Strength of a Woman - IWD 2011

Strength of a

Woman An International Women’s Day

March 2011

Publication by African Woman and Child Feature Service (AWC)

Stronger world, stronger nations Educating girls equals development and wealth creation

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Strength of a

Woman EDITORIAL

Give girls the choices they deserve

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ost girls miss opportunities in education and other spheres of life for the mere fact that they are girls.

However, it is known globally that adolescent girls are smart, inquisitive, hard-working and ambitious.

Still, one in seven girls in the developing world is married before her 15th birthday, and being married off limits her opportunities. Girls that marry too young often never get the chance to get a full education. Their dreams of a better future are replaced with the realities of overwhelming household and family responsibilities.

Many parents in developing countries, Kenya included, still prefer to prioritise their male children for education opportunities. While it has been confirmed that homes where mothers have some level of education tend to have a better standard of living, the opportunity to access higher levels of education remains a mirage for most girls.

The discrimination that starts at home, continues even to institutions of learning that are supposed to help propel the girls to higher standards of education. Many teachers tend to discourage girls in taking mathematics and science related subjects that are viewed as hard options and not for girls.

How then can development including meeting the Millennium Development Goals be achieved if discrimination in access to education and subjects that can help girls further their careers and work in better paying jobs still exist?

Access for girls and boys to education is identified as a key measure of progress towards gender parity. Research has demonstrated that education for girls is one of the most effective ways of reducing poverty and that failure to invest in female education lowers the Gross National Product.

In this special edition of Strength of a Woman, that marks 100 years of International Women’s day celebrations, we highlight issues that touch on the girl child, positive and negative as well as challenges and opportunities.

Culture remains a big impediment to girls access to and completion of schooling. Whether it is early marriages or female genital mutilation, girls in many parts of Kenya remain illiterate as discrimination and retrogressive processes work against them.

We have success stories of women who have excelled in mathematics and sciences, fields that are often treated as girl unfriendly. The first Kenyan woman professor of mathematics is a story that will inspire many girls, so will the story of the chemistry teacher from Nakuru.

The 13 year old from Busia who was married off but realised that she must get education to make a better life for herself and her family. Though she left the marriage a mother of four, she is struggling against all odds to get a good education.

Women who are working hard to make a difference such as the women of Kodawo Village, Korando-A Location, Kisumu District who have ventured into exploiting a resource that not many people stand to contemplate about.

The 100 years of International Women’s Day may not have many positive stories, but the journey women have made, the struggles they have gone through and overcome, make it a worthwhile centenary.

For Kenyan women, dawn of a new era brought about by the writing of a new constitution, makes the 100 years of fighting for women’s equality worth all the effort. The country has entrenched the affirmative action in the new law, and hopefully more women will be lawfully put in positions of political leadership and decision making in this country’s management.

Happy International Women’s Day

Jane

March, 2011

Contents Education remains central to women empowerment................................... 4 Gender-based violence keeping girls out of school..................................... 4 Women take the lead in adult education........................................................ 5 Casting an eye on the social impacts of free primary education................ 5 Participation of women in legal education remains low............................... 6 Mentorship is the key to unlocking potential ............................................... 6 Lily Oyare Managing a little rock that stands on a firm foundation ........... 7 Care giving denies girls education opportunities ........................................ 8 Affirmative action not an option but a necessity.......................................... 8 Getting there but with a changed mentality................................................... 9 Women too are prime for top posts................................................................ 9 Getting women out of the shadows.............................................................. 10 Preparing ground for gender equality.......................................................... 11 Empowering women to walk the Constitution in letter and spirit.............. 11 Dr Jennifer Riria Banking on women’s financial power and independence.......................................................................................... 12 Prof Cecilia Wangechi Mwathi....................................................................... 12 Pauline Mwinzi Research scientist making a difference............................ 14 Head teacher steers the girls in the science path....................................... 14 Holding on to the dream of a career in medicine ...................................... 15 Mihindo shines as a science teacher........................................................... 15 Rising to shine from the hot sands of North Eastern................................. 16 Child bride emerges top in KCPE................................................................. 16 gainst all odds and back to school............................................................... 17 Hope as girls’ school offers full scholarship .............................................. 18 A unique girls school takes root in the Narok plains.................................. 18 Washable sanitary pads bring relief to poor girls ...................................... 19

The Team Executive Director: Rosemary Okello Project Editor: Jane Godia Sub-Editors: Florence Sipalla and Mercy Mumo Designer: Noel Lumbama Contributors: Joyce Chimbi, Boniface Mulu, Mary Nyamongo, Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Ruth Omukhango, Ben Oroko, Grace Kilonzi, Abdullahi Jamaa, Joy Monday, Odhiambo Orlale, Wilfred Muchire, Michael Oongo, Kipkoech Kosonei, Ben Onyango, Ajanga Khayesi, Macharia Mwangi, Rachel Muthoni, Ken Ndambu, Arthur Okwemba, Akumu Ajiambo, Fred Okoth and Barrack Muluka.

Taboo that is menstruation keeps girls out of school ............................... 20 Group uses mobile phones to fight FGM..................................................... 20 Poverty and culture remain major impediments to girls’ education......... 21 Child sex trade whittling down FPE programme . ...................................... 21 ARVs keeping alive dreams of school and college students . .................. 22 State of maternal health remains dire.......................................................... 23 Mother still shun delivering in hospitals...................................................... 23 ‘Soft white gold’ lifts women out of poverty................................................ 24

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 3

One step forward and four steps backwards

Centenary celebrations spotlight focuses on women’s issues

By Rosemary Okello

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oday marks 100 years since the world started celebrating the International Women’s Day. It also marks 16 years since the world came together in a clarion call that stated women’s issues are global through the Beijing Platform for Action. This was a powerful agenda which had carefully developed strategies for women’s empowerment.

And as we mark this auspicious day, women in Kenya, as well as in other parts of the world are reminding the world of Lena Lewis, United States socialist who declared in 1910 that “it was not a time for celebrating anything, but rather a day for anticipating all the struggles to come when we may eventually and forever stamp out the last vestige of male egotism and his desire to dominate over women”.

Long journey The International Women’s Day has over the years been seen as a time for asserting women’s political and social rights. For women in Africa, the struggle for women’s emancipation and rights have been jeopardised by many challenges facing the region which are feminisation of poverty, conflicts and wars, HIV/Aids, violence against women and maternal mortality among others.

However, for a majority of the women, it has been a long journey, marked with struggles.

Even though there has been progress on leadership and decision-making, the gains which have been realised are currently being eroded by the financial, energy and food crisis.

Therefore the theme of this year’s IWD; Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women is just a reminder that the task of evaluating progress in gender equality and women’s empowerment for the last 100 years is bound to capture the challenges that have been encountered.

Looking back at the 100 years, and the 26 years since the Third UN International Women’s Conference which took place in Nairobi as well as the 16 years since the Fourth UN conference that took place in Beijing, China, majority of women are still worse off despite the considerable gains.

Women’s status Many years later gender equality remains a pipe dream. Many countries that have not allowed women to be at the same level as men remain poor while those who have mainstreamed gender equality are rich.

“Unless the world start equating economic growth of countries with gender equality, we will continue witnessing many crisis in years to come,” said Meng Xiaosi during the 2010 High Level event to commemorate the International Women’s Day at the United Nations headquarters in New York.

As the then head of the Chinese delegation, Xiaosi explained that women and men are never born enemies, but equal partners. And women’s advancement not only brings integrity and happiness but also better life and joy to all.

These sentiments are shared by Dr Jacinta Muteshi-Strachan in her article Conceptualising the Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies: Continuing Relevance for African Women. She explains that since 1975 the commonality of gendered disadvantage, discrimination, differences and inequality have required organised world attention to women’s issues as matters of international justice.

According to her these international conferences, therefore, served as the key forums of discussions, learning and negotiations not only among women, but also between their countries to elicit commitments and garner support in a bid to address their concerns and interests.

Despite considerable legal and constitutional gains in Africa, many women are still

worse off materially and commitments have not been translated into reality.

This is captured in the decade review (Beijing +15 shadow report by FEMNET and Beijing +10 reviews by the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), which show that Africa had registered some progress at the national, subregional and regional levels.

Progress Significant progress has been registered in Uganda, Burundi, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Rwanda, Kenya, Tanzania, and SADC countries where governments have undertaken legal reforms through national Constitutions as well as repealing and amending discriminatory laws and enacting new laws to promote women’s rights and advancement.

In most African countries, gender policies and action plans have been developed to facilitate the implementation of the Beijing commitments. And the biggest achievements have been registered in the area of access to education and training for women and the girl-child.

And that the majority of countries in Africa adopted the universal primary education policies and did commit substantive resources to ensure that the majority of children in Africa attain basic education and inn addition, the past six years have also witnessed more efforts supporting girls and women’s to access secondary and higher education.

Countries like Uganda and Kenya have adopted universal secondary education initiatives. The Education Policy in Kenya supports the ‘return to school’ initiative for girls who get pregnant while still in primary or secondary school. The governments make arrangements for students in difficult circumstances like those in prison or camps for displaced persons to take their final examinations.

In order to ensure that the increasing number of educated girls and women have access to better employment opportunities, reforms in employment policies and laws in several countries like Uganda, Kenya and South Africa have been made. These countries have made attempts to include some of the Beijing labour standards in

Older women leaders (from right) Zipporah Kittony and Phoebe Asiyo are joined by contemporaries to mark 21 years after Nairobi Forward Looking Strategies were set. Today marks 25 years since the targets were set in Nairobi, 16 years of Beijing Platform for Action and 100 years of International Women’s Day. Women are taking stock of the steps they have made towards gender equality and women’s empowerment.

— Picture: AWC Features

their policies and laws in order to enable women to have a good work and family balance.

However, these practical steps are a drop in the ocean if assessed against the many promises made by African governments on the fundamental issue of achieving gender equality and women’s empowerment.

The FEMNET Shadow Reports reveals that large gaps still remain between policy and practice. There is large gap between gender sensitive laws, policies and institutional mechanisms and practical implementation that would result in transformation of gender relations and the quality of life for the majority of women in Africa.

The fragile gains made by African women since the Beijing Conference have also been eroded by other challenges such as the HIV/Aids pandemic where there has been serious gender discrimination and violence against women.

Current care strategies for HIV/Aids have failed to address or transform the intensified burden of care that is shouldered by women. Increasing insecurity, failing states and the crisis of armed conflicts in several African countries have increased violent crimes against women and caused mass population displacements.

Inclusion Amidst all these progress, majority of women are still missing on the decision-making table and the majority of women are in agreement with one thing; Women have been missing at the decision-making table for too long where they could have a chance to turn the tide and make a difference to the lives of many other women in Africa. “If you are missing at the table you are part of the menu, and it is time women start deciding what type of menu comes on to the table,” said Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, General Secre-

Despite considerable legal and constitutional gains in Africa, many women are still worse off materially and commitments have not been translated into reality.

tary World YWCA. Her sentiments are supported by Ms Deborah Okumu, Executive Director of the Caucus for Women Leadership: “We have realised that despite the numerous conference, platforms for actions and policies, time has come that it is no longer business as usual, we need to start leveraging the women’s issues into the wider world perspective.”

Okumu says that whatever happens in any part of the world affects women worldwide and that women need to come up with strategies of re-influencing Beijing Platform for Action and position it to make sense in the new world order.

Bright future On a plus side, the women in Kenya might view this year’s celebrations differently. Even though they face surmountable challenges when it comes to gender equality, they have two reasons to smile in that they have witnessed gender issues being anchored in the supreme law of the land. Kenya also ratified the Maputo Protocol during the launch of the African Women’s Decade last year in Nairobi.

The new constitution gives women greater opportunity to participate in decision making and devolved structures of government. This is one of the thematic areas that the Decade seeks to mitigate within the ten years. With the new Constitution 15 percent of the national budget will go to local levels to enhance economic growth.

However, despite the positive milestones, Kenyan women need to advocate for a more quantifiable approach to achieving gender equality in which a gender policy framework in line with the new constitution is used to make the spirit of the supreme law a reality to the women.

This includes putting in place proper gender management systems at national level and at the devolved structures. It also involves harnessing the energies of the private sector and civil society and coming up with yardsticks that might be used for measuring progress towards gender equality in a manner that will make spirit of the International Women’s Day might to become a reality for the majority of women.

Strength of a

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March, 2011

Woman

Education remains central to women’s empowerment

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By Joyce Chimbi

s the International Women Day is celebrated today, the world focus shifts to the centrality of education to women empowerment. This is in relation to this year’s theme; ‘Equal access to education, training and Science and technology: pathway to decent work for women.’

When the first IWD was celebrated in 1911, it marked a significant beginning to the women’s struggle. Since then, every year women’s movements, governments, organisations and individual partners join hands to work around a specific theme developed towards gender equality and equality.

“The issue of gender equity and equality cannot be over-emphasised. We cannot talk of development when one gender continues to be denied equal access to opportunities, visibility and empowerment,” says Anita Njogu, a Social Anthropologist in Nairobi.

The reference to education in this year’s theme is highly significant since there is a strong correlation between women’s education and empowerment. Education is the centre piece towards the achievement of the country’s Vision 2030 which is a key economic advancement and growth roadmap developed by the Government.

Free education It is imperative to note that in this regard and with the inception of Free Primary Education in 2003, the enrolment rate now stands at 46 percent. An estimated three million children have been able to access education, particularly those from poor families who would have otherwise been unable to attend school due to lack of resources.

The first batch of pupils to have enjoyed Free Primary Education is now in form one. The centrality of education is therefore undisputable.

However, since the history of education in the country, it is every child’s dream to join a national school. Parents and students believe that these schools offer grounding to a better life in future. It is evident among the women and men who have made it in life in that majority of them carry the tags of various prestigious national schools.

“Take for instance the Nobel Peace Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai who attended Loreto Girls’ High School in Limuru, Hon Martha Karua

attended Moi Girls’ High School, Hon Sally Kosgei attended Alliance Girls’ High School and this is just to name a few,” expounds Njogu. She adds: “The perception among the Kenyan public has been that the school one attends has a direct bearing on the extent to which one can make a name for themselves in the society.”

Advantage But what is it about national schools that empowers girls who have attended them to be names that can be reckoned with in the society?

“There is a fascination with national schools in Kenya and it is also true that most of their alumnus have made a name for themselves. As a teacher, I believe that one can make it even in a district school, however, the reality is that national schools are better equipped,” says Mrs Jane Mwangi, a retired teacher and the director of a private school in Nairobi.

She adds: “Firstly, the ratio of teachers to students is healthy, books are available and various other resources like a well equipped library are well in place. In addition, girls are engaged in extra curriculum activities that build their confidence right from the time they join these institutions.”

“These institutions have very well established mentorship programmes and from an early age, one is made to understand that what boys can do, girls too can do it and even do it better,” explains Caroline Njoka, an Alumnus of Kenya High.

Her sentiments are echoed by Jennifer Masis a mother of five who has seen two children through national schools with two more currently in national schools.

Masis explains that the focus and background of national school started immediately after independence and the former European Schools were anchored on excellence. She refers to a school such as Moi Girls’ Eldoret , which produced top scoring girls in last year KCSE. Formerly known as the White Highlands, this school has continued to live up to its foundation of excellence.

“Based on my experience as a mother with children in national schools, their foundation is such that the student is nurtured to face and overcome whatever challenge,” explains Masis.

“My daughter Lizah now in Harvard/Swarthmore, continues to excel in topics that are traditionally not a forte for girls; she studies a combination of Economics, Maths and Finance.”

Further, Lizah recently participated in a com-

Students of Moi Girls’ High School Eldoret celebrate after KCSE results were announced and they emerged among the best performers. National schools have been known to build girls’ self esteem and gives them a spring board to confidence and empowerment.

— Picture: AWC Correspondent

petition for a scholarship that would enable those who benefit from it to run projects in their home area that are geared towards empowering and bettering the community.

Of the 3,000 participants, Lizah was the top scorer and will soon begin a community project in Mt Elgon courtesy of the scholarship.

National schools The government recently committed itself to set up a national school in every county. It is true that national schools produce female students who are empowered to face and overcome challenges born out of a patriarchal society.

What is the secret to success and what can other schools do to rise up to such heights of academic excellence? Maranda Boys in Nyanza region which is a provincial school is on the lips of many Kenyans having toppled giants to make it to number five in the overall results of last year’s KCSE.“This is a good indication that other schools can make it too and that academic glory is not a preserve of a few schools,” reiterates Njoka.

A Form Four student in Mangu High School, Laban Kibet says: “Indeed other schools can make it too. In national schools as is the case in our school, students are exposed to very stiff competition. Teachers do their part and are available for consultation. There is also attention on extra curricular activities, currently we are the best in sports.”

Regardless of where one goes to school, the very step of accessing education is key as various

gender studies have shown that a woman who has gone to school makes a better manager and stands a better chance to economic excellence.

Millennium Development Goal number three which focuses on gender equality and women’s empowerment has had its targets linked to women’s access to education because this is what builds the capacity of a girl child to identify and exploit opportunities.

“Education is a gateway to self reliance and economic independence. It should be taken with the seriousness it deserves. One of the greatest mistakes that happen in many other schools is that teachers come from the area of coverage,” expounds Masis.

Undivided attention She explains: “There should be nothing wrong with teaching in one’s home area but what happens often is that these teachers run a business or several on the side dividing their attention between the students and pursuit of wealth.”

This means that in many instances “it is not the child that is too weak to acquire knowledge but the lack of adequate and professional academic attention”, reiterates Masis.

All in all, there is no single formula to the empowerment of the girl child and it is an undisputed fact that national schools do produce empowered female students, but other schools can achieve the same excellence but ensuring that students not only receive academic support, but that they are provided with solid life skills.

Gender-based violence keeping girls out of school

By Rosemary Okello

E

ven though the Government of Kenya is committed to eliminating gender disparity in primary and secondary education under the Millennium Development Goals, increased violence against girls poses as a huge obstacle to the attainment of the gender parity goal.

Media reports are full of young girls being violated by their teachers and parents in cases where some of them end up getting pregnant or being infected with sexually transmitted illnesses including HIV/Aids. The situation gets worse for girls who live in rural areas as they are the most vulnerable.

Vulnerable

Risper, who at a tender age has known no peace at home or in school says: “When my parents died from HIV/Aids related diseases, I was taken in by my uncle and aunt. However, instead of going to school, I became the maid and this interfered with my education which I had thought was my only way out of the misery.

I also became a victim of harassment and I left school to become a house-help and to help my other siblings.”

Risper’s case is not isolated. It is a story that is replicated among many girls who are orphaned and vulnerable. Gender parity in education could be easily attained if mechanisms

can be put in place where the rights of the girls are respected and exercised.

A report by Action Aid International Kenya recommends that creating of safe environments for girls both at home, on the way to school, in school and everywhere they go would ensure their continued enjoyment of all fundamental rights and freedoms resulting in more success in education.

“Violence or threat of violence against female learners has been identified as one of the major problems in education. Girls are exposed to all forms of violence; sexual, physical, emotional, psychological, economical and harmful traditional practices,” states the report.

The study further reveals that some minimal cases of abuse occurred on the way to and from the school. For example in Central Province, cases of girls being abused on their way to and from school were reported to be rampant due to the coffee plantations. Girls are waylaid by both peers and strangers and raped in the coffee plantations.

The challenges that face girls on their way to school include sexual harassment in crowded matatus. Girls often regard violence as inevitable and feel powerless to complain or seek redress.

And even within the school settings, girls are exposed to rape or attempted rape by some of their teachers. Some male teachers also seduce girls leading to sexual relationships. Cases

have been reported of some teachers who have impregnated their female students.

And those girls who do not give in to teachers’ sexual demands are subjected to psychological, verbal and physical abuse. Although the teachers’ code of conduct prohibits them from having an intimate relationship with students, the practice is rife in schools. Most teachers are able to get away with the offence by threatening the girls or their parents not to report.

Lenience

There are cases where teachers are reported to have bribed parents and girls so no action is taken, yet a teacher who is found guilty of impregnating a girl is supposed to be sacked.

But this is not what happens and in most cases, teachers are instead transferred to other schools. While this does not really solve the problem the girls end up dropping out of school, while the teacher’s life continues in another setting.

The Ministry of Education introduced the re-entry policy for girls who get pregnant, however, in most cases the policy has not been enforced. Only a small percentage of teenage mothers are aware of this policy and are able to go back to school. Parents are also very reluctant to take their daughters back to school after they have given birth due to social stigma.

Psychological harassment of girls is common in schools. It manifests itself in the gen-

der discriminatory stereotypes that characterise the teacher-student as well as the studentteacher interactions both within and outside the classroom. Some male and female teachers use derogatory language against girls, especially in relation to their intellectual ability. Girls are further victimised by some female teachers in particular because of the way they dress and adorn themselves. Girls also accuse some female teachers of being unable to keep anything confidential and claim harassment and gossip.

However, despite these setbacks, teachers have also been instrumental in the fight against violence of all forms against school girls.

Research findings from the study also indicated that schools lacked adequate toilet facilities for girls. In cases where few toilets were available, they were located in an area where girls could not enjoy using them e.g. next to boys’ toilets or next to teachers’ staffroom.

Most toilets both in rural and urban schools were said to be in very poor conditions, some without doors and some with holes all over. In such circumstances, girls are denied their right to privacy.

