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Postcard from Kenya   
CEDPA’s Senior Advisor for Advocacy, Crystal Lander, visited Nairobi, Kenya as part of a CEDPA regional workshop from the Advancing Women’s Leadership and Advocacy for AIDS Action workshop series. Below she shares her experience at a reception in honor of the workshop participants. Honoring Women Leaders in Nairobi April 30, 2008 – On one of my last evenings in Nairobi, I had the honor of organizing a reception in honor of 23 women leaders working on the frontlines of AIDS throughout Africa. The reception was co-sponsored by the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA) and the Kenyan Caucus for Women’s Leadership. More than 125 people joined me and the women leaders from all walks of life in Nairobi. Guests included members of the Kenyan parliament, members of the Nairobi City Council and representatives from international and local NGOs, such as Young Women Campaign Against AIDS, Woman Fighting AIDS in Kenya, IPAS, UNFPA and PEPFAR. Also in attendance were members of the Kenyan press and CEDPA alumni. The evening began with a brilliant performance by the Kenyan dance ensemble Shades Classics. This talented group of young people emerged from Kibera, one of Africa’s biggest slums. The troupe uses dance to preach the dangers of HIV/AIDS across Kenya. Ms. Asiyo then welcomed the U.S. Deputy Chief of Mission in Kenya, Pamela Slutz, who spoke of the U.S. government’s commitment to ending the HIV/AIDS situation in Africa. She marveled at how inspiring it was to be in the company of such amazing women in the forefront of the fight against HIV. Also speaking that night were Beth Wambui Mugo, Minister of Public Health and Sanitation in Kenya, and Jesam Nwaigbo, a GIPA Advisor for Journalists Against AIDS (JAAIDS) Nigeria and one of the honorees. I was especially touched by Jesam’s spirit as she came to the stage. She had been quite nervous all week about speaking but, as she took the stage, she led the audience in reading CEDPA’s declaration, ‘When women move forward, the world moves with them’. She then went forward to speak about her personal struggle with HIV/AIDS and how she was speaking out because she wanted to help other women protect themselves against the disease. Jesam and the 22 other women leaders were in Nairobi for a four-week program to exchange best practices and learn cutting-edge technical and programmatic information for more effective HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment, care and support. They are participants in a program, Advancing Women’s Leadership and Advocacy for AIDS Action, that has been launched to put women and girls at the center of efforts to halt HIV and fight AIDS. Funded by the Ford Foundation, the program is led by the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA). The evening was brought to an end by another fabulous performance by Shades Classic. This was a wonderful opportunity for the workshop participants and CEDPA to share their work with policy makers and NGOs in Nairobi and beyond. I was so very glad I was able to meet these amazing women and share this wonderful evening with them. |
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Once everyone’s spirits were energized by the jaw-dropping abilities of the dancers, the Honorable 
