On March 6, 2010, Daughters of Mumbi Network members and our friends joined hundreds of thousands of women around the world who were celebrating 99 years of International Women's Day.  The event had over 100 participants and also included 15 children from the Daughters of Mumbi network.  The global theme for this year’s International Women’s Day was, ‘Equal Rights, Equal Opportunities: Progress for all.’

We had several guest speakers from different walks of lives. Their presentations focused on community participation, community policing and women as leaders in the community

Our guest speaker was, Madam Chief Rahab W. Ngige, Nyathuna Location. Her focus was based on her experience as a leader in her community. She emphasized the role communities should take to enact change in their environment; such as informing the administration on what is going on, supporting the administration in enforcing the laws in areas such as raiding of illegal brews, burglary, domestic violence and in cases of defilement and rape. 

Councillor Walter Ndambo; Kabete Location, expressed his commitment, as an elected official, to work in conjunction with the communities to foster development.

Nduta Muongi, Presenter, COORO FM; discussed the role of the media in informing the public about the workings of the government as well as ensuring the government is doing its job. She explained that the media plays an important role in the society and the people should use it to shine a spotlight on the issues affecting the community.

Kamau Njenga, KETAM/WOFAK; Talked about the need for the community to come together to fight stigma and support those who are infected and affected by the HIV/Aids pandemic. He also gave his testimony of living positively with HIV for 20 years. Informed participants that there were efforts to prevention mother-child HIV infection and invited them to join the campaign when it is launched.

Wangu Kanja, Wangu Kanja Foundation; Also joined the rest of the speakers in highlighting the need of the community to work together to highlight and support victims of gender based violence, especially victims of sexual crimes of rape and defilement. She pointed out the need for community education to inform the public about the necessary post rape care (PRC) steps needed to protect a survivor’s health and preserve evidence that can be used to prosecute the perpetrator(s). She used her example as a survivor of rape to inspire participants to join the fight against sexual violence and stigma against survivors of gender based violence.

Sylvia Njeri, 8 years old, added to the flavor of the day by reciting a poem entitled, ‘I have a point to make...’ She talked about the need for the people to come together, listen to all the positive voices, even children, to better our society.  We were also entertained by Rungiri Youth Group Marching Band, who also had a drama presentation highlighting the effects of patriarchy on women in our society.

The celebration of  International Women’s Day was successful with new allies and participants getting engaged in the effort.