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WHY I HAVE FALLEN IN LOVE WITH KENYAN WOMEN

BY FR JOACHIM OMOLO OUKO, AJ

NAIROBI-KENYA

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 2012

Today is February 14, the Valentine Day. I have chosen to love the following Kenyan women for what they have done: Lieutenant NC Koech and Captain YK Kirui among other scores of women combatants deployed into Somalia, where they are fighting alongside men in the campaign to dislodge the al-Qaeda-linked militants

Left- women fighters head to Somalia for combat in "Operation Linda Nchi"- They are among Kenya’s gallant soldiers called on duty to defend the nation from Al-Shabaab- Right- Vivian Cheruiyot named the world’s best sportswoman at the 13th Laureus World Sports Awards/ File

Woman officer in the Navy is Lieutenant Colonel Betty Kenga, who works at its headquarters. Kenya Navy presently has ten female officers and 115 service women.

The brave Kenyan women are in both infantry and armour units, which form the core of a land-based confrontation.

Vivian Cheruiyot for having been named the world’s best sportswoman at the 13th Laureus World Sports Awards-Cheruiyot won the gold medal at the World Cross Country Championships in Punta Umbria, Spain, in March.

Dr Christine Martey-Ochola and Dr Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg recognized by US President Barrack Obama for their work in mentoring and inspiring young people to be courageous enough to dream of a better future.

Left- Dr Wanjiru Kamau- Right Dr Martey-Ochola shortly after being honored/ File

The researchers were on Monday honoured by US President Barrack Obama as Champions of Change for their leadership roles in American diaspora communities with roots from the Horn of Africa. She becomes one of the most influential women entrepreneurs in the diaspora.

Dr. Wanjiru Kamau-Rutenberg is an assistant professor in the Politics department. She holds a Ph.D. and Masters degree in Political Science from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor's degree in Politics from Whitman College.

Her varied research and teaching interests include the politics of gender, global philanthropy, international development, ethnic politics, transitions to democracy, and the role of communication technology in social action.

She has published articles on women's movements in Africa as well as on the impact of U.S. anti-terror legislation on anti-terror legislation in Kenya. Her offerings include courses on the Politics of International Aid and Development, African Politics, Introduction to African Politics, and the Politics of Racial and Ethnic Identity.

Dr Kamau-Rutenberg is also the founder and executive director of Akili Dada, an international non-profit organization working to ensure that the next generation of Kenyan women leaders includes women from disadvantaged economic backgrounds.

Akili Dada offers competitive and comprehensive scholarships to brilliant girls from impoverished Kenyan families while connecting them to a network of high level professional women who serve as mentors.

I also honor these women who Kenya’s Business Daily recently featured as the Top 40 Under 40 two years ago:

Kanini Mutooni, 34- head of audit at Kleinwort Benson Private Bank, London. Kanini was nominated for the UK Women in the City Awards 2010, beating hundreds of applicants in the annual awards recognising women who have made an impact in the financial services.

Left- Kanini- Right Gathoga

Marion Gathoga, 38- country director of Cadbury Kenya and East Africa, Marion Gathoga has the task of steering Cadbury’s manufacturing plant in Nairobi, with over 300 employees to a new operating platform following the mother company’s merger with Kraft Foods in February.

Janet Kabiru, 38- is the National Secretary for the Rhodes Trust in Kenya — the local chapter of an international organisation that awards scholarships to students to pursue higher education in universities abroad.

Jane and Stella

Stella Kilonzo, 36- Chief executive of an organisation that regulates the markets. Top on the list of reforms Ms Kilonzo has taken introduction of a requirement that all stockbrokers and investment banks publish their financial results to enable the public monitor their financial health.

Maryann and Adema

Maryanne Mewaninki-Gateri, 35- She has risen inexorably at Standard Chartered, as General Manager of Personal Loans in Kenya, Head of Employee Engagement and Performance Management in London, through postings in Asia and Africa. As head of external stakeholder engagement, her role is to support the bank’s board in overseeing its sustainability agenda.

Adema Sangale, 33- Associate Director for External Relations at Proctor & Gamble. Ms Sangale manages the image of the fast moving consumer goods conglomerate across Angola, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania, Namibia, Rwanda and Kenya.

Captain Irene Mutungi, 35-first Kenya Airways female captain, who, accompanied by an all-women crew: a first officer, flight engineer, flight purser and flight attendants, heralded her promotion to captain at the East African airline with the flight.

Captain Mutungi

Miss Jessica Colaço, the Research Leader at Strathmore Research and Consultancy Centre (SRCC) was named by 'Business Daily' as one of the top 40, under 40 years of age women in Kenya's business scene. Ms Colaço was the only one in the list working in an education institution.

In March 2008, Ms Colaço helped organize the first ever Nairobi Facebook Developer Garage, an event that served as a forum for students from different universities and professional developers in Kenya to learn about the Facebook programming platform.

Later in 2008, she helped organize the Mobile Boot Camp, a forum for the ICT community to learn about the mobile phone infrastructure, development platforms, and technical support.

I could not conclude this column without mentioning late Prof Wangari Muta Mary Jo Maathai and Dr Margaret Atieno Ogola for their wonderful contribution in Kenyan development.  Wangari was a Kenyan environmentalist and political activist.

Margaret Atieno Ogola (2 June 1958 – 22 September 2011) inset-right was the celebrated Kenyan author of the novel The River and the Source, and its sequel, I swear by Apollo.The River and the Source follows four generations of Kenyan women in a rapidly changing country and society.

In addition to her writing career, Dr. Ogola served as a pediatrician and the medical director of Cottolengo Hospice, a hospice for HIV and AIDS orphans. She also worked for the Kenya Episcopal Conference as the National Executive Secretary of the Commission for Health & Family Life (1998–2002).

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