education

"Knowledge can only be genuinely transitional if it is biographical knowledge. ... Biographicity means that we can redesign again and again, from scratch, the contours of our life within the specific contexts in which we (have to) spend it, and that we experience these contexts as shapeable and designable. ... The main issue is to decipher the ‘surplus meanings’ of our biographical knowledge, and that in turn means perceiving the potentiality of our unlived lives."

"Transformative learning is an adult dimension of reason assessment involving the validation and reformulation of meaning structures."

"I was born in Kenya, but spent my early life in Manyara National Park, Tanzania, where my father was doing his pioneering research on the social behaviour of wild African elephants. We lived in a series of small rondavels on the banks of the Ndala river, at the foot of a forested escarpment with a waterfall cascading down the cliffs about 100 metres from Camp. I remember splashing in rock pools close to elephants drinking in the river, and bumping into buffalo as we made our way back to our rooms at night. There was a magical place called the Ground Water Forest into which the elephants would disappear for long periods, where natural springs from the Ngorongoro mountain catchment gushed out of the rocks – we’d often stop there to pick fresh watercress in a stream at the end of a day, or climb into the vines wishing we could get higher like the monkeys. We had two little orphaned genet cats and a banded mongoose as pets that my mother had raised by hand, which I think were probably the first great loves of my life.. Speaking of her background."

"World leaders must integrate women in their decision."

"We believe that the more informed women get, the more equipped they are financially and in terms of skills, the better the society will be."

"Well firstly, I would urge parents (all adults in fact) to see a film called Racing Extinction. It’s a few years old but it’s a good place to start. Then I’d encourage these same grown-ups to read Half Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life by E.O. Wilson. With these under their belt, they’ll be in a great place to start thinking about how to explain the situation to their kids. In my opinion, our understanding of our place in the world needs to be firmly grounded in Science, especially biology. I am often astounded by the disconnect in people’s minds between their day to day life and our absolute reliance on the natural world. Unfortunately we seem increasingly trapped in a culture of rogue materialism that is bankrupting our planet. We simply cannot continue with the business as usual model when it comes to consumption. There also needs to be much more accountability and transparency in how things are procured and produced, their long term environmental impact and pollution. I’ve often felt that too many academic disciplines – especially at tertiary level – are taught in isolation, and Economics is a prime example. So broadening the education system to prioritise environment is critical. In the end, there is one overriding cause that unites us all, the health of our biosphere which underpins the very fabric of life on which we all depend for our survival. We live on a finite planet, a fact that we ignore at our peril. Turning things around should be our number one priority."

"Enjoy parenthood, don’t try to be a perfect parent, spend as much time as possible with your children because they change so fast during the first few years and two decades of their life, and you don’t want to miss many of those moments in helping to shape their values. My eldest son recognised his first elephant at the age of two, in the national park, not in a storybook. Let them follow their passion and be who they want to be and encourage them to be authentic, build their leadership qualities, and fulfill their potential in life. I am truly indebted to my mother, who on top of being a hands-on mother and grandmother, encouraged me to follow my dream to pursue a career with animals because she realised that from an early age, I hated to see them suffering, and even when being a Vet in Uganda was not a profession that paid well, and I am truly indebted to her for that. . Her advice to parents."

"We have already disrupted the natural way of life."

"Yes. So, over the years, women have kind of been laid back and marginalized because of the traditional system that does not give them a place at the decision making table. It has been quite endemic and the message we’ve been carrying to most women in the communities is that we do not really have to wait to be called to the table: we can create our own table and begin to work from there."

"It is not just about addressing every environmental challenges we find but more of those that directly affect the lives of women across communities because there are facts that tell that women are the most affected by environmental challenges. For example, the issue of access to clean cooking energy; the facts and figures around the health consequences and the environmental consequences; women tracking as much as 2 km or more from their communities just to go and gather firewood for their cooking. And in the process of doing this, a lot of them get assaulted, some of them get raped, some of them get kidnapped. At the end of the day, no one is talking about these issues. So, we started looking at working with women across communities to see how they can be at the front lines of addressing these environmental challenges that have a direct impact on their life or the life of their family members and their communities. . What WISE is all about."

