Hey guys. This one too is not another travel post but rather an experience post. First of all, before I begin, let me apologize about being late on this post. Last weekend was a crazy weekend and you’ll understand why in just a minute.
Most of you that follow me on Instagram watched my stories last weekend and saw I was busy attending a conference. But, I wasn’t just attending the conference as a participant but rather as part of organizers… oh yes, I also photographed part of the event. The conference was hosted by the new chapter of the East, West & Africa Women’s Initiative Forum (EWA) in Kenya. It began on the 13th of September and ended on the 15th of September.
I know you’re all wondering what EWA is. While EWA Kenya is a new chapter that only started early this year, EWA International has been around for about nine years. EWA was originally launched in Jordan under the Princess Taghrid Institute and since then has expanded to a number of countries like South Africa, Morocco, Sweden, Syria, Switzerland and more.
The main aim for EWA is to build a global network for women in order to allow them to reach their full potential socially, economically, emotionally and personally. The idea is to build relationships between women from different countries, various backgrounds and religions’, with different race, cultures and beliefs and eliminate any distance caused by all of the above factors. It’s all about women empowering each other!
The first time I heard about EWA was last year when I visited Jordan but even then I didn’t know much about what it was. It was only until this year when EWA Kenya was being started did I understand exactly what EWA was all about. Having studied Sociology & Gender, in a decolonizing curriculum, there was so much I already learnt about the African countries, and now this was a way to make a little difference.
Every two years EWA holds conferences in different member countries dealing with different topics. This year Kenya was chosen to host. The topic for the conference was the Role of Women in Instilling Ethics and Values. Under this there were eight different discussion panels (see image below) in which a number of speakers, both local and international, talked about their views and experiences and teachings for each area.
Through this I met so many women from around the world doing such inspiring and empowering things, women I would have never known existed without EWA. I also met Her Majesty Dr. Mmemogolo Semane Bonolo Molotlegi, the Queen mother of Bafokeng kingdom in South Africa, who is the Honorary Patron of South Africa.
All speakers had some very important points that are generally forgotten. It reminds me of the fact that so much is ignored or forgotten because it’s usually the women who remember these points but yet are completely left out of the question. A few speakers completely blew my mind about what they said.
Click on image to see the topics discussed
Mrs. Ushaben Shah, under the discussion panel The role of Religion in instilling Ethics and Values, spoke about religion not as each different religion but rather a simple belief of a higher power. She explained that there are no different Gods, God is one and that God is within us all. Her view is that one does not become religious by attending religious places but rather by practicing what religion preaches. Each religion preaches the same values and same ideas, of peace, love and equality, just in the different languages but we have now used this as a way to divide ourselves from each other. All speakers reached the same conclusion that God is one. For me, I have always believed there is a higher power - holds no name, no gender, no race and is within each individual. Each individual needs to find this and allow themselves to grow with this power.
Mrs. Deborah Fletcher, a psychologist, focused on the importance of family and family relationships to become successful in the working field, under the topic of The changes in Ethics and Values in regards to the working field. This was a huge topic that is constantly debated, especially against women. The idea that a woman is not able to do both – work as well as keep her family together. Not only through her teaching but also through her personal story and experience (click here to know more), she questions this idea every single day. She balances her work and her family in an amazing way she finds a way to establish a relationship in which her family leads her to success in work. Her story is so inspiring and gives women hope for the 21st century!
The most important discussion panel in this conference was the topic of The environment and how it is affected by we Ethics and Values. Each speaker in this category were significant because of what is happening with the world and our environment. Each speaker first made us aware about the problems and disturbance the environment is facing, not only in Kenya but all over the word.
Local speakers, Miss Seeta Shah and Miss Ann Wangari talked about their projects, here in Kenya, to help sustain our environment. These are some incredible projects that myself and others in the crowd had not heard about before they spoke about their impressive work.
Miss Ann Wangari Kamanu is the Head of the Conservation and Livelihood Department at Kijabe Environment Volunteers (KENVO) which is based in Lari Sub County, Kiambu County-Kenya. Their area of work is in Kikuyu Escarpment Forest- Kereita forest in which their main aim is to conserve the forest area as well as empower women.
Miss Seeta Shah, a consultant in Affordable Housing Finance and Urban Development. Apart from her work jobs, she is a Board Secretary for the Friends of City Park organization that works with volunteers to help protect, maintain, upgrade and enhance the park amenities and restore City Park to its past glory for future generations. Over years, with development, the park has not only been reduced by a huge size but it’s also been destroyed and disrupted. This organization, with the help of the state and volunteers are pushing to change this. You can also be a part of this initiative by clicking on this link.
The conference ended with a couple of success stories from people that have gone through hardships, inabilities and negative experiences and have managed to come out from this. Most of these were women however, there were two men who also shared their stories. It was a reminder that no matter what you face in life, you always have the option to come out better but it’s a choice that’s up to you to make.
The whole weekend was overwhelming in a positive way. Each and every woman I met at the conference had something very important to share and I learnt so much from them. I can’t mention each and every single person I met, because I met so many of these wonderful women. But, this is my way of saying to each one of you – Thank you, for sharing your thoughts, experiences and feelings and allowing me to broaden my mind and way of thinking!
In fact the whole month has been an amazing month already. I’ve met so many inspiring and empowering women in the past two weeks – from the MomBoss Event to this, and I could not have been more grateful. If someone were to ask me is this where I thought I’d be last year, I’d say a huge NO! I never knew where I was headed or what my journey would be. I took the days, weeks and months as they came. Only now, after looking back and reflecting on my year, I’ve realized all of the things that have happened for me. Honestly, all I can say is trust the process!
This is a very small part of the conference, there’s so much I can write about it. But if you do need to please drop me a message or a comment for more or to ask any questions. A lot of you will not see the point of this post, but for me this is my way of remembering my journey. I hope you enjoy and I hope you understand more about what EWA is and becoming a part of EWA Kenya if this is something that interests you. Thank you for taking the time to read through!!
