2012 TechWomen Mentorship Program

Harnessing the power of business, technology and innovation, TechWomen brings emerging women leaders in technology sectors from the Middle East and North Africa together with their American counterparts for a professional mentorship and exchange program at leading companies in the United States.

Overview of the Initiative

The TechWomen  program will occur over five weeks from early September through October 2012. The program will commence in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, and will conclude in Washington, D.C.

Professional Mentorships

TechWomen Mentees will take part in three-week project-based mentorships at leading companies in Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. Each Mentee is matched with a Professional Mentor who partners with the Mentee on a technical project at the host company and provides professional guidance and support.

Professional Enrichment

As a complement to the mentorships, TechWomen Mentees will participate in professional enrichment activities. In 2011, TechWomen participants attended leadership and entrepreneurship workshops, “Tech Talks,” and served on panels at community events. They participated in “tech meet ups,” TEDxSoMa, and other networking events.

In 2012, TechWomen Mentees will attend the Grace Hopper Celebration for Women in Computing, a conference organized by the Anita Borg Institute focused on supporting women in today’s technology fields, including computer science, information technology, research and engineering.

Cultural Enrichment

Each TechWomen Mentee has a Cultural Mentor who facilitates activities to help showcase American culture and deepen mutual understanding. In 2011, Mentees volunteered with incarcerated girls in juvenile halls and attended neighborhood festivals, book readings, art exhibits and dance performances. They also visited national landmarks in San Francisco and Washington, D.C.

Interested? Apply Now!

The 2012 TechWomen application is now open. For eligibility requirements and to apply, please visit http://www.techwomen.org/how-to-apply/

The application deadline is February 15^th

2012 MILEAD Fellowship for young African women leaders – Call For Applications

Who is the most outstanding young African woman leader you know ?

Moremi Initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa (Moremi Initiative) has announced its call for applications for the 2012 Moremi Leadership Empowerment and Development (MILEAD) Fellows Program.

The MILEAD Fellows Program is a one-year leadership development program designed to identify, develop and promote emerging young African Women leaders to attain and succeed in leadership in their community and Africa as a whole. The program targets dynamic young women interested in developing transformational leadership skills that help them tackle issues affecting women in their communities and society as a whole- by equipping them with the world class knowledge, skills, values and networks they need to succeed as 21st century women leaders. Applications are welcome from young African women living in Africa and the Diaspora.

The MILEAD Fellowship will be awarded to 25 outstanding young women with exceptional qualities who have exhibited leadership potential in their community, organization, and/or profession.

To be eligible for the one-year program, an applicant must be African, living on the continent or in the Diaspora; agree to participate in all required activities related to MILEA- including a three-week residential Summer Institute in Ghana; and commit to a community change project.

Applicants must be between 19 – 25 years of age. Specific requirements of the program and related dates are outlined in the application package. Please review program and application guidelines carefully, before completing your application.

Please note that this is not a full-time fellowship. Selected candidates may remain full time students or work full time for the program duration, except during the 3–week summer institute. The 3-week summer institute is an intensive and full-time residential program and all fellows will be required to attend. The rest of the program involves community-based, online and other distance activities.

How to Apply:

The application package and additional information is available online at www.moremiinitiative.org

Application forms must be downloaded and filled-out in word document format. Completed application form must be submitted with two letters of recommendation and CV. All applications and supporting documents must be submitted by email.

Deadline for applications. March 15^th 2012.

Find more fellowship opportunities

Global Health & Innovation Conference 2012 at Yale

Date: Saturday, April 21 – Sunday, April 22, 2012
Venue: Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA

The Global Health & Innovation Conference is the world’s largest global health conference and social entrepreneurship conference. This must-attend, thought-leading conference annually convenes 2,200 leaders, changemakers, students, and professionals from all fields of global health, international development, and social entrepreneurship. Register during January to secure the lowest registration rate.

