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 »

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 »

After my experience in Guatemala I began working in HSBC with my mentor, María Eugenia de Avila, who is currently Group Corporate Sustainability Head for Latin America. Learning about the bank’s brand of being the “world’s local bank” I have discovered the ample possibilities that a highly recognized bank has in a developing country like El Salvador. I have been working closely with the Corporate Sustainability head for El Salvador, Valeria Rosales, who has taught me about HSBC’s global policies concerning the advancement of educational opportunities and the preservation of the environment, two vital pillars for the sustainable development of any region. HSBC’s education program, Future First’s main goal is to financially support destitute children who are often orphaned or live on the streets and who never have a chance to obtain an education. HSBC’s Climate Partnership’s main goal is to raise awareness and concern about the detrimental effects of global warming in order to motivate the bank’s employees and clients to make an effort to reduce their negative environmental impacts.

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The issue of high incidence of poverty among women and girls really calls for action when one imagines that Women generally perform five multiple roles – mothers, producers and entrepreneurs, home managers, community organisers and socio-cultural and political leaders. In a critical study of this phenomenon, one discovered that majority of the grassroots women in Nigeria today are poor due to barriers drawn by gender prejudices, traditional, and unjust socio-cultural orders in every day life. My understanding is that these barriers were instituted out of ignorance or as a result of lack of knowledge and understanding of our parents of several generations past. Continue Reading »

When I got the phone call, I had no idea what Vital Voices was. All I knew was that I was offered to be the mentee of one of the most talented women in El Salvador, María Eugenia Brizuela de Avila. I was aware of her career and her eclectic contributions to my society—her fame is more than well deserved. She was valedictorian of her high-school class, the first female chancellor of El Salvador, the first female CEO of a private bank in El Salvador with worldwide recognition, HSBC, a caring mother, and truly an asset to my society. It would be an honour and a privilege to work with her as part of the Vital Voices mentorship program.

In our first meeting, she introduced me to Vital Voices and explained that this American NGO believed in investing in emerging women leaders around the world through networking, leadership opportunities and camaraderie. Being now the Head of the Corporate Sustainability Department of HSBC for Latin America, she also explained the financial opportunities available for women through micro-credits. “80% of the micro-credits given in HSBC El Salvador go to women”, she said. “I believe in our women, in their possibilities and capacity to succeed. Would you accept the challenge of finding a way to help them?,” she asked. I am so glad I did.

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Invited to speak in a class on Globalization at Fairfield University, I used the opportunity to highlight Vital Voices Women Can campaign, which aims to persuade individuals, entities, and even governments why investing in women will improve our world. It is necessary to move beyond the empowerment of women as the right thing to do toward arguing forcefully, and with evidence, that investing women in a smart strategy, a lucrative strategy, and one that is everyone’s best interests.
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