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Kakenya Ntaiya is a Maasia Woman and Kenyan advocate for girls' education and women's rights. She has dedicated her life to creating lasting change both in rural communities in Kenya and across Africa.Kakenya discusses her fight against female genital mutilation (FGM), early marriage, and her quest for education. Now, as a PhD holder and the founder of Kakenya's Dream, she works tirelessly to ensure girls in her community have better opportunities and futures. Her work has modified lives for thousands of girls and aims to create a future filled with stronger, educated women leaders.Learn more about Kakenya's Dream and ways you can support this organisation.Keep up to date with Peter on SubstackKeep up to date with Kasia!Executive Producer: Rachel BarrettThanks to our volunteer researchers Hendrik Dahlmeier and Mihika Chechi Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This episode's guest is someone that many have known for her longstanding leadership in international education, but some of us might not have known her as a businesswoman, a political leader, a caregiver, and as a newly minted author. Marlene M. Johnson was the Executive Director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators for almost two decades and prior to that was Minnesota's first woman Lieutenant Governor. She is co-founder of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund. She is now on the advisory board of Kakenya's Dream, a board member of the Washington Office on Latin America, and a trustee of the Alexandria Trust. In 1988, she was awarded the Royal Order of the Polar Star by the Kingdom of Sweden. In this episode we go behind the scenes with Marlene about her life and her new book, Rise to the Challenge: A memoir of politics, leadership, and love. Episode highlights: Marlene's reflections about her life's journey and how the book came about. How Marlene's career in politics and business and her early international exposure prepared her to be a non-traditional candidate yet a good fit for the role of NAFSA's CEO and Executive Director. The “ability to punt” and how this attribute served Marlene well while leading NAFSA, whether it was weathering the Asian financial crisis that impacted Asian international students or the impact of 9/11 on the international education sector. Marlene's legacy of calling for a national policy on international education and her thoughts on where we stand now. Is the U.S. poised to have its first woman president and one whose life—coincidentally—reflects the legacy of international education? Marlene weighs in. The poignant love story of Marlene's life with her husband, Peter, and how their relationship influenced her and shaped her as a leader. Marlene's top 2-3 pieces of advice for women leaders. Episode Resources: Get Marlene's new book here or from Amazon Listen to: Episode 8 with LaNitra Berger and Episode 36 with Fanta Aw of NAFSA MPOWER Financing's Social Impact Report My book: America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility Sign up for America Calling: my take on the intersection of education, culture and migration Connect with me: LinkedIn, X, Instagram This episode was made possible by the generous support of MPOWER Financing.
Marlene M. Johnson's memoir is an essential record of the ascension of women in American politics. In Rise to the Challenge: A Memoir of Politics, Leadership, and Love, Johnson chronicles her life of learning and leadership in activism, entrepreneurship, politics, and public service, weaving professional play-by-plays with candidness about navigating personal loss. Here, Johnson is joined in conversation with Lori Sturdevant and Elisabeth (Betsy) Griffith.Marlene M. Johnson was Minnesota's first woman lieutenant governor, serving in Governor Rudy Perpich's administration from 1983 until 1991. She is cofounder of the Minnesota Chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners and the Minnesota Women's Campaign Fund and was executive director and CEO of NAFSA: Association of International Educators for nearly two decades. She is on the advisory board of Kakenya's Dream, a board member of the Washington Office on Latin America, and a trustee of The Alexandria Trust. She lives in Washington, DC.Lori Sturdevant is a retired Star Tribune editorial writer and columnist who has written about Minnesota government and politics since 1978.Elisabeth Griffith is an American historian, educator, and activist. She is author of Formidable: American Women and the Fight for Equality: 1920–2020 and In Her Own Right: The Life of Elizabeth Cady Stanton.OTHER WORKS REFERENCED:Ambiguous Loss: Learning to Live with Unresolved Grief / Pauline BossTurnout: Making Minnesota the State That Votes / Joan Anderson Growe with Lori SturdevantLoving Someone who has Dementia / Pauline BossPraise for Rise to the Challenge:“Marlene M. Johnson wasn't just the first woman to be Minnesota's Lieutenant Governor. She was also the first Lieutenant Governor to have a specific policy portfolio. She had access and influence in ways that laid the groundwork for me and others to follow. Marlene is of a class of women who made important strides in DFL politics, and I'm grateful for her place in Minnesota's history and for this book that tells that story”.—Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan“An essential document of the midcentury rise of women into American politics. In this memoir of a remarkable public life, Marlene M. Johnson braids a love story tragically turned into caregiving and the domestic devotion of guardian and advocate. She proves that faithfulness in love and commitment to the betterment of the world are not opposites after all.”—Patricia Hampl, author of The Art of the Wasted Day“In the dynamic mid-twentieth-century women's movement, Marlene M. Johnson stood out and stood up with clarity of vision and purpose. Her multiple public service initiatives propelled her to a national presence and then into international education leadership.”—Judge Harriet Lansing, retired, Minnesota Court of Appeals“An important read for aspiring public servants, male or female.”—J. Brian Atwood, former administrator, US Agency for International Development
Kim Chakanetsa speaks to two women from Kenya and India who have established their own schools about the life-changing impact an education can have for their communities. For Dr Kakenya Ntaiya, the dream of an education turned into a lifelong mission to empower girls in rural Kenya. She founded the Kakenya Center for Excellence, a primary boarding school for girls in southwest Kenya. The school has grown into a successful nonprofit organization called Kakenya's Dream with a focus on education, health and leadership. You can find out more by searching @KakenyasDream on major social media platforms.After spending decades at the top of the corporate ladder, Shukla Bose decided to shift direction, fuelled by a desire to alleviate social injustice. She founded Parikrma Humanity Foundation, a nonprofit organization that runs English-medium schools for under-privileged children in Bangalore. For more information, please search @parikrma_foundation on Instagram.Produced by Emily Naylor(Image: (L) Kakenya Ntaiya, credit Lee-Ann Olwage. (R) Shukla Bose, courtesy of Shukla Bose.)
