I suppose some people reading this would never get how cool my life is or what pleasure I take in helping people get together.I know it’s not about me, I’m just the conduit for the spirit to pass through me. But sometimes, it is so much fun that I just have to shout out loud.
As you all know, 3 intrepid board members are over in Kenya as I write this blog. Despite my dotage, I am on facebook frequently. I noticed that one of the original Peacekeepers from years back was working in Kisi (not far from where we are working). K is a remarkable young woman, who of course, was destined to meet me. She and I get that. Her destiny as a pediatrician working in Africa was clear to us from the moment we met. She even took a year off from medical school to work in Rwanda. Yesterday I saw her post that she was in Kisumu. And today I was able to catch her on facebook, say hi, and introduce her to our board members. Hopefully tomorrow they will all be swimming at the Kiboko Club and will go on Safari together.
K will also be of great help to Monica and KMET and of course it will be reciprocal. All these amazing people, so very far away are right here with me in my heart. They travel under God’s grace and plan. I’ve never understood why I get to do the things I do but for all of those who understand that there is a plan for all of us, try not to doubt it. If the opportunity opens up, say yes.. It is 9 years ago that I said yes to my first madcap adventure in Ethiopia. That simple yes has enriched my life, grown my soul and made me an infinitely gentler person that I was.What a difference yes can make.
And my prayer tonight is that all of you who read this know and accept that you are part of this magical plan. And I will pray you say YES.
I sit here tonight thinking about the young board members who are about to embark for Kenya. I cannot know exactly what they will see, but I know it will change their lives. And I know that they in turn will change the world.
So often people come to me for so many reasons, and I cannot help but be totally grateful for all who enter my life now. I think of these intrepid young women, spending their own money, (and trust me it ain’t cheap) to be part of the first Breast Cancer walk in Kenya. How amazing is that! Part of me wishes I was going with them, but I know this is their trip. Dr. Seuss once wrote "Ah the places you will go". I suspect each of the women had that read to them growing up, but never thought it would go that far. They will see our schools and our micro-finance, they will meet the women and see lions and hippos. They are the next generation that a friend of mine promised would come to me. Gladly I pass the torch to them.
One of the nicest things about being 63 is that life is sweet and the things you worry about in your 20’s-50’s just aren’t that important. It is so easy to share One Village with all who want to be apart of it. There was a time when my ego felt I had to make things happen, I was in charge. How silly of me. The universe is always doing what the universe is going to do. It’s only an illusion that anyone makes anything happen. It’s just the universe (or God as I believe) cooperating with us, or maybe we’re cooperating with God.
So I wish Ash and Johanna and Bonnie traveling mercies (as we say in Kenya). And I wait, with great anticipation, to hear how the world unfolds for them. Tonight it feels really great to be part of God’s plan.
This morning when I woke the first thing I read was from Monica (Mama KMET). The letter was filled with joy and optimism. Kenya had passed the new constitution in Peace. I sit here, now, filled with some many thoughts and feelings.
My journey in Kenya started 9 years ago. Kibeki had just been elected and there was a sense of a way forward. People felt that there would be equitable allocation of land, and that things would definitely improve. That was a bit of an overestimation given that Kibeki had been in a horrendous accident that left him with a head injury. His wife frankly ran the country for quite a while.
In 2007 candidates came forward for the new elections. At the same time Mungiki started up and violence exploded, even before the elections began. The pressure mounted, the election got down to a Kikuyu and a Luo and it got really ugly.Just before Christmas 2008 the elections occurred and Kenya exploded For 3 months the country reeled, buildings were burned, children were killed, panga wielding youths attacked each other, and the nightmare went on and on. Each day I read the papers and felt such despair, and I wasn't even a resident.
This is what it looked like during the riots.
Upon finally returning to Kenya in April 2008, while the rioting and burning had finished, the communities were visibly shaken. Being a muzungu (white girl) and not belonging to any tribe, people from each tribe I worked with, described their take on the rioting, who really won the election and what wrongs had been inflicted upon them.
The schools we were working with just went totally down hill, and my dismay continued over the next year. It was not until we united with KMET and people honestly spoke about never returning to the unruly disruption and chaos of the election past, that One Village turned around. I also like to think that Kenya began again.
So many of the inequities of government were going to be addressed in the new constitution. A promise made over 20 years ago, was being written, argued about and finally, finally voted on this past week. For women in particular, the strides are tremendous. They can inherit, they are seen as equals. The women who are the biggest voters anyway can now be better represented in government. Maybe, maybe one day a woman will run Kenya as a woman runs Liberia, and is the vice president of Malawi.
Tonight I smile. Tonight I stand with my Dada Monica and all the women of Kenya. Tonight I stand with all Kenyans who have accomplished so much by passing the constitution in peace. Blessings on all Matokeo Ya Utafutajikwa. I am so happy for you all.
The Nation Newspaper 7 August 2010
It’s a big win for Kenyan women
Women are awaiting emancipation and empowerment when the new constitution takes effect.
“It is as if it was written for us,” said Kathiani MP Wavinya Ndeti. “We will now be recognised. We will now have equal treatment of men and women, including job opportunities. Women whose husbands die will no longer be disinherited,” said Ms Ndeti.
She said women were the greatest beneficiaries of new constitution adding that children were also properly protected.
Article 68 protects dependants of the deceased which, the MP said, “will bring to an end cases where women are thrown out of their matrimonial homes when their husbands die”.
Nominated MP Millie Odhiambo celebrates the fact that the new law also protects matrimonial homes and widows’ rights to land, and the two provisions will provide greater security for women.
Article 45 (3) also entitles to married people equal rights.
Victims of sexual and gender violence have received special attention. The new constitution further protects children, minority and marginalised groups.
Discrimination of women at the workplace because of pregnancy and marriage will now be a thing of the past.
On citizenship, women have been conferred the same rights as men, which means if a woman gets pregnant by non-Kenyan, the child could get Kenyan citizenship.
Article 14(1) says a person is a citizen if, at birth, either the mother or father is a citizen.
Article 15 further states that a person who has been married to a citizen for at least seven years is entitled on application to be registered as a citizen.
Women further stand to benefit from representation, as each county is required to elect a woman representative to the National Assembly.
In addition, at least six of the 12 members nominated to the National Assembly shall be women. There will be 18 women in the Senate under reserved seats.
Women will be free to contest the remaining seats in the Senate and National Assembly.
“Kenyan women will therefore have true and strong representation in the legislative arms of government. They will direct and influence laws. They will determine development priorities and the application of resources,” said Water Minister Charity Ngilu added.
Through the Kenya Women Parliamentarians Association secretary Cecily Mbarire said the new constitution would render void customary or religious laws that are in contradiction with its provisions.
“This is important to women because the current Constitution has legitimised subordination of women as it embraces legal pluralism, which embodies customary and religious laws that are discriminatory to women,” she said.
KMET is an NGO operating in Western Kenya. Please check out all that they do to empower women and girls. We are delighted to be partnering with them.
Please visit them on their website: http://www.kmet.co.ke/
I am currently working for a non-profit in Kenya.I manage it from Boston and go there 2 or 3 times a year. If you are a sentient creature you can already figure out it has its challenges. And for those who read Tales of the City the nom de plume fits perfectly.
Six years ago I went to an AIDS Conference in Addis Ababba for a friend of mine. I met some amazing African women at the conference who asked me to come to their villages to teach about AIDS prevention, or to send them supplies. I returned to Africa 6 months later and started a feeding program with the help of one donor. The organization has morphed and changed, we have gone from 24 children to 2000 children. It's been an amazing journey and now you can be part of the next chapter.
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