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for forging their own path out of a patriarchal society, and then
returning to provide new opportunities for the girls in their community
WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (OneWorld.net) - Never mind that none of the girls in 16-year-old Neipamei Ngodia's family of 22 have ever gone to high school. She plans to become a surgeon and then return to her native Maasai village in Kenya to treat people at home where they are most comfortable -- where people speak their language and understand their culture. And thanks to her neighbor and mentor, Kakenya Ntaiya, there's every reason to believe Ngodia's dreams will come true.
Ntaiya is a celebrity in her rural hometown of Enoosaen, in the
Transmara district of western Kenya. Having avoided the usual fate
imposed on girls in her region -- leaving school for early arranged
marriage and child rearing -- she is on the verge of completing a PhD
in the United States, and this year opened the first-ever boarding
school for primary school children in her area of Kenya. "Kakenya's School
for Excellence" took in its first 31 girls in May, offering leadership
training "that empowers the girls to speak and present themselves with
confidence," writes Kate Cummings, a volunteer with the U.S.-based
nonprofit Vital Voices, who worked with Ntaiya this summer.
"The girls at the Center are between eight and fourteen, and many of
them are among the most underprivileged girls in Transmara district,"
writes Cummings. "Many of them are at risk of early marriage, female
genital mutilation,
and a life governed by poverty (like many of their parents)."
Ntaiya faced those exact same odds at their age. She rejected her family's selection of a husband for her at age five; she would have had to quit school and marry at 13. With the support of her mother, she rallied the community together and convinced them to send her to
college in the United States instead.
Ntaiya's dream now is to raise a new generation of leaders to help her
community prosper and break the cycle of difficult lives that so many
of her friends and neighbors still face.
Sixteen-year-old Neipamei Ngodia may be one of the first of those leaders.
"Neipamei understands much more than most 16-year-olds, and dreams
bigger than her society would like," writes Cummings.
Two years ago, Ngodia refused the customary practice of circumcision -- which in the Maasai culture leads directly
into marriage -- and as a result was ostracized by family and friends. But she stood by her choice of
school over marriage.
"I refused it because I have witnessed many girls in this area being circumcized, and no girl has ever stood for the right of girls to not be circumcized. So I decided I would set an example for them, because it really takes a lot for a girl to be circumcized. They usually bleed and they feel a lot of pain -- you will even bleed for one week. I never wanted to experience such things, because I've done nothing wrong to be forced to experience such things."
Ngodia says that in the years since she made her choice she has reconciled with her father, and her friends have come to respect her as well.
And Ngodia credits Ntaiya for demonstrating that another way is possible and that girls can be leaders. "They say that experience is the best teacher, [but I don't have to wait] to experience what she has experienced. I have seen and I have heard it [through Ntaiya], so it's enough for me to change our community."
The next steps for Ngodia? Finish secondary school, then university, and then she too will return to her Maasai village to help build her community -- saving lives as a surgeon.
Still the odds remain stacked against her, but Cummings has no doubt that Ngodia will succeed.
"Being in her presence feels both
like standing alongside a gentle soul and a locomotive," writes Cummings. "She will not
be stopped, smiling all the way home."
for
shifting the goalposts in the global climate negotiations to give people in
vulnerable African and small island nations a better chance of surviving the
impacts of worldwide climate change
© Lemelson-MIT Program
© Dago Dala Hera Orphanage
© Peace X Peace
© Tostan
© racoles (flickr)
