This morning participants traveled to the Malba, Buenos Aires’ modern museum of art where we enjoyed a tour and admired works from some of the region’s most innovative 20th century artists—including those of Frida Kahlo, a trailblazer for women in her own time.

After a brief tour, participants sat down to listen to the speeches of International Development Bank President, Luis Alberto Moreno and Dina Powell, Managing Director, Global Head of Corporate Engagement for Goldman Sachs & Co., who announced their partnership to commission a new study that will make the case for investing in women entrepreneurs throughout the Americas. Continue Reading »

The Summit kicked off with a bang this morning.  About 200 leaders from Latin America and the Caribbean poured into our opening plenary session, where they were greeted by Summit Moderator and Former CNN International Anchor, Sonia Ruseler.

Throughout the course of the morning we heard from women leaders, including President Michelle Bachelet of Chile and Senator Hilary Rodham Clinton (pre-recorded), who reinforced the same message: empowering women will uplift nations and change the course of history.

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The highlight of my trip home to Enoosaen, Kenya was the girls’ school groundbreaking event that took place on August 16, 2008. On this day I was very excited but also nervous. I was not sure if the community would turnout in big numbers for the event or if the only attendees would be from supporting women’s groups—Empiris group, the Kakenya Center for Excellence Committee and my friends from Vital Voices.

In preparation for the event, women from the village spent the whole night cooking: a bull was slaughtered and coupled with all of the other wonderful food that we have in Kenya. A film crew from America was busy shooting footage and other guests were beginning to arrive, traveling on rough roads for four hours to reach Enoosaen… I felt truly blessed to have such a group of supporters and friends. Why worry about the ones who don’t want to come? – I consoled myself.

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This past summer I was privileged to spend two months in my rural village of Enoosaen, Kenya. The mainreason for my trip, other than to visit my family after two years away, was to implement a way forward for a girls’ school I am building in Kenya. I was so glad to be home after a two-year absence but my sense of relaxation was almost immediately replaced by a sense of desperation. The needs of the community are plainly overwhelming; lack of basic needs such as water, power, proper roads, proper education facilities, health care facilities—these are the first things you notice as you near my village. As I drove home on a dusty road, I could not help but wonder how strong my people are and how spoiled I have become living in America. Why did I even complain that there was dust on my nine-month-old son who was having fun watching the open road? He didn’t complain but I was worried he might get sick. Fortunately, he is a strong little man- he was well the whole time I was in Kenya. Continue Reading »

I volunteered to be one of the female trainers who have signed up to spread awareness about the breast cancer awareness program within the Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry; in fact, I had been waiting for such opportunity to get to learn about it myself and to promote awareness among employees, family and friends.

I had a close and painful experience, as I watched my aunt suffer from breast cancer due to the lack of awareness and knowledge in a culture that awfully overlooks Breast Cancer to the extent that it does not even refer to it by name, but call it instead “the bad disease”.
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When I met Rebecca Lolosoli, I was immediately struck by her strength, perseverance, and her pride in her culture. Rebecca was one of the 20 women who participated in Vital Voices’ Women’s Leadership in Public Life program, held in Washington DC and New York in April 2008, and her aim was to increase the participation of Samburu women in Kenyan politics. Rebecca is Samburu, and throughout her time she wore her traditional dress and beaded necklaces with pride.

Rebecca shares everything she learns and gains with the Samburu women. After participating in our training program in the U.S., she returned and shared the information with others. She not only supports those in her own Umoja village, but women leaders from surrounding villages throughout the district as well. Her follow-up project was to organize trainings at Umoja and two surrounding villages, and our visit to Umoja was to provide trainings in leadership, advocacy, and artisan craft development. Continue Reading »

When I first discovered Vital Voices, I was an economics student. Now, after my experience and the end of my mentorship, I still am an econ major, but with a passionate interest on development. Through Vital Voices I have learned about the imperative role that women have in developing countries, especially in mine, El Salvador. This role of mediator between home, family, job, community and country is a tough one, and one that I was able to partially understand through my mentorship in the Corporate Sustainability Department of HSBC, and will continue to understand as I explore some or all of a woman’s roles myself. The greatest example of success in balancing different roles that I had during my time at HSBC was that of my mentor, Maria Eugenia Brizuela de Avila, an exceptional woman whose eclectic accomplishments, I have described previously.

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Kakenya’s dream for higher education has inspired us all. Her story has been published widely, but I never tire of being reminded of her grace and strength. There are still millions of girls throughout Africa who face genital mutilation, child labor, and forced marriages, and whose futures are limited because of traditions and attitudes that treat girls as property. It was beautiful to see Kakenya Ntaiya emerge from this scenario not only as the first women from the Maasai village of Enoosaen to earn a PhD, but also as an advocate for the girls who remain.

A Vital Voices delegation ventured to the Maasai Mara area, and drove another 4 hours in Transmara West to the village of Enoosaen, to participate in the ground-breaking of the Kakenya’s Leadership School for girls, which will be the only girls boarding school in the area. Kakenya is our 2008 Rising Voices Award winner, and is a renown advocate for girls’ rights and education. Continue Reading »

Kenya holds a special place in my heart. It is a beautiful and youthful nation. We were told that 77% of Kenya’s population is under 30! In Nairobi, Vital Voices alumnae Eva Muraya and Phyllis Mwangi gathered 40 powerful women for networking and training on leadership. The group included businesswomen, scientists, educators, health professionals, lawyers, bankers, and community leaders. I was inspired by all that the women had achieved, and struck by the continued discrimination women face in accessing credit and growing their businesses in spite of their proven success. I especially appreciated their willingness to mentor others, as young women so desperately need to be connected to the generation of trailblazing women leaders if progress toward equality is to continue. Continue Reading »

After an overnight flight from Douala in Nairobi, Raychelle Najimesi met us at Kenyatta Airport. A recent FORTUNE mentee, Raychelle met us as we sleepily exited visa control. “Jambo! Karimbu!” she exclaimed. Our weariness evaporated as we drove toward the hotel and past Nairobi’s national park, which envelops the city.

There was little time for rest as I quickly connected with Abby Muricho of Ripe for Harvest, a non-governmental organization focused on working with youth to unlock their full potential. We met up and departed for Nyeri, a town two and half hours out of Nairobi, where Abby is managing a mentoring program for young women. Focused on preventing gender-based violence, particularly human trafficking, the mentoring program will include 100 mentors working with 500 mentees in several regions. Girls will be recruited from schools, IDP camps, and community organizations. Continue Reading »