of mangoes with it. When she sells them, she gives us back a gourde to put in the cash box so that it’s never empty. And when they need to borrow, we don’t give loans for the normal 100 percent interest. We lend people ten gourdes, they pay back ten gourdes." (pg. 117)

Where the government has failed, the women have pulled together to not only feed their families but to also educate themselves. Like in many other countries there is a clear crosscutting of the structures of power and access to basic rights. As long as women are pre-occupied with finding food for their families they don’t have the time to organize and change the political system. As long as they don’t have the time to learn to read, they continue to be illiterate and to be left out of the running of their countries. As long as women don’t have the means (e.g. land) to create a sustainable income they cannot send their children to school. Their children inherit poverty. In globalization and development as long as women are left out of decisions making process, the trickling down of benevolent actions comes too late. The feminization of poverty seeks to assume that women languish in poverty because of biology. It reduces the impact of a power structure of widespread domination from the home to the nation. Micro-credit and any other lab directed initiative has not effect on the welfare of these women as long as they are kept out of the formulation of solutions to the poverty that is part of their world. Several of the women in the book offer ideas on how to alleviate poverty (poverty cannot be eradicated, as by the attached articles, poverty seeks to fulfill varied needs). Apart from the usual recommended textbook solutions, Yolette Etienne prescribes an ideal form globalization. These are paraphrased below:

1. Focus on women when discussing development
2. Break patterns of isolation e.g. information systems with other women from other parts of the country and the world on a larger scale
3. More control by women over their lives i.e. autonomy not individuality
4. Work towards goals for success for the individual and the country through shared power in society e.g. decision making where it concerns laws, etc. (This may involve translation of laws and the like into local languages, a tactic many politicians use as a mode of exclusion).
5. Pride in small steps achieved at a national level
6. A search for globalization that enhances and strengthens what the country already posses be it cultures or existing resources e.g. agriculture as opposed to industry
7. Better education of local dealers in world markets so that they understand the world prices and don’t undervalue products from the country

Globalization is ideal in its theory. Etienne describes what the problem of globalization is in a “5 sweet manner.” (email me and ask me about this)

"By the way the big countries define it and apply it, globalization is more in the interest of those producing than all the people who are forced to buy. That is to say, you who used to grow your plantains, who didn’t need to buy plantains, are told, “You don’t have to grow plantains because we make enough for you to buy them from us when you need them.” But where do you get the money to buy these plantains from overseas?" (pg. 120)

The world’s poverty is not based on the lack or reduction of all resources. This is impossible. Poverty is caused by an overlooked but important limited resource. Money. Money is needed to develop goods for sale. Money is needed to buy the goods for sale. If a group of people start off without money or as it is often named, “capital,” they can neither develop nor buy. Hence poverty.
Power, politics, socioeconomics, illiteracy and other major words mean nothing to the mother of a starving child.

“Si pa gen lape nan tet, pa ka gen nan vant. There is no peace in the head if there is no peace in the stomach. The women state throughout their istwa that social and political rights have limited meaning when their children have not eaten since yesterday morning.” (pg. 100)

Bell, Beverly. Walking on Fire: Haitian women’s stories of survival and resistance. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001.

Sucess is...

2005-10-31T22:07:00.000-08:00

“Very difficult to define…but I think with time,I can say my measure of success is the appreciation you get and the recognition you get from the people around you for the things you are doing. For me that’s my measure of success” - Achieng’

Success can be determined by the society one lives in. Recognition in terms of awards, are some ways in which one is able to keep track of their progress or lack of. This is highly characteristic of fields where the competition is high.

“If I am trying to develop myself, I should not do it individually and actually that is [where] the idea of working with community came in. I did not want people just to see trees in my homestead. I wanted them to see trees in the locality and a visitor coming would want to ask…how come there are many species of trees…then of course somebody will start telling the story.” – Margaret

A majority of the women interviewed displayed altruism through the nature of their work. Success is not necessarily personal but can be a shared among several individuals.

