2010 VOF Week 2

I initially joined the World Pulse website purely out of boredom and again, I am unsure of how I even got to this website although on an average day I do a lot of online research in my job. However, going through various journals of numerous friends online and getting to share my own experiences has been quite something. I am now more involved and I log in every single day just to catch-up on what other people are saying! “My name is Naomie and I am a new Pulse Wire junkie!” This week I have connected with a pal from Barbados its fascinating just hearing about the different cultures.

I have been searching for my purpose. I must admit I am one of those people who has been brought up in a fairly smooth sailing average life in Nairobi and have been blessed that nothing earth shattering per se has ever happened to me. I have been waiting for my "burning bush moment" from God where he'll reveal what my purpose is. But I have become a tad wiser over the years and now realize I will only find my true calling when I pray about it and try different things at the same time. I do know in my bones that I am passionate about women empowerment. I would love to see women in my country able to support them selves, able to realize when they are in an abusive relationship and take action, able to know that even the girl child must also be sent to school because education is power, above all able to know her rights as a woman. I am gaining a better understanding of how I can make my personal vision a reality and change the lives of women and children. I am looking forward to some day starting a social enterprise project that will allow women to become self sustainable, that they should not always feel like failures in their lives just because they do not provide any monetary contributions to their families.

My personal vision is to also work more with rural women. I feel that some are marginalized to the extent that some times they literally have no clue of what is happening in the rest of Kenya, what changes are happening that will affect them or who the President is. Women also sometimes remain in the most heart wrenching of situations merely because they don’t know what to do. I believe social enterprise is also key in poverty eradication. There are parts of our very beautiful nation that constantly receive donor funds. The donor money is great but truth be told if the donors cannot teach the "fishermen to fish" then it’s a very weak cause. Women can also be income generators for their families, and on average they are fairly more hard working than men. “Oh my, did I just become a feminist?”

2010 VOF Week 2