The conference’s confirmed speakers include:

Keynote Addresses

• Sasha Dichter, Chief Innovation Officer, Acumen Fund
• Seth Goldman, President and TeaEO of Honest Tea
• Jeffrey Sachs, PhD, Director of Earth Institute at Columbia University; Quetelet Professor of Sustainable Development, Professor of Health Policy and Management, Columbia University; Special Advisor to Secretary-General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon
• Sonia Ehrlich Sachs, MD, MPH, Director of Health, Millennium Village Project, Earth Institute at Columbia University

Read more

A.J. Muste Memorial Fund, International Nonviolence Training Grants – Call for Applications

The A.J. Muste Memorial Institute funds projects which promote the principles and practice of nonviolent social change through grantmaking programs including the International Nonviolence Training Fund (INTF).

The INTF was created in 1994 by a group of concerned donors with the aim of specifically supporting nonviolence trainings. (For information about our other grantmaking programs, please see the grants page on http://www.ajmuste.org/ajgrants.html )

Nonviolence trainings seek to help people develop and improve the skills they need to confront systemic injustice through organized, principled, nonviolent action. Trainings promote the exchange of ideas, information, and strategies, through which activists can become more effective at using nonviolent action in their struggles.

INTF GRANTMAKING PRIORITIES

The INTF supports nonviolence training outside the United States, and within Native nations in the US.

Projects eligible for support include:

• Those which build capacity and leadership among people engaged in nonviolent struggles;
• Those which prepare participants for specific nonviolent actions or campaigns;
• Those geared to “training the trainers,” in order to expand and multiply nonviolence training throughout a targeted community.

Preference is given to:

• Projects which involve trainers from the local area or region, where such trainers are available.
• Groups which are small, community-based and have less access to funding from other sources.

The maximum grant amount is US$3,000.

The INTF does not fund:

• Trainings which are geared primarily toward resolving conflicts between individuals, building life skills or job skills, or achieving personal empowerment or economic independence.
• Conflict resolution or violence reduction programs which do not directly promote activism for social justice.
• Scholarships or other funding for people to travel abroad to attend courses or training sessions.
• Trainings with budgets over US$50,000, or organizations with annual budgets over US$500,000.

The Muste Institute can and does directly fund organizations which do not have their own 501(c)3 non-profit tax-exempt status, and/or which are not incorporated. The only time the Institute requires a fiscal sponsor is if the organization does not have its own bank account. If you cannot receive a grant directly (with the grant check made out to the name of your organization), please indicate this in your proposal and include information about your fiscal sponsor, including a letter indicating the sponsor’s tax-exempt status and some basic information such as a brochure or brief annual report.

WHEN TO APPLY TO THE INTF

The next deadlines for proposals for the International Nonviolence Training Fund is December 2^nd 2011.

The review and decision process takes approximately four months.

The INTF does not consider proposals for trainings which will have already taken place by the time its decision is made, so you are urged to apply at least four to five months before your training is set to begin, especially if you need preparation time for the training after notification of the grant decision.

Groups which receive INTF grants must generally wait two years before applying again to the INTF.

HOW TO APPLY TO THE INTF

To submit a proposal, fill out completely the INTF Grant Application Form: http://ajmuste.org/INTFGrantApplicationForm.doc

Email the completed form (preferably in MS Word or RTF format) with all required attachments to intf(at)ajmuste.org  with the subject line “INTF:” followed by the name of your group.

NOTE: If you are awarded a grant, you will have to provide a complete financial accounting for all funds received from the Muste Institute, demonstrating that they were used in accord with the grant agreement. This accounting is due as soon as the money is spent or within six months, whichever comes first. If funds from a grant remain unspent after six months, you must submit an updated accounting every six months until the complete grant is spent. This financial accounting should be accompanied by copies of materials produced with Institute funds, and a brief narrative report on the project.

Go to http://www.yipekenya.org/News.htm to find more grant opportunities

Statement from the National Youth Sector Alliance on the Misappropriation of the The Kazi Kwa Vijana and the Kenya Youth Empowerment Program Funds by Government Officials.

