The place of women in an African set up has been a subject of protracted debate in civic, education, social, economic and political spheres of life.
Young women have lately been fighting for their space but they face challenges and setbacks on how to articulate their issues.
Many who have dreams to elevate and empower fellow young women to help them achieve their full potential withdraw from the race when the reality of the men-dominated world hits them.
However, this is not the case for Grace Adhiambo, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Women Volunteers for Peace (WOVOP), and African mediation ambassador, who has braved it all to join the group of successful women leaders both nationally and internationally.
In an exclusive interview with KNA, the 26-year-old lady narrates her journey to becoming a renowned peace ambassador and the potholes she has had to dodge since.
“Since my high school days, I have always been given leadership roles, most of which were highly contested for in 2019, I was a student leader at the University of Nairobi, Kisumu campus and my love for community service became a radar as I was known for championing for peace at the campus and protecting women’s spaces,” Grace said.
By friends and other students pushing her to enlarge her vision, she brought into conception the idea of starting a group of young women to route for mental, and physical wellness with a passion for enhancing peacebuilding among communities as a way to transform lives and build unity in Kisumu County.
“I started WOVOP in October 2018 but registered it as a Community-Based Organization in May 2019 due to financial constraints. Not many were ready to support my vision as a young woman back then,” she recounts.
She acknowledges that for the two and a half years, leading WOVOP has not been a walk in the park as it has dealt with her existence socially, economically and mentally.
Grace said that as a woman leader, she faced rejection many times from the people she looked up to as mentors. She found the civic space too rigid with an unhealthy environment that was not conducive or ready to let a 23-year-old then join the space of leaders to challenge social norms and influence change in the county.
“My main aim was to support and promote the role of young women in peace leadership and to see their lives transformed for the better and for that, I was not ready to give up, “she says.
She remembers how she had to knock on many different doors in order to seek resources and support in terms of capacity-building training for her organization but all in vain.
Grace together with other young women who had shared in her visions came together and volunteered to ensure they bring the dream into reality.
With a team of 356 volunteers, Grace says they have been able to acquire funding and material resources, which they utilize in driving the organization’s missions.
“I discussed with other peace-focusing organizations around the globe about the peace context in Kenya and the many solution-based ideas I had and fortunately I was guided to secure mentorship programs and learning opportunities across Africa to support my vision of seeing healthy and resilient women living in a peaceful society,” she added.
WOVOP started by conducting talks for students, girls and young women to discuss ways they could support each other in a bid to create a safe and peaceful environment for them.
One of our thematic areas in peace education, she said, is sexual health and reproductive rights. Emphasizing that when one is aware of their sexual health and reproductive health and rights, it is easy to be mentally and physically at peace with themselves thereby contributing to a peaceful life.
“The organization currently proudly supports 2000 young girls in primary and secondary schools with dignity kits such as pads, panties, and tissue rolls to help keep them in school through a programme themed, ‘Keep A Girl in School’,” the young CEO disclosed.
The aim of this programme is to ensure we reduce unplanned and unintended pregnancies in the region and nationally by 2026 when the first lot would have transitioned into higher levels of education.
Through her leadership, Grace boasts of successfully conducting radio peace talk shows at a local FM station twice every month since 2021, carrying out digital advocacy programmes on social media platforms for over a year and conducting mental Friday sessions which have attracted over 300 guests and averagely close to 1 million viewership since 2020.
The programme is hosted every Friday on their Facebook page with mental health experts and members of the public who shares their mental health concerns and how they overcame them for people to learn and get inspired to seek professional help.
“In today’s world, we cannot talk about peace and fail to mention mental wellbeing. We have partnered with Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) together with other like-minded organizations to provide further medical and psychosocial support to cases that are extreme. Through partnerships, we acquire expert opinions and analysts who discuss with the youth, (online audience) the importance of mental health,” Grace added.
The organization, which is among the most celebrated youth-led organizations in Kisumu and Kenya as a whole, has won two awards nationally. The Aga Khan Foundation through Yetu Bootcamp Programme awarded WOVOP for their Keep A Girl in School campaign impact story, emerging top 4 nationally throughout the 6 months boot camp in 2021.
WOVOP was also awarded the winner of the Volunteer of the Year Awards (VOYA) 2021 under the category of Empowerment and Gender Inclusion.
As an organization, she noted, they have rolled out a peace-up hive grant program for seven young women and men aged 13-25 to support them in implementing peace-building ideas that contribute to people living together in dialogue and dignity during this electioneering period in Kenya.
“On a budget of 250 dollars per successful peace idea, our pilot of seven beneficiaries have started working to execute their ideas in the form of articles, music, art and social media use across the 7 sub-counties of Kisumu,” says Grace.
She notes that when women are empowered with the knowledge and skills they require to take up leadership roles and identify their potential, their voices will be heard both at the community level, nationally and even internationally.
“I look at WOVOP being a big peace education centre with numerous women of steel as beneficiaries, mentored and equipped to fully take their space in the decision-making tables and fully and actively take up roles in the Mediation processes,” she argued.
She recounts the moments that pushed them into realizing the need to work together as young women and the need to always be and do extra in order to make it into any leadership space.
“Experienced women leaders should come out and empower younger women into taking up leadership positions so that when we are talking about rooting for gender equality and empowering the next generations, we already have women trailblazers who lead and show the way to the younger ones to take up those roles and lead the country in the different spectrum” she concludes.
By Lorine Awino