Indicators that demonstrate the extent and impact of violence against girls in the context of education are high drop out rates, low enrolment; poor performance; teenage pregnancy; early marriage; increasing rates of HIV infections among 15-25 year old age group and psychological trauma.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Women take the lead in adult education

Woman 5

Casting an eye on the social impact of free primary education

By Boniface Mulu

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omen who never had a chance to go to school or complete their primary schooling have now enrolled in large numbers for adult education. The women are fully aware that they can only improve their standard of living with education.

This is what is happening in the larger Kitu District where women have always been leading in the adult education programme, and their number has never been overtaken by that of men.

District Adult Education Officer, Mr William Mwongela Kimeu made the disclosure when he announced that the Yatta Division under the supervision of Mr Vincent Kioko has led in the region’s adult education for five years consecutively.

Kimeu highly lauded the women for their commitment in the adult education programme and challenged men to try to compete with them. He announced that the region has 104 basic literacy centres, 76 post-literacy centres and 7 non formal centres. “We have eight adult education supervisors in the district. The basic literacy centres have 3,160 learners of which 2,743 are women and 417 men.

The post-literacy centres have 890 learners who are 688 women and 202 men. The informal centres have 80 learners, 32 women and 48 men.

Kimeu revealed that some 559 basic literacy candidates did last year’s proficiency examination where 417 passed and 132 failed.

Employment He said that a total of 230 postliteracy candidates of whom 199 were women and 31 men did last year’s proficiency examination. Two hundred passed the examination and 30 failed.

Kimeu announced that in total 789 candidates did the examination with 627 passing. There were 682 women and 107 men.

The officer disclosed that they have 24 full time teachers plus the 12 newly employed teachers in the area.

“We have 42 part-time teachers and 20 self help teachers in the region. The 12 teachers are among the 880 newly employed teachers in Kenya by the government.”

The region comprises of seven administrative divisions. According to Kimeu, the Yatta division is leading with 1,016 learners, followed by the Central division that has 650 learners.

The other divisions are Mwitika (596 learners), Mutitu (562 learners), Kyuluni (518 learners), Matinyani (422 learners) and lastly is Mutonguni with 366 learners. In total the district has an enrolment of 4,130 adult education learners.

Kimeu was speaking to thousands of learners together with their teachers at the Sombe market in Mutitu District.

“If we have to develop, we must have education,” Kimeu said. He disclosed that Muselele Community Learning Resource Centre in Yatta division, Kitui District, is the biggest centre in Kenya.

Itoleka Community Learning Resource Centre in the Central division of Kitui District is the finest and the most equipped centre in the country. Computer learning had been introduced at the Centre. The Kyusyani Adult Class in Yatta division is the only class for men in the Eastern Province.

From left: Girls playing at Ayany Primary School in Kibera. Mrs Leah Asego with her student Irene Khasiala who is in school thanks to free primary education.

— Pictures: AWC Correspondent & mary nyamongo

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By Mary Nyamongo

he Free Primary Education (FPE) was introduced in Kenya in 2003.

The main aim of this policy was to safeguard children from poor households, especially girls, from failing to participate in primary education or dropping out of school due to lack of school fees and other levies.

Comparison The justification for this is clear: almost half of the country’s population (46.7 percent) is classified as poor living on less than KSh100 or $1.25 a day, while almost one-fifth (19.1 percent) is considered hardcore poor. Reaching out to those in need of support is, therefore, a key responsibility of the Government. The Constitution, through the Bill of Rights reinforces the need for increased access to basic services for poor and vulnerable individuals and households.

The free primary education introduced by the Narc government was not the first in the history of Kenya. The Kenyatta Government introduced free primary education in 1973. It was later abolished due to its detrimental effects on schooling achievements.

The large enrolment experienced in 1974, which was not adequately planned for, led to overcrowding in classrooms and overstretching of the teachers’ capacity. To cope with the increasing number of pupils, the schools introduced building levies that ended up being more expensive than the school fees. The consequences were clear: poor quality education and high levels of school drop-out. Professor Daniel Sifuna, in his article on “The illusion of universal free primary education in Kenya”, makes a comparison between the 1970s scenario and the current challenges facing free primary education that are mainly related to a variety of logistical problems.

Investment Although the Government abolished levies with the introduction of free primary education in 2003 (and prescribed stringent rules for schools wishing to introduce levies), it neither invested in the facilities nor enhanced the levels of instruction. This has consequently led to a significant decline in demand for public schools and an enrolment shift towards private schools, particularly among wealthier, more educated households.

The efficiency and effectiveness of utilising the free primary education funds has been contested while the schools have consistently decried the poor state of facilities that can hardly cope with the high influx of pupils. Free primary edu-

cation is faced with serious constraints that contribute to school drop-out and the production of Standard Eight school leavers who can hardly read or write.

While acknowledging the challenges facing free primary education, Sifuna in his article sought to capture the “social impact of FPE from the beneficiaries — the poor who were the main target of the policy”.

An orphan in Standard Eight at Ayany Primary School in Kibera, Irene Khasiala, 15, should ideally be in secondary school. When asked about the benefits of free primary education, she was categorical: “I will talk about how it has helped me personally. If it were not for free primary education I would not be in school.

When my mother died, my step-mother brought me to Nairobi in 2002 but she did not enrol me in school. I stayed at home the whole year. What was most painful during that period was seeing my friends going to school. I was only enrolled in school after 2003 when the Government introduced free education.”

Advantage According to Khasiala there are many girls who would not be in school were it not for free primary education. Khasiala’s father works as a watchman and he can hardly meet his family’s basic needs as well as cater for his other daughter in secondary school.

Khasiala’s teacher at Ayany Primary School Mrs Leah Asego, supports her views, observing that school enrolment has increased over the years although some of the children drop out mainly due to poverty, entry into the labour market as well as pre-marital sex and early pregnancies.

She says that free primary education has made it possible for even would be house-girls to attend school. She reiterates: “There is a new opportunity for girls who were brought to Nairobi to work in other people’s homes but are now enrolled in schools.”

In 2009, the school had a 23 year-old girl who sat for KCPE and there is currently a 13 year-old in Standard Two. It is, however, essential for the Government and its education partners to design complementary and alternative programmes to basic primary education to meet the needs of older children who desire to go to school.

For Asego the free primary education has “opened ways for those who could not go to school.

Those who could not read and write have now been empowered to do so”. She notes that the countereffects of free primary education have been the limited access to house-helps because the number of idle girls has drastically reduced.

Asego’s most interesting observation is that

many women are now able to read the Bible, which she considers of utmost value because mothers are the custodians of morals.

She notes that the Bible is the best source of moral teachings and once women are able to read it for themselves, they are better placed to guide their children in the right path. In addition, the benefits of educating a woman to the household, in terms of health and nutrition is well documented.

Life skills What emerged from the two discussions was the importance of combining free primary education with other programmes such as the school feeding programme, which has been effective in bringing and retaining poor pupils in school.

Asego observes: “For some children, this is the only meal they have. Some struggle to come to school even when they are unwell and only go home after lunch.” In addition to the food, the children are de-wormed, which has improved their health and well-being.

Due to the fact that schools are admitting older children, there has been an integration of life-skills programmes addressing reproductive health, personal hygiene, values and environmental health.

Young girls have been empowered through these programmes. Through engaging in co-curricula activities, their confidence has been enhanced.

As if to testify to this observation, Khasiala recalls that she represented Kenya through the support of UNICEF in Rwanda in 2010. She considered this visit and the experiences gained as key milestones in her life. Although she faces a myriad of problems at home, with teachers such as Asego, she is hopeful that she will succeed in becoming a teacher at the international level.

Interventions The need for the Government to streamline the implementation of free primary education cannot be overstated. However, as long as the country continues to have a large proportion of its population living below the poverty line, there will always be need for programmes to cushion the poorer members of the society through increasing their access to vital services such as education, food and health care.

Combining free primary education with other targeted interventions such as school feeding and increasing access to healthcare will ensure that the country breaks the intergenerational transmission of poverty. The government should focus on reducing household poverty, which has a direct effect on the age at enrolment, retention, completion and transition to secondary school. High dropout and poor completion rates need to be addressed as improving quality throughout the education system remains a major challenge.

6

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

Participation of women in legal education remains low

I

By Patricia Kameri-Mbote

n the history of major economies, a point comes when the need to assess legal education against national needs arises.

This is the point at which Justice Rosalie Wahl of the Minnesota Supreme Court and Chair of the American Bar Association Section of Legal Education asked of the United States’ system: ‘Have we really tried in law school to determine what skills, what quality of mind, are required of lawyers? Are we adequately educating students through the content and methodology of our present law school curriculums to perform effectively as lawyers after graduation?’

By Jane Godia

W

Law programmes

If ever there was a time that these questions should be asked in Kenya, it is now. We have a new Constitution to implement; we are seeking to be a middle-income economy by the year 2030; and we are very aware that the rule of law is critical in moving forward from where we are to where we want to be. The organs of implementing the Constitution, Parliament and the Executive are all awash with lawyers.

The new Constitution proposes radical ways to reform the Judiciary to make it an effective guardian of the rule of law. It contains both an unequivocal statement on the equality of women and men as well as a far reaching anti-discrimination clause.

Are we preparing lawyers to effectively perform existing and emerging tasks after graduation? Further, have law schools met the requirements of non-discrimination and equality in elective and appointive positions? Is legal training and governance inclusive of both genders?

Currently, Kenya has six law programmes, four in public universities and another two in private universities. There are close to seven others going through the Commission for Higher Education approval processes and many more being hatched in public and private universities. Of all these programmes, only one has a graduate programme with the rest providing undergraduate studies.

In the 40 years when legal education has been provided in Kenya, only three people have earned doctoral degrees in law from a Kenyan university.

In the entire country, we have three professors of law and less than ten associate professors. Not all these professors are engaged in law teaching.

Hierarchy Despite the fact that teaching is a career associated with women in Kenya, the participation of women in legal education is very low. Up to 1988, there had been very few women engaged consistently in legal education in Kenya. From the late 1980s however, a number of women have joined the faculty in law schools. It is however noteworthy that most of these women are concentrated in the lower ranks of the academic hierarchy (lecturers, assistant lecturers and tutorial fellows).

Indeed, there is currently only one woman academic in the professorial rank and a handful of senior lecturers. The situation is slightly better in Uganda where there are two women professors but worse in Tanzania where there is not a single woman law professor despite Dar es Salaam being the oldest Faculty of Law in East Africa.

With regard to governance, all the law schools that are currently operational in Kenya have male deans with a paltry number of women academics being heads of departments and committees in the law schools. None of these schools has had a substantive female dean.

These belie the fact that the ratio of men to women in law classrooms is almost 50:50.

There is very high demand for legal education and some law classrooms have as many as 200 students taking one course. Large student numbers are not in themselves a problem because even in Ivy League institutions, there

Mentorship is the key to unlocking potential

Female lawyers who have completed School of Law waiting to be admitted to the bar. The legal education training has not been very encouraging to women especially in relation to teaching.

— Picture: AWC Correspondent

are large law classes. In the latter, however, these classes are divided into smaller groups for effective instruction. This is not a possibility in our case because we do not have enough law teachers.

Many of those who teach law do it alongside vibrant legal practices or other full time engagements. This would not be problematic if there was a critical mass of passionate law teachers in universities engaged in research, supervising and mentoring upcoming law teachers alongside teaching and thus growing the legal academy.

Unfortunately, many teachers of law do plenty of teaching and minimal research. Few are qualified to supervise masters’ and doctoral students. Little wonder then that there are no professors of law and what we have is a body of adjunct law teachers who, because of the stringent requirements for promotion, are unable to move beyond the lower cadres of the academy.

Indeed most students graduate from law school having never been taught by a professor.

A first degree in law, like that in medicine, is a course that one should study in the country where they hope to practice. Yet many parents, including law teachers and actors in the Kenyan law and justice sector, send their children to study law abroad because of their lack of confidence in legal educa-

We also need to find out what makes law graduates particularly women shun teaching at universities.

We should also address the structural or other barriers that keep women law academics in the lower rungs of the career ladder.

tion in Kenya. This is a financial drain on both the individual parent and the country but many see it as enhancing the chances of getting employment in an increasingly competitive market.

While there are more job opportunities for lawyers, it is not unusual to find unemployed or under-employed law graduates. For many of these students taking law studies is a strategic choice to ensure that they can fend for themselves and be financially independent. That they should go through law school successfully but not be able to engage may be an indictment of our system.

Background check Does the system equip law students to serve the Kenyan society? We need to evaluate our assumptions about the roles and methods of law schools and explore new ways of conceptualizing and delivering learner centred legal education that is relevant to Kenyans at this stage of our development. We also need to find out what makes law graduates particularly women shun teaching at universities. We should also address the structural or other barriers that keep women law academics in the lower rungs of the career ladder.

Proper handling of these issues is quintessential to the delivery of quality legal education and ultimately to the improvement of the law and justice sector in Kenya. They call for investment in higher education generally and legal education particularly by providing resources necessary to deliver quality instruction and instructors.

Conducive environment Most importantly, universities should create conducive environments for legal academics to stay in the university and not be lured by competing engagements outside to make ends meet.

They should also provide space for legal researchers in law schools to attract research funds so as to grow legal scholarship and the academy in Kenya.

It is also necessary to create conditions conducive to having greater and more meaningful representation of both genders at all levels of the academic career ladder and in governance positions at universities.

With a robust constitution, it is not inconceivable that non-compliance with gender equity could land institutions of higher learning in court and law school, law scholars and students are very well placed to champion adherence with constitutional guarantees.

The writer is a Law Professor and Advocate of the High Court of Kenya

hile many women and girls have failed to take up positions of leadership because of lack of confidence, one woman is making it easy for women and girls to take the walk with confidence and with their heads held up.

Nominated MP Millie Odhiambo is pushing girls into leadership in politics by practically involving them in her activities. This way they will not say politics is hard,” says Odhiambo. “They will have learnt to speak in public forums from an early age and known how to interact with people.”

Odhiambo was hit by the political bug when she was a pupil at Homa Bay Primary School. She went into an escapade of watching votes being counted through the night. Then she marvelled one woman, Phoebe Asiyo. Who emerged winner trouncing political heavy weight Okiki Amayo.

“I was fascinated by a woman beating a man. Amayo broke down and growing up at that time, it was rare to see a man cry. I saw in Asiyo the strength of a woman.”

Asiyo always sits with women and mentors them. While mentorship is the case of partnership, as both must be willing, there should also be capacity building to encourage others see what is going on.

Capacity building However, capacity building is only good if it has a practical angle to it. Being taken through a hands on process opens one eyes to the reality on the ground.

Odhiambo started a virtual institute: The Maiden Institute of Leadership, Legal Innovation Education (MILLIE), which is about two years old that has practical aspects to capacity building.

Whether it was for young or older women the greatest resource comes from sharing experiences with those who have been through the process.

If for instance one wants to be a politician, it would be important for them to learn from those who have been there like Phoebe Asiyo, Eddah Gachukia and Grace Ogot. These women will tell you the truth because they are speaking from experience.

“Asiyo always tells women of her political experiences and one does not need to be in a workshop,” says Odhiambo. She adds: “Mentorship for younger women is important to me and that is why I engage young girls in my political activities.

When young women shadow older women they learn from that experience.”

Odhiambo who is keen to see more women in decision making position takes her mentoring programmes to schools at a personal level across the country. “I like walking around with girls, let them into my world so we can engage politically and also to empower them,” she says.

Odhiambo says girls are poor in watching news. They are often blank to what is going on politically. “I interest girls in being politically aware and the first place to begin is by having them watch news and read the papers,” Odhiambo reiterates.

“This way they will be more informed of current affairs.”

One cannot be a leader if they have no idea of what is going on around them.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

7

Lily Oyare, founder of Little Rock Inclusive Early Childhood Development Centre. She saw the gap in early childhood education and this propelled her to start the institution.

Lily Oyare Managing a little rock that builds a firm foundation — Picture: AWC Correspondent

By Ruth Omukhango

O

n entering the Little Rock Inclusive Early Childhood Development Centre situated in Olympic Estate in Kibera, we are captivated by the striking sight of women and men clearing classrooms flooded with water after heavy rains the previous night.

Within the same compound, in the farthest corner, are the well-structured mabati (iron sheet) classrooms where children chant to the alphabetical letters on top of their voices.

Looking at the beehive of activities, the scenario makes it impossible to differentiate between the supervisors and the workers. Amazingly, among them is Ms Lily Oyare, proprietor of the Centre, who apologises profusely for the inconveniences.

Call to serve

For Oyare, 43, this Centre is first and foremost a calling and not a job. Considering the circumstances under which she operates, Oyare says had this been a job she would have resigned and gone back to business.

Working in Kibera for almost 10 years has taught Oyare to look at life from a different perspective. The students who are from the expansive Kibera slum are vulnerable due to the challenges they face everyday. Poverty and HIV/ Aids is a situation that in most cases leaves them hopeless.

A teacher by profession, Oyare, named the school Littlerock after a revelation from the scriptures (Matthew 16: 18). It would later become exclusively an early childhood development centre with a difference.

The mission for Littlerock is to intervene in early childhood development for the orphans and vulnerable children and, therefore, raise the quality of early childhood education in the slums.

She says: “The Centre is trying to break the vicious cycle of poverty by providing education, nutrition and healthcare to the children.”

The establishment of the Centre in October 2003, came at a significant time just after the Government had introduced the free primary education programme. The opportunity was created for Oyare after she discovered that teachers were having a difficult time withy the beginners as some of them had not had early childhood schooling. Her motivation for establishing the Centre was fill this gap.

In her efforts to offer the best, Oyare has tried to eliminate all the barriers that hinder parents from taking children to school such as compulsory uniform and fees.

At Littlerock Centre, the children are admitted in their own clothes and parents pay a minimal charge on KSh300 per month. This is considered as subsidy for the meals served during break and lunch time.

“We are determined to give these children the best, like any other child in a high cost school regardless of their background because they have the potential to a bright future,” says Oyare, a mother of three.

The Centre began with only five children in a 20x10ft room. By December, there were 35 children and 50 on the waiting list. Since then, the Centre has blossomed with support from family, well-wishers, corporates and sponsors.

Today, the Centre boasts of 11 classrooms which include reception, kindergarten, pre-unit,

“

Among them are 30 children with special needs who have been admitted to various boarding schools within the country — 25 children admitted to schools for the deaf and five in other special needs schools.

Having been a teacher in one of the Nairobi Pentecostal Church primary schools, Oyare has seen the imbalances in life. In high cost schools, the children are well fed, groomed and showered with parental care. At Littlerock Centre she has to contend with hungry and needy children whose lives seem to be crumbling due to neglect and ignorance from parents as well as poverty.

“It is difficult to teach a hungry child. We have prioritised giving the children something to eat as we strive to give them a good foundation,” Oyare explains.

The holidays prove to be another challenge with the children inquiring when they can return to school. Some of them come to school every day until it reopens. As a result, the school has

We are determined to give these children the best, like any other child in a high cost school regardless of their background because they have the potential to a bright future.”

– Lily Oyare, founder Littlerock Centre

special primary class for the deaf children, and a class for children with other special needs.

Currently, the school hosts 280 children in kindergarten and has 23 qualified teachers. The school has employed 18 subordinate staff creating jobs for the people of Kibera. The school assists parents in acquiring Standard One admission to public schools in the neighbourhood.

Oyare says: “Most schools are now receiving our children because they know that we offer good educational foundation and they are well prepared for Standard One.” However, the challenge lies in the increasing number of children with special needs who are not guaranteed admission in special schools that are expensive. To curb this problem, Oyare has introduced a special unit that accommodates 20 children.

Since its full operation in 2003, the Centre has released about 304 children to Standard One.

initiated creative centres where activities like football, drama and music keep the children busy especially during the weekends.

“We have been forced to host remedial classes for the primary school children to give them an opportunity to bond with us while at the same time create a reading culture for the little ones during the holidays,” Oyare explains.

The Centre has a duty rooster which involves parents coming in for the cleaning exercise. They also fetch water for cooking meals.

At Littlerock, majority of the children enrolled are girls. However, a huge disparity is evident when they advance because girls tend to drop out. Reasons could be due to the hostile environment that they operate from. Due to financial constraints, many parents opt to educate their sons rather than their daughters.

The idea to start the Littlerock was born in the year 2000 during a casual visit to the Kibera slum.

Oyare had been requested to accompany a Japanese visitor who after many years of contribution to UNESCO, wanted to personally assess the impact of donor contribution to the development in Kibera, especially in the area of education.

During the visit, she saw a big number of children playing and loitering around the slums during school hours. After inquiring from various parents the reason why the children were not in school, they gave numerous excuses such as lack of fees, uniform or lack of food which she considered minor but later on it emerged as a major reason for children not going to school.

“I saw my own children in them and longed for a turn-around for these innocent lives,” says Oyare with empathy. After many months of soul searching, she resigned from Nairobi Pentecostal Primary School in Woodley. As she continued to psychologically prepare herself to enter Kibera, she started a restaurant at Adams Arcade.

