Africa | Kenya | Activism

MEET THE NUN DETERMINED TO END FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

Sister Ephigenia Gachiri is one bad ass chick, but she doesn't think of herself that way and flinches when you call her that. Like a lot of the Catholic nuns I have met and interviewed over the years, Ephigenia, whose friends call her Ephi, is modest about the fact that she is literally changing the world and the lives of thousands of young girls. In person she is warm, compassionate, and assertive. She hugged me and kissed me on both cheeks the first time we met before insisting I eat some snacks — homemade fried dough. We had a lot to talk about, she told me, and I might get hungry. "

Africa | Kenya | Activism

She Couldn’t Save Herself From Female Genital Mutilation But She Saved Hundreds Of Others

Source: Think Progress

Agnes Pareyio made a promise to her best friend from boarding school: She would not undergo female genital mutilation (FGM) when she went back to her village in Eastern Kenya for summer vacation. When she got there, however, she saw that her mother had already begun to prepare for the coming-of-age ritual. Her whole village turned up to partake in a massive celebration. When Pareyio realized the festivities signaled her time had come to be cut, she told her mother that she refused. “Then my mom went crazy,”Pareyio said in an interview in her office in Narok, Kenya. “She was screami

Africa | Kenya | Activism

The village where men are banned

Source: theguardian

Jane says she was raped by three men wearing Gurkha uniforms. She was herding her husband’s goats and sheep, and carrying firewood, when she was attacked. “I felt so ashamed and could not talk about it to other people. They did terrible things to me,” says Jane, her eyes alive with pain. She is 38 but looks considerably older. She shows me a deep scar on her leg where she was cut by stones when she was pushed to the ground. In a quiet, hesitant voice she continues her story. “I eventually told my husband’s mother that I was sick, because I had to explain the injuries and my depres

Africa | Kenya | Activism

Susan Mboya-Kidero and her passion for women empowerment

Source: Capital FM

One thing you maybe didn’t know about Susan Mboya-Kidero is that she values her privacy, very much. But what cannot be hidden is her passion for women empowerment, something she has dedicated herself to almost her entire life. And the fruits her work were evident in August 2013, when she was appointed President of The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation, where she is now implementing the 5By20 programme meant to empower five million women in the company’s value chain by 2020. She is also the Coca-Cola’s Group director for Women’s Economic Empowerment for Eurasia and Africa.

Africa | Kenya | Activism

At terror’s border, one heroic woman defies death threats to bring peace

Source: CNN

Along the dangerous northeastern border between Kenya and Somalia, a wave of terror has people in fear for their lives. The ongoing threat from the Islamist militant group Al-Shabaab means that remote villages and citizens suffer indiscriminate attacks. In the ongoing conflict, women and children remain faceless victims of beatings, rape and unwarranted assaults. But one courageous woman has dedicated herself to protecting these countless victims. Amran Abdundi runs the Frontier Indigenous Network, a group that provides sanctuary, first aid services and valuable health information to nu