By Thogori Ng’ang’a (Usikimye Welfare Group) and Susan Naoroi and Jolene Sempeyo (Namunyak Lepolosi Women Group)

From Indonesia, we have more insights coming in! Now we hear from the amazing folk from Kenya who shared their energies and stories throughout the learning event. We are grateful for your presence and commitment!

From Thogori Ng’ang’a (Usikimye Welfare Group):

Indaba 2023 was such a great experience to learn and also to share experiences. It was an opportunity to sit with all age groups from different cultures, countries, continents and the like. The days were thoughtfully curated with amazing topics around leadership, intergenerational learning and need to implement existing policies. The unconferencing brought more conversations on GBV, Mental Health, Digital Media, Storytelling, Sex Workers and many other inspiring tales.

On this particular afternoon was a group led by our elders and that remains etched in my mind. It was perhaps my main take away in regards to intergenerational learning and leadership. I came to the realisation how we are constantly as a people -or for my case- focused on the youth making the difference and being the future with little regard to the past – our elders. That for it all to come together : the past, the present and the future must work in tandem. It was enlightening to see it all come together. I can’t wait to see how I incorporate this in my daily endeavours and social impact activities.

One a personal level, I learnt to tap into my inner leadership with the group work and moreso being able to write my story. Outside of the conference, I got to see parts of Cotonou. The Dahomey Statue and The Cathedral were amongst the breathtaking landmarks of the quiet City. And of course a night of live music was such a grand way to end the Voice Learning Indaba experience. The networking with other organisations continues. The realisation that we can always borrow a leaf from one another makes the journey of advocacy simpler and easier. And it is because of such events.

My gratitude for this opportunity.  The rewards for it are far too great. And it shows as we incorporate the lessons in our day to day.

From Susan Naoroi and Jolene Sempeyo (Namunyak Lepolosi Women Group):

As the title goes link and learn, we managed linking with people from different countries.it was a perfect opportunity to learn and appreciate the cultures and traditions of other people as well showcasing our rich Maasai culture of Kenya. Basically on how people were dressed, one can easily tell that everyone is proud of their cultures and therefore they are passing the knowledge to the younger generations.

Voice is a very good platform that hears the voices of everyone in the community beginning from women, men, elders, youths and people with disabilities. People with disabilities need to be empowered and supported so that they can help others who are in the same state. We learnt that women leadership is not fully embraced in other countries as compared to our country whereby we have women leaders not just at local level but also at the national level. It is therefore important to advocate for women leadership since women understand them owns problems better and they can give the best just like their male counterparts do.

Inclusion of the youths and people with disabilities in public forums, is also very important just like we observed in the course of the workshop since they also have equal rights just like other people in the community and therefore we need to amplify their voices and consider their views in all processes. A story from one of the participants clearly shows that mental health leads to depression which can leads to suicide if not realized. It’s a lesson to the organization leadership to identity such people in their organization so that such cases can be addressed. We also managed linking and interacting with other organization from Kenya and we will be networking with them.