Her first entry into Kibera was at the Calvary Church Primary School in 2002 where she served as a volunteer in Kichinjio and Mashimoni informal schools run by the church that also had a feeding programme. It is at this school that she had a mandate to exercise her leadership skills by assisting the school put up structures, employ qualified teachers, establish rules and procedures such as introduction of uniform and text books.

Uniforms The school which had 200 enrolled children usually accommodated 600 children during lunch hour due to the free lunch offered. Since the children did not have uniforms, it was hard to differentiate the genuine pupils from the street children. In the afternoons, the number would drastically reduce since most the children would go back home after the feeding programme.

“I helped the school set up proper structures which included introducing school uniform and incorporating Ministry of Education syllabus,” says Oyare who had to leave to start Littlerock in 2003.

Instead of depending on donors and wellwishers, Oyare is striving towards achieving self sufficiency through income generating projects such as the sewing of school uniform, sweaters and dust coats for sale.

The centre has engaged needy parents in making baskets from recycled paper material.

The centre has thus helped to generate income for the parents involved in these projects.

Strength of a

8

March, 2011

Woman

Care giving denies girls education opportunities

By Ben Oroko

T

he Government has put in place a national gender and education policy meant to address gender inequalities and discrimination in key sectors.

These include poverty, disease and outdated cultural practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriages which continue denying the girl-child her right to education.

Whereas the introduction of the Free Primary Education programme is a noble idea, a number of children, especially girls constitute a large percentage of those who are out of school.

A teacher in Gucha District, Mrs Joyce Onyoni, commends the Government for introducing free primary education programme reiterating it has improved child enrolment and retention in public schools.

Domestic labour However, Onyoni observes that most girls in the region enrol for the primary education a little late. “This is because they provide domestic labour at household level as compared to their boy-child counterparts,” she observes. She blames this situation for the girls’ poor performance. In most communities across the country, Onyoni observes, girls do most of the work at home. This leaves them with inadequate time to concentrate on studies.

“The demand for girls’ domestic labour at household levels becomes a challenge to their education, especially when the mother dies and the girl takes over the mother’s role. This includes the responsibility of taking care of the family and her siblings at the expense of her education,” observes Onyoni.

She regrets that traditional division of labour between boys and girls compounds the challenges facing girl-child education since girls are mostly assigned responsibilities that deny them time and opportunities to attend school.

Onyoni says: “They are tasked with the responsibility of taking care of their siblings and sick family members while their boy-child counterparts are in school.”

However, Onyoni laments that, the situation has been compounded by HIV/Aids scourge which has forced many young girls out of school to into the labour market to enable them take up parental responsibilities.

“Lack of female professional role models in the immediate rural settings has partly contributed to girls poor performance in academic work.

This is because most of the female professional role models are based in urban areas and the few in the rural areas hardly sacrifice their time to mentor young girls,” observes Onyoni.

A retired primary school teacher, Mr James Kerongo says poverty is a critical factor that contributes to gender disparities in education. He reiterates that the situation presides over gender discrimination against girls when it comes to parents’ decisions on who between boys and girls should be given priority to attend school.

“In conservative communities, boys are given first priority to attend school, leaving girls to provide domestic labour at home, much to the disadvantage of their education and future,” observes Kerongo.

He argues that poverty contributes to girlchild school drop outs and early marriages. “In situations of acute poverty some parents may regard girls as an economic burden, hence withdrawing support for their education, forcing them to drop out of school and get married to a much older man. All this with a view that the dowry and marriage will economically benefit the girl’s family,” explains Kerongo.

Mrs Jane Kemunto who is a parent, blames student-teacher love relationships for poor performance among girls. “The illicit affairs deny girls ability to concentrate on their studies or

“

leads to school drop outs due to early and unplanned pregnancies,” says Kemunto.

However, she observes that there is a clear link between FGM and early marriages, factors that drive rampant school drop out cases among young girls.

“Communities which practice FGM are also most likely to practice or encourage arranged early marriages leading to rampant cases of school dropouts among girls,” observes Kemunto.

Though the Government has made commendable progress in addressing gender disparities, education experts and policy makers from the Gusii region partly blamed the sorry status on mixed schooling systems.

Mixed schools The Principal of Nyanchwa Secondary School, Mr. Timothy Atuti says the area District Education Board has decided to phase out mixed secondary schools in favour of single sex ones.

“This is in a bid to create a conducive environment for both boys and girls who are going through adolescence,” explains Atuti. He adds: “Co-education has posed a challenge to boys and girls in the same class given the biological

The demand for girls’ domestic labour at household level becomes a challenge to their education, especially when the mother dies and the girl takes over the mother’s role.”

– Joyce Onyoni, teacher in Gucha District

Students in class at a rural school. Girls in these areas often lack time to study as they take care giving work in the home.

— Picture: Ben Oroko

changes they were undergoing.

Atuti observes that having single sex secondary schools was the only option to addressing the disparities and it would also guarantee girls a conducive learning environment that will enable them perform well in national examinations and compete favourably with their male counterparts.

“Research by education experts has shown that girls in mixed schooling environment perform poorly both in general academic work and national examinations as compared to their counterparts in single-sex learning institutions,” reiterates Atuti. He adds: “This is due to peer pressure caused by boy-girl interactions which more often than not divert the students’ concentration on their studies.”

According to National Bureau of Statistics, Economic Survey 2009,the transition rate from primary to secondary school is quite poor — 43 percent of pupils proceed to secondary school. At the secondary level, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) remains low, although it increased from 29 percent in 2005 to 43 percent in 2008.The gender gap is visible but declining.

From the survey, evidence indicates that many girls drop out of school after their primary education. The situation has been attributed to parents’ preference for educating boys, poverty, sexual harassment, pregnancy and early marriage.

Affirmative action key to women’s empowerment by barrack muluka

T

here is a sense in which some things can hit you really hard in the face. This happened to me, when my friend lost his mother about six years ago. I was invited to help with the writing of the eulogy.

I sat staring at the blank computer screen for a while, idly wondering where to begin. I did not know the deceased lady. The nature of friendships among men is such that we rarely get to know each other.

We will socialize and go to all manner of places, but we really know nothing about them.

We have probably heard of their children – where they go to school and that kind of thing.

We probably know that the wife is from the Coast and we have perhaps met her once or twice at dinner. But beyond that we know nothing about most of the people we call friends.

And so when you are tasked with preparing the eulogy of your friend’s mother, you do not know what to say. This is despite the fact that they have given you her life story. The whole thing seems so contrived, so distant, it does not begin happening.

Teenage motherhood In the process of idling with dead thoughts about her, I begin analyzing the notes that I have scribbled on the sheet before me. I notice that the age difference between my friend and his late mother is only 19 years. This comes as a shock.

This means that my dear friend was born to a teenage mother! But wait a moment, he has an elder sister, who is three years his senior. What

should I make of this? That she was born when the mother was only sixteen!

Now my imagination runs away with me. I am no longer thinking about the eulogy. I am instead doing arithmetic, never mind that this was never my strong point in school. So, if the lady gave birth when she was sixteen, she must have conceived when she was fifteen, at any rate only a few months after her fifteenth birthday at the very maximum. And she was not a single mother. Who allowed a fifteen year old to get married, I wonder?

Age difference It occurs to me to calculate the age difference between my mother and me. I am stunned. My situation is a mirror image of my friend’s! Only that the age difference defines a one year difference in favour of the other team. The age gap between my mother and me is eighteen years. I do other calculations and discover that I am closer to my mother in age than I am to my last two siblings.

My mother is more of my sister than they are. In all, she gave birth to thirteen of us.

Mercifully, with the exception of one who was recalled in infancy, the rest of us are alive and well, thanks to Mama. But if my mother is more like an elder sister to me, I have an elder sister, who is three years my senior. The age difference between her and Mama is fifteen years. I abandon that line of thought.

But these thoughts simply will not go away.

So if Mama gave birth to thirteen of us, what are the implications? I undertake a quick calculation and establish that thirteen pregnan-

cies at the rate of nine months each are 117 months of pregnancy, yes a good 9.75 years of child carrying. I was one of these fellows, contributing to nine months. My youngest sibling arrived some twenty-one years after me.

Mama was forty.

Mother spent ten of these forty years carrying us. Then she spent the rest of the time either nursing one of us or expecting the next one. I conclude that we did not give any valuable time to do anything for herself. For, she would require at least a full year to nurse one baby before the next one arrived. The only quality time in her life before her fortieth birthday was the childhood season. But even this was commuted at fourteen.

Family pillar My mother is a miracle. I am overwhelmed.

She not only gave us 25 of the best years of her life, she actually gave each of us good education and taught us to live with the World as decent people. Father was of course always there. And yet Mzee will be the first person to acknowledge that the family he has is largely courtesy of Mama.

I cannot help wondering just how much we tied her down. I look at each of my siblings, and I am amazed at just how much Mama has done for each of us. Away from us, this lady could have moved mountains.

But we were the yoke around her neck. Still, she has taught us taught us to love each other and to be there for one another. Today the matriarch paces her compound in Emanyulia with the quiet confidence of one who knows

what it is to bring up a family. She knows a lot of things that few know about the pains and joys of motherhood.

Gender statistics For my part, I now know something about numbers. I have learnt to look at gender statistics in a different way. When we speak of affirmative action, we are not playing politics. We are talking about compensating people about whom circumstances have conspired to deny opportunity. Look at my wife. She is the mother of two professionals.

Yet her situation has not been significantly different. For the first twenty years of our marriage, I watched in awe as she struggled to bring up the children, regardless that I often configured to make myself relevant. Today her daughter is a medical doctor and her son teaches mathematics at a university.

She is also the foster mother of a girl who will shortly become a high school teacher and a charming gentleman who is studying actuarial science. Once again, I have seen her engage with them and learnt to appreciate the things that have made me the public man while she is the private lady.

All said and done, I owe the family that I have to my wife. But beyond that, I recognize just how far she would be without the children and their father tying her down. That is why I think affirmative action is not a choice, it is a must. Those playing politics with gender figures with regard to engaging women in critical positions should begin walking the talk. It is not a joking matter.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Getting there but with a changed mentality

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Woman 9

Women too are prime for top posts

By Grace Kilonzi

ust recently, there was an uproar coming from the women in Kenya. One may think that uproars amongst women are not something new, but they always have a purpose. This time around, it was to protest the gender insensitive judicial nominations.

The fact that there were four high level opportunities being given to men did not augur well with the women. Women in Kenya and the world at large have been less privileged in terms of opportunities that guarantee access to education and jobs that befit them.

Though certain steps have been taken towards attaining this goal for many women, there stills remains a void, if the recent events in Kenya are anything to go by.

Lydia Mukami, is one of the many women who still feel that women’s access to equal opportunities has been downplayed for too long.

Mukami has been involved in politics and other social issues involving women and the youth. “Politics is the way of life but that life has not been easy for the women of this country,” she says.

According to Mukami, things have not been easy as the greatest hurdle on the road towards equality has been the ability to change women’s mentality.

For a long a time women have had the mentality that certain opportunities are only meant for men. “Women need to know that there is nothing that they cannot do,” she reiterates.

Despite being physically challenged, Mukami has been able to accomplish a lot in her life. She heads an organization known as Wananchi (Citizens) Against Corruption. She is also involved in projects with commercial sex workers.

She has encouraged the women to get involved in income generating activities that do not involve them selling their bodies. “The only thing they need to change is their mentality,” she asserts. Wananchi Against Corruption assist citizens to assemble and discuss projects that are underway in their communities. “Some community development funds (CDF) have been used for the wrong purposes,” laments Mukami.

Mukami empathises with women who walk for over 100 kilometres to reach a medical facility while money has been set aside to ensure that health services are brought closer to the people.

Though she has not been able to make great strides in civic education especially among women on standing up and questioning their rights, Mukami is optimistic that she will get there.

Together with others, they move around sec– Lydia Mukami ondary schools in a bid to impart effective learning skills. Mukami says girls have confined themselves to becoming models, air hostesses and other ‘easy jobs’.

Unlike their male counterparts in secondary schools, girls are generally afraid of mathematics and science related subjects. “The society has taught them to think that way,” she says.

While it is true that women are generally discouraged from pursuing certain careers, this is reinforced by cultural practices that underline gender roles.

Mukami believes that women who want to be in line with the set norms have chosen to remain cocooned in their comfort zones but this has to change.

“We have to change this mentality that we all want to be leaders. The main thing to do is to establish a key individual who can articulate our issues well and then we support her,” says Mukami. She adds: “We need to have faith in the women we choose to be leaders and then give them undisputed support. This way their issues are going to be discussed and implemented.”

Mukami reiterates that it is time for women to get involved in decision making at domestic, national or international levels. She says: “You can only comment about the food, if you aided in the preparation. If women got themselves in the preparation of rules and laws that govern them, stood up for their rights, then they would have minimal or no challenges in acquiring education, healthcare, decent jobs and all other things they feel they have been denied.”

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We need to have faith in the women we choose to be leaders.

T

By Jane Godia

he assumption that all prime positions of leadership must go to a man is something that Kenyans need to get out of.

While it is globally recognised that women are the best managers, when it comes to political power and decision making, women are relegated to second class citizens. They are pushed to the invisible periphery with the view that they cannot take charge.

Yet in many cases where men have been in charge, things have failed, lives have been lost and development has failed to take place.

A home where a mother has some sort of income is said to develop faster than one where she does not have. The same is said of homes where women are allowed to bring on board their ideas as these are genuine and self less.

Equal share About 48 years since Kenya attained independence, women are still fighting for the right to an equal sharing of the national cake in terms of political leadership and positions of decision making.

As the world marks 100 years of the International Women’s Day, Kenyan women are crying. They thought they had broken even with the new Constitution, however, things are not as rosy as the new document painted.

While the largest number of women MPs has been experienced in the tenth Parliament, positions of leadership and decision making remain elusive like a mirage.

It is with disbelief and anger that even after entrenching affirmative action in law, the political class still feel that Kenyan women are not qualified for management positions. The women are being relegated to the lowly positions of responding to orders and not being given the chance to be the decision makers.

As the women mark the centenary celebrations of International Women’s day, the biggest change that they would like to see in their lives is that of a change in the way appointments in government are done.

Gender budgeting Politics aside, the gender equality agenda in appointments will determine whether the country is on the right or wrong path.

For instance, the Controller of Budget must be one who is gender sensitive not only as key decision makers but also as one who is going to guide how national resources will be allocated. For the entirety that this country has been independent, the budget has failed to take into consideration specific issues that touch on women such as reproductive health needs.

The Controller of Budget will control the Consolidated Fund, the Equalisation Fund which is meant to implement the affirmative action and the 47 county accounts.

The Constitution is clear that we must have an open selection process and not one controlled by patronage.

This is why when a coalition of women’s organisations went to court opposing President Kibaki’s nomination of male candidates for the positions of Chief Justice; Attorney

Women leaders join parliamentarians led by Member of Parliament for Marakwet who is also the chairperson of Kenya Women Parliamentary Association Ms Jebii Kilimo after a workshop on governance and leadership.

— Picture: AWC Correspondent

General: Director of Public Prosecutions and Controller of Budget, it was not in vain. The move was to ensure that both men and women are treated equally in this process.

According to Nominated MP Millie Odhiambo there are no positions that are a preserve for women. “We must remove the notion that certain seats are male seats. Women must also run for positions such as governorship,” reiterates Odhiambo. “Women must run for elective positions as well and they must start early to announce their intentions.”

Lobbying Odhiambo said there are many cases where women have been giving men a run for their money. “The men are now going to negotiate with these women. They are lobbying so that the women can leave the positions to them.

The same sentiments are expressed by Ms Naomi Wagereka, chairperson of FIDAKenya. “It is unfortunate that in the coalition government all positions are to heavy with men despite there being qualified women.

Remember that even despite the Prime Minister being a man, all the deputy PMs are male as well.”

She adds: “Does the two third principal mean that women can only get the lower positions? We fear that this may continue to parastatal appointments and women are getting uncomfortable with what is going on in the country.”

The same trend has been seen even in Parliamentary committees that are all headed by men. Wagereka asks: “Where are the learned women like Dr Sally Kosgei and Prof Margaret Kamar? Why can’t they head some of these committees? Why have they just been relegated to being members?”

Kosgei was once the most powerful albeit reserved civil servant under President Moi. Kosgei served as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and also as Kenya’s ambassador to the UK. If it is a Curriculum Vitae that anyone could be looking for in leadership, then Kosgei who is an achiever, boasts an impressive CV and equally rich history. Kosgei who once served as head of civil service has a PhD from Stanford University. She is also an alumni of Alliance Girls’ high school.

“

Women must run for elective positions.

They must start early to announce their intentions.”

– Nominated MP Millie Odhiambo

Prof Margaret Kamar was principal of Moi University’s Chepkoilel Campus before she was nominated to the East African Legislative Assembly. She is a member of the PanAfrican Parliament that is based in South Africa. She is also a member of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association. She also has the privilege to sitting in the Fiscal Analysis and Appropriations Committee of the influential Africa-Caribbean-Pacific-European Union.

Martha Karua is one of the only two women who are leaders of political parties.

Her aspiration is to be the chief executive officer of Kenya and nothing else. While many, initially dismissed Karua’s political ambitions, she has shown no signs of relenting.

After Charity Ngilu and Prof Wangari Maathai ran for presidency, it is hoped that Karua will make it in 2012. May be it is time Kenya’s leadership had a woman at the helm.

Karua is a household name having been at the forefront in the civil society, women’s movement and Opposition politics in the past two decades.

Just these names are a clear indication that leadership dose not have to be the face of a man.

Odhiambo supports Wagereka’s sentiments and reiterates: “We want a zebra approach. It is unfortunate that in most of the appointments, men are being picked to lead with women as deputies.”

This has been seen in the most recent appointments in the Commissions where the lead person is a man and the woman deputises.

Wagereka says: “Women must come out and protest. Does it mean that these commissions cannot be headed by women?” However, Odhiambo still appreciates the fact that there are women declaring their interest in certain positions.

Landmark ruling The women’s coalition movement made history when it went to court over Judiciary appointments in which the President not only failed to consult but also did not incorporate the gender aspect. While the President has withdrawn this list, even the court in which the women took their case appreciated the fact that gender equality missed in the nominations.

In conceding that there was a violation of human rights, Justice Daniel Musinga said: “I am satisfied that the nominations were in breach of Article 27 (3) of the Constitution that guarantees fundamental rights and freedom of women and men to equal treatment including the right to equal opportunities in political, economic, cultural and social spheres.”

Hopefully the events that led the President to withdraw the nominations should set a precedent for further nominations as Kenyans implement the spirit and letter of the new Constitution.

10

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

Getting women out of the shadows

Monica Amollo uses her experience to build leadership capacities

O

By Jane Godia

ne of the reasons put forward for the low number of women in leadership positions is that they lack the capacity to meet challenges that come with positions of decision making.

Decision making, in this case, invariably means being in political leadership either directly or indirectly. Women have failed to make it to these positions basically because Kenya is a patriarchal society that has for long not accepted that women can be in the driver’s seat as leaders.

However, one woman who has many times tried her luck to no avail in capturing a parliamentary seat. Ms Monica Amollo knows only too well what it takes for a Kenyan woman to vie in politics.

Short lived victory In 2007, Amollo was declared the winner of the Ndhiwa Parliamentary seat and her name was gazetted in the Kenya Gazette. After more than 72 hours had lapsed, her name was degazetted.

“This was the first time that it had happened in the history of Kenya. This was against the law,” Amollo argues. She explains: “My name was gazetted on 30th December and degazetted on January 3, 2008, after more than 72 hours.”

Speaking from experience, she reiterates that even though women are known in the political arena, they are not known to the extent of being appointed. Women still face many barriers in the political space.

“Kenya is a political governance society.

For one to be appointed or elected they must be known within the political arena and specifically within the parties,”she says.

“If politics had a level playing ground, many women would have been known within the political arena. However, since the political field is not level, very few women are known,” says Amollo. She is going for the elective MP’s position in the devolved system of government.

The Ndhiwa parliamentary seat aspirant having suffered the consequences of losing out because she is a woman, has been busy building women’s capacity through the women’s Shadow Parliament. This is a programme that purposes to empower women who want to vie for parliamentary and civic seats.

Training “The Shadow Parliament is used as a training base for women who have not tried their hand in politics so they are able to learn the techniques and strategies of political campaigns,” explains Amollo.

She says that it has not been easy training women. “Women are good in indecisiveness.

Because of cultural practices women still make reference to their husbands because that is how they have been socialised,” says Amollo. “It is a situation that is made worse by poverty because the man is the one who is providing and the woman has to rely on him.”

The Shadow Parliament has a lot of work cut out for it in the new constitutional dispensation that offers women more space through Affirmative Action.

“We will continue doing the same work but more specifically it will be in profiling women and creating visibility for them in areas where they want to vie,” Amollo says. “We will bring women together and get out their dreams.

Women must be visible. They must stop being theoretical and start being practical.”

She adds: “Getting into Parliament is not about saying I want or I am suitable. One must know how they want to get there.”

She reiterates: “Women must join political parties and be visible within and without.

They must stop shying away from insults, violence and humiliation that accompanies especially political campaigns.”

Amollo advises: “If you are being abused, you must stand up and defend yourself. It is no longer business as usual. Women must be there when men are discussing issues be it at night or during the day.”

