Women Scientists From Kenya

"For the last seven years, I have been involved in research at Kantis Fossil Site (KFS), a new paleontological site on the outskirts of Nairobi city in Kenya. KFS is dated to 3.5 million years and lies on banks of a seasonal river known as Kantis river, situated on a privately owned farm."

"At the time of reporting the site, the farm owner noted his family first saw fossilized bones valley in the mid-1970’s, but at that time the importance of the fossils as part of our national heritage was not appreciated in Kenya."

"The site is located on eastern arm of the Rift Valley (01.39077 S, 36.72365 E), with an elevation of 1746 meters above sea level. Although the presence of bone bed was noted in the geological survey of the Nairobi area in 1991, no systematic research had been conducted in this area prior to 2009."

"The species was previously thought not to exist in Kenya, so this discovery has thrust Kenya once again into the limelight as the home of one of the most important archaeological discovered. That A. Afarensis existed in Highlands as well as lowland Savannah shows that it was very adaptable"

"Their economic growth is hence blocked by the energy crisis. Due to their heavy dependence on biomass – mainly firewood, crop residues, and animal dung – they deprive the soil of essential nutrients and pose a threat to the agricultural lands due to deforestation and the resulting soil erosion."

"In as much as we empower women to seek employment or business opportunities like men, education on the traditional values are equally important."

"Anaerobic digestion of agricultural residues generates biogas which can be used directly for lighting, cooking, electricity generation, or to power an IC engine for water pumping or milling. The remaining sludge forms a good fertilizer."

"The problem of rural energy, therefore places the provision of food and other basic needs at risk. A technology which extracts a more useful and convenient form of fuel from biomass without destroying its fertilizer value than the traditional conversion method of direct combustion is highly desirable"

"Women are key in holding a family together. Families are essential for the development and sustenance of society as a whole."

"Women in urban areas are more exposed to education and opportunities to grow them. This is not the case for many women in rural areas hence some are trapped in situations that forever limit their capabilities of being the best version of themselves."

"There has been tremendous progress especially in educating the girl child and building their capacity to enable them sit in the same employment or activity spaces as men. However there is still a lot to be done especially for women in rural areas."

"things are changing" all over Africa, as people are "feeling less helpless and ashamed" about the disease, and communities are "standing up to take their destinies in hand," an energy that, combined with developed world resources, could result in "tremendous progress." The piece concludes: "If it can happen in Majengo, it can happen anywhere."

"We wanted to address the challenges surrounding time, attendance and authentic payroll processing to ensure ‘the right people in the right place at the right time’, eliminate costly and ineffective paperwork and supervision, streamline operations and processes and address the perennial problem of ghost workers."

"Now we are diversifying food crop production and emphasising healthy diets, bringing in water literacy, and addressing gender inequities and children’s [wellbeing]. It’s been like a whole community effort."

"This was my dream since my childhood days."

"Working on climate, environmental sanitation, food processing, crop growing, food allocation, gender issues – this is all connected, [but] people still operate in silos. I was very happy when the UN came up with the Sustainable Development Goals and goal number 17 was partnerships and collaboration. You have to work together to be able to achieve something tangible."

"When I started the journal, even getting it indexed internationally was not easy because it's interdisciplinary. So, in terms of gaps, I would say it’s that interdisciplinarity that is missing."

"The journal was premised on what I had done in the field – it is like looking at an African village and everything that goes on in there! – but ultimately, [it’s about] how to feed your family a healthy diet."

"I can't say there's just one thing that I'm satisfied with. But […] when people start to tell you that you have made a difference in their lives; when you see land policies change and companies begin to pay differently, that men and women should both be there, that is an achievement."

"That is what inspires me. The more I knew that there are still people living in the situation I lived in, the more persistent I became."

"My vision of the BFF is that we will enter into a powerful sea of Black feminists in all our diversities and bathe in an amazing journey of learning, sharing and exchanging together. I feel that the BFF gives a space for me to be able to express my ideas, myself and share my feelings as a Black girl and to hear from people about their perspectives on feminism and on being Black. I am excited to learn about different movements and how they have impact. The wide group of generations at the BFF is important not only to learn about how different times bring different circumstances and how we each react to different moments but also for us young feminists to hear how older Black feminists see the situation now. To me, the strength of the BFF will be in its diversity amongst our commonality."

"It’s shown over and over again that when girls are educated, they give back to their families."

"If you think this domain is for men, then too bad for you, It’s actually the best time to be a woman in technology."

"We’re not just women in technology—we’re people who are making a difference in the world."

"I’ve always been passionate about empowering people. I grew up in a place where accessing information was almost impossible, a place that almost everyone has neglected. So I grew up knowing that someone has to make a difference, to go out and get the skills to bring change to the place where I was born."

