Karibuni in my life 'Sport for Change'

Last Sunday we have visited some tea plantations in Thika, from where some of the students sponsored by ‘Sport for Change’ come. Some of them, Elizabeth, Beth, Julius and Christine are in this picture with me and one of the founder of 'Sport and Change', Josephine Lamshed.

Last year I have decided to get involved in 'Sport for Change', becoming a member of the committee. ‘Sports for Change’ is a small Kenyan organisation that undertakes a variety of sports activities for fitness, fun and charity. Through the organisation of a varieties of sport and cultural events, we raise money to support children by paying their fees school.

We are currently supporting 13 children by paying their school fees for the year.  While primary school is free in Kenya, secondary school is not, and so even the most promising students can miss out on secondary school if their families cannot afford the fees. Our aim is to provide sustainable support to these students to take them through to the end of secondary school, ensuring that we grow in a way that does not let any of our students down in the future. 

Here is the link to the website of 'Sport for Change'

http://sports4change.org/

A hundred years ago, today

or better yesterday, for the 1oo time: the International women's day.

Yesterday we celebrated almost all the afternoon. All outside in the garden under a gender-friendly tree, we have been both asked men and women to show our level of agreement with some sentences.

One the sentence was "A quote from Marie Curie: "I have frequently been questioned, especially by women, how I could reconcile family life with a scientific career. Well, it has not been easy”. And I have never heard of a man struggle to balance family and career. Balancing work and family life is especially difficult for women and not enough is done to help. What do you think?”

Then we looked at the answers, I was really surprised, most of the men seemed not recognize any of the issues that women are facing or were not taking seriously the questions and when looking at the genuine desire of assertion showed by women I couldn’t not feel sad for the superficiality of those men.

This made me also reflect on the different level of importance that this event has in this context, I thought about my prosperous Italia when recently there have been demonstrations to ask for more respect and consideration for women.

Miles and miles away there are women fighting for even much more basic needs and rights.

In the whole Kenya the access to education is not equally distributed: women's literacy rates are much lower than men's rate. "For every literate woman in Mandera there are five literate men". The growing environmental constraints are increasing the pressure on women to provide water, food, fuel-collection, even more less time is left for education.

Today I surprisingly received an email from a colleague, who was probably silently disagreeing yesterday from the mass of his men colleagues...I found his message so tender, deep and somehow revolutionary and I want to share it with you, The Woman, and you, The Man:

“Dear “You The Woman”, Just before the dust settles on International Women’s Day – Centenary, I belated feel obliged to pay my tribute to you. Throughout history women have been a driving force in shaping history, our society, and our families. To put it better I would rather quote the following:

• “Being powerful is like being a Lady. If you’ve to tell people you’re, you aren’t”

• “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song”

• “One is not born a woman one becomes one”

If you would take note, the common denominator is “BEING”.

Not so much of the DOING .

There are many instances - she can do nothing but hold your breath – O who can stand their power of character – the being. It is like the nuclear power. You can only see its effect but not feel it. May I throw a stone to the glass building with your permission !!! by saying there is a lot being done to promote the Woman – talk of Advocacy(ies), initiatives, Education both Academic and Civil, and the list can be long – of course you know the WOMAN!!

But for some reason all these efforts good and needful as they are, their impact is not as expected! Somehow some grip has been lost.

I risk to contest – the emphasis has been more on the DOING as opposed to the BEING - very power makes the WOMAN the POWER to RECKON with. As we commemorate YOU – the WOMAN – may it be a time of reflection and retreat to the SPRING BOARD – the BEING; from which you’ve shaped history, society and families. Next to God, YOU the WOMAN - is the very reason the Global Village holds together!!

I dedicate this Tribute to my dear Wife and Mother – though absent in body, is so much felt by us the nuclear family by the very influence of her character (being) that gives us reason to soldier on as difficult as it is. Live LONG the BEING WOMAN. “

Thanks for that Ben

Beatrice, chapati and Memory

Today I was in the queue waiting for my lunch when with Beatrice, one of my Kenyan colleague we observed that today is "chapati day".
Chapati is a kind of bread made of whole wheat flour and cooked on a tava (flat skillet).
The "ingredients" look quite basic, but despite of that, Beatrice said that years ago they used to eat chapati only during Christmas . The family were quite big and even a simple dish like this one could be prepared only during special occasion, also because in average one family per village could own the tava. She told me that the life was really tough for here when she was young and that now there are still lot of families living with the same "standards" she had. She said that now she feel privileged since she can eat chapati every days if she wants and she uses to tell this to her kids to make them aware of the fortune they have: a bus is picking them every day in front of the door of their house, they can go to the school wearing shoes and they don't need to work on the field and prepare the food before leaving....she could not have all that.
She told me about "Memory", a video of one day of life of a young girl in Malawi and she said she uses to show this video to her kids to create their awareness.
The funny thing is that the guy behind us started to say "Memory? Are you referring to Memory?" I am the filmmaker of "Memory!". So, included, we had the history from the filmmaker.
I went to look for this history and I want to copy here the video.

This is thus the history of Memory, from Malawi, but it could be the history of hundreds of millions of other girls around the developing world, as it has been the history of Beatrice from Kenya.

http://www.blip.tv/file/2787368

Tutaonana (arrivederci in Swahili),
Silvia