She advises: “Women must be part of deliberations that are going on. They must find a strategy of being there when men are discussing so when men volunteer other women, those who are present can tell them no and argue that they are making wrong choices.”

Political parties are membership clubs and women must let them know that they can play ball.

For women to actually make it in politics, “they must start by convincing their own families that they are honourable and if they are out late it is because of politics”.

A woman leader in her own right, Amollo is happy that Affirmative Action will work for the two parliaments because there is a way of getting there. “Apart from the 47 and 16 seats, we may end up with more women because the Constitution is clear on how to get there,” she says.

“Kenya is a political governance society. For one to be appointed or elected they must be known within the political arena and specifically within the parties.”

Governance Amollo is more concerned about how to get one third in lower governance structures as the new Constitution is silent on this.

“What are the yardsticks that have been put in place to ensure the 12 member executive of governor will be given on merit?” she poses. She reasons: “Assuming it will be on Affirmative Action of two thirds, MPs must do the honourable thing of ensuring that women are appointed.”

As the implementation of the new Constitution gets underway, Amollo advises that it is now time for women to form partnerships.

Giving the example of governorship, Amollo says the governor will not pick a woman he does not know as a running mate.

– Monica Amollo, political leader from Homa Bay County

Monica Amollo, a politician who has taken the step to training women aspiring for Parliamentary seats on leadership.

Partnerships “Women must come out and form partnerships with like minded people who will include male politicians, electorate or anybody who can add value to one’s aspirations and push them to the next level,” Amollo advises. She adds: “Even if it means partnering with civil society organisations that can help create visibility.”

So when does the partnership start? Amollo says it should have started long before and for 2012 it ought to have started many years ago.

One needs to ask how much they are known.

They should also ask themselves if the electorate is listening to them. “You cannot represent a person you do not believe in. Those who have not began need to begin now, if not now, just now,” she says.

The challenge of who makes a good leader has been the reason why many women have not taken up positions of decision making. Amollo say there are two categories of leadership. The fist is where one has God given leadership skills.

The second is where one has gone to school to learn about leadership. This is the group where

— Picture: AWC Correspondent

they are trained to be managers.

“Leadership is a calling. You cannot drag someone out of their houses to make them leaders. Leadership position is given to those who come out to look for it,” she says.

Having been a student of leadership from Strathmore University and Lwak Institutional Management College, Amollo says education is the foundation of management.

“Those who come out should be trained.

Political leadership is different. There are certain things that one needs to know,” Amollo reiterates. She adds: “The women must be taken through some experiences and training.”

Mentorship Do women need to be mentored into leadership? Yes and no answers Amollo. “One can only mentor those who have come out to look for mentorship,” she says. “One has to go out to look for a woman politician to mentor them.

For one to be in politics there must have been someone that they admired. Women politicians in this country are few but women who want to venture in politics are many.”

Looking at leadership from the point of what changes one can make in the lives of a

community or a person, Amollo says one must ask themselves how they can translate their education into benefits for the community.

Amollo looks at the new constitutional dispensation as a grand opportunity for the Kenyan woman. “All the gains are subject to legislation. Women must be awake throughout and be part of the implementation process in one way or another. They must keep vigil to women’s gains.” She advises: The electorate must give us women who will make a difference a chance.”

Education This can only be done if they are educated.

That is why Amollo is saddened by the situation of the girl child particularly in Nyanza. Through the organisation’s Programme for Rehabilitation of Women and Children in Socio-Economics (PROWED), Amollo has been able to educate 1550 orphans and vulnerable children.

Amollo recognises that without education it is difficult to pass through some stages in life.

Old and in class now, Amollo recognises the benefit of education because she never had the opportunity to go to school easily.

“Working for PROWED has given insight to what the girl child in Nyanza goes through.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 11

Preparing ground for gender equality

By Odhiambo Orlale

M

ore women are involved in policy and legislation in Parliament than ever before, thanks to the active role of the Kenya Women Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA).

The four-year-old Association has been lobbying MPs, through its 22 members to have gender mainstreamed in policy and legislation.

It has used its expertise to ensure that the voices of women MPs are captured by the mass media and their issues highlighted on a in positive light.

KEWOPA played an active role in influencing the amendments to the parliamentary standing orders (rules) in 2008 to make them gender sensitive and open more space for women MPs to play bigger roles in the committees.

For example, nine out of the 27 members of the parliamentary implementation committee are women. This is a big achievement in a maledominated House.

Lobbying Nominated MP, Ms Amina Abdallah, is the current chairperson of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, while Nominated MP, Rachel Shebesh, served as a member of the Pan African Parliament, based in South Africa.

Currently, KEWOPA with support from UNICEF and UNFPA is lobbying male lawmakers led by Mt Elgon MP, Mr Fred Kapondi, to support the Prohibition of Female Genital Mutilation/ Cut Bill, that is to be moved by the ODM MP, whose area is affected by the controversial tradition.

Early this year, the executive committee of KEWOPA led by the chairperson convinced

Speaker Kenneth Marende, to hold a kamukunji (informal meeting) for all MPs where the proposed Bill was discussed by experts. The purpose of the meeting was to sensitise the members on the direct and indirect issues around FGM. Three women back-benchers are serving as vice-chairpersons of parliamentary committees: these are Ms Millie Odhiambo (Justice and Legal Affairs as well as Parliamentary Oversight Committee); Ms Peris Simam (Agriculture and Lands) and Dr Joyce Laboso (Implementation committee). Laboso is also a member of the coveted Speakers panel as one of the Temporary Deputy Speaker. Laboso took over from Professor Margaret Kamar, who was appointed as Assistant Minister for Environment, late last year.

Three other women MPs are heading committees in their own right; these are Ms Amina Abdallah (Delegated Legislation; and the one on Local Authorities) Ms Sofia Noor (Gender and Home Affairs) and Ms Shakila Abdulahi (Catering).

Indeed, KEWOPA’s behind the scenes efforts and lobbying have borne fruit in the creation of a parliamentary equalization committee, whose mandate is to address issues of inequality and of minority groups.

In Parliament, the Association has used its members to promote legislative drafting and analysis of gender related laws. They have also had programmes to lobby at the national level on correct interpretation of Affirmative Action in governance and politics.

KEWOPA has an expert from the United Nations’ Fund for Women seconded to its offices at Harambee Plaza in Nairobi. It has an on-going programme for holding policy briefing forums

for parliamentary committees on gender related legislation within the new Constitution.

One of its major activities in the first half of this year will be to organise exchange visits on Implementation of Female Genital Mutilation Bill to the most affected parts of the country, such as Kisii, Meru and Maasailand. The Association has also lined up several workshops for Parliamentary committees to advocate for enactment of the FGM Bill.

Activities KEWOPA plans to develop a database for potential women leaders and set up technical committees to train women in political challenges and opportunities.

According to KEWOPA programme officer, Ms Maureen Gitonga, the Association played a big role when the Equal Opportunity Committee was created by offering to assist it to establish a strategic plan and also a stakeholder analysis showing who they should engage with and how to achieve the best results.

Women parliamentarians (from left) Joyce Laboso, Rachel Shebesh and Beatrice Kones. All elected women are members of the Kenya Women parliamentarian Association that links the MPs with women in the grassroots.

— Picture: AWC Correspondent

Other activities that the organisation is carrying out at the grassroots include conducting civic education to popularise the FGM/C Bill; Sensitisation forums for community leaders and mobilisers on the family bills. The organisation will also conduct civic education programmes throughout the country on the new Constitution in addition to voter education and information forums.

“KEWOPA plans to hold paralegal workshops on the women’s agenda, the Constitution, electoral processes and promoting peace,” says Gitonga. She adds: “Some of the civic education will be done using the door-to-door strategy.”

Empowering women to walk the Constitution in letter and spirit

A

By Odhiambo Orlale

s the 100th year of International Women’s Day is observed, Kenyan women are looking at the centenary with glee as they have had the last laugh. The new Constitution passed in 2010, saw the women’s fight for equality entrenched in law.

To really ensure that nothing goes amiss, over 5,000 women are targeted in the second phase of an aggressive civic education programme to sensitise them to take up elective posts under the new Constitution.

Elective positions

The Kenya Women’s Parliamentary Association (KEWOPA), chaired by, Mrs Jebii Kilimo, who is also an assistant minister in the Ministry of Cooperatives expects to empower and double the number of women taking up leadership positions come the next General Elections.

During the civic education programme on the referendum, last year, the lobby group used a similar number of women that saw the new Constitution overwhelmingly endorsed by voters.

KEWOPA’s major goal is to train the women and paralegals to empower grassroots communities throughout the country to know their rights and take advantage of provisions in the new Constitution.

According to Kewopa programme officer, Ms Maureen Gitonga, the goal is to ensure that the total number of women seeking and winning elective and nominated seats either in Parliament, Senate or the 47 counties is doubled.

At the moment, Parliament has 22 women MPs, 16 of whom are elected.

This is the highest number ever in the country’s 48-year-history.

Gitonga says: “The on-going civic education programmes, targeting the 16 constituencies represented by the female MPs, would bear fruit by serving as an example to the neighbouring ones on the benefit of electing a woman to take care of the needs of the electorate.”

She adds: “The civic education programme will focus on paralegals who will be trained to train grassroots women’s leaders on the new Constitution.” This is to empower them to take advantage of the law to increase their numbers in decision-making positions in Cabinet, Parliament, Senate, Counties and local authorities.

Already the Association has trained over 5,000 women, thanks to the effective pre and post-referendum civic education programmes carried out last year across the country.

Phase one of the programme took the women leaders, in the 22 constituencies represented by KEWOPA members, through the contents of the new Constitution focusing on the women’s gains as entrenched in the historic document.

Affirmative action

These include the affirmative action principle and recognition of the legislature as a crucial arm of Government; it (new Constitution) proposes to reverse the former status of low representation of women in the Kenya National Assembly. Article 97 states that: “The National Assembly consist of (b) 47 women each elected by the registered voters of their respective

During this year’s Commission on the Status of Women meeting held in New York, KEWOPA Chair Ms Lina Chebii Kilimo presented a paper on harmful cultural practices like FGM that impede girls’ access to education.

— Picture: AWC Correspondent

counties, each county constituting a single member constituency.”

On the other hand, Article 98 of the same chapter on the legislature states that the Senate shall consist of (b) 16 women members who shall be nominated by the political parties according to their proportion of members of the Senate elected under clause (a) in accordance with Article 90.

KEWOPA’s next phase of the civic education programme will be to empower women on their rights and also to expose them to the many opportunities that will emerge in the implementation phase of the new

Constitution.

Last month, the chair of the Association was on hand during the height of the controversy about the nomination of four key constitutional office holders by President Kibaki, to receive a written memorandum from women demonstrators led by civil society officials at the main gate of Parliament.

The Association has been actively lobbying women MPs and their male counterparts to embrace gender equality whenever a matter of national importance comes to the floor of the House for debate, legislation and/ or policy formulation.

In preparation for the General Elections next year, the Association plans to hold a series of special sessions countrywide to sensitise women on the Political Parties Act and how they should get involved by participating more effectively at the grassroots in the day-to-day activities as they prepare for bigger posts in the Cabinet, Parliament, Senate and the counties.

Says Gitonga: “Our target for 2012 is to double the number of elected seats occupied by our members, independent of those reserved for women, and for nominated members. We expect that the next Parliament will have 50/50 men to women as per the Africa Union principle on representation and gender equality.”

Asked whether that goal will not be a tall order, the official expressed optimism saying it was achievable as they were already working closely with their partners and the civil society to make it a reality.

Out of the 47 registered political parties, only two are headed by wom-

en. The two are National Rainbow Coalition (Narc) headed by Water minister, Mrs Charity Ngilu, who is the Kitui Central MP, and Narc-Kenya, led by Ms Martha Karua, who is the immediate former Justice and Constitutional Affairs minister and Gichugu MP. Under the new Constitution, all political parties are required to embrace affirmative action in electing party officials to address issues of gender, marginalized groups and minorities.

So far, 16 of the KEWOPA’s members are elected, while six are nominated by their respective political parties. There are 224 MPs in the tenth Parliament who include two ex-officio members, namely Speaker Kenneth Marende, and Attorney General Amos Wako.

Women in Cabinet

The 22 women MPs include six Cabinet ministers, out of 42 frontbenchers, the highest number in the country’s history so far. The six are Ms Charity Ngilu (Water); Dr Sally Kosgei (Agriculture); Mrs Beth Mugo (Public Health); Prof Hellen Sambili (East African Cooperation); Dr Naomi Shabaan (Gender and Social Services) and Ms Esther Murugi (Special Programmes).

There are seven women assistant ministers who include Kilimo; Ms Cecily Mbarire, Ms Elizabeth Ongoro, Mrs Beatrice Kones, Bishop Margaret Wanjiru, Ms Wavinya Ndeti and Professor Margaret Kamar.

The KEWOPA chairperson was in the Kenya Government delegation to the 55th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York, United States.

12

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

Dr Jennifer Riria Banking on wom I

By Florence Sipalla

f you travel around the country, you will not fail to notice the Kenya Women Finance Trust (KWFT) signage. This is the microfinance arm of the Kenya Women Group (KWG) that is regulated by the Central Bank.

The entity is now known as KWFT DTM, a deposit taking microfinance. The relatively young microfinance business in Kenya is intertwined with the history of KWFT DTM, the oldest microfinance organisation that serves a niche market of the women in Kenya. They have the widest network in the microfinance business that covers both the rural and urban woman.

At the helm of Kenya Women’s Group, the umbrella organisation that hosts Kenya Women Finance Trust Deposit Taking Microfinance (KWFT DTM) and Kenya Women’s Holding is Dr Jennifer Riria, a gender activist, lecturer and microfinance expert.

Schooling Riria is a firm believer in women and their ability to surmount challenges they face. “In this organisation, we don’t talk of problems,” she asserts, adding that talking of problems makes a challenge seem impossible to overcome.

Hailing from a humble background in Meru, as a child Riria dreamt and prayed for something different. She reflects on the difficult circumstances the women in her village faced, which condemned them to a cycle of poverty. This drove her to strive for a different life.

“I used to pray for God to take me far from there and it happened.”

On completing primary education, Riria went to Precious Blood Kilungu in Makueni County, after which she joined University of Dar es Salaam for her undergraduate degree. She would later proceed to Leeds

University for her postgraduate studies. Riria credits Dar for having shaped her. She learnt “to think, articulate herself and refuse to be intimidated”.

As a young lecturer at Kenyatta University, she was not afraid to take up the leadership mantle. In addition to teaching and studying for her PhD, she was a women’s rights activist and the representative of all staff in the Senate. She pushed the institution into starting a counselling department for students to seek advice.

When she left the university, Riria joined UNICEF as a consultant working on the programme ‘Women education for child survival’ which took into cognizance the fact that chances of child mortality are reduced when the mother is educated.

Empowerment Women’s empowerment has always been her driving force. Her PhD thesis was on women, education and development. At the time, this was such a new area of study and she had difficulties finding a supervisor to replace Prof Micere Mugo who had gone into exile.

Drawing strength from her mother, Riria says: “I watched my mum go through a lot with ten children in a rural setting and she had nothing. I saw her go unappreciated, with no food when there was little.”

She pledged to spend her first salary to change her mother’s life. “I wanted to get my mum the best dress, shoes, fill her granary to ensure she does not go without food.”

Much as her mother was illiterate, this did not stop her parents from supporting their daughter’s quest for education. This perhaps explains where she draws the passion for education.

Riria has taken personal interest in a mentorship programme for the youth run by the organisation. “The youth is so critical at the moment.

Prof Cecilia Wangechi

First woman Professor of Mathemati

I

By Wilfred Muchire

f ever a theme for International Women’s Day was timely, then it is so for Cecilia Wangechi Mwathi.

The 2011 theme for International Women’s Day is: Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.

Whether it is a myth or reality it is said that many women fear or have a phobia for science subjects.

While women are said not to be able to get good paying careers for fear of science and mathematics, a few women are riding on top of their chosen paths having excelled in these subjects.

Mwathi has always been seen as crazy due to her love for figures, which is the main ingredient in the world of Mathematics.

Motivation

During a motivational talk which at her former primary school recently, Mwathi said: “For the few of us who chose science subjects, people believed there had to be something wrong with us. Either you were shaggy, ugly or had no boyfriend. This I have heard for all my life as a student of mathematics. The source of those unfounded arguments is still a mystery to me. But I always knew a day would come for me to have my sweet success.”

Apart from holding motivation talks in various schools, Mwathi has also written several books. Some of the books she

has authored include KCSE Golden Tips in Mathematics (2006), Form One Mathematics Work Book (2010) and Form Two Mathematics (2010).

She is also Chief Editor, Journal of Agriculture, Science and Technology at Jomo Kenyatta University and the coordinator, Mathematics Mentoring Group.

After years of struggle and hard work, Mwathi, 48, was recently crowned as the first woman Professor of Mathematics in Kenya.

She recalls the numerous challenges she had to surmount before reaching where she is today.

Mwathi was inspired to join the world of Mathematics to beat the belief that it could only be tackled by men. Since she did not want to fail in her studies and spend the rest of her life in the village fetching firewood and taking care of livestock, she decided to venture in the world of mathematics.

Poverty was very much part of her life. During her formative days at Kaigonde and Gichira Primary Schools in Tetu District, Nyeri County, she had to walk for about five kilometres barefoot and at times without breakfast to get to school.

She endured going to school without even an innerwear, after her only one was destroyed by a cow. Her parents had bought it after years of living without.

“I still remember that evening when after school I washed my only innerwear and placed it on a fence to dry so that I could wear it the following morning. When I went to fetch water, I returned home to find it had

been partly eaten by our cow. I had to live without one for quite some time but this did not deter me from progressing,” she told hundreds of guests gathered at the school’s playground during the talks that also doubled as her home coming party since she was crowned the first Kenyan woman Mathematics professor.

After completing her primary education, Mwathi was admitted to Mugoiri Girls’ High School in Murang’a where she sat for her ‘O’ level examinations.

Hardship

She still remembers how her parents bought her an oversize shoe when joining Form One. Her father’s argument was that by being oversize, she would be able to wear them for the next four years without outgrowing them before finishing Form Four.

“I had to stuff papers inside my first ever pair of shoes so that it could fit me,” she recalls. Upon passing, she was admitted to Chania School (now Chania Boys’ High School) for Advanced level studies.

Thereafter, she went to Kenyatta University, then a constituent college of University of Nairobi where she studied Mathematics and Physical Education (PE). She dropped PE due to its teacher being biased against girls.

After graduating, she was posted to Garissa Secondary School before being transferred to Kenya High School. Later she stopped teaching and decided to explore the world of Mathematics.

It was a fulfilment of a dream I had since those days when words like logarithm, algebra, sounded exotic to me. Little did I know that those words and a host of their relatives would be the vehicle to the realisation of my dream.”

As of last year, there were only seven women holding doctorate degrees in Mathematics but she is the only one who was elevated to the status of a professor after a teaching career of over 18 years at Jomo Kenyatta University of Science and Technology.

She is currently teaching the same subject at Jomo Kenyatta University and some of it constituent colleges among them Kimathi University College in Nyeri.

“There is nothing which is so difficult to anyone and one that cannot be handled by either gender as long as one has the willpower to counter it,” she reiterates.

Born on May 15, 1963 to Isaiah Mwathi and Beatrice Mwathi at Gichira Village, Tetu District, Nyeri County, she was the fifth born in a family of eight children.

Her foundation to education was laid at a nursery school in 1969 at Gichira Village between 1970-1974. She went to Kaigonde Primary School, a journey that took 12 km for a return trip. She never wore any shoes during the time she was in primary school.

She was also very skimpily dressed as warm clothing was not known there then.

“I developed asthma as a result of this which was a real challenge since the area is also hilly. There was a nearby school in Gichira but my father did not take me there

“There is no is so difficul and one th be handled gender as l has the wi count

– Prof Cecilia W

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 13

men’s financial power and independence They need to think of themselves as go getters.”

It was in humble beginnings that Riria remembers when she disbursed the first KWFT DTM loan. She had to travel by public means to Karatina to meet the client under a tree at the District Commissioner’s office. Similarly, she remembers the treacherous journey to the coastal town of Malindi in 1992 in a speeding Coast Bus. She recalls how her travelling companion kept making the sign of the cross as she feared for their lives. At the time, she had to do everything. “Mobilise the client, give loans, fill forms and write the cheque of only KSh5,000.

Character loans KWFT DTM takes a unique approach to banking where they give character loans. This is where a person or group of women guarantee the person taking the loan. The process of administering character loans is long and intimate as the guarantor and loans’ officer have to know the applicant very well. This necessitates building good relationships between the institution and client.

Sounds like a big risk? Yes, but the organisation has grown immensely since it was set up in 1981 as a brainchild of women professionals from various fields who wanted a woman led bank to serve women.

The institution not only empowers women financially but it also helps them broaden their

“

social networks. It is said that a woman’s survival kit is her social network. KWFT DTM encourages the women to form chamas (merry go rounds) where they conduct table banking.

“These have nothing to do with loans,” asserts Riria. The women, through their chamas have been able to improve the quality of their lives. They have bought water tanks among other useful items that the groups feel are of necessity.

They also support each other in times of celebrations such as weddings and when death strikes.

