I’ve just returned from an amazing trip to Africa where I participated as a trainer in four incredible training programs focused on increasing the role of women in public life. These four programs were all developed in conjunction with African alumnae of past Vital Voices programs. All of them inspired me and reminded me of the very real power of women as agents of change.

Nigeria

I started my trip in Lagos, Nigeria, where two alumnae of the April 2008 Vital Voices Women’s Political Academy held in Washington, DC, Meeme Ekanem and Olutoyin Obaseki, planned and organized a 3 day training for 30 women who have told their political party that they want to be party backed candidates in the upcoming Lagos State Council election. These women were from different parties but shared the same objective of being elected to the Lagos State Council.

Along with Kah Walla, a dynamic woman elected official and trainer from Cameroon, and some local experts, we worked with these women on campaign skills, including intensive sessions on researching your constituency, voter contact strategies, message development, media skills, fundraising and campaign planning. These sessions were all practically based, with a goal to have the women leave the training with a campaign plan ready to go.

Many of these women have been long time party activists and stalwarts; a few were already elected to local office. We brainstormed with them about understanding the decision making apparatus of their party and how to best make the case that women candidates showcase a party’s inclusivity and interest in women and the issues facing them every day.

We all left the training impressed by the enthusiasm of these women to serve their communities and to be effective candidates. We look forward to their successes in this upcoming election and in the future.

Cameroon

In Cameroon, I worked with another alumnae of the April 2008 Vital Voices Women’s Political Academy, Marilyn Nguemo, on a 3 day program focused on young English speaking women, who are often marginalized in a country with a majority of French speakers. Marilyn is herself an amazing young woman, who carefully thought through how to best reach this audience and engage them in an intense discussion of their role in public life and in their communities. One of my colleagues on this trip, Celena Green, has already written a great post about the training (read Celena’s blog).

Kenya

Kenya was a study in contrasts. We worked with Vital Voices alumnae from Nairobi to rural Samburu. In Nairobi, Vital Voices alumnae Eva Muraya and Phyllis Mwangi brought together a high powered and high energy group of women for 2 days. The group included publishers, engineers, businesswomen, bankers, teachers, farmers, and leaders of NGOs. Along with Eva and Phyllis and other experts and trainers, we all talked about how to increase the political and economic power of women. I led a workshop on advocacy, with a focus on how to map your personal and organizational resources and relationships, with an eye to developing an effective advocacy strategy. It was both instructive and a lot of fun.

We then traveled to the Samburu region to work with a group of women organized by Rebecca Lolosoli, yet another alumnae of the April 2008 Women’s Political Academy. Rebecca is a truly amazing leader whose work organizing the Umoja UASO women’s village in Samburu is known internationally and has been featured in the New York Times, the Washington Post and O Magazine. We were greeted at the airport by the women of Umoja in their incredibly beautiful outfits which include layers and layers of colorful, intricate bead necklaces.

This village, which is located in a dusty and remote part of Kenya, is a refuge for women and their children in a society where child marriage, violence against women, female genital mutilation and HIV/AIDS are commonplace. At the village, Rebecca organized a 2 day training session on political and economic empowerment. About half of the women at the training lived in Umoja and the other half were women from other villages who work with the women of Umoja on beading products. I led a session on advocacy, specifically how to translate their common needs into concrete action around issues such as girls’ education, combating HIV/AIDS, forced/child marriage, violence against women and women’s rights. We focused our time on a plan for girls’ education, particularly on the building of primary schools just for girls. The next day, the women worked with Vital Voices Co- CEO Mary Yerrick and Zoe Dean-Smith on product development for their amazing bead products.

All in all, it was quite a trip and quite an experience. As always, I was struck by how the Vital Voices network encompasses women from so many walks of life and in so many different circumstances, all committed to advancing the role of women in public life.