Hear from global leader Dr Kakenya Ntaiya, scholar, social activist and 2021/2022 Senior Fellow at Brown University. Kakenya is the founder of Kakenya's Dream, an international nonprofit organisation that seeks to educate girls, end harmful traditional practices including female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage, and transform her community. This Sydney Ideas event also features: – Peyian Kortom, final year Bachelor of Science and Liberal Arts student at the University of Sydney – Cynthia Naiyoma, first year Bachelor of Nursing student at UTS – Lisa McIntyre, Founder of Women for Change – Professor Renae Ryan (host), Academic Director of Science in Australia Gender Equity (SAGE) Program at the University of Sydney. This event was held on 19 May 2022. For more information, visit the Sydney Ideas website: https://bit.ly/3wOLeD7
Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute and the founder of Kakenya's Dream, a female empowerment and education non-profit based in the rural Masai Mara of Kenya. Kakenya grew up in the Masai Mara, in a community where it was expected that women wouldn't go to school beyond childhood. They'd be subject to early, arranged marriages, and worse. Yet, incredibly, Kakenya forged a different path. On this episode of Trending Globally, you'll hear Kakenya's story in her own words, and learn how it led her to develop a new model for girls' education in rural Kenya. It's a model based on a premise that her life story also affirms: that the education of girls and the health of a community are deeply intertwined. https://www.kakenyasdream.org/ (Learn more about Kakenya's Dream) https://watson.brown.edu/news/podcasts (Learn more about the Watson Institute's other podcasts)
Students around the world are struggling to return to school in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis, but these challenges are especially acute for vulnerable adolescent girls and young women in low income countries, where Covid-19 has magnified the barriers they already faced in getting an education, including HIV, economic hardship, gender-based violence, early marriage, and unintended pregnancy. In this episode, we're looking at why education for girls, especially secondary education, is so critical for girls' health and development, and how Covid-19 threatens their ability to go back to school. Janet Fleischman speaks with Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, a Kenyan educator and founder of Kakenya's Dream, which educates and empowers girls and works to end harmful traditional practices, like female genital cutting/mutilation and child marriage. Kakenya describes the impact of Covid-19 on the school for girls that she founded in Kenya, and how the school responded. Janet then takes us to western Kenya, where she speaks to Linda Achieng Orodo, a 19-year-old secondary school student, who participates in the PEPFAR-led DREAMS program. Like many girls in her community, Linda faced many challenges in returning to school after the Covid lockdown, and she gives us a glimpse of why secondary school is so critical for girls in Kenya.