"The business I did last before meeting WISE was storage of ginger. I took a loan from a cooperative and invested in it, that year ginger fell far below cost price and I was only able to get not up to ten per cent of my capital."

"By inspiring understanding and appreciation for investment in women and women’s inclusion, we contribute to creating a better world."

"Yes. When we initially launched out it was quite challenging to get people to understand what we were actually trying to do. Particularly because Nigeria is culturally speaking very much patriarchal. When I launched out, I got challenged by some men who felt like: “what are you doing, you’re just a women, you should not be doing this, you won’t find a husband, etc”. Also, it was strange to find a woman who was working with a major government agency that works around the issues of environment. I actually thought for a women to find someone like me doing what I was doing, that she was going to be very supportive but rather I got challenged by her asking me if I was going to take over the assignment, the task of the government agency. And I said no I was only working toward complementing their effort across the communities that they also covered. But over time, we have been able to penetrate communities and also get a lot of men to endorse the work that we were doing not just by exploring gender responsive approaches to our work but also preaching the message of gender equality and women’s empowerment in the light that it is not a competition or contest between men and women but rather a collaboration, a partnership to make life better for men, women, children, households, communities. And with that approach, we’ve been able to get a lot of men supporting our work and also helping us carry the message to their wives, their mothers and their daughters."

"YES! We all need to cut our consumption and be much more aware of where things come from and the impact this has on the natural world. One should NEVER buy wildlife products. One must always check the labels for things like palm oil (in all its hidden forms), stay informed and help where one can by joining hands with effective conservation. https://berkshirewoman.com/?p=1945. Her advice to consumers."

"Follow your dreams and the rest will follow. Being a social entrepreneur is often a journey of hills and valleys, and very fulfilling if you always keep your goals in sight."

"Finally, happiness is…"

"I would like to expand our impact to other countries in Africa where gorillas are found and other parts of Uganda where gorillas are not found, working with local stakeholders. Something else I feel strongly about is to help increase the number of women leaders in conservation through my role on the leadership council of Women for the Environment – Africa, and leaders of color in conservation in my role as the Vice President of the African Primatological Society that is building African leadership in primate research and conservation."

"Veterinary training enables you to impact many sectors if you would like to take up these amazing opportunities. It has been a truly interesting and rewarding journey for me to be able to make a difference in conservation, public health, tourism, and agriculture sectors through my training as a veterinarian. . Her advice to budding vets."

"Gestating a book is like waiting for a Camembert to mature. There’s definitely something large and unwritten inside me, but the ooze hasn’t started yet. Like any busy mum, I struggle to set enough quiet time aside in the day to focus. Even finding time to answer your questions has been a challenge! On top of mothering and a full time job, life in north Kenya can be somewhat left field and unpredictable. We’ve chosen an unusual route out of principle, and so unusual stuff happens on a daily basis. I think it will make for some good stories. So, yes, there’s a book coming, that I can confirm 100%."

"I am a great believer in the power of the individual to make change, and this applies as much to how we travel or spend our money as to the way we bring up our children. After all, one can only lead by example. In my view, this means always asking the best of oneself – standing by one’s principles, speaking up when others are silent, or reining in one’s sense of entitlement. So I’d ask everyone to start taking small steps, every day, that favour the environment. Join hands with us. Together, we become a powerful force for change."

"Right now, we need people to come to Kenya urgently to show their love and concern for wildlife by visiting the protected areas and national parks. Eco-tourism brings desperately needed funds to wildlife areas which helps keep conservation efforts going. Without tourist dollars conservancies find it hard to support the people who’ve given their land over to wildlife, and national parks and protected areas struggle to pay salaries or put fuel in anti-poaching vehicles, so the wildlife suffers as a result. Kenya is actually a very safe country. I live here with my children. And when you visit as a tourist you are looked after from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave. So come to Kenya! Come see the elephants of Samburu and stay with us at Elephant Watch!"

