Female leaders from different corners of Nyanza were feted this past Saturday at the inaugural Women of Heart Foundation Golden Awards for exceptional work within their communities.
The Women of Heart Foundation (WOHF) is a UK non-profit organization that seeks to empower and connect women globally; spread across various Caribbean and African countries, partnering locally with Armstrong Women Empowerment Centre.
Desiree Richardson, the founder of WOHF, described her entry into non-profit work, beginning with volunteering and later on focusing on helping women achieve their goals.
“I started volunteering in university and worked with organizations such as Have a Heart Appeal UK. Eventually, my efforts were recognized and I was appointed Global UNICEF Ambassador, where I advocated for child rights,” she explained.
The Guest of Honour for the night Mrs. Nereah Oketch, winner of the first Miss President Reality show in Kenya, spoke of her challenges before she got to where she was.
“I know what struggle is, my life has not always taken an upward trajectory. I was once a 17-year-old single mother and later on a 21-year-old housewife. At that time, I wasn’t sure how my life would turn out,” said Oketch.
The Homa Bay County MCA also touched on the importance of women working together and shunning pettiness and likeability politics.
“We need to learn to form partnerships as women so we can move forward together. You don’t have to like another woman to work with her but what can you accomplish together,” she said.
Easter Achieng, Executive Director and Programs Coordinator of Kenya Female Advisory Organization (KEFEADO), built on Nereah’s sentiments asking the women in the room to learn to disrupt spaces.
“We must disrupt spaces that are exclusionary, only then can we uplift all women. We are fragmented and competing within the spaces we hold instead of coming together,” she said.
The women awarded that night included:
- Caroline Odera – Women in Sustainable Enterprise
- Akinyi Awuora – Jiwo Paro
- Florence Otieno – Rongo Widows and Orphans
- Rose Oyoo – Greenzone
- Mercy Odondo – Gender Dialogues
- Mary Aoko- Marido Fabrics
- Benta Ger – Tree Globe
- Winnie Anyango – Winitap
- Winnie Ogot- Artisana
- Easter Ochieng – KEFEADO
- Elva Rebecca Ondiek – Armstrong Women Empowerment Center
- Nereah Oketch – Ms. President 2019
- Apuoyo Biggy
Closing the ceremony, Armstrong Women Empowerment Centre Director, Elva Ondiek, encouraged the women in the room to connect and form partnerships.
“The purpose of these awards is not only to recognize what has been but what could be done in the future. It would be a great disservice to us all if great ideas and initiatives weren’t formed as a result of our meeting today,” she said.
