Other than logistical things with the upcoming training, I had the day off. I went to church with my friend Eva. Going to worship services in different countries is one of the greatest cultural things one can do when visiting another country, in my opinion. Eva’s church is a series of HUGE tents and there are three different simultaneous services—one for adults, one for youth and one for children. The service was almost 3 hours long, but extremely interesting. Next Sunday Eva’s choir does a holiday presentation so I’m really looking forward to that.

Some of us did an afternoon shopping trip to the Masai Market. A woman I purchased items from in August 2007 saw me and came up to me. I was so surprised that she remembered me. I was looking for her as well. You can check out my website at www.UpFromTheDust.com in the next couple of weeks and we’ll highlight the “bone jewelry” that I buy from her. It sold out quickly the last time I got it! Continue Reading »

The Women Mentor Walk (WMW) was really a great experience. It was held at the Nairobi Safari Walk of Kenya Wildlife Services.  There were about 400 women walking. Women were randomly paired up and we walked and talked and looked at the animals.

I went as a mentor and had three women walk with me. One was in her 20s and worked in the Human Resources department of a bank, another was 37 and is the head of Human Resources for a outdoor advertising display company and a 30-year-old woman is a General Practitioner M.D.

A training for mentors was held earlier in the month that I was clearly not able to attend. We were given hand-outs that we could follow that discussed pillars of leadership development, social development and character. Signs were posted along the route (approximately 1 ½ miles) suggesting these topics, as well. Continue Reading »

This morning my colleagues and I woke up before the sun rose to drive to the Kenya Wildlife Services where preparations for the Women Mentoring Women Walk in Nairobi began at 6:15am.
Nyokabi Njuguna’s Marketing Strategies Solutions team arrived with their partners from Storymoja and we immediately began decorating the entryway of the Nairobi Safari Walk and setting up registration for the event. Just two hours later, hundreds of women would arrive to participate in the Mentoring Walk.

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In the sweltering heat and humidity of the high noon sun, hundreds of women gathered today for a 3.9 km Mentoring Walk, to celebrate and promote mentoring and the launch of the Women Mentoring Women Partnership’s six month long mentoring program for young women.

The day began with the buzz of preparations, set-up, team work, and excitement about the event. Normally, on the 4th Saturday of the month, Nigeria holds clean-up days from 9am-12noon, during which transportation and movement is limited. In observance of this ordinance, the mentoring walk was scheduled for 1:30 in the afternoon—in the hottest time of the day! It was hot and humid from daybreak, and I was sweating bullets by 11am—and I hadn’t walked anywhere yet! As we waited and sweated, we wondered if all the people expected would still show up. But the power of mentoring drew women from miles around, to walk, talk, mentor, and encourage each other to continue to persevere for women’s progress. Even as the afternoon heat intensified, the women continued arriving to register and take their places for the walk.

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I arrived in Nairobi last night after 29 hours of travel from Sedona, Arizona. Vital Voices contracted me to do a training here next week which I will talk about further in a future blog. I am participating in two other Vital Voices events before next week’s training.

Vital Voices was started in 1997 by then-First lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright after the UN’s Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing to promote the advancement of women as a US Foreign policy goal. It is the preeminent non-governmental organization (NGO) that identifies, trains and empowers emerging women leaders and social entrepreneurs around the globe, enabling them to create a better world and providing these women with the capacity, connections and credibility they need to unlock their leadership potential. In June 2000 Vital Voices Global Partnership was created as a nonprofit. Besides Senator Clinton (D-NY), the other two honorary co-chairs are Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, (R-TX) and Nancy Kassebaum Baker, former US Senator (R-KS). Continue Reading »

Last night, my colleagues and I had the opportunity to meet with an extraordinary entrepreneur, businesswoman, mother and Vital Voices network member, Nyokabi Njuguna. At the Fairview hotel in Nairobi we discussed tomorrow’s Women Mentoring Women Event.

Describing her vision for the event, Nyokabi has said:

“Women Mentoring Women program envisions a community of empowered women living lives worthy of emulation… We aim to create a movement that leverages mentorship as a means of investing in the next generation.”

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In two days, I will have the tremendous opportunity to take part in a culmination of events that have come together to provide opportunity to hundreds of aspiring women professionals across the globe.

November 29, 2008 will mark the first annual Women Mentoring Women Mentoring Walk hosted by women leaders in Argentina, Peru, Serbia, Kenya, Nigeria and Zimbabwe.  The story of this event is truly a remarkable one; one that vividly illustrates the concept of “paying it forward” and affirms Vital Voices’ motto that investing in women improves the world. Continue Reading »

I am very grateful for having the opportunity to participate at Cumbre Vital Voices Buenos Aires.

I met very interesting women, among them designers, lawyers, social entrepreneurs, women that work at multinational companies, etc.

I listened to different points of views about social responsibility, gender issues and more importantly challenges women face all over the world in the workplace, in economics, and at home. Listening to these women and learning how they endured, overcame and faced their professional and personal challenges, I could relate to most of them despite our different backgrounds.

I had the opportunity to meet some of these amazing women more deeply and they moved and inspired me profoundly. The amazing Karin Shipman, that was generous enough to let me interview her for a few minutes and candidly answered all my questions. Continue Reading »