The social support gained from the groups has become addictive for some women. As their businesses have grown, they have had the choice to break from the group as they can receive individual loans ranging from KSh200,000 to KSh500,000.

Other interests The organization is well known for its microfinance business but little is known about their other interests in green energy, maternal health, fighting abuse from a gender perspective, training and mentorship.

Having attained maximum visibility with KWFT DTM, the organisation is now working to create visibility for their other activities. In line with this, the organisation is hosting a gala dinner on International Women’s Day to raise funds to finance projects that are undertaken on

I watched my mum go through a lot with ten children in a rural setting and she had nothing.

I saw her go unappreciated, with no food when there was little.”

– Jennifer Riria, CEO and Director, Kenya Women Group

a not-for-profit platform. “We are also seeking funds from traditional donors,” says Riria.

Asked why the move that is seemingly removed from their core business, Riria is quick to note, a healthy mother means a healthy society.

“Women in Africa have always worked in groups. This [KWFT DTM] is not an original concept, women always worked together.”

Ninety percent of the women who borrow from KWFT DTM are under the group methodology, the remaining ten percent who are mostly larger clients are able to take loans on their own.

Riria is passionate about the youth mentorship programme. “The purpose of this programme is to begin creating leaders and people of purpose from school level.”

The CEO decries the breakdown of traditional systems which ensured youth received mentorship and guidance on pertinent issues such as sex education. Having noted this gap, the organisation has mooted this programme to address it.

Partnership The organisation is keen on partnering with like-minded organisations that have the capacity to deliver.

In working to advance the women’s cause, Riria believes this cannot be done without working with men. The organisation is partnering with Men’s Empowerment for Women (MEW).

“We recognise the role that men can play, men have women at heart,” says Riria.

She emphasises that even in the microfinance business, they not only work with women, but with their families which include the men.

“We work with 600,000 women, this translates to food in the mouths of three million people,” she extrapolates, highlighting the trickledown effects as the benefits the women accrue cascade to their families.

In serving this clientele, KWFT DTM plans to disburse KSh20 billion. Riria explains the rationale behind the organisation’s involvement in non-financial ventures. “Kenya Women is not just about money, the organisation’s goal is to partner with women for a better society.”

This will be done through health campaigns and fighting abuse in addition to facilitating financial empowerment.

Riria is proud that the organisation’s success has resulted in commercial banks recognising women as bankable. “In 1991, banks never thought a woman is a credible client,” she recalls.

Competition The microfinance institution was prompted to fill this gap as in the past women could not access credit facilities without the support of their husbands. Now, banks have specific products targeted at women. These include the Msamaria account offered by the Cooperative Bank and the Diva Account by Standard Chartered.

These developments in the market mean competition for KWFT DTM. However, this does not faze Riria. “Competition can only be beaten by efficient systems,” she says.

With a fully computerised system in place and a wide network, KWFT DTM is certain to compete effectively with the commercial banks.

However, Riria also acknowledges they have to keep being innovative to remain ahead.

The impact of the institution in the economy cannot be ignored. They injected KSh16 billion into the economy in the past year and are confident they will continue to grow our economy while empowering the Kenyan woman.

Family forms an integral part of her life. She is a doting grandmother who drops her grandson to school. “I don’t have much time but I believe in quality time,” says the mother of three girls.

Mwathi

ics in Kenya

othing which lt to anyone hat cannot d by either long as one illpower to ter it.”

Wangeci Mwathi

because it would have meant him having to pay building fund in two schools,” explains Mwathi.

She would spend the years between 1977-1980 at Mugoiri Girls’ High School in Murang’a County emerging as a top student.

She then proceeded to Chania High School, Kiambu County in 1981 for A Level where her subjects of choice were Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry.

She then joined Kenyatta University in 1984 where she did a Bachelors Degree in Double Mathematics and teaching methods for Physics.

Teaching After graduation, Mwathi was posted as a graduate teacher to Garissa High School where she stayed between 1987-1988.

She would later be transferred to Nile Road Secondary School in 1988 where she served until 1989. Later that year she would move again to Kenya High School where she stayed until 1991. She left to pursue a Masters in Pure Mathematics at Kenyatta University.

After completeing her Masters, she joined Jomo Kenyatta University in 1992 as Mathematics teaching assistant. She served in this position between 1992-1994 and would be promoted to Assistant Lecturer of Mathematics at the same university.

However, she would soon go for her PhD studies at University of Zimbabwe specialising in theory of numbers on an ANSTI Fellowship. She would serve at the same university as a senior Mathematics

lecturer between 2000-2006.

Other than her love for mathematics, Mwathi also believed in championing her rights. She would do this by joining the University Academic Staff Union (UASU). She was the UASU Secretary General JKUAT Chapter from 2005 to 2008. Being in this organisation at a time when lecturers were agitating for higher incomes and better working conditions would cost Mwathi her job.

“After being sacked for union activism without a hearing, I was forbidden to enter the JKUAT gates. I disregarded the order until the authorities gave up,” she says.

“After delaying the case against JKUAT, Justice Joseph Nyamu directed that his court was not competent to handle the matter despite the fact that on preliminaries he had declared that she had a prima fascie case in April 2008.”

That same year, Mwathi made an out of court agreement with new JKUAT management to re-employ her without conditions

Prof Cecilia Wangeci Mwathi is the first woman professor of Mathematics in Kenya. other than not to follow the dismissal further in court. She would work hard as she was not going to let the scuffle dim her dreams. In 2010 she rose to level of Associate Professor of mathematics.

Other than teaching, Mwathi also decided to publish what she thought would help students understand that mathematics is not a hard subject.

“In 2006 I published KCSE Golden Tips in Mathematics, a book for demystifying mathematics at high school level.”

But mathematics aside, she felt the need to be part of the political class. Coming from the same constituency as Prof Wangari Maathai, the Nobel laureate who was also a pioneer in many ways, Mwathi made an attempt for the Tetu parliamentary seat in 2007 but gave up after flawed nominations.

Her rallying call is human rights and personal development activism. Currently she is involved in teaching, research, community mobilisation and empowerment as well as demanding for and enforcing justice. Mwathi’s goal: “To influence good leadership in Kenya and participating in guiding the country’s education agenda.”

While she may love teaching, she wants to take it to the next level and plans to start high schools developed along leadership models within the next two years.

Though she ventured into politics, she has not decided on what to do along this line. “I am reluctant to get into the muddied waters though the pressure to stand is very high from the constituents,” she says.

Mwathi is a mother of three daughters Purity 22, Karin 17 and Angela 8. She is also a foster mother to Ciiru 21 and Alex 7.

14

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

Pauline Mwinzi Research scientist making a difference

I

By Ajanga Khayesi

n an era when women are increasingly prominent in law, politics, administration and business, there are so few women scientists and engineers. It is very easy to pick those who have made it because they stand out.

One woman has proved beyond doubt that science is no longer a riddle based on stereotypes, gender bias, environmental and social barriers to block women’s participation and progress in the scientific fields.

Inspiration

The seventh born in a family of eight children, Pauline Mwinzi went to a primary school in Makueni district before joining Moi Girls’ High School in Eldoret. While watching a TV documentary featuring the former director of Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI), Dr David Koech, Mwinzi’s dream to becoming a scientist at the age of 14 was born.

She then proceeded to Alliance Girls High School for ‘A’ levels in 1989 before graduating with Bachelor of Science degree from Kenyatta University in 1994. Mwinzi was immediately posted to Machakos High School as senior biology teacher.

She only taught for one term before heading back to Kenyatta University to pursue a Masters in Immunology under the university scholarship from which she benefitted by virtue of having been one of the top candidates in the undergraduate class.

Her zeal for science was further strengthened by various visits she made to research institutions while at the university. She made several applications to KEMRI and eventually joined the then Centre for Vector Biology and Control Research in Kisumu for a Masters’ research project in 1996

and later for PhD degree in 2004.

Having formal training in immunology and parasitology, Mwinzi currently holds the position of Principal Research Officer and Laboratory Supervisor for the Schistosomiasis Research Programme at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Centre for Global Health Research in Kisumu.

Being involved in public health research into Schistosomiasis, commonly known as Bilharzia control, Mwinzi focuses on identifying strategies for strengthening primary health care system for Bilharzia control.

When Strength of a Woman visited Mwinzi last week, she was in the process of writing a thesis for a second PhD degree in Public Health from the University of Western Cape, South Africa.

“The project involves looking into the determinants of resistance to re-infections with Bilharzia and the immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS), a recently discovered syndrome emerging during highly active antiretroviral treatment (HAART),” she explains.

Research

Mwinzi is studying the immunopathogenesis, clinical aspects and management of manifestation of IRIS in Bilharzia patients who are HIV positive and are undergoing antiretroviral treatment in Western Kenya. She is also supervising two fulltime PhD students and three Masters’ students.

She teaches part-time at Maseno University School of Public Health and Community Development as well as the Zoology Department, teaching masters’ degree students in advanced Immunology and Immunology of parasitic diseases.

Mwinzi’s research reveals that Bilharzia infections in the Lake Victoria basin are associated with lake water contact. Previous studies demon-

Pauline Mwinzi, Principal Research Officer at the Kenya Medical Research Institute and Centre for Global Health Research in Kisumu at work by the shores of Lake Victoria.

— Pictures: Ajanga Khayesi

strated an association between school proximity to the lake and the prevalence of schistosomiasis, suggesting that the lake is the primary source of bilharzia transmission in this area.

She says prevalence levels around the Lake can rise to 100 percent making school children the most affected.

This is what sparked the World Health Organisation (WHO) to recommend a strategy for control in school based mass drug administration with praziquantel drug, which is only administered once in a year.

“But this strategy does not reach all people at risk of these infections such as fishermen, sand harvesters and

entire communities who use the Lake for livelihood,” explains Mwinzi.

In order to determine the best combination of strategies for controlling Bilharzia, KEMRI is launching operational studies including 150 communities where the prevalence of bilharzia is over 25 percent and 75 communities where the prevalence is moderate between 10-25 percent.

“Selected communities will be randomised into two groups, half of which will receive community wide treatment and the other half school based treatment in Rarieda, Bondo, Kisumu West, Kisumu East, Nyando, Rachuonyo, and Homa Bay districts,”

explains Mwinzi.

With a career goal to become a leader in infectious disease research that will generate valuable knowledge to improve the quality of life for Kenyans, Mwinzi dreams of mentoring CONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Head teacher steers her girls in the science path

S

By Macharia Mwangi

he is out to demystify the myth that sciences are boys’ oriented subjects and oozes confidence while outlining strategies aimed at improving performance among girls in secondary schools. The Principal of Naivasha Girls’ Secondary School, Ms Eunice Njenga, manages an institution that is one of the best performing in science subjects in Nakuru County.

Having been at the helm for 12 years, Njenga is at ease explaining why girls should be at par with boys in tackling science subjects. She says: “It is all about attitude and this needs to change.”

Being a science teacher herself, she has a trick or two in the bag that she uses to ensure female students excel in an area considered a boys’ domain.

Science competition And it is not empty rhetoric from Njenga who holds a Master’s degree. The provincial secondary school has won accolades in the various science competitions held within the province in the past, beating boys’ secondary schools, to the chagrin of the egoistic male students.

However, the road to the top has not been rosy for the school. In the late 1990s and early 2000, the students struggled to post good grades in Maths, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. “It was a preconceived attitude that science subjects were hard and would be best tackled by boys,” says Njenga.

The Principal then decided to take the challenge upon herself to change the girls’ mind-sets.

The turn around has been remarkable.

“We impressed upon girls that with the right approach, science subjects are as easy as other subjects,” she says. To ensure the momentum is sustained, every Tuesday the girls sit for a mathematics exam with those posting the best grades being rewarded.

The girls are also exposed to extra coaching to ensure they reach the peak and are comfortable in tackling the subjects. They are always on their toes.

Teachers are also not left out when performers are being rewarded at the institution. They also receive tokens to motivate them to continue with the good work.

The school is gearing up for a National Maths Competition in March with the sole aim of consolidating the top position which they continue to occupy.

“They are psyched up for the competition ready to give the boys a run for their money,” says Njenga.

Beating their male counterparts has seen the competition among the teenage girls go a notch higher as they try to out-do each other.

The goodwill and motivation the girls have gotten has witnessed a revolutionary performance in science subjects. However, Njenga admits that challenge is almost insurmountable without the necessary equipment and funds.

“We have a kind of memorandum of understanding with the parents for extra stipend to help equip the laboratory and buy science materials which at times come with prohibitive costs,” she says.

Students from Naivasha Girls’ Secondary School catch up with the latest news on the school’s notice board. The school Principal Ms Eunice Njenga displays one of the trophies won by her students in mathematics and science competitions.

— Pictures: macharia mwangi

The support from parents has enabled the institution purchase key apparatus that has proved vital in helping the girls to post improved results in science subjects.

Recalling her days in high school Njenga says: “In a class of 90, only 20 girls were taking science subjects and only three were pursuing Physics, Chemistry and Biology which was a tough combination.”

She is calling for concerted efforts among all the stakeholders right from the primary level to help change the attitude among girls on science subjects. “Girls should discard the notion that

sciences are tough subjects or the reserve of male students,” she advises.

Drawing from her own experience, Njenga leads from the front and has a bias for science subjects hence the tremendous improvement.

With head teachers showing interest in science there can be a general improvement in performance among the girls who are known to perform dismally when it matters most.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 15

Holding on to the dream of a career in medicine A

By Grace Kilonzi

re you wondering how you would succeed in your dream career and how you would give back to the society? Many people work hard to succeed in creating wealth and satisfying themselves without remembering others. Many others find it hard to achieve their dreams because they lose hope.

As a result of stereotyping, most women are reluctant to choose science related courses.

They think courses like engineering, medicine and law among others are meant for men. This is evidently not true because Hellen Obwanda, a former student of St Aloysius Gonzaga Secondary School in the Kibera slums has proven that women can make it in science related careers just like men.

Having finished her secondary school education last year, Obwanda is hopeful that her childhood dream of becoming a doctor will be realised. It is her belief and prayer that one time in life she will make it.

Childhood dreams Having studied biology and chemistry, Obwanda says eventually her hard work will pay off and that she will make a good doctor.

“What a man can do, a woman can also do,” she says dismissing the notion that girls cannot do well in science subjects. She believes that a woman is capable of doing anything she puts her mind to.

During an interview with Strength of a Woman, Obwanda says all it takes is a change in our attitude towards life. Many times women think they are meant for careers like modelling and fashion, but she proves that out of

passion and focus, women can do anything in life.

She has always admired doctors, she likes the way they help people and take care of patients. In fact, during the interview she put our imagination to the test: “Imagine if there were no doctors. I think we would all have died out of diseases.”

Curable diseases Obwanda’s aspirations are not selfish, her main aim of wanting to be a doctor is so that she can help her community. Having grown up in the slums where healthcare has been a great challenge, one understands where she is coming from.

“Children and women are dying daily due to complications emanating from simple curable diseases,” she says.

If only the Government would put measures in place to ensure that these communities have access to affordable, clean hospitals, then the death rates would surely decrease. “Some of these diseases can be prevented,” says Obwanda.

However she is quick to point out that poverty has contributed to the spread of diseases in the slums. “People do not have access to basic amenities such as toilets and proper drainage,” she says. The open sewages and the all too famous ‘flying toilets’ are a testimony to this.

There certainly needs to measures to curb increasing poverty levels in the slums to alleviate diseases and deaths.

They say when you educate a woman, you have educated a whole society and Obwanda’s determination and strong will clearly shows that if indeed she can be able to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor, then, her com-

“Children and women are dying daily due to complications emanating from simple curable diseases.” – Hellen Obwanda, munity will surely benefit.

But are there so many other women and girls like Hellen who are stuck in their quest of achieving good quality education? The answer would probably be yes. Many young girls, especially those from the slums are unable to attain their dreams because the education system does not favour them. In fact, when compared to their male counterparts, girls have had to drop out of school due to lack of fees, early pregnancies, drugs and inequality.

The theme of this year’s celebration of In-

ternational Women’s Day clearly advocates for this, Equal access to education, training and science and technology. If indeed the Government and other stakeholders with an interest in educating the girl child would heed the message as brought out in the theme, then young girls like Obwanda would surely see their dreams come true.

Meanwhile, as we wait patiently for that to happen, millions like Obwanda are only left with the hope that one day their life long dream will be a reality.

Mihindo shines as a science teacher

By RACHEL MUTHONI

W

hen she joined Nakuru Day Secondary School many years ago, Ms Jane Mihindo had one goal — to excel in science and make a difference in this male dominated field.

In primary school she had never seen a woman teach the science subject and was determined to not only make a difference, but also do it at a higher level.

Mihindo, 36, always topped her class in Chemistry and Mathematics, which were her favourite subjects. “I did not perform well because I was naturally bright; it was because I was determined to make a difference. I pursued the subjects with a lot of passion,” says Mihindo.

“I still fought at the university to remain at the top and managed a second class upper when I completed my course in Bachelor of Arts in Education,” says Mihindo.

Unlike many job seekers, Mihindo did not take long to get a job. Her first try at securing a teaching job at a private secondary school was successful as the school preferred employing

Excellent performance Being in a mixed secondary school, Mihindo had a tough time from her male classmates who found it particularly odd for a girl to excel in sciences and mathematics.

“In form one and two, the boys mocked me, saying I was memorising everything we were taught and warning me of tough times in form three and four,” says Mihindo.

But this was not to be, the more she was mocked, the harder she worked. Boys would no longer approach her as they thought she was too tough.

When she finally sat for her Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KSCE) examinations, Mihindo topped her class in Chemistry and Mathematics, scoring straight As in both sciences.

“Students had a low opinion of female teachers of science.

Sometimes they would even confront me and say they preferred a male teacher.”

– Ms Jane Mihindo

female teachers for science.

Mihindo says they believed the teachers would inspire female students to pursue science and make them believe that anyone can excel in the subject.

In 2001, Mihindo was lucky to get employment under the Teachers Service Commission.

She is currently based at Tumaini Secondary School in Barut, Nakuru.

Though she enjoys her job, Mihindo says it comes with a load of challenges which she has to ignore in order to keep moving.

“Students had a low opinion of female teachers of science. Sometimes they would even confront me and say they preferred a male teacher,” she says.

Mihindo regrets that the girl child is still buried in the old thoughts that sciences are meant for boys. Often, she finds herself counselling female students to change their attitude and embrace passion for hard work and take an interest in science.

Challenges Mihindo admits that getting students to understand science is a hard task. “Science is not like home science or agriculture where what is taught happens in real life. In science, you have to make them imagine,” she explains.

She gives an example ‘moles’ a topic in Chemistry where students have to imagine the formulas. “I found that topic difficult in secondary school. It is abstract and not in touch with real life, but I worked hard to make sure I passed my exams,” she says.

She keeps herself neat and admirable to pass the message to her students that being in

science does not mean being out of touch with good grooming.

Mihindo says most science teachers lack good communication skills but she is grateful that the government has introduced ‘Strengthening Science and Mathematics in Secondary Education’, a training system for science and mathematics teachers.

Training “I have attended four cycles of the training workshops. It has not only sharpened my communication skills but also refreshed the teaching techniques that I learnt in university.”

During the training workshops, Mihindo also learnt the need to apply more practicals in teaching sciences. Though some of the formulas were formally applicable only theoretically, Mihindo has learnt how to improvise things and now shows students practically how to expand their imagination.

This way the students are able to remember what is taught easily. The government has also equipped science laboratories in secondary schools, making it easier for science teachers to teach practically.

Though she is one of the women who have excelled in science, Mihindo still aspires to pursue a Masters in education, majoring in Chemistry. “I want to shine in science, to become a star in this male dominated field and prove that what men can do, women too can do.”

Currently, the mother of three says she is financially challenged and cannot afford to pay for her fees but is ready to start once financially stable. Her advice to girls: “Have a positive attitude towards sciences, work hard, and know that what boys can do, girls can do better.”

16

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

Rising to shine from the hot sands of North Eastern

By Abdullahi Jamaa

R

emaining true to her culture and religion, she wears a long black gown, her shiny face crops out from a genial body and her buoyant smile occasionally displays her teeth.

Here stands Anisa Mahboub, a young Somali girl who is strong both in brain and brawn. Her world is one of hard work and determination.

A world that for her means emerging from the relentless backdrop of a retrogressive culture that for many years sidelined women’s achievements in North Eastern Kenya.

“I want to be a professional doctor. I can be the best doctor, mother and wife,” envisages the bubbly girl.

Her story is a classical example of a number of rising female scientists from the devastated region where schooling especially for the girl child has been a tall order.

Dream Speaking eloquently in English she says: “To be a doctor is a priority in my life, not just for me but also for the progress of my family and community.”

Her insatiable desire is propelling her to rise above any obstacle in her quest to study science — a subject that many girls find difficult to crack.

“I know it is a very wide subject that needs commitment and hard work but I believe where there is a will, there is always a way,” she opines.

Mahboub, who was born in Garissa town in 1989 has left nothing to chance. Her science career took shape at Garissa Academy, a private institution where she completed her primary education.

Born to an able family, she got a rare opportunity which she seized with courage. “I have

had a favourable foundation at primary level,” she says.

Brought up in North Eastern Province, where access to basic education is hitherto a nightmare for thousands of Somali girls, Mahboub grew up with a good chance to advance unlike many girls her age who are yet to rise from the ashes of inequality and discrimination.