Nairobi: September 24^th 2011

The National Youth Sector Alliance is disturbed by the news that that Kazi Kwa Vijana Funds provided by the World Bank for the purpose of empowering Kenyan Youth with job opportunities have been misappropriated by top officials in the office of the Prime Minister. Media reports indicate that the World Bank released 4 Billion Shillings for KKV and that it is demanding a refund of over 900 million which is claimed to be misappropriated by officials in the OPM.

In 2008 during the National Youth Convention (NYCIV), the youth delegates complained directly to the Prime Minister of the poor design of the KKV program noting that most of the funds were being spent not directly reaching the youth with a tagline of “Kazi Kwa Vija Pesa Kwa Wazee” It was recommended that the design of the program be restructured in order to directly empower the Kenyan youth. The recommendations were never taken into account by the Office of the Prime Minister.

 

During the inaugural Prime Minister’s Round Table with the Youth in September of 2010, under the Youth Empowerment Thematic Focus, a specific recommendation was made to the effect that the impact of the KKV was not being achieved due to poor structure and implementation. It was recommended that the Program be restructured to accommodate both labour intensive as well as intellectual capacity of the many millions of graduates from both tertiary and other institutions of higher learning in the country.

 

While the program was expanded and largely involved the Private Sector, the office of the Prime Minister managed to rename the department to Kenya Youth Empowerment Program. No caution was taken to the re-designing and structure of the KKV Program implementation. The specific recommendation in the matrix of implementation has never been responded to.

 

The fact that there has been public outcry and a lot of advice given on how to restructure the KKV, it is disturbing that the bureaucracy in the Office of the Prime Minister has not been keen to redesigning the program for the public good.

 

It should be noted that KKV is the closest that Kenya has come to creating massive employment opportunities for the high numbers of the unemployed population in the Country. The Fact that advice to make the program work has not been taken, is a confirmation of the existence of an axis of evil in Government that is hell bent to continue enjoying youth disenfranchisement for short term political gains.

 

It is still not clear how much money has been misappropriated and how much has already been disbursed. NYSA will initiate the process to bring to the fore the facts in partnership with other key stakeholders. The process will immediately seek to have an audience with the Kenyan youth and the relevant Government agencies to get into the root of the matter under question.

 

Pending Issues on the Youth Enterprise Development Fund;

 

It should also be noted that there are many questions that are left unanswered on the Youth Enterprise Development Fund. There have been unconfirmed allegations of fictitious and non-existent youth groups being beneficiaries of the Fund with millions of shillings reported missing without financial returns. All this matters must now be put under investigation and the agenda of Youth Empowerment in Kenya brought to naught in order to deal with the unemployment issue once and for all.

 

Demands from the Youth of Kenya

 

The Youth of Kenya, demand the following from the office of the Prime Minister and the Coalition Government;

 

1. A comprehensive financial audit of KKV and YEDF conducted with the following details;

 

a. the total amount of money used,

b. the kinds of projects accomplished,

c. the number and names of youth beneficiaries and how much they have received

d. the impact of the program aggregated according to region and gender.

 

2. Immediate suspension of the Officers in charge of the Kenya Youth Empowerment Program (KYEP) in the office of the Prime Minister.

3. Independent investigations to immediately commence and the officers found culpable of the misappropriation of the KKV and YEDF funds be prosecuted.

4. Immediate suspension of any financial undertakings on the program until it is comprehensively redesigned through a team of experts with young people included through a competitive independent, public vetting process.

 

Leadership from the two Principles

 

The National Youth Sector Alliance calls upon the President and the Prime Minister to put aside all their assignments and directly attend to these issues. This is a clear picture of corruption and the Youth of Kenya demand for accountability on funds meant for them. Transparency MUST Prevail.

 

Signed for and on behalf of the National Youth Sector Alliance.

Emmanuel Dennis

Convener – NYSA

Statement from the World Bank on Kenya Youth Empowerment Project

Press Release No:2012/131/AFR

NAIROBI, October 25, 2011—On Sunday, October 23, 2011, the Sunday Nation published an article under the headline:  “World Bank cancels funding for Kazi Kwa Vijana over graft” (page 10).  In response to this and further media reports published on the program, the World Bank would like to share the following facts about the Kenya Youth Empowerment Project (KYEP) it finances:

The objective of KYEP is to support efforts of the Government of Kenya to increase access to youth-targeted temporary employment programs and to improve youth employability.  The project has three components: labor-intensive works and social services (US$43 million), coordinated by the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM); private sector internships and training (US$15.5 million), managed by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA); and capacity-building and policy development (US$1.5 million), implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.

The KYEP became effective on August 18, 2010.  The first disbursement to the Government for Component 1, in the amount of US$9.3 million, took place on February 7, 2011.  This was subsequently allocated to six implementing line ministries to undertake public works for youth: the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, the Ministry of Regional Development Authorities, the Ministry of Roads, Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife, the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, and the Ministry of Local Government, as well as to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) to coordinate and monitor project activities.

In June 2011, the World Bank initiated a Financial Management Review of the KYEP.  This is a standard exercise undertaken for all World Bank-financed projects during implementation.  The working draft of the Financial Management Review stated that transactions totaling Ksh 33,061,925 required further validation or clarification from the Government to determine whether they were eligible to be paid out of KYEP funds. The World Bank will continue to work with OPM to review these transactions in the coming days, with a view to determining definitively whether they are or are not eligible for KYEP financing.

Meanwhile, the Government let the World Bank know on October 11 that it wished to cancel Component 1 of KYEP and reorient the resources to other activities aiming to raise youth employment in Kenya.  The remaining KYEP components, including support to the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, will continue, and performance to date under these components has been satisfactory.

Contacts: Peter Warutere, (254-20) 3226444 pwarutere@worldbank.org

For more information, please visit: http://www.worldbank.org/

Kenyan Youth Strategy Meeting 2011 – Nairobi Declaration

13th and 14th October 2011

Preamble

We, the delegates to the Kenyan Youth Strategy Meeting for Rio +20 at the United Nations Complex at Gigiri, Nairobi:

Acknowledge the African indigenous knowledge of the sacred value of the environment to biodiversity wellbeing.

Commit to promote innovations that will develop a green economy and promote the eradication of poverty.

Take note of the past declarations towards environmental sustainability both at the African and Global level, there is an urgent need for structural and infrastructural interventions in policy formulation, implementation and evaluation.

Recognize the current global environmental challenges, particularly climate change, which impact our common future and wellbeing, we commit ourselves to support of the following mechanisms:

• Good governance and transformative leadership.

• Promote Education, information exchange, communication and awareness

• Achieve sustainable agricultural practices to reduce hunger, starvation and enhance food security.

• Advocate for the development and implementation of sustainable development policies towards a Green Economy.

• Invest in and promote eco-friendly entrepreneurship and job creation.

• Attain sustainable green cities and villages.

• Promote public engagement and participation through culture and volunteerism.

• Promote Youth Development and capacity building

• Good Governance and Transformative Leadership

We recognize the role of good governance and transformative sustainable development leadership that is

• Participatory

• accountable,

• transparent and

• implementable

at national and county levels. We reject governance that is weak on transitioning to a green economy and embrace that which promotes a green economy which engenders human well-being and social equity and respect for the natural environment, and the value of biodiversity and eco-systems, guided by, and accountable to, a new World Environment Organisation with universal membership by all UN Member States.  We also call for mechanisms in such new institutions that allow for youth participation in decision-making.

Youth delegations have to be engaged at all levels of governance in discussing benchmarks for the green economy. The Youth need to be involved in efforts towards policy formulation and development of institutional frameworks. Additionally, youth participation should be integrated at local, national and international assessments towards the development of an index for measuring the progress towards a green economy.

Promote Education, information exchange, communication and awareness

We recommend the adoption of green economy and sustainable development education material at all levels of education and public training initiatives by 2014. We intend to achieve this through the creation of various information sharing methods to various segments of the society.

We acknowledge that education underpins awareness; and awareness is critical to the spread of sustainable development principles through multiple levels in society.

Education serves as a hub for understanding the types of information to be considered when thinking about the green economy; how monitoring will be shaped in the context of the information identified as relevant; and the role of education on the environment to serve as a communication/public awareness tool on sustainable development.

Build an understanding toward the intersection of business, environment and society, in educating all people about the tenets critical to achieve sustainable development, especially the Youth.

Action: Build a national curriculum standard that promotes business in a green society. 2015

Action: Educate students in primary and secondary schools on the green economy by creating incentives that allow NGOs, student groups or CBOs to serve as ambassadors for education of the green economy. 2015

Action:  Build a monitoring service from the information-discovered. Discovery of information should be an integrated process involving key stakeholders with a special emphasis on Youth. Progress towards sustainable development goals should be identified as key thematic working groups, using poverty alleviation and institutional reform as output goals, and involvement of youth and CBOs as an inherent part of the process. 2018

Achieve sustainable agricultural practices to reduce hunger, starvation and enhance food security.

Whereas recognizing the interrelation between our national forest cover and agricultural productivity we recommend the following measures;

• Increasing our national forest cover to 10% from the current 2% by the year 2015 through creation of green parks, promoting agroforestry and sustainable agribusiness.

• Phasing out of hazardous chemical fertilizers in arable farming by the year 2015.

• Promoting the utilization of the green energy technologies to enhance affordable agricultural production.

Advocate for the development and implementation of sustainable development policies towards a Green Economy.

Develop sustainability measures and indicators against which government programmes can be measured and assessed.

Advocate for the legislation of policies on sustainable development that regulate the corporations’ adherence to green economy modules.

Ensure that approximately 25% of the annual government development budget goes towards program initiatives on sustainable development, with clear indication on targets towards green growth in community development and individual technological entrepreneurship.  15% of the 5% funding should be geared towards mobilizing and benchmarking activities to demarcate marginal change of youth involvement in the green economy.  35% of that “Sustainable Development funding” should be geared towards supporting renewable energy and zero-carbon activities that are both sustainable and demonstrably financially viable, in a local and youth-oriented level. 2013

Ensure the programmatic and structural archetype of an environmental body that can hold nations and member-states accountable for reporting and making transparent their pathways and transitions towards a green economy. 2015

Ensure that the youth are fully represented at the National Land Commission.

Invest in and promote eco-friendly entrepreneurship and job creation.

Establish independent institutional mechanisms for promoting green entrepreneurship and growth among youth.

Set up an independent fund to provide start-up financing for green enterprises by youth

Promote technological, business and social innovation through creating enabling policy environment and platforms

Invest in business models that promote community development

Promote alternative and innovative funding and investment in youth green enterprises such as crowd-funding

Sensitize youth at all levels on green entrepreneurship through different channels such as new media

Create enabling business and policy environment for green entrepreneurship, for example, tax waivers for youth green enterprises

Promote public engagement and participation through culture and volunteerism.

We recognize the aspect of culture and indigenous knowledge that embraced green economy through agroforestry, organic fertilizers for sustainable development.

For sustainable development towards green economy, we recommend the need for selfless/political willingness from all levels of governance, private sector and individuals in promoting the green economy.

We recommend that; at all levels of policy formulation and participation, there is need for public engagement and concurrence which will enhance easy implementation and sustainability.

We stand for investment, documentation, promotion and development of best practices in cultural beliefs and practices that further conservation and renewable energy founded on indigenous knowledge.

Promotion of community and youth-led exchanges is key in this regard for effective sharing and transfer of green growth skills through access and exchange of information.

We appreciate that volunteerism will act as a means of inculcating community ownership of sustainable development initiatives.

Harness public engagement and Youth volunteerism to benchmark progress on the role of corporations in sustainable development through Corporate Socially Responsible initiatives.

Attain sustainable green cities and villages

Develop an independent institution to assess business models for micro-enterprises to assess their suitability for tax benefits and other incentives. And to regulate and ensure that micro-enterprises do not compromise environmental sustainability.

Develop comprehensive waste management systems by:

• Placing increased emphasis on waste separation and recycling systems;

• Establishing dug-in decomposition landfills where decomposable materials are put to decompose; once decomposed the material can be used as organic manure.

Establish awards to recognize and celebrate the effort of cities and villages that take significant steps in transforming into green cities and villages.

Regulate transportation to reduce congestion by:

• Establishing dedicated lanes for public transport vehicles and

• Implement mass transport systems such as rail transport.

Promote Youth Development and capacity building

In order to facilitate and further build capacity in youth to fully engage in and drive development processes to address the above priority areas, we call upon our governments to:

Adopt a Youth Development Index as an indicator of the welfare of the youth in the countries; and as a measure of the youth development.

Review existing and develop new policies and legislation to:

Promote youth innovation and entrepreneurship through structures such as:

• Talent Academies

• Technology and Business incubation centres

Protect these innovations through structures and measures such as:

• Strong and easily accessible Intellectual Property protection

• Moderate and accommodative tax regimes

Promoting youth participation in international forums through

• Incorporating youth delegations as part of national delegations to international conferences

• Providing funding for youth to participate at international

• Incorporating youth in National policy formulation and implementation

Develop and strengthen national and local structures to provide support and training for youth organizations with emphasis in the areas of:

• Establishment of community and youth led organizations

• Leadership and organizational management

• Strategic Planning

• Project Management

Require that all government ministries establish youth offices and develop and implement youth engagement strategies to streamline youth participation in the work of the ministries.

Convene national and local youth forums to discuss matters relevant to youth development and make recommendations for action in support of youth development by state and non-state actors.

Improve youth access to information especially with regard to rural communities and informal urban settlements, through Establishment of community ICT Digital Villages

Conclusion

We, as young people, this is what we declare and recommend our government, individuals, businesses, development organizations and all stakeholders to undertake ahead of Rio+20 and beyond. Any action to be taken affects us and our future generation to a greater extent. We care about our planet and we will all work together in creating a more sustainable era. Green Economy is Achievable.

Call for applicants – Conference in Amsterdam November

GNP+ would like to invite young people living with HIV to apply to attend a meeting in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, in November 2011.

The meeting will be the final part of a consultative process through which has been developed as a Leadership Programme for young people living with HIV, as a part of the Y+ Programme.

The first part of the consultative process begins with e-consultations and focus group discussions taking place in September and October.

The Y+ Leadership Programme will support young people living with HIV to acquire the skills and experience required to take on leadership roles within the positive community and throughout the HIV response, at the community, national, regional and global levels.

A small number of individuals are being sought to attend the consultative meeting in November (1-2) 2011, in Amsterdam, with a number of other YPLHIV and established leaders and key stakeholders.

The purpose of the meeting is to get a fuller understanding of the leadership capacity needs of YPLHIV and what enablers and challenges exist to enhance this capacity. This will inform the final stage of the programme design process.

Eligibility

You are eligible to apply if:

• You are under the age of 30 and openly living with HIV.
• You are able to speak fluent English, as the meeting will be conducted in English.
• You are connected to a community, national, regional or global network of people living with HIV or young people living with HIV.
• You have experience at the community, national, regional or global level in the HIV response.
• You have some experience of other leadership support programmes.

To apply:
Please send your CV (Resume) and a statement of interest, explaining why you would be a suitable participant in this meeting (no more than 750 words). Also include a reference letter from a colleague or mentor who can support your application.

Please send these documents in an email with your full name and contact details to agarner@gnpplus.net before CoB (GMT+1) Wednesday 7th September.

For more event announcements, visit http://yipekenya.org/Events.htm

Unsung Heroes of This Nation

By Larry Asego

Asked who their hero is, a certain class 4 child said superman, another said Spiderman and yet another said ironman. Every day I meet people I consider heroes and yet nobody bothers to introduce these people to our kids. This country needs to shift focus on who we call heroes. We are in urgent need of heroes for our kids to emulate. The only issue is that the heroes are there, but we have refused to see.

On Saturday I had the pleasure of meeting such heroes who were more of celebrating than mourning the life of one of the greatest women this country will ever have.

At the age of 92, Mama Esther Nduta Kore passed on and she is to lie to rest on this Wednesday morning at her home in banana. This might sound like just another name to most of us but it shouldn’t. She is one of the country’s unsung heroes of our time and it will take a long time before we find another as humble and as patriotic as her.

Mama Nduta, as she is so fondly referred to by those close to her, was among those who one night in 1952 said, “tomorrow we go to war against the mzungu.” Being part of the mau mau war council, she was in the storm centre of the revolution that ensured we got independence. She played a key role in the revolution. She played a central role in the acquisition of arms and dissemination of information as well as inducting followers to the course. She was involved in inducting the likes of Dedan Kimathi and Stanley Mathenge who both took  the mau mau oath in her hut.  Kimathi and Mathenge were also given their first pistols in that same hut.  This is a woman who was involved in a high speed car chase after they successfully purchased arms near the current Jamhuri race course. How many of us knew that.

According to Gitu Wa Kahengeri, the chairman of the mau mau veterans association, “the role of women was equal to that of men. She and other women were right up there with us in the forest, fighting, cooking for men, carrying guns for us. So when people say women should get a third of the seats in power, they don’t know what they are talking about, women should get 50% of seats because they did half the work.”

Mama Nduta led from the front as a pioneer member of the Kikuyu Central Association and after this was banned by the colonialists, she later on, together with James Gichuru and others, set up KAU.

For her troubles Mama Nduta was arrested and detained together with her husband, who also deserves recognition for the work he did for this country. In fact so feared was Mr. Kore by the white man that he was detained in the then remote Manda Island with other top mau mau leaders.  He unfortunately died soon after he was released – paying the ultimate price for our freedom.

Sharing a prison cell with Mama Ngina Kenyatta, she kept her spirits up and continued to fight for freedom. She was detained in Kamiti prison then later moved to Hola and was there during the infamous Hola massacre and was to later show Kenyatta where the victims were buried. She was condemned to hang but only survived after the UK ordered that women should not be executed. All this didn’t dampen her spirit and she continued fighting for this country. She went ahead to be elected KANU chairperson of Kiambu; the days when KANU was the party representing freedom from the white man. She was nominated councilor of Kiambaa County council and she served in this position for 10 years, always in the fore front of development projects; water, health, bursary funds, land settlement. Together with the likes of Jane Kiano, they set up the Maendeleo ya wanawake movement and represented Kenyan women in Beijing.

Cucu, as all the kids in her home area call her, was heavily involved in the demarcation of our country’s borders travelling to all corners of the country and earning the respect and recognition of both President Kenyatta and President Moi.

She loved kids; anybody at her door step was never turned away. Her humble home has hosted from the very poor and destitute to the high and mighty in society. She never demanded attention or gains for all she did for this country, but hers was a life of selflessness

“She’s a true Shujaa. It’s because of her that we are here” says the Chairperson of the Mau mau association Gitu Wa Kahengeri who is scheduled to present the mau mau case in the UK on the 10th January  2011.

Gitu Wa Kahengeri, speaking on behalf of all the veterans present, says that contrary to popular belief the mau mau was not just a Kikuyu movement. Every single Kenyan shared the same fate and grief and had their own “mau mau” movement where they were; Mekatilili, Koitalel just to mention a few. “Among the 11 who died in Hola, was a Turkana and maasai freedom fighter. “Mama Nduta didn’t fight for the Kikuyus, she fought for Kenya.”

Mr. Wamuti, who was also detained in Manda Island says that Mama Nduta has done so much that if we were to say it all it would take a week to recount, but all we ask as veterans is that the story be told for the benefit of our children and their children. What we enjoy today is greatly thanks to people like Mama Esther Nduta Kore and all the veterans who have been ignored for so long. Even if we don’t get the recognition, then let our kids hear the story so that they don’t forget where they have come from.

“If the likes of Mama Nduta hadn’t decided to go to war on that morning of 1952, then who knows, maybe the white man would still be walking on us like tarmac on the roads. From Namanga to Moyale, from Indian Ocean to Busia, we opted to die for you and it’s a pity that everybody is narrowing it down to a kikuyu outfit,” says Kahengeri.

I had the pleasure of meeting Mama Nduta a few months ago before she passed on and one thing that I remember to date is her saying, “we gave you this country in one piece, what will you do with it?” I’ve never before felt so challenged and without response like I felt that day.

During public celebrations you will spot the veterans wearing their medals given a back seat while politicians whose contribution to this nation is empty talk. Never once have I seen Mama Nduta been invited to the podium for Kenyans to celebrate her, but in her own words, “let our children not forget.”

So the next time you spot an old man bent over a cane, walking in the streets proudly displaying medals on his coat and eager to share his experiences, know that if it wasn’t for such people then it would have been up to us, and if you look around you, do you honestly believe that the person next to you would be up to the task?

This time around, I hope we will all start celebrating the great works our heroes have done. I would personally like to say “Thank you,” to Mama Esther Nduta Kore for what she has done for me, for this country and for Kenyans. I challenge you to do the same.

May the Almighty God rest her soul in peace.

Kenya Youth Human Rights Camp 2010 call for Applications

Akiba Uhaki Foundation – the Human Rights and Social Justice Fund, in conjunction with the Youth Entrepreneurship & Sustainability(YES Kenya) Network, the Youth Congress and the Youth Interactive Portal for  Enterprise(YIPE) is pleased to announce a call for applications to attend the Kenya Youth Human Rights Camp 2010, set to commence on International
Human Rights Day (December 10th, 2010) to Jamhuri Day (December 12th, 2010) at the Lukenya Getaway.

This event has been organised as part of a series of actions to identify and develop young leaders who are aware of human rights and social justice and who can actively play leading roles in Kenya’s development and reform-related activities. The theme of this year’s camp is Young Kenyans-Unite for Change & Human Rights.

The Camp will make use of the concept of informal Youth Human Rights and Trade Justice Camp models as a way to encourage youth participation in a relaxed atmosphere. Facilitation of the sessions will be done by a mix of human rights and social justice practitioners and activists, so the participants will gain valuable insights on the need for both evidence-driven
advocacy and effective “street-activism” methods. In addition, a variety of fun activities will be organised to enable social interaction among the participants.

Camp activities will include:

• Inspire-Walking the Talk Sessions: that will motivate the participants in leadership, social action, fostering human rights activism and community engagement.
• Documentaries: the participants will view a variety of documentaries to learn about programmes on human rights and social justice built around shared best practices.
• Open Space: this will be an open area that will provide an opportunity for the participants to share and discuss stories and issues related to this year’s theme.
• And of course, a variety of Fun Events!

Eligibility criteria:

Applicants must be Kenyan citizens, aged between 18 and 25 years and have completed secondary school. In the spirit of human rights and equity for all, all youth within the stipulated age bracket are encouraged to apply, regardless of gender, disability, religious affiliations, etc.

How to apply to attend the Kenya Young Leaders Human Rights Camp 2010:

For the 2010 Camp, only 50 candidates will be invited to attend. In order to apply, candidates will have to fill out an APPLICATION FORM available for download.

The deadline for applications will be Monday 22nd November, 2010. Participation is free.

Download the Press Release for more information