"Information alone isn’t enough. Information needs execution – without that you’re not changing anyone’s life."

"It’s so exciting, the little effort you put into technology, and how it can change people’s lives. The beauty of it is that you can do whatever you have to do anywhere and anytime. As a technologist, you can come up with something that touches a lot of people’s lives."

"“We might not be able to solve all the problems the farmers have […] but what we have been able to do is provide a holistic solution from the time of planting to the time of selling and taking it to the market, one text at a time, one farmer at a time.”"

"Information has to be actionable for it to make sense for the farmers who are going to benefit from it"

"He wanted to know everything about us, everything about my father everything about our family. I took him to so many relatives. It was part of finding about his own identity."

"I can’t believe that these young people are just trying to demonstrate for their rights and to tell them that we understand that they need to use their voices, and we are being tear-gassed. We’re being teargassed! We have flags and banners, nothing else."

"It's special for us and for our children and for our communities because it tells every child that if you work hard you can do whatever you want in this world. You can make you future"

"Once others hear your voice loud and clear, they realise you exist."

"Poverty is no excuse. Development aid has to be linked to economic development,"

"You can’t do this or that because you’re a girl. Or, You have to do this because you’re a girl. I asked Why? I’m a human being first."

"If I’m teaching young people to use their voices and be active in making their lives a success."

"I don’t get tired of being called Barack Obama’s sister because I am. I get tired of being called Barack Obama’s “half-sister” because I’m not. In our culture he’s just my brother, I’m his sister, so being called Barack Obama’s sister, I have no problem with that at all. I guess it becomes an issue when people see me as an extension of him and focus on that. So I guess this sense of “we’re inviting Barack Obama’s sister”, “we’re speaking to Barack Obama’s sister” to get closer to Barack Obama and find out more about him. To an extent it is justified, but that’s not all that I’m about, so I’m very conscious of that, and I’m conscious of making people aware of that and trying to make that clear that is part of the conversation."

"I manage that because Barack Obama’s in his present situation as the president of the United States is a very new thing, and it’s also something very temporary. I’ve been around for a lot longer, so I’ve already defined myself long before he became the president of the United States so in my own right I have my own identity. So in that sense I am able to, well, actually I’m learning, and I keep having to adjust to being Barack Obama’s sister, who is the president of the United States. But being me as Auma Obama, that is not an issue. It’s trying to accommodate the “new” – this new role that I’m received in, the attention I get, this visibility I get. In terms of my identity I think I’m pretty secure, as best one can be."

"I had really nobody in my family whom I could talk about these things with. This passion for making a difference, the passion for helping young people find out who they are, gain strength in their own identity, those were things I was struggling with as well. I realized very young that if I don’t do it myself, nobody can really do it for me. I think young people need to be helped toward that realization."

"I work for my own foundation, called Sauti Kuu (Powerful Voices) Foundation, which I started about two years ago. The focus of the work is to teach young people—girls, in particular—who are from underprivileged backgrounds, that there are valuable resources they can use to improve their lives before they look outwardly to see whether someone will give them relief food or clothing or all of the other things we give them so often in the humanitarian world."

"If it’s just about my brother, I’ll never be a role model."

"My brother is authentic. He really believes in what he is trying to do. So there’s no hidden agenda. In that sense, he really is an open book. And I think that authenticity, that passion, and the image and the drive—it resonates with people."

"I felt a kinship with him automatically. I was very nervous and worried about not connecting immediately and then having to be in his home—because I was going to be staying with him. But when I met him it was so easy. We just started talking as though we’d known each other always, and that was actually something really special."

"Germans always like to think that they have a very liberal attitude towards Africans. But when you scratch the surface you can see that they they still carry around the prejudices of their childhood. In German fairy tales black people always appear as the bogey man. You don't forget things like that so easily."

"Why am I taking part? Because I love to dance. And whether I can dance well—I'm like those who sing in the shower. I think I can dance well, but we’ll see in a few days if it’s really the case."

"I'm proud of our name because my brother has really carried our name up there ... it's made its mark in the world."

"How can you tear-gas your own people? Listen to them. Listen to these children; they’re the future."

"“I also formed life-long friendships with colleagues at the University of Washington, which nurtured the research creativity of the team.”"

"“Fogarty training has given us Africans the skills we need to conduct research, document the illness and look at possible interventions that work in Africa. There are people who are alive today because of Fogarty's input in terms of capacity-building, both in America and around the world. Just think about it: the first cases of HIV were described in the early ‘80s, and in just over 30 years, we are talking of eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV on the African continent. Fogarty has changed the face of HIV medicine.”"

"Stay faithful to God and He will finish what He started in you. Don't settle for being self-made."