After primary school, she was admitted to Kenya High, a national school that she never joined. With an avid desire for Islamic studies, she joined Sheikh Khalifa in Mombasa where she passed with B+ in the secondary school examinations of 2008.

the problem is not only caused by lack of determination, but also poor educational infrastructures in North Eastern Kenya.

“There is no favourable environment for schooling in the entire North Eastern. Science is an expensive subject that needs a lot of facilities which are non-existent in most of our schools,” says Mohamed Issack, a high school science teacher. He adds: “To say that we need doctors is meaningless if we have no plans to bring proper facilities to our schools.”

Disparities

Science Now in her second year at Kenyatta University, Mahboub hopes to specialize in medicinal surgery.

Rarely have female scientists been seen emerging from North Eastern where high poverty levels have resulted in a decline in education standards.

Science subjects have been reason for panic among female Somali students. However, Mahboub is a role model and testimony to the budding top-class Somali career women.

She is trying beat all odds to achieve success. “It is all about losing that perception of who you are as a Somali girl, losing the perception that Science is always hard, she says.

She is determined to succeed in her quest and become a role model for Somali girls.

“It is like the door for science studies slammed hard in the face of many girls from my region but they don’t know that as girls we risk losing this generation’s competitive edge,” she asserts.

The current crop of emerging female doctors and scientists serves as a hinge between the past and present. Certainly this indicates that

“To be a doctor is a priority in my life, not just for me but also for the progress of my family and community.”

– Anisa Mahboub there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

For decades, participation and the study of science among university students from the region has been very low. Science teachers say

Child bride emerges top in KCPE exams

F

By Joy Monday

ive years ago, Charity Cheptoo then aged 13 escaped a forced marriage after her parents attempted to sell her to a 50 year old herder. Cheptoo was in Standard Four when her parents decided to marry her off to get cattle to increase the family’s stock.

The suitor paid 50 cows, five camels and 209 goats to the parents and the secret marriage deal was sealed. The marriage, however, did not go through after a local gender activist got wind of it and scuttled the plans.

“Arrangements had been finalised and the cattle had been paid to the girl’s family when we stepped to save her,” recalls Deborah Katina, founder of Yanga’t Girls’ Potential Sensitization Group. Cheptoo was a few months away from being initiated into womanhood when the would-be husband spotted her and held discussions with her parents.

Irony

The parents invited a traditional surgeon to perform the female genital mutilation rite while the suitor organised to deliver the cattle.

Katina’s quick move saved Cheptoo and she was able to complete her primary education. Cheptoo was ranked the best girl in Pokot County.

Surprisingly, Cheptoo’s parents were among the jubilant Pokot pastoralists who marched to Sigor Township to celebrate the girl’s performance. “We are excited with her results despite having earlier opposed her education. We could have done a big mistake had the marriage plans succeeded,” says Agnes Lomongoli, Cheptoo’s mother. “ Cheptoo’s dream is to become a doctor. “It has been my dream to

“It has been my dream to pass exams and proceed to secondary school. I’m certain of completing my education and becoming a doctor.”

– Charity Cheptoo, top girl Pokot county pass exams and proceed to secondary school. I’m certain of completing my education and becoming a doctor. I want to help my people access medical services,” she says with certainty.

“I was happy that the officials of Yanga’t Girls Potential Group encouraged us to concentrate on our studies to become important people in the community,” reveals Cheptoo.

She is among hundreds of Pokot girls who have in the past been rescued from early marriages and taken back to school.

“In the past three years, we have

rescued 3,000 girls from early marriages. The rescue missions have not been smooth because some parents even threaten us with guns,” says Katina.

Area District Education Officer, Mr George Ngao acknowledges the role being played by gender activists in the County of save girls from becoming teenage mothers.

“We give them (promoters of girl child education) accolade. Our schools have witnessed encouraging enrolment of both girls and boys. Education in this region is crucial to development,” reiterates Ngao. Girl enrolment has increased by 35 per cent and Ngao attributes this to the spirited fight against outdated cultural practices such FGM and rustling.

Peace

Other than child rights activists, there are others like peace advocate Tegla Loroupe who have in one way or another contributed to boosting education in the region. Lorupe’s campaigns against cattle rustling has encouraged hundreds of warriors to reform and enrol in school following the introduction of free primary education.

The improved registration in schools and the KCPE results have been attributed to Lorupe after some of the reformed warriors joined schools in large numbers.

Pokot North District Education Officer, Mr Ahmed Mohammed confirms that Lorupe’s role in preaching peace is bearing fruits as the youths previously engaged in rustling have abandoned the activity to join school.

“We appreciate her role and campaign to ensure the Pokot child downs the gun and now has the desire for education. We have seen young boys abandon cattle raids and return to school,” says Mohammed.

On many occasions however, success in the sciences depends on the individual student’s hard work.

“Many students from the region drop studying science as they have a negative perception that they cannot do it because it is hard,” says another teacher.

Generally female students are now coming out from a set of cultural and traditional attitudes that have over the years kept many young girls out of school.

For many years, the community’s attitude in educating young children has been bent on discouraging education for female students.

“It is good that these days the community is educating girls and boys alike,” says Mrs Fatuma Ali Saman, principal of Nairobi Muslim Academy. “Initially, parents never used to demand a lot from girls, so educating them was viewed as waste of resources.”

Experts also say, the girls’ personal attitude towards education has been one of low profile.

“Until now, disparity in performance between boys and girls is enormous.

“There is nothing big to celebrate at the moment, we are still looking at the vast gender disparities in many schools across the region,” says Mrs. Amina Ibrahim, an education specialist with UNICEF.

Female scientist makes a mark in her field CONTINUED from PAGE 14 young scientists, particularly women.

Having trained extensively in public health, research ethics and project management, Mwinzi is motivated by the desire to contribute to research findings in order to ensure faster translation into policy and implementation of basic research findings.

She has trained in many fields that include strategies for successful international research, Bioethics, research ethics, training curriculum, laboratory animal science, good laboratory and clinical practices.

Mwinzi has received many awards and grants including Wellcome Trust Fellowship. She has also received study and travel scholarships. Hinging on her science skills, she carried research on human studies comprising all aspects of cell separation, cell culture and cell proliferation, and HIV culture.

She also inducted researched on animal models comprising rabbits for meningitis, rats while studying malaria and mouse for bilharzia.

As laboratory manager she supervises 25 technicians, and manages the lab and field operations, trains staff and oversee data management and analysis.

Mwinzi’s editorial contributions are recorded in over 40 science publications and books all over the world.

Some of her work is includes evaluation of hepatic fibrosis in persons co-infected with bilharzia and human immunodeficiency virus, the effect of treatment of schistosomiasis on HIV blood plasma in co-infected individuals.

Married with two children, Mwinzi encounters the challenge of sourcing for research funding to support the department’s research agenda in a competitive environment.

Whether on an international assignment or local duties, Mwinzi has experienced hectic travelling schedules and long working hours. She transverses the Lake region sometimes risking her life while looking for Bilharzia causing snails on the shores of the Lake Victoria or taking blood and stool samples from the community.

Having the life of the community at heart, she says: “Research has to be carried out in the muddy swampy places, bush areas and even water hyacinth which harbours dangerous animals like snakes and insects.”

She describes schistosomiasis — also known as Bilharzia — as a major parasitic disease infecting humans and domestic livestock and caused by aquatic snails.

“WHO estimates that more 200 million people are infected in parts of South America, Africa and Asia,” she says. Schistosomiasis remains an important public health problem.

Mwinzi says mortality rates of transmission stand at 280,000 infections per year in sub-Sahara region.

Bilharzia is among the neglected tropical diseases and the disease affects body organs such as the lungs, liver, intestines and bladder.

According to Mwinzi, a vaccine would help in preventing infections among people in affected areas than drug treatment or treating contaminated water since the Bilharzia parasites can survive in the bloodstream for 40 years.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 17

Against all odds and back to school

A child bride pursues her dreams

By Michael Oongo

W

hen one’s education opportunity is cut short, there is always that insatiable hunger that it is something that needed to have been

completed.

This is the case with Caroline Anyango, 26, who was forced into marriage at 13 years while in Standard Four. Ever since then Anyango has been hungering to go back to school and achieve her life time dream of completing her education process.

Transition When she saw that her chances of getting education would not work while she was married, Anyango decided to separate from her husband to pursue her life–long dream of acquiring an education. This was after they had had four children.

Hers is a tall order and she aspires to be a medical doctor upon completion of her studies. Her children, including the first born who is now in Standard Seven are living with their father at his rural home in Bukhayo, Nambale Busia County.

Like Mercy Wanjiru Weru, who hit news headlines recently when she joined Kenya High School at the age of 40, Anyango is mounting many odds at Bukhuma Mixed Secondary School in Butula Busia County where she is now in Form Two. However, unlike Weru who has joined a prestigious school and received offers from well-wishers to pay her school fees, Anyango is in Form Two in a lowly district school with a poor setting where no one has paid attention to her plight.

“My mother left my father when I was barely 13 years; I learnt this was because my father decided to marry a second wife. My mother could not stomach this so she ran away,” she recalls.

“Life with my step-mother was difficult. She would beat me up often and burdened me with a lot of work. As the situation became unbearable, some relatives arranged for me to elope with a man who was working as a stone mason at Baraton University in Eldoret. This was in the hope that things would change for the better.

However, this was not to be,” she narrates.

Empty life Married life was not as fulfilling as she thought it would be. “I had never been with a man before. When we eloped, I had to endure painful sexual encounters for long time before I could get used to it. It was such experiences that made me realise that my life was headed for eternal emptiness unless I did something to change its course,” says Anyango.

Besides there was no meaningful communication between her and the husband considering the wide age gap. She was 13 and the man was around 27 years.

“My life became so empty that at times I thought of taking my life but on second thought, I figured I could better my situation by going back to school,” she reiterates.

Anyango’s husband was opposed to the idea of her furthering her education from the word go.

In Eldoret, she worked at the university’s farm as a casual labourer where she was paid a daily wage of KSh180. With this she was able to enrol for evening classes in a nearby adult learning centre until 2007 when they fled the town following post- election violence.

Back in Bukhayo, Anyango studied privately for KCPE exams while engaging in fish

mongering. Her husband got masonry work in Butula. However, because of the harsh living conditions at home, she only managed to score 147 points in 2009.

“I knew that I had scored low marks that would not enable me to join a good secondary school but I wanted to continue with education so when I was employed to do house work at Butula High School. I told my employer who was also the deputy principal to save my wages and pay the money directly to any secondary school that would admit me,” she explains.

However, she encountered more hurdles when she was admitted in Form One at her current school. Her husband was so angry with her move and could not entertain the idea of her proceeding to a secondary school.

Abduction Soon after my admission, my husband walked into the school compound and confronted the Principal Mr John Juma, demanding to know why he admitted me to school without his consent.

The Principal then called me immediately and sought to know why my husband was causing a commotion in the school but I told my husband that he would not get me out of the school until I sat for my Form Four exams.

“Incensed by my reply, he walked away in a huff threatening to come back and remove me from the school forcefully. True to his word, he came back after one week accompanied by three other people riding on two motorbikes.

They waylaid me on my way to school and abducted me in my school uniform and took me back to Bukhayo,” Anyango narrates with tears flowing down her cheeks.

Back at her husband’s home, the men bundled her into a hut where they beat her senseless before setting a blaze her school uniform and books. “After they beat me up, I realised they had called a group of elderly men and women to judge me in a Kangaroo court. In the end they accused me of insubordination because of my insistence to go to school against my husband’s wishes. However, I told them bluntly that nothing except death would stop me from going back to school.”

Escape Anyango recalls: “I found this judgment absurd and though I was in great pain, this act made me even more resolute to pursue higher education because it dawned on me that they were acting out of ignorance.”

“I later escaped their bondage by telling my captors that I wanted to go to hospital but instead I ran away. On the way I met some good Samaritans who on seeing my condition, advised me to report to the police but the security officers did not help much as they only gave me some forms fill and told me to go to hospital.”

With neither uniform nor books to go back to school with, Anyango decided to go and borrow uniform from a friend who had just finished Form Four at her school.

“Later, I came to realise that one of the

Caroline Anyango, who was married at 13 but left to pursue education. Now in secondary school, Anyango has received beatings (inset is a picture of a black eye) from her husband for pursuing her dream.

— Pictures: Gilbert Ochieng

men who beat me up was my uncle who became infuriated that my stubbornness would cost him two heads of cattle that my husband had promised him had he succeeded in persuading me not to go back to school.”

When the Strength of a Woman visited her at school recently, Anyango said that she is currently staying with a classmate with whom she had rented a room near the school where they pay a monthly rent of KSh400 per month. They depend on food donated by her friend’s brother.

“During last December holiday, I got a casual job at Butula High School where the administration was putting up a new block and I was paid KSh4,000 for the work. Out of this money, I used KSh2,000 to buy books while the remaining KSh2000 I paid fees,” she says.

Appeal According to the school’s Deputy Principal Mr Patrick Masiga, Anyango still owes the school KSh8,912 in fees arrears. He is appealing to well-wishers to assist the young woman realise her dream for attaining secondary school education.

“She is an average student who is really determined to pursue her education because despite all her tribulations, she has managed to fit well in this school by putting up a brave face,” says Masiga.

“She is a very brave young woman who society

“I found this judgment absurd and though I was in great pain, this act made me even more resolute to pursue higher education because it dawned on me that they were acting out of ignorance.”

– Caroline Anyango

should support to realise her dreams because she is the kind of person who does not give up easily, heavy problems not withstanding,” reiterates Masiga.

Encouragement The Executive Director of the Rural Education and Economic Enhancement (REEP) Ms Mary Makokha whose organisation deals with vulnerable women and orphans in Butula and Nambale districts observes that women, especially in rural areas are still disadvantaged in realising their basic rights in society.

She says: “For a woman to achieve something in this society she must overcome many hurdles and that is why many give up and succumb to poverty.”

Makokha challenges educated women from the local community to mentor and encourage girl-child education.

To avoid a situation like the one Anyango now finds herself in, Makokha notes that girlchild education should be supported at the right time to avoid complications arising out of one trying to go to school later in life.

“It is very common here to find children starting nursery school at the age of 10 while some girls and boys between 17 and 18 years are still in primary school,” says Makokha.

She attributes this to poverty in the two districts saying that some parents find it difficult to retain their children in school because of small demands such as fees for examinations, nonpayment of fees and uniform among others.

18

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

Hope as girls’ school offers full scholarship

By Kipkoech Kosonei

W

hile for some girls joining Form One is a right, the case has not been the same for those from Narok South Constituency.

They have ended up missing out on furthering their education from primary to secondary level for the mere fact that they are girls.

They have suffered the loss because the parents in most cases have the option of deciding between the boy child and the girl who will be given priority. The boy has often been at an advantaged position.

It was not different this year as thousands of Form One students joined the various secondary schools countrywide. Many bright children from needy families missed their school opportunities due to lack of fees. The situation was heightened by the acute drought that has hit the country.

However, about 40 girls drawn from the arid areas of Narok South District had their prayers answered when they joined Kisaruni Secondary School under full scholarship.

While the girls would have been married off since their fathers could not afford to pay school, a humanitarian organisation came to their rescue and offered to pay all liabilities to the school.

Free the Children (FTC) selected top girls from primary schools in the district. The will pay their fees as well as buy them uniform among other needs.

Noble initiative Kisaruni Secondary School has been developed under the model of Starehe Boys’ Centre.

Free The Children, which now sponsors 55,000 children across the globe, was started 15 years ago by a 12-year-old Standard Seven child.

Sitting at his classroom in Toronto, Canada, one afternoon in 1995, the pupil, Craig Kielburger read a newspaper article featuring a 12year-old boy who had been killed in Pakistan for speaking out against child labour into which he had been sold.

Touched by the story, he decided to take action. He beseeched his schoolmates who included his elder brother, Mark Kielburger, who was then 17, to start a club that would

raise funds for other disadvantaged children across the world.

This marked the birth of ‘Free The Children’ whose motto is ‘children helping children through education’. Today, a mere 15 years later, there are 3,000 such clubs and schools spread throughout the USA and Canada which contribute money to ensure thousands of children across the world attend school every day.

Free The Child is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to building schools, providing water and alternative sources of income to underprivileged communities in the less developed countries.

“Sixty five percent of our funding still comes from children,” said Mark Kielburger at the official opening of the KSh30 million girls’ school built with the assistance of the Hopper-Dean family of California.

The school brings the number of Free The Children-sponsored institutions in the district to 13.

Empowerment The organisation has also sunk more than 20 boreholes in Mulot, Mara and Ololulung’a divisions as well as built a modern hospital at Kisaruni which treats locals at subsidized fees.

Through its ‘Adopt A Village Programme’, Free The Child has over 650 schools spread across the poor regions of Haiti, Ecuador, India, Sri Lanka, China and Sierra Leone.

“In the normal lives of families with steady and adequate income, parents go to work everyday and children are left to play with friends and go to school. However, such is not the case for many children who find themselves working long hours under harsh, dangerous and exploitative conditions,” says Mark who is a Harvardtrained international development expert.

Free The Children works to dismantle the idea of simple aid and truly empower communities to success by making them equal partners in the development process.

“We run 100 women’s groups in Kenya with between 20 and 30 members each. We assist them to engage in alternative sources of income like beadwork business,” says Mr Peter Ruhiu the organisation’s director for Africa.

Besides the 40 girls who have been selected to join the model secondary school, the or-

Penina Chepkoech, the head girl at Kisaruni Secondary School with Wilter Chesang, the environment prefect. Inset: Mark Kielburger, the co-founder of Free The Children at Kisaruni school.

— Pictures: Kipkoech Kosonei

ganisation sponsors 17 other bright and needy students in various secondary schools in the country.

“I know the problems the girl child faces.

The government appreciates the efforts made by children in North America to educate our children,” said Ms Beatrice Kones Home Affairs Assistant Minister who was the guest of honour at the school’s opening. She called on more donors to support girl child education in droughtstricken areas of the country.

“A unique aspect of our curriculum is cultural education. Every Friday afternoon, parents are given an opportunity to inculcate the girls with positive aspects of their culture,” says Mr Willy Cheres, the school chairman.

“This way, the girls, most of whom were rescued from female genital mutilation and early marriages feel that they missed nothing as they are carried through alternative rites of passage,” he says.

Mrs Monica Mebet, a resident, thanked the ‘Free The Children’ for solving the villagers’ water problems.

“It is not only the girls who have benefited, the community has also got water which had been a big problem here,” she said.

The new school comes as a blessing to the region which has for many years lagged behind in education due to FGM, early marriages,

human-wildlife conflict and drought related problems.

Narok South District Education Officer, Mr Nicolas Ambolwa said the organisation had boosted learning in the district where distances to water points and from one school to another had been a big problem.

Education boost “Building 13 schools in an area where children had been trekking for long hours to school and to fetch water is truly liberating,” said Ambolwa, adding that the school feeding programme the organisation was supporting had boosted enrolment and retention rates.

But perhaps no one knows this more than Penina Chepkoech, 16, one of the girls joining the secondary school from Emorijoi Primary School on the edge of Maasai Mara National Reserve. “Before I joined the school, we were having only one meal of ugali with salted water in the evening,” says Chepkoech who aspires to be a doctor.

A unique girls school takes root in the Narok plains

By Kipkoech Kosonei

A

s the International Women’s Day centenary is marked today, it is prudent to take stock of the efforts being made in bridging the gap between the gender divide.

One school, situated some 80 kilometres south west of Narok is laying a solid foundation for 41 bright but poor girls from the surrounding plains. The school, which was constructed by the Free the Children (FTC) organisation with the help of the Hopper-Dean family of California at the cost of KSh30 million, opened its doors to pioneer students on January 31, 2011. The top girls, who were selected from the FTC- primary schools in the district, had all their fees paid.

The choice of the location could not have been more fitting. Reeling with some of the highest rates of female genital mutilation and early marriages among other redundant cultures, Narok has never produced an A student in its history, and usually with less than 20 students joining the university annually.

Home Affairs Assistant Minister Beatrice Kones, who was the chief guest at the school’s

opening called on more donors to support girl child education in drought-stricken areas.

When Strength of a Woman visited the school recently, there was a unique nature of learning going on. Old women clad in red shukas were narrating stories to the girls under shades of trees dotting the picturesque compound.

Unique learning The girls were all ears as they listened to their ‘teachers’. One would have been forgiven for thinking the school does not offer modern education.

“A unique aspect of our curriculum is cultural education. Every Saturday afternoon, parents are given an opportunity to inculcate in the girls positive aspects of their culture,” says Mr Willy Cheres, the school chairman.

“This way, the girls, most of whom were rescued from female genital mutilation and early marriages feel that they have not missed anything having gone through the alternative rites of passage,” explains Cheres.

The school is equipped with well trained teachers. Mr Andrew Ondiki, a graduate of Kenyatta University teaches Biology and Chemistry

at the school.

“We do offer the 8-4-4 system of education but we also appreciate that our indigenous cultures have some thing to offer our children,” explains Ondiki. He adds: “The core values of the school are being part of the community, building on cultural values, promoting leadership and valuing diversity.”