This is our International Women's Day podcast edition! We get to meet one of the most inspiring women who has ever come to Women's Agenda (and that is saying a LOT), Dr Kakenya Ntaiya.Engaged to be married at five in Kenya, Kakenya had different ideas for her future. She shares her story of education, studying in the United States and then returning home to start two schools for girls, and work on the 130 million girls who are still not in school internationally.Our chat with Kakenya starts around 24 minutes in.But first, Georgie Dent, Shivani Gopal and Angela Priestley are talking International Women's Day. Why do we need it? Has it gone too far? Is it actually creating more work for women when we already have way too much on?We also answer some 'rapid fire questions', including whether we'd accept Donald Trump as a boss if it meant he was no longer president of the United States, along with questions about morning routines and television shows we'd prefer to not admit we're watching.This is one very wide-ranging episode.Remember, pretty much everything we discuss has been written about in some way over on Women's Agenda. You can subscribe to our daily update at www.womensagenda.com.au/subscribeSome of the stories discussed this week include:Dr Kakenya Ntaiya was engaged at 5 years old. Now, she’s educated more than 500 Kenyan girlshttps://womensagenda.com.au/latest/dr-kakenya-ntaiya-was-engaged-at-5-years-old-now-shes-educated-more-than-500-kenyan-girls/The desperate need to talk climate change on International Women’s Dayhttps://womensagenda.com.au/latest/the-desperate-need-to-talk-climate-change-on-international-womens-day/(From 2019) We don’t want to see ‘women rise’ on basis of others doing worse, says Scott Morrison. On IWDhttps://womensagenda.com.au/latest/we-dont-want-to-see-women-rise-on-basis-of-others-doing-worse-scott-morrisons-bizarre-iwd-comments/ See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Kakenya Ntaiya transformou seu sonho de estudar em um movimento de empoderamento de meninas em situação de vulnerabilidade, trazendo um fim a práticas tradicionais nocivas no Quênia. Conheça duas alunas do Kakenya Center for Excellence ("Centro de Excelência Kakenya"), uma escola onde meninas podem viver e estudar em segurança, e melhorar sua comunidade ao longo desse processo. "Quando empoderamos uma menina, transformamos uma comunidade", afirma Ntaiya.
Kakenya Ntaiya transformou seu sonho de estudar em um movimento de empoderamento de meninas em situação de vulnerabilidade, trazendo um fim a práticas tradicionais nocivas no Quênia. Conheça duas alunas do Kakenya Center for Excellence ("Centro de Excelência Kakenya"), uma escola onde meninas podem viver e estudar em segurança, e melhorar sua comunidade ao longo desse processo. "Quando empoderamos uma menina, transformamos uma comunidade", afirma Ntaiya.
February 6th marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), a United Nations-sponsored awareness day meant to highlight efforts to eradicate FGM. An estimated 200 million women and girls today have undergone some form of FGM, a practice that can cause irreversible physical and mental health challenges. In this episode of Take as Directed, CSIS Global Health Policy Center Senior Associate Janet Fleischman speaks with Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya, a Kenyan educator, activist, and founder of “Kakenya’s Dream”, a leading nongovernmental organization for girls’ education, health, and empowerment, which also works to end FGM and child marriage. Dr. Ntaiya discusses the personal journey that led her to form “Kakenya’s Dream”, and how her work is helping to develop the next generation of women leaders in her community. Hosted by Janet Fleischman.
Two women fighting to educate girls in Afghanistan and Kenya talk to Emily Webb about the ingenious ideas they've come up with to deal with opposition from men in the community. Imagine searching classrooms for bombs before the start of every school day: that's the reality for Razia Jan who decided to open a school for girls in a village in rural Afghanistan. Razia had lived a comfortable life in the US for over 30 years, but after the fall of the Taliban, she decided to return to her home country, and was shocked by what she saw. Despite strong local opposition, she is now educating hundreds of girls who were previously denied any schooling. Kakenya Ntaiya dreamt of becoming a teacher, but she had to make an unimaginable deal with her father to stay in education. She went onto gain a PhD in education, and having graduated, she returned to her own Maasai village in Kenya to set up a primary boarding school for girls. She hopes that her students will be the leaders and decision-makers of the future. (L) Image: Kakenya Ntaiya. Credit; Kakenya's Center for Excellence. (R) Image: Razia Jan. Credit: Razia's Ray of Hope.
Kakenya Ntaiya was born in a rural village in southern Kenya, one of eight children. When she was 5 years old, her parents arranged an engagement to a local boy. She was to be circumcised before becoming a teenager to signify the end of her education and the start of married life. It seemed that a future of working on her rural family farm was set. But she made a deal with her father: She would agree to be circumcised only if he would allow her to finish high school. He agreed. She then negotiated with the village elders to do what no girl had done before: leave her village to go to college in the United States. Kakenya is now finishing her Ph.D. in education. Kakenya was the first youth adviser to the United Nations Population Fund, and she has traveled around the world to speak on the importance of educating girls, particularly as a means to fight the practices of female genital mutilation and child marriage. And, she started the only primary school for girls in her home region. The school has 95 girls in grades 4 through 6 and six teachers, and accepts 30 new girls each year. In this interview, Ntaiya discusses the opportunities that come with education for girls in her community, the effects of early marriage on girls' livelihoods, and how the practice of FGM/C has changed in Kenya. (Passed by Kenya's parliament in 2001, the Children's Act outlaws various forms of violation against children, including FGM, for females 18 and younger.)