“Success for me is [pause] engaging in activities, in things that stimulate you and leave you feeling satisfied because you have done things that you’re passionate about… People drive me and I am passionate about people’s success which is part of my success.” – Njeri

When asked to talk about their work, be it farming, architecture, etc., the women displayed an enjoyment in the fields they had chosen to pursue. Love of particular work makes it less like work and more like an activity that builds the person. Growth in this way can be described as success.

“[pause] If you had asked me that question last year, I would have a different answer. For me right now, success is…is that ability to bring something new and good to an other.” – Yvonne

Success evolves. Once certain goals are achieved, others are set in place and this creates a new search for success.

"…Loving my children, educating them and making sure that they all go to school. That is my life. I have raised my children. My joy comes from that.” - Justina

Success can also be achieved through one’s children. For some of the women, their dreams were realized when their children succeeded in something they themselves did not. Education is one of these areas.

How do you define success?

how to post a comment

2005-10-20T08:49:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for the wonderful responses I have received through your emails, I will be posting those shortly on the blog so that others may see them.

Many of you have asked how to post a comment. Please find the steps below:

1. At the bottom of each post you will see this:

"posted by the center @ 8:58 PM 3 comments "

2. Click on the 3 comments part of the sentence

3. A pop up window will appear and the tab will be set under "Leave your comment" Write you comment here.

4. When you have written your comment, select your identity as "Other" or as a blogger if you own a blog site.

5. Fill in your name in the name slot. You do not need to fill in the web page slot.

6. Under "word verification" type in the letters you see above the box ( this reduces spam which can sometimes be posted on the blog...believe me it's annoying)

7. Click "Publish Your Comment"

8. And you are done!!

You can then go back to the blog and and review another post and comment.

Ngina and Grete's Story

2005-10-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

I talked to two women while in Kenya, Magdalene Ngina and Grete Davey. Both of these women spend their weekends talking to farmers in Lukenya District on the way to Athi River. The inhabitants here are mainly sand harvesters for the many cement factories nearby. The land they live on is void of nutrients due to constant degradation by the factories and poor farming habits. Ngina and Grete, go in regularly to meet and teach the farmers there about sustainable organic farming. Some farmers have taken to it and others still resist and choose to depend on goverment aid for food. As part of the trips to the areas, the two women bring guests who talk on a range of techniques for improving the living standards, first through food production and then through the importance of education.

Ngina and Grete cover the expenses on this project out of pocket.

On this visit, they visited a local Enviroment Club from a school in this district to teach them about tree planting.

Many in this area don't believe that anything other than acacia trees and grass can grow here. Compare the photo of the lady in her shamba :

and the cactus filled scenery:

This lady is one of the many who follow the training offered by Ngina and Grete.

Please see more photos by following

Ngina and Grete's Project

Start here...

2005-10-11T20:58:00.000-07:00

Last summer I traveled to Kenya to interview women, with the intention of finding out if role modeling has affected their success. What I discovered was more than anything I dreamed of. I met many, many strong women and saw that behind the scenes and for some, publicly, Kenyan women are making changes everyday that create hope and opportunity for many.
I talked to lawyers, politicians, teachers, farmers, CEO’s, an architect, entrepreneurs, writers, college students, doctors and scientists. It was an amazing experience that has changed my life and from this experience I hope to change the lives of others positively.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart to these women. Thank you.
My goal is to set up a Women’s Center where women of all ages, classes, races etc can share their experiences and learn from each other. The first center will hopefully be started in Kenya and with the help of other women in other countries; more can be set up based on this model. More on the center later.
This now brings me to the existence of this blog. It will take some time before the physical center can be created. While talking to the CEO of an IT firm, she asked me for the link to the Women’s Center website. I told her I would get back to her on that one. So this blog is a small step towards the center. Small but significant.
This blog is fro your interests, whether man or woman, no matter what corner of the world you are from.
All I ask is that you respect the women who use this site. Please email me on katiyawanawake@yahoo.com if you would like to be a contributor, or simply if you have any questions or comments. Otherwise, please feel free to post your thoughts.

future projections

2005-09-28T17:23:00.000-07:00

In 10 yrs. time women in my country will...

the center

2005-09-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

A woman is...