Ondiki reiterates: “We want to build the whole person. Some of the negative values we observe in our leaders today can be traced to the education system hence the school’s move to inculcate moral values at the core of the curriculum.”

The Principal, Ms Caroline Moraa says their classes are small and manageable, making it possible for all learners to participate.

“We have two streams, the leopards and the cheetahs, each with 20 and 21 students respectively. We use learner-centred approaches.

We don’t teach as such but guide our learners to research and discover and thereafter present in class,” explains Moraa.

The Principal says they are yet to settle on the uniform because they have to look for something which is acceptable to the two communities living in the area — the Maasai and Kipsigis.

According to Cheres, the school has also helped in fostering peaceful co-existence among the two communities which have perennially been fighting over pasture.

“Whenever there has been fighting, it is women and girls who suffer most and so Free The Children has done more than giving our daughters an education,” reiterates Cheres.

Environment

Penina Chepkoech, and Wilter Chesang are students in the school. Strength of a Woman caught up with them after the story telling session and they were beaming with confidence and enthusiasm.

“I feel nice. This is a unique school because we are not just taught what is in the books,” says Chepkoech, who is also the head girl.

On the other hand Chesang finds the environment prefect. She likes the school because they are taught how to take care of the environment.

“With the kind of education we are getting here, my ambition is to join the best university in the world. The school has four teachers, three well-equipped laboratories and a modern library,” says Chesang.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 19

Washable sanitary pads bring relief to poor girls

F

By Ruth Omukhango

or many financially empowered women, a monthly budget for disposable sanitary pads to meet their menstrual cycle needs is considered a normal expenditure. The same applies to daughter born in families where finances are not a problem.

However, the same is not the case for women and girls who come from families that have to weigh the option of buying sanitary pads with that of putting food on the table.

Lack of sanitary pads is a big problem to majority of girls, particularly those from poor families, who have to miss a week of schooling every month as they are unable to buy the commodity. To take care of themselves at that time of the month they are forced to stay at home using pieces of rags and paper for protection.

For an average number of women, visiting a supermarket or a retail shop and the purchase this important commodity is an insignificant cost. In the current market, the price varies for different types of disposable sanitary pads that range from as low as KSh49 to KSh90 for a packet of eight pads. As a result, many women are able to buy the commodity in bulk and store for future use.

Disadvantaged girls However, for orphaned and vulnerable girls it is not smooth sailing. Take the case of 14-year-old Milicent Majimbo, an orphan living at Watoto Wema Centre located in Njiru’s Miles Saba Estate about 25 kilometres from the city centre. Majimbi is in Standard Seven at Jehovah Jireh Primary School in the neighbouring Kayole Estate.

For Majimbo, who is grateful to be at the Centre after the death of both her parents who succumbed to HIV/Aids in 2003, using disposable sanitary pads is a luxury which she only gets to savour when good Samaritans have made a special donation to the orphanage.

However, since disposable pads are expensive it has called for ingenuity among concerned people to come up with alternatives that are affordable. These are the washable pads that one uses and washes for reuse and hence saves the girls from missing school or feeling uncomfortable any time their menses are about to begin.

Majimbo, is happy that the centre has provided them with washable sanitary pads which she considers durable and hygienic as compared to what she used previously like the mattress sponges and pieces of cloth cut from old clothes.

“I do not have to worry during my period days because the pad is as effective as the disposable one. I just have to clean my pads and keep them ready for the next cycle,” explains Majimbo who has lived at the Centre since she was six years old.

The washable pad comes in more handy during the holidays when the children are released back to their guardians and Majimbo has to travel to Kakamega, where her aunty, who is her current guardian lives.

The washable pads are durable as they are used for six months before the inside material is wears thin and they have to be thrown away.

Girls at St Juliet Primary school in Kibera display some of the disposable pad that they received. Lack of sanitary pads has seen many girls miss class and lag behind in performance.

— Pictures: Ruth Omukhango

“I come from a poor home, where we only survive on one meal a day since my aunty is a vegetable vendor and cannot afford to take care of the seven of us, neither can she afford to buy for us girls the disposable sanitary pads,” says Majimbo.

The situation orphaned and vulnerable girls face is very desperate, like that of 14 year old Catherine Wambui who also lives at the Centre but has to go to her grandmother in Murang’a during school holidays. The grandmother is very poor and normally cannot afford to give a meal for day. Most of the times when Wambui goes home with a disposable pad, she sells it to her more able neighbours and uses the money to buy food for her family.

For Wambui, the challenge lies in washing of the sanitary pads which has to be soaked in warm salty water for about two hours before

partnership with Colgate Palmolive.

The pads have been well received in areas where she has introduced them. “When you explain how to use the pads, first there is surprise, but after explanation on how it works, and how to clean it, the students are very happy,” she says.

Teachers have confirmed that after donation of the pads the school attendance of the girls has significantly improved. “Several packets have been stolen from our office by adult women. It was a financial loss, but a compliment for the product,” explains van der Kolk.

Van der Kolk says each packet contains four pads can be used for six months and she reiterates that the washable pad is more economical compared to the disposable ones.

“The pad is made of two types of layers — the outer layer contains the cotton napkin and the inner one which is made of plastic. The two

“The washable pads minimise the risks of girls going out to look for money to buy the disposable pads which often leads to them being taking advantage of by the community.”

– Ms Elizabeth Waitherero. being washed with soap. While this is easily done at the Centre because each of them has a basin, the scenario is different at home because there is only basin that is shared among all the family members.

A social worker at the Centre, Ms Elizabeth Waitherero is happy that someone has been innovative to create the reusable pads. She says the girls at the Centre are mature and able to take care of themselves since they boil the warm water after their supper and wash their own clothes.

“The washable pads minimise the risks of girls going out to look for money to buy the disposable pads which often leads to them being taking advantage of by the community,” explains Waitherero.

According to Ms Mathea Helena van de Kolk, coordinator of Youth in Community Development Organisation, a non-government organisation based in the Kibera slums, the idea of producing washable sanitary pads is her brain child. The purpose was to donate to women and girls who cannot afford the disposable pads.

So far, the project is still in its infancy stage and the NGO has been able to donate over 80 packets of washable sanitary pads to girls in schools identified in Kibera and Kayole through

have to be separated during washing to ensure cleanliness and drying,” explains van der Kolk.

Before making the washable pads, van der Kolk was already donating normal sanitary pads in the rural areas. Although it was a very expensive exercise she knew that many girls were kept out of school during their menstruation because they did not have protection for their bleeding.

Innovation “I started thinking of ways to make it cheaper. That is when I thought of the napkins that babies wear. I also recalled meeting an American lady a few years earlier and she told me that in America women use special panties that can be washed for their menstruation period,” explains van der Kolk. She adds: “However, for the Americans it was not because of finance, but for the environment.”

Van der Kolk looked up the internet for the special panties and that is how she managed to design the washable sanitary pad. “I tried out several styles and ended up with the pads that we are making at the moment. It is cheap and better for the environment as in many slum and rural set up there is no sufficient garbage collection and the used pads end up in the streets between the playing children,” she explains.

“The pads are made by women living in the Kibera slum. They are not only supporting the girl child but have also created employment for the women here,” says van der Kolk. “I work with three women who sew the pads and are paid a rate of KSh200 per day.”

Van der Kolk does not even know how to sew, however, she just brought the idea on paper to the women and they tried it out.

Some of the materials for making the pads are bought in the city centre, some are second hand material from the nearby Toi market or donated by hotels. “They are however washed with disinfectant to ensure hygiene. It’s also a way of recycling,” she says.

She is hopeful that as soon as the community appreciates the cost effectiveness of the pad and they move to the stage of purchasing, then it will be better.

“There is a high demand especially in schools for the pads but we still have the challenge of raising funds to produce them in bulk as well as distribution,” she explains.

With a life span of six months, it means that if an individual bought one packet for KSh70, she would only spend KSh140 per year and, therefore, save the resources for more other important purposes such as buying food.

Affordable Even as van der Kolk toys with the idea of selling, looking at economic situation of the slums it may not be viable. “It is not easy to sell something that people have never used before.

Therefore, we donate only once in a particular school class and explain where you can buy the product. To buy one packet is expensive, but we also sell them per piece at KSh35.”

When the girls have a packet the only thing they need to do is replacing the old once. “And people in the slums also buy napkins for their babies, but buying one is three times more expensive than a diaper. But they still find it cheap as you reuse them. The idea of using washable sanitary pads takes time but once they get used to it then it becomes normal.”

Van der Kolk would like to take the project beyond the slums to the rural areas. “The problem is even bigger there. But due to lack of resources we have not yet been able. However, we sometimes get people who want to buy a packet for their cousins in the rural areas,” she explains Although not a Kenyan by birth, van der Kolk is married to a Kenyan and has applied for Kenyan citizenship under the new Constitution. She started the NGO after working as a volunteer in several organisations. “I decided to start my own organisation for it to have more impact,” she says.

20

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

Taboo that is menstruation keeps girls out of school

Group uses mobile phones to fight FGM

By Macharia Mwangi

W

hile the mobile phone is the best thing that has happened in technological revolution, the creativity by which it is being put to use is changing many lives.

From communication, to money transfers, the mobile phone has made life easy. Sharing of information through the short message system (sms) is a development that cannot be surpassed as people are able to get the right news from the set in their hands.

A non-government organisation is now using modern technology in the fight against female genital mutilation (FGM) in the vast Naivasha constituency.

The ambitious programme seems to be bearing fruits with remarkable success going by the current statistics.

Using mobile phones, the organisation known as Grassroot community, has helped more than 600 girls escape the circumcisers’ knife.

Mobile alerts

I

By Ben Onyango

t is early morning and time to report for school but Mercy Auma has woken up late. She lingers around the homestead and seems to be in no hurry to report for school. Asked by her parents why she seems reluctant to attend school, she feigns headache and heads to her bedroom to sleep off the ailment.

But unknown to her parents, the teenage girl is not sick but she is going through her menses but dares not reveal her situation to her parents since the subject is taboo.

Auma is not alone; she is among hundreds of girls her age who miss school frequently while undergoing menstruation.

Rather than face embarrassment in school, the girls opt to miss lessons during the cycle.

A child rights activist, Mrs Consolata Anyango, says that girls, especially those who come from poor rural families in Nyanza and other parts of the country miss school for close to a week every month.

“These girls miss school for between four and seven days during their menses,” says Anyango, who is the director of a National Mercy Home based care Initiatives based in Uriri.

Others who ignore the condition and attend school are often subjected to ridicule by their male counterparts, further compounding the girls’ discomfort.

Anyango says the common practice of teachers asking pupils to rise to answer questions can be embarrassing to the girls if they are experiencing their periods. She urges a change to this habit.

“There should be a provision for girls to answer questions while seated to avoid the risk of exposing such girls to embarrassment,” says Anyango, who has been at the forefront in fighting for girl rights in the country.

She says prevalent absenteeism occasioned by monthly periods has compromised the performance of girls in class as well as in national examinations as compared to that of boys learning at the same level.

Re-washable pads To address rampant drop-out as well create conducive learning conditions in school, Mercy Initiatives has partnered with a community-based organisation to buy sanitary towels for school-going girls from poor families.

“These are the girls who cannot afford sanitary pads since the prices are too well beyond them,” says Anyango. She adds: “High poverty levels among rural communities have contributed to the plight of the girls.”

Mercy Initiative which has activities in Uriri, Rongo, Migori and Nyatike districts is planning to donate some commercial sewing machines, rolls of cloth materials as well as other accessories to start producing re-usable pads since the modern ones are becoming more expensive.

Anyango says a set of pads, which they expect to produce will be sold at only KSh145 to women and free school girls once the fullscale production starts. The reuseable pads will last six months.

A set of the pads consists of a fist-sized absorbent pad that sucks up menstrual flow and a simple strap to hold it in place. The pad can be removed after use, washed, dried

Councilor Esther Mengere makes reusable sanitary towels inside her office in Naivasha. Looking on is Ms Miharo, a volunteer with the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

— Picture: Macharia Mwangi

and used again. “Users would normally need KSh900 worth of disposable pads for the same period,” says Anyango adding that the re-usable pads would easily be affordable to school girls in rural areas.

However, the need to sell the pads is informed by the fact that community based organisation undertaking the project requires the money to sustain and expand their operations so as to reach as many schools as possible.

One of the implementing CBOs that is currently working in four schools in Uriri District plans to extend operations to six other schools to bring the total to 10.

Girls from the targeted schools would be given priority in buying the pads. Other schools will be considered when resources become available.

She is now appealing to individuals, organisations and agencies to give assistance to the group to enable them expand operations and reach more girls. The government through the Ministry of Education can chip in and provide free sanitary towels as a matter of policy to stem drop-out from school and give the girls a level playing field in education.

Anyango reiterates that a vital biological function like menstruation does not have to be a source of embarrassment for girls or a reason for them to discontinue education.

According to the chairperson of the group, Councillor Esther Mengere, they decided to devise the method as it would assist them in the fight against the outdated traditional practice.

“We gave our phone numbers to students and pupils hailing from areas prone to rampant FGM,” Mengere explained.

The girls have then been able to alert them when confronted with the reality of facing the knife. “We also involved members of the provincial administration, security agents and local leaders to accomplish our goals,” said Mengere.

The group has also been holding campaigns in areas notorious with the archaic practices such as Namucha in the outskirts of Maai Mahiu and other remote villages.

The group, through its members, has been conducting high profile campaigns in schools both at the primary and secondary school level impressing upon girls to shun FGM. She revealed that the practice was still common among internally displaced person residing within the district.

“FGM is still practiced even among the internally displaced persons but is highly discreet,” said Mengere. To break the barrier, the group has co-opted some internal refugees opposed to the rite of passage in the fight against FGM.

Sanitary provision “The volunteer information is key to intervention,” explained Mengere, blaming some religious sects for the continuity of FGM among their members. At the same time, the group members have embarked on a vigorous campaign popularising the use of reusable sanitary towels.

“We are teaching adult girls how to make the sanitary towels in the comfort of their homes,” she said. The organisation currently ensures that 200 school girls are receiving sanitary towels on a monthly basis.

A high number of girls had abandoned schooling after attaining puberty since they lacked access to sanitary pads. This is because they lack cash to buy the vital commodity. The group is currently working closely with several flower farms to ensure the project is sustainable.

The councillor said they need more funds to make the project of reusable sanitary towels a dream thing reality. “We are facing financial limitations in our quest to make the project self-sustaining a viable,” said Mengere.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 21

Poverty and culture remain major impediments to girls’ education

By KEN NDAMBU

W

hile the women’s movement has been fighting to ensure girls have equal access to education like boys, and that they also get an opportunity to finish, their efforts have not been fruitful in certain parts of the country.

And today as we mark 100 years of International Women’s Day celebrations, under the theme Equal Access to Education, Training and Science and Technology; Pathway to Decent Work for Women, girls in a community within Mwingi are nowhere near realising this dream.

Performance For the last 30 years, a school in Mwingi District, Kitui County has failed to produce girls who sit for the final primary education examination, the Kenya Certificate of Primary Examinations (KCPE).

Records at Ithoka Primary School indicate that no female candidate has sat for either Certificate of Primary Education (CPE) or Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) in the last 30 years.

Media reports quoting the local District Children’s Officer, Ms Jacinta Mwinzi confirm the reality which she attributes cultural practices which impede the girl child from accessing quality education.

Speaking at a workshop in Machakos Mwinzi said: “All the girls drop out of school before completing Standard Eight or immediately after undergoing female genital mutilation.” She added: “After this stage, the girls get married or abandon school altogether.”

Women’s group It is out of this realisation that Desert Lilly Women’s Group came up with an initiative to promote and support girl child education in the area by empowering women at the village level both socially and economically to address pressing issues which impede retention of girls in school to completion.

The core value of the group is to address itself to emerging issues which affect girl child education like HIV/Aids, pregnancy, early marriages, family tragedies, child abandonment and neglect as well as child labour.

“The founder members of the group are village girls from very humble backgrounds who managed to go through education with a lot of difficulties to make them what they are now,” explains Ms Janet Syombua Mumo, outgoing chairlady of the group.

However, there are a few girls from the region who have struggled through the education process up to university level. Mary Mwanzia, from Ngiluni village in the far flung Tseikuru District is a beneficiary of the group’s efforts. Her poor parents struggled to see her through university education.

“The group helped me morally and financially and even intervened to raise KSh4,500 towards my graduation ceremony in 2008,” says Mwanzia. The group also helped Elizabeth Nyamai from the same village with KSh4,500 to meet her graduation expenses.

Sensitisation The women who form this group have realised it is only by taking a proactive role can the girls among them be empowered.

In the remote Mulangoni and Suveta villages, in Tseikuru district, the group has held a series of sensitisation training sessions to educate the community on the need to educate the girl child and importance of doing away with traditional norms which impede girls’ access to education.

“Sometimes the training is sensitive especially on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) because the community firmly believes that a ‘total’ woman is one who is cut,” says Mumo but asserts that the community is accepting change.

She explains: “The approach we are using to change the community is village based. When one becomes a member, the community in her home village benefits from the group’s incentives.” It is a member who identifies the problems affecting girls in her village after which training is held to address the pressing issues.

In villages where HIV/Aids is a concern to vulnerable members of the society, the group seeks services of a person living with Aids who has gone public about their status to act as a role model to create awareness on the disease.

Projects The group implements projects that range from shelter and school fees to provision of water tanks depending on the area’s immediate needs. “Once you register as a member, your spouse, community and girls in the nearest primary school become beneficiaries,” explains Mumo.

The members also benefit from savings and credit facilities, social and financial support arising from unforeseen problems especially girl child education needs.

The group depends on financial support from members’ contributions, monthly loaning schemes and interest accrued from the loaning and credit facility. Each member also contributes KSh7,000 for each identified project. The group meets quarterly; this is when they make such contributions. The

Girls in torn uniform at Ayany Primary School. Poverty and cultural practices have forced many girls to drop out of primary school.

— Pictures: AWC Correspondent

group started in 2006 with about 100 girls and other vulnerable children.

“The group’s objective is to promote and support girl child education and sensitise the community to discard traditional and cultural practices which prevent the girl child from competing favourably with boys in education,” explains Mumo.

Financial support To show the gravity of girls not going to school, the group has incorporated women who underwent difficulties in their quest for education because they are better placed to change the attitude of parents who prefer to educate boys instead of girls.

“Our members have average financial stability based on community indicators and

who have desire to be role models,” reiterates Mumo.

The first priority among the group’s activities is advocating for the girl child education followed by community empowerment as well as supporting school projects where vulnerable girls attend school. Other activities include strengthening savings and credit schemes for the members’ benefit.

As at December 2010, group had contributed KSh327,200 to meet some of its objectives.

Most of the money goes towards construction of houses for the poor homesteads where it has been difficult for girls to attend school due to poverty and inadequate shelter.

The culture of educating the boy child at the expense of the girl child especially among the poor families hurts the progress of girls.

Child sex trade whittling down FPE programme

A

By Ben Oroko

monster is playing havoc with the Free Primary Education Programme in many parts of the country.

In Kisii Central, part of Gusii County alone, the drop out rate of under-age girls continues to water down enrolment in the free education programme in public schools as an alarming number of girls opt for the commercial sex trade.

Many of the dropouts can be seen

roaming the streets of Kisii town in search of customers. The move has alarmed many stakeholders in the region, with security agents declaring war on the under-age girls frequenting drinking outlets, in a desperate bid to curb the vice and concerns over HIV/ Aids infections.

Parents, church leaders, government officials and educationists in the region are calling for combined efforts to address the problem which they fear could lead to a major social disaster.

The Strength of a Woman established that

some of the girls involved in the sex trade, either completely dropped out of school or sneak out during weekends to engage in the vice, and then sneak back to school in time for weekday classes.

The area deputy police boss, Mr Isaac Meme, who has been leading the clean-up operation, concurs with the view that unless addressed conclusively, the girl dropouts will take over the town and cause all manner of trouble for all concerned.

He is now intensifying the crackdown on the under-age girls in an effort to bring sanity

into the sprawling town, to allow respected members of society the peace and comfort of the urban centre. He is appealing for support from all stakeholders, saying it was not a one-man effort.

Majority of the under-age girls in the trade are either orphans or off-springs from single-parent family backgrounds, driven into the vice by poverty, abuse of drugs and alcohol.

The booming business is such that many of the storey buildings in the town also run guest houses that in reality are brothels.

22

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

ARVs keeping alive students’ dreams of education

By ARTHUR OKWEMBA

E

ight years ago when Mary Atieno waited on the queue at a health centre in Mathari North estate to pick antiretroviral drugs for her one-month old baby, she never thought that the child was going to survive past five years and lead a productive and normal life like other children.

“That day and the months that followed left me so devastated. I constantly cursed why it had to happen to my baby,” Atieno recalls the painful moments she went through at that time.

Hope for survival But eight years down the line, she is all smiles. Her eight-year-old daughter is now in class three at a primary school in the estate. “She is among the top five performers in her class. Her excellent performance gives me the drive to work hard, get good nutrition and medicine to keep her going.”

In school, Atieno’s daughter mingles well with other children, which has inspired the girl to work hard. “Every day when I look at the drugs, I remind myself that this is what keeping my daughter in school.”

Her tale is shared by another family about six kilometres away, in Kimathi estate.

