We Should Not Fear to be the Pacesetters

I’m Edith Mecha, a 2019 alumna of the Presidential Precinct’s Global Pathfinder Summit (GPS).

Since I attended the Global Pathfinder Summit last May, my passion for making the world a better place for women has been ignited. Utilizing the skills and lessons from the Summit, I have reorganized Youth Speak, an online forum where I offer motivational and personal development tips to youth and women. I have now been greatly involved in creating awareness around gender-based violence (GBV) and its prevention, online and at a national level.

On returning to Kenya, I joined the GBV Prevention Network which is a group of activists and organizations working to prevent violence against women (VAW) in Africa. Through this network I have been able to participate in the The 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, raising awareness on prevention measures at home, at school, and in the workplace.

Armed with this set of skills, strategies, and networks I also founded an organization called Safe Speak. Our mission is to provide information, safety, and support, prevent violence, and provide hope for victims and survivors of abuse. We envision a society entirely free of violence and abuse. 

Follow this link to learn more about Edith’s work through her Ted-style talk, delivered on the second day of the Global Pathfinder Summit.

So far, we have offered counselling to ten women and have helped them get out of abusive relationships, start healing, and gain hope and confidence to start again. Our planning for this grassroot organization is to create systems that would involve a network of many voices. We aim to fully address the GBV menace targeting at least 10 of the counties where it is most prevalent.

We are overjoyed that in only a few months we have managed to impact numerous lives. As we work to provide this important service alongside many community partners, our efforts mirror the best society can be.

During this week of International Women’s Day, let us remember that each day we have a responsibility to choose to challenge stereotypes, fight bias, broaden perceptions, improve situations, and celebrate women’s achievements. Let us support and believe in one another no matter our capacity. We should not fear to be the pacesetters, raising our voices against any injustices that surround us daily.

Gender-based violence is a primary barrier that prevents girls and women from realizing their true potential in education, at work, socially, politically, and personally. This is our call to action! We have to be more passionate than ever to make the deep and transformative change the world needs to end violence. We need to help the victims and survivors reach a place of hope and regain the confidence to rebuild their lives again – directing them to a counsellor, taking them to a shelter for safety, or donating to institutions assisting GBV victims.

In all of our work, we ought to encourage collaborative solutions, not just within our team but through involvement of entire communities, as we work to proactively mitigate GBV.

Collectively, each one of us can help create a gender-equal world. #EachforEqual

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This article is part of a series of alumnae spotlights in celebration of International Women’s Day in 2020. To read additional spotlights, visit https://presidentialprecinct.org/IWD/