"From the beginning, it was just something I was passionate about and I did a bit of consulting work that has helped me earn an income. I channelled part of that income to launching the ideas that I had. Over time, as the work continued to grow I had family members who were also supporting me and then in 2007 I found World Pulse. I had become connected to Women Earth Alliance which was then Women Global Green Action Network. In 2005, Women Global Green Action Network launched a search for women who were working on issues around environmental justice and social justice around the world and I was one of the women that were invited for the first strategic meeting in Mexico though I didn’t make it but I kept in touch with the organizers and eventually one of the organizers launched the women earth alliance and I am a funding member of the Women Earth Alliance which has been a formal partner and founder of WISE. I think our first funding support came through Women Earth Alliance. From way back, in 2005 when we got fund by Women Global Green Action Network and we got connected with World Pulse, that has continued to create visibility for our work and also attract funders. We’ve benefited from funding support from Women Earth Alliance, Global Greengrants Funds, we’ve benefited from capacity building support from Women Leaders for the World. We’ve gotten support from UNDP, a project funded by the United Nations development program and global program facility. Recently we’ve also be funded by Global Funds for Women.. Funding of WISE."

"They are however able to take actions by either creating their own spaces to make changes or becoming authors of their own change."

"We should be authors of our own change, if we are not called to the decision making tables, then we must create ours."

"One of the reports that caught our attention was the World Health Organisation’s reports which said Nigeria tops the list of countries where women were dying annually from smoke related illnesses."

"The call for women’s empowerment is therefore not a contest between men and women, but a call for partnership, a call for a society where everybody’s voice counts, where we know that We all need each other."

"Women should stop emphasising they are being marginalised, that is an expired message."

"We do a lot of advocacy. We disseminate information. We form these women into groups. We conduct a lot of trainings. We build the capacities of these women around various areas of interests. For example, we have the WISE women’s clean cookstove entrepreneurship and training program that focuses on building the capacities of women to become clean cookstove entrepreneurs and advocates. To make sure that they would educate people in their community on the negative impact of deforestation, reliance on the traditional methods of cooking which are not energy efficient and also led to the deaths of so many women. We do training, we do advocacy, we do awareness creation, we do digital empowerment training because we believe that, in the times that we’re in, digital literacy is key for women to become more informed and also for creating visibility around the solutions that they are proffering in their community. So, these are some of the activities and strategies that we explore."

"The most important thing that happens when you become a parent is that you stop being the centre of your own universe. And it’s such a relief! I also didn’t know that I would have the capacity to love so much, and that you love each child in a completely different way. It’s been the greatest adventure having kids. I would like my daughters to follow their hearts and do what they really believe in. I hope that through their upbringing they will care for the same things that I do – and I’m glad to say that I see the signs already in my eldest child – but they must choose their own paths."

"Elephants are special because they are highly intelligent, sentient creatures that share much in common with us. They are self-aware, feel complex emotions like empathy and compassion, and even have a sense of their own mortality, all of which suggests a kind of consciousness that is similar to our own. They are sensitive, loving, and humorous, and at times real drama queens, but on the whole are always doing something interesting in relation to one other. What appeals to me most is that they are social, immersed in a web of complex relationships. The more you get to know them as individuals, the more you understand that each elephant has its own unique personality and character, is defined by its life experiences, and relies heavily on the elephants it knows for love and support. All of which is very similar to humans."

"Over the years the women’s voices have been missing from the decision making tables."

"The wildlife authority was established in an era of fences and fines in the ’50s."

"If you make the community feel that you care about them, then there’s less need to fight them."

"Disease transmission goes in both directions."

"People poach because they’re hungry, they have no other alternative."

"I am glad that the One Health approach is being seen as a viable approach to conservation, that’s great."