The heartwarming story is of a boy who had lost hope of pursuing his education when opportunistic infections attacked him.

This was two years ago, when aged 14 years old, he came down with a serious skin disease and pneumonia. He also could not walk after his feet became numb caused by what his doctor referred to as peripheral neuropathy. When he was tested for HIV, the result was positive.

His doctor advised he immediately be put on antiretroviral therapy to reverse the devastating effects the disease. For three months he did not go to school and his parents knew his education had come to an end. “Will he ever walk, I cried,” says the boy’s father, Peter of the thoughts that went through his mind at that time.

After five months of taking the ARVs, he regained his health. He started walking again and was admitted back to school. Now in form three, and planning to sit for the national examination next year, Peter says were it not for the ARVs, his son would either be dead or physically disabled. “These drugs are the very reason why my son in school pursuing his dream of becoming a lawyer.”

Both Atieno and Peter, beneficiaries of the free ARVs provided by the government, say their lives would not be what they are now were it not for the drugs.

Beneficiaries The two children are among the thousands of those whose access to free ARVs has ensured they are in school pursuing their dreams. Access to these medicines is so critical not only for keeping them health, but active to participate in other activities.

Kenya Aids Indicator survey report of 2009 show that 3.8 per cent or almost half of those infected with HIV are young people aged between 15 and 24 years. HIV prevalence among the girls was four times that of the boys. The National HIV prevalence is 7.1 percent. This also happens to be the age bracket when the youth are in high school and colleges. It also means HIV/AIDS care and treatment programme is beneficial to girls in schools, who are the most affected by the disease.

Consequently, with the youth, especially girls, being the hardest hit by the disease, the ARVs have ensured the academic lives of those in schools and colleges are not interrupted or brought to an abrupt end for lack of access to these life-prolonging drugs.

“By keeping them on treatment and in school, we are ensuring that the country is producing skilled manpower needed to propel this economy to the next level,” says Dr

Ibrahim Mohammed, the Director of National Aids and STD Control Programme (Nascop).

Dr Mohammed notes that those on the government and other ARV programmes include university students, secondary and primary school children. For these children, the drugs have helped reduce or eliminated the opportunistic infections that lead to absenteeism, poor performance, and lack of focus in school.

In one of the girl’s secondary schools in Kisumu town, a teacher confided that 11 of his students are on ARVs. “Three of them had lost confidence when they started becoming ill in regular successions. But when they were put on ARVs treatment, they regained their confidence and now see themselves as key players in all school activities.”

“Besides the healthy advantages, these drugs give the students psychological benefits that are so critical in the participation of the students in academic and other school activities,” says the teacher.

Improved attendance On the flipside of it, ARVs have enabled HIV positive parents to keep healthy and productive at their places of work or businesses.

The income they are earning is channeled towards paying schools fees and buying food.

“There are many instances where children have dropped out of school or colleges after their parents succumb to HIV/AIDs or become immobilized. ARVs treatment for a parent is therefore an assurance that the child will complete school and even college,” says Josephine Mutungi of the International Planned Parenthood Federation.

Mutungi adds that parents have risen from their death beds to see their children through school and university, thanks to the ARVs drugs and other care services.

The number of deaths and absenteeism among teachers has also been reversed with increased access to ARVs, improving the human resource in the education sector and guaranteeing children access to some of the talented teachers.

Supply concern In all these encouraging stories, one thing is clear: continued access to HIV/AIDS care and treatment is crucial in ensuring that the child who is in primary school will go through to secondary school to university into employment. But this trajectory might run into turbulent waters if the supply of the drugs is not sustainable.

At the moment, developments in the funding of HIV/AIDS treatment and care programmes indicate that drugs supplies in future might be tricky if sustainable funding measures not put in place now.

Funding from the Global Fund on HIV/ AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR), and the Clinton Foundation, cannot be assured in future.

Already, the Clinton Foundation, which funds children treatment programme, ends its support in September this year. This is painful since majority of the over 35,000 children on ARVs treatment under this programme maybe in school. Any interruption to their treatment will be disastrous.

PEPFAR on the other hand has put a ceiling to its funding for ARV treatment for the next four years, while donations to Global Fund, which funds Kenya and other countries, has been reducing. All these developments indicate the future is uncertain for the many students who rely on these drugs.

HIV experts argue that the best option is for the government to finance over 60 per cent

“By keeping them on treatment and in school, we are ensuring that the country is producing skilled manpower needed to propel this economy to the next level,” – Dr Ibrahim Mohammed, Director of National Aids and STD Control Programme

Workers at Cosmos Pharmaceutical packiging anti-retrolviral drugs.

— Pictures: AWC Correspondent

of the HIV care and treatment, with the rest of the funds coming from donors, private sector, and philanthropists.

In the 2010/2011 budget, the government allocated Ksh 900 million towards HIV/AIDS care and treatment. So far, it is estimated that about 87 percent of the funding of HIV/AIDS programmes is from donors, with the government contributing only 13 percent.

Even with this funding, the country is currently experiencing a serious funding gap running into billions of shillings. This is a gap the donors are not likely to bridge, leaving the government and private sector as the areas HIV/ AIDS programme manager need to tap in.

The other challenge is the HIV/AIDS financing is not a budget line item in the government’s national budget, something HIV/ AIDS experts say needs to happen.

Collaboration A coordinated approach where the Ministries of Finance, Planning, Public and Medical health, Education, and Special Programmes work as unit is another approach needing attention. This collaboration is likely to result into greater benefits as far as HIV/AIDS care and treatment in the country is concerned.

There is also increasing attention towards the public-private partnerships in helping sustain HIV/AIDS care and treatment in the country. Private sector is seen by many HIV/AIDS treatment, care and prevention advocates as one area that massive resources can be generated to support HIV/AIDS programmes.

The only rider is the private sector has to see the benefits of such a support to their performance in terms of profits, image, and retention of skilled manpower. How the money will be managed is another area which needs to be fully addressed to convince the private sector they are engaging in a worthy cause.

All these efforts are very necessary to guarantee Atieno’s and Peter’s children hope of completing school and college and joining the Kenyan workforce. Only sustainable financing of HIV/AIDS care and treatment can make this a reality.

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman 23

State of maternal health remains dire

Mothers’ Country engages reverse gear as mothers’ deaths rise still shun delivering in hospitals

By Akumu Ajiambo

W

ith eyes cast down, her frail body holding on to her baby who is struggling to suckle from a breast which appears to have little to offer, Zawadi Charo recounts how she has lost three children during delivery.

Charo is 20 years old but life seems to have taken a toll on her body and she appears much older.

“Our village is too far from the nearest hospital which is almost 25 kilometres away. The road is not good and neither do we have vehicles here. So one has to walk all the way and when labour pains come suddenly in the night, the journey is treacherous and many women have been known to deliver on the way,” says Charo.

Child loss Unfortunately for Charo, three of those occasions turned tragic as she lost her babies but was lucky enough to escape with her life, just barely she states.

Saumu Katana who is not sure of her age has also lost two babies during labour. “Most of us deliver at home and rely on the kind help of traditional birth attendants, and this has been the case for generations of women,” Katana says.

Dama Kazungu and her husband Kazungu Salim chuckle as they recount the horrific tales of losing four children during delivery perhaps oblivious to the danger it posed to their family.

“I have five children but I lost four during delivery. I have given birth to all my children at home and only came into contact with western medicine when I began using contraceptives,” says Kazungu.

Her husband, Salim, joins in and says: “We decided to use contraceptives because it was clear that if she continued losing children during delivery she would die. A number of women in our village and neighbouring villages have died due to pregnancy related complications.”

For every other home in Bamba division, the family has a story to recount relating to deaths during labour, be it of the mother or the child. In one such home, a freshly dug grave stands in the compound. The widowed father clutches on to his new born child, as he stares at his wife’s grave. Apart from the infant, the man who refuses to be interviewed has been left with four other children the oldest being about 10 years old.

Minimal attempt Despite being among countries that have committed to meeting eight development goals set by the United Nations, one of which is to reduce maternal deaths, Kenya’s attempts at doing this appear minimal if not non-existent.

According to Prof Joseph Karanja, a lecturer at the University of Nairobi and an obstetrics/gynaecologist, the state of maternal health in Kenya is dire, and the country is making backward steps.

“The number of maternal deaths is increasing.

Based on the Kenya Demographic Health Survey (KDHS) of 2003, 414 maternal deaths were registered for every, 100,000 live births. The KDHS of 2008/2009 shows that this number is increasing with statistics standing at 488 deaths per 100,000 live births,” Prof Karanja says.

A maternal health expert Dr Joachim Osur says 14,700 women and girls die each year in Kenya due to pregnancy-related complications. In addition 294,000 to 441,000 women and girls suffer from disabilities caused by complications during pregnancy and childbirth each year.

“As a country we are yet to put enough resources on maternal health. Kenya only allocates about 6.8 percent of its budget to health, a figure that is far from what is recommended by the Abuja Declaration of allocating 15 percent of national budget to the health sector,” explains Osur.

Karanja says the government has shown little commitment to alleviate maternal health, remaining oblivious while this silent death sentence continues to plague women who have no access to skilled medical care during delivery and pregnancy.

He argues the causes of maternal death are easily preventable, a fact that is known and obvious to all but

for some reason, the government and donors seem not to pay attention to this area.

“There is no commitment from Government and development partners are also to blame as they do not allocate adequate funding to this area. Many development partners put funds in HIV/ Aids while maternal health seems to be forgotten,” says Karanja.

Osur reiterates that Kenya’s overreliance on donor support on the crucial issue of maternal health is also dangerous. He recommends that the country digs into its own resources to ensure the lives women and their unborn children are protected.

Millennium Development Goal number Five calls on countries to improve maternal health.

However, the country’s indicators based on the latest KDHS figures show a significant number of women, such as those in Bamba Division do not have access to hospital facilities.

S

A traditional birth attendant in Obunga slums in Kisumu attends to an expectant mother. In many parts of the country, women die or lose their children in the process of giving birth due to lack of access to skilled health care.

Timely care Karanja states that even though complications of pregnancy cannot always be prevented, deaths from these complications can be averted. Close to 80 percent of all maternal deaths can be averted if women received timely and appropriate medical care.

“We have knowledge of the causes of these deaths and how they can be prevented; we know what works and what does not work. It is clear that lack of skilled assistance during birth is the most important determinant of maternal mortality. What is lacking is the commitment, at government and donor level. It is important that they to do something about maternal death and make this a high priority agenda, says Karanja. He adds: “This should be reflected in resource allocation to health services, especially for reproductive health care.”

According to KDHS 2008/2009 maternal deaths represent about 15 percent of all deaths to women aged 15-49 in Kenya. Kenya’s statistics in the 10 year period between 2003 and 2008/2009 surveys shows a figure that does not depict a reducing trend towards the target of 147 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births set for 2015.

The leading cause of maternal deaths in Kenya are not directly related to HIV/Aids where majority of the funding is directed. Maternal deaths are mainly caused by excessive bleeding after delivery, obstructed labour, infections that occur after delivery and complications arising from unsafe abortions.

“Since this is not directly related to HIV/Aids maternal health suffers because funding in HIV/ Aids is vertical and only programmes directly related to it have access to the money,” says Karanja.

Skilled attendance at delivery has been found to be important and influence the birth outcome and the health of the mother and the infant. Currently in Kenya only 43 percent of births take place in a health facility and the KDHS of 2008/2009 found that this is due to poor access to health facilities occasioned by a lack of transport and charges for services at the health facility.

— Picture: Ajanga Khayesi.

In Bamba tales abound of women dying while on board a hand-driven cart which residents rely on to transport the sick to hospital. The terrain of the area is unforgiving and this is likely to adversely affect a woman in labour. The cost of hiring such a cart is KSh800 which is prohibitive for many residents who live below the poverty line.

According to Karanja proper medical care prevents infections which may occur after birth or be acquired during delivery in unsafe places. However, the reality on the ground is that mothers continue to deliver with the help of traditional birth attendants due to unavoidable circumstances.

Traditional birth attendants assist up to 28 percent of mothers at delivery and this figure is approximated to be higher in the Bamba area of Kilifi District. According to the KDHS 2008/2009, the progress made in terms of births assisted by medically trained personnel has increased only marginally. The proportion of mothers delivering without skilled attendance is said to be higher in rural areas and among women of lowest socio-economic status.

“There is uncontrolled urbanization with the majority of urban settlers being found in slums.

Maternal health outcomes of urban slum dwellers is worse than those of rural dwellers,” says Osur.

He observes that there is lack of uniform development in the country. Provinces such as Central and Nairobi are doing extremely well but others such as Nyanza and North Eastern continue to report poor outcomes.

Fertility The contraceptive prevalence rate which has direct relation with unwanted pregnancy is still short of the target for 2015 of 70 percent by more than 20 percent. Currently the contraceptive prevalence rate stands at 46 percent.

Adolescent fertility is another determinant of maternal death due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth leading to death among women aged between 15 and 19. This is to a large extent resulting from the lack of access to quality health care, including abortion services, antenatal care and skilled attendance at delivery. The risk of maternal death is twice as great for women between 15 and 19 years when compared with those between the ages of 20 and 24 years.

Osur reiterates: “The day we agree that the lives of women are worth saving, we will reduce maternal deaths. Women do not die from causes we cannot prevent; the causes are quite preventable.

What we need is to give maternal health interventions the priority that they deserve.”

“There is no commitment from Government and development partners are also to blame as they do not allocate adequate funding to this area. Many development partners put funds in HIV/Aids while maternal health seems to be forgotten.”

– Prof Joseph Karanja.

By Fred Okoth

trong cultural beliefs among the Kuria community remain a stumbling block to Government’s efforts to ensure pregnant mothers embrace delivery in hospitals. Statistics indicate that a large percentage of expectant mothers prefer delivering at home as a way of conserving their cultural beliefs.

Kuria West District Medical Officer of Health Dr Solomon Bongo says campaigns by the Ministry of Health to convince expectant mothers to deliver in hospital are still met with resistance among a substantial population that remains conservative.

“Most of the local people still believe that hospitals do not dispose off well placentas which they regard highly in terms of survival of their infants,” he explained as to one of the reasons why more women were avoiding the hospitals.

But Bongo was also disturbed that poverty was contributing to the high percentage of home deliveries in the area arguing that most couples find it cheaper using traditional birth attendants who offer their services cheaply and sometimes on credit as compared to the charges in hospitals.

Traditions Yet Millennium development Goal number five seeks to reduce maternal mortality. It encourages that expectant mothers have easy access to health care facilities and skilled personnel.

In Kuria the traditional beliefs puts most mothers at risk at child birth. Bongo appealed to the residents to shun traditions and culture to help avoid the risks faced by pregnant mothers. “Expectant women develop complications which can only be handled effectively in hospitals rather than by the traditional midwives,” Bongo reminded the community.

He was speaking in Kehancha town where he reiterated that the government recognizes services offered by the traditional birth attendants but placed more emphasis on training them on the job to make them carry it professionally.

“The Ministry of Health has been training traditional birth attendants to empower them to be able to handle some of the many risks that the mother and infant can face during and after birth,” explained Bongo.

A civic leader from the area, Mr Peter Kihita, said apart from culture baring many women from delivering in hospitals, some women also avoided going to the health facilities because of the harassment they undergo in the hands of nurses.

“Some of the mothers especially the first timers fear the abuses on expectant mothers by nurses and would rather deliver in their homes,” said Kihita. He urged hospital managers in the region to ask nurses to be polite to the mothers.

24

Strength of a

March, 2011

Woman

‘Soft white gold’ lifts women out of poverty

T

By Ajanga Khayesi

he rocky Kotetni hill is a dilapidated assortment of poverty, hunger and disregard where infrastructure and social facilities have been neglected for years.

However, delighted and hard working women from Kodawo Village, Korando-A Location, Kisumu District have ventured into exploiting a resource that not many people stand to contemplate about. Everyday the women climb the hill into excavating sites to mine an edible soft stone commonly known as odowa in Dholuo.

The women, mostly widows and those from poverty stricken homes have been mining odowa for the last 20 years since Mama Regina discovered the soft stone that many refer to as “the Gold of Kotetni”.

Regina ventured into selling the stone to women in the area at Otonglo market. Following the high rate of poverty and poor farm yields in the area, Regina convinced other women to join in the endeavour so as to provide daily necessities for their families.

Mining Nevertheless, as time went on, the women were thrown into depression when a developer purchased the piece of land on which the quarries were located. Thanks to a beneficiary among the first ventures, Mama Christine Ng’anya, found the commodity on her two acre land.

“We are women who can only exploit all the one metre deep surface odowa in the rocky bushes due to lack of strength and working tools,” explains Ng’anya.

After utilizing the entire surface in the rocky bushes, the women went on to mine the raw material situated two metres below the ground. Mining odowa has become the only industry in sustaining Kotetni villagers after the decline of cotton and sugar industries in the lakeland basin.

In the quarry, large fresh soiled mines leave evidence of what has been going on in the excavation sites daily as the agony of pushing aside huge rocks while searching for the commodity could be seen on every woman’s donkey working up the hill. “We decided to train ourselves to mine using a short small jembe and after several weeks the progress was tremendous,” says Ng’anya.

The mining site, which lies one kilometre off the Kisumu-Busia road, covers 2.5 square acres on a sloppy rocky hill that overlooks the Kodiaga Prison compound. Loaded with sacks and jembes as the only farm implements available in the homes the women work in groups at different mining sites.

When Strength of a Woman visited the hills last week, the team of Pamela Atieno, Selina Achieng, Morine Atieno and Christine Ng’aya were spotted busy excavating one of the sites digging, sampling the stone, packing in sacks and transporting down the hill.

“Since the farm owner is also among them, no charges are levied upon the diggers who believe that odowa is a divine gift from God that replenishes itself in the deserted craters if left undisturbed for a certain period of time,” says Pamela Atieno.

Devoted miners harvest an average of four sacks weighing 50 kg each daily selling at KSh50 per load at the site. However, the work is risky as the diggers are exposed to dangers such as

poisonous snakes, the scorching sun, falling rocks, bad weather and minor landslides. Moreover the miners are greatly at risk since they work without basic safety equipment including gloves, helmets, gum-boots, shovels and forked jembes among others.

Selina Achieng says odowa comes in dark-reddish colour that can be recognised from ordinary rocks after breaking to examine a piece from the soft rock.

“Processing odowa involves digging, shaping the soft stones, salting, solar drying, packing into sacks, transportation and marketing at the Kibuye wholesale market in Kisumu town,” explains Peresi Akinyi Nyateya. She adds: “During shaping and sizing, decayed or normal hard stones are detected before packing into the sacks.” Due to the poor road infrastructure up the hill, porters carry the sacks down into the miners’ homes for final preparation, particularly salting.

“The preparation process comprises washing, salting and solar drying in the home for four hours,” explains Akinyi.

The stones are boiled in hot water laced with iodized table salt to kill germs and acquire the salty taste favoured by many pregnant women.

The stones are then spread on polythene material and left to dry in the sun for four hours. They are packed in 50 kg sacks and transported six kilometres away by middle-women to the wholesale market where they sell at KSh100 per sack.

Ready market Odowa has flourished into a regional business attracting traders across the Lakeland region, major towns and neighbouring countries.

“Odowa has established a market in Kitale, Nairobi, Mombasa, Malindi, Lamu, Kakamega and Moyale. Some traders export the commodity to Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Sudan,” says Mr Dan Obiero, a dealer at Kibuye market.

Due to scarcity of employment opportunities, retrenchment, poor farming methods and poverty, many women are engaged in the odowa business to meet their daily needs.

“To put food on the table, cater for my children’s education in primary school and take them to hospital when sick, I must get engaged in the business,” says Morine Atieno.

The women work up to midday so as to attend to other family chores including tilling

Widows from poverty stricken families in Kodawo village, Kisumu district mining odowa. The stones, known as white gold are a source of income for the women.

— Pictures: Ajanga Khayesi

the land, fetching water, cooking, cleaning and feeding animals.

The issue of land ownership in the mining area is a major problem facing the growing industry which may lead to the collapse of the quarry. Selina Achieng says miners are sometimes harassed by families who own the land.

Space in Kisumu town has been exhausted and many people are moving out of the town to put up homes on top of the hill.

She reiterates that the business has led to economic growth in the area. She opted for odowa mining following her husband’s death.

Selina has used the proceeds to take care of the

“To put food on the table, cater for my children’s education in primary school and take them to hospital when sick, I must get engaged in the business.”

— Morine Atieno, miner

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children.

Pamela Ogada also ventured into the business after her family’s small acreage piece of land became unproductive due to limited rainfall. For Jane Atieno, odowa mining is a case of getting help from above since she can now put the profits into products such as omena fish, soap, paraffin, salt and vegetables which she wells in the village. She uses the proceeds to buy a two kilogramme tin of maize at KSh50.

Additional income “After selling odowa, I buy raw products at the Kibuye wholesale market to sell in the village to increase my income. I am able to see my children through school. I have also repaired my house since my husband died 15 years ago,” she says.

Apart from mining odowa, the women cultivate, weed and harvest crops such as maize, sorghum, beans, millet, vegetable and care for tethered animals. The women of Kotetni village have earned a living from what others would have perceived as nothing but stones eaten by expectant women.

This publication has been made possible with the support of: HIVOS and The United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF)