2017

Technology, and the Internet, in particular, has transformed the lives of billions of people. It functions as a gateway to ideas, resources, and opportunities that never could have been realized before. All around the world, the Internet is helping people to imagine new possibilities. But girls and women are being left behind. The Opportunity for Impact.

As the Internet can provide enormous economic, social and professional value, the Internet gender gap has very serious consequences for women and for society more broadly. To better understand the gap, Intel commissioned the report “Women and the Web”, consulting with the U.S. State Department’s Office of Global Women’s Issues, UN Women, and World Pulse, a global network for women. The report examined women’s access to and use of the Internet in low and middle-income countries and found that, on average, nearly 25% fewer women than men are online in developing countries. Intel intends to bridge that gap by educating young women and girls.

The most majestic miracle on earth is giving birth, and such a beautiful experience shouldn’t be a cause of worry and death. My passion was sowed young as a girl when I experienced a horrifying incident back in my village in Embu.

My grandmother, a renowned traditional birth attendant, experienced a complicated labor that led to the death of a friend. The death that could have been avoided if advanced health care was accessible. It was heartbreaking, still is, but from this, I vowed to live my life to correct this inequality.

I am a Registered Community Health Nurse and the current CEO of Mwatate Healthcare Centre, a Level III facility in Mukuru Tassia. My 30 years professional experience has seen me work in disadvantaged communities in Kwale, Taita and Mukuru slums. By concentrating on the often forgotten part of our community, I hope to restore hope and dignity while creating sustainable economic environments through the provision of affordable health. Mwatate Healthcare Centre thus specializes in quality and comprehensive Curative services, Sexual & Reproductive health services, Child welfare clinic and Community Sensitization. We also endeavor to create awareness on social issues affecting the community such as birth planning, growth & nutrition, abandoned children, cancer screening. Thus by reaching out to the mother and child as the core of a family unit, we safeguard multiple generations. In time, I hope to leave a legacy as a lead advocate for provision of world class, affordable and accessible healthcare services in Africa.

Mwatate Healthcare Centre thus specializes in quality and comprehensive Curative services, Sexual & Reproductive health services, Child welfare clinic and Community Sensitization. We also endeavor to create awareness on social issues affecting the community such as birth planning, growth & nutrition, abandoned children, cancer screening. Thus by reaching out to the mother and child as the core of a family unit, we safeguard multiple generations. In time, I hope to leave a legacy as a lead advocate for provision of world class, affordable and accessible healthcare services in Africa.

Lesirwo is a Secondary school in Kipkelion Consituency. We seek a sustainable, community embedded, “trade” not “aid” process of giving the girls that confidence to scale to greater heights in three ways:

We provide a decent platform for the mothers of enrolled students to sell their agricultural goods to willing and well meaning buyers at bid prices with the minimum reserve price set at the local market price (often lower than nairobi price). A woman of purpose holds herself in dignity and pride. By ensuring that the girl has a sanitary towel every month, she knows she is worth it.

Every year in May we invite ladies and men (preferably with roots in the community) to spend the day with students so they not only hear of the great success stories but can see and feel it.
We continuously seek to improve the grades to give the students a better chance of qualifying for government sponsored university and technical college programmes. We therefore instituted a competitive term by term bursary. We are happy to note one of the first recipient of the fund scored A- in the 2016 KCSE examination

We look forward to scaling this initiative to other schools in Kenya.

Mukuhi Karimi was born in 1987. As the first born in her family; she was left with her father after her parents divorced. Her father passed away in a road accident when she was five years old leaving her under the care of her grandmother.

She attended Nguna primary school in the 90’s and Ng’etho high school. After high school, she immediately started hustling as a sales and marketer in various companies. It is here that she got a chance to acquire skills and work in hairdressing and beauty therapy.

She has managed to come up with a company known as Blessing Hair and Beauty College, which started back in 2014 as a small salon based in Kangemi and Kawangware. As a qualified hairdresser and beautician, she has decided to share her knowledge with the youth and young mothers to become self-reliant. At least 80 young members around Kangemi and Kawangware slums have graduated from the college and become bread winners in their families.