"It is important to choose a career based on something you truly care about because when the going gets tough, what keeps you going is your passion and purpose. I have found that you will never be able to please everyone all of the time, especially if you want to make a difference and change the world. When you work alone you go fast, when you work with others you go far; I have learnt the importance of teamwork, having a motivated team, and building partnerships with external stakeholders. As a founder of an NGO and social enterprise, I have also learnt to place values ahead of talent when hiring people. On a personal note, I have learnt how important it is to be an authentic leader, and strive to develop a healthy work/life balance. when asked what she wish to know before her career."

"I see myself stepping down from being the CEO of our NGO and social enterprise and devoting more of my time on the Board, spending more time growing as a leader and mentoring my team, and others in my sector. I also see myself spending more time advocating for our approach to a wider audience in Africa and the rest of the world. I am humbled to be a finalist of the 2020 Tällberg Eliasson Global Leadership Prize because of our One Health approach to Conservation. . When she was asked "where do you see yourself in the next 5 years?""

"Both family and friends come to visit every now and then. We’re used to a long-distant social life in Kenya as everyone lives miles apart, so you tend to stay overnight if you go to visit someone. That being said our lives are full of social interaction in Samburu, with many people coming through Camp both from abroad and from the local nomadic communities. . Speaking of family and friends."

"No, when you’re doing something you do it because you have a passion for doing it or you want to see it come to fruition but you’re not necessarily looking beyond that. It certainly has had an impact on people – people as readers, people as writers – because I think there were a lot of people who read that book who wanted to be writers and were influenced by it in one way or another. So, I guess it has had an influence and has a continuing influence; this new anthology demonstrates a continuing link to those writers and that whole literary history of women of African descent who are using words creatively, whether orature, spoken word, speeches, the written word, different genres."

"Sometimes people ask me how long it took me to put that together and I always say that it either took about a couple of years or all my life, depending on how you look at it."

"The internet has made it possible for writers to have greater visibility and to access different parts of their literary history but I don’t think things have necessarily changed so much towards literary responses to black women writers of African descent. Somehow a lot of praise is still kept on a few, as if they have to represent everybody, and they’re the only ones who will actually get that sort of literary accreditation and critical attention."

"It's really just showing that there is more that you could be enjoying, that you could be learning from, that you could be reading."

"It is easy enough to be the first, we can each try something and be the first woman or the first African woman to do X, Y or Z. But, if it’s something worthwhile you don’t want to be the only. …I hope that I can, in any way, inspire someone to do what I have done but learn from my mistakes and do better than I have done."

"It’s really just showing that there is more that you could be enjoying, that you could be learning from, that you could be reading. There are things that could open your mind, that could enlighten you that you have to seek out for yourself because it is not being offered within your formal curriculum."

"If I said to you, put together an anthology of two-hundred women of European descent that would include everyone from Jane Austen to JK Rowling – that would be difficult! You’d have left out a lot of people and that’s the case here: there are two-hundred wonderful contributors but there are many more that could’ve been in it – so it’s something that I’m proud of but something that in a strange way I’m not quite satisfied with. It’s never a question of saying this was a definitive anthology; the first one wasn’t definitive in that way and this one is not. But anyway it’s a start – I’ll do another one maybe."

"I don’t even know when they do that, sometimes I think that they can only think of a few people so they just bung me on! I think it’s an honour to be thought of in those grandiose terms but I’m not living my life with an ambition to be on some list and I’m not even sure that it’s true – but its a great honour!"

"The move aims to highlight the country's artistic and historic treasures, foster communication among categories of society alongside shedding light on contributions of the nation's notable figures."

"The ministry believes in the importance of the role of the museums in spreading cultural and art awareness and to shed light on the art treasures in Egypt. I urge the citizens to visit the museums in this period."

"Opening the museums for free falls within the framework of the Culture Ministry's belief in the key role of museums in raising cultural awareness."