Kakenya Ntaiya: Empower a girl, transform a community
Kakenya Ntaiya: Empoderar a una niña, transformar una comunidad
Kakenya Ntaiya refused to accept the continued oppression of women in her Maasai village -- so she built a school that's shifting gender expectations in her community. Full bio
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I learned something much bigger.
algo mucho más grande.
you transform a community.
transformas una comunidad.
helping my mother cook, clean, farm
a mi madre a cocinar, limpiar, cultivar
a very young age to be married.
para casarme.
a la mutilación genital femenina,
that are used to perform FGM on girls.
utilizadas para la MGF en niñas.
the end of my childhood
marcaba el final de mi infancia
in order to stay in school --
para seguir en la escuela...
my community's support,
to repay that support.
para pagar ese apoyo.
when I went back to my village,
cuando volví a mi pueblo,
sometiendo a la MGF,
to men older than their fathers
con hombres mayores que sus padres
when they're teenagers.
any more girls go through that.
to give back to my community.
que hacer para retribuir a mi comunidad.
and early marriage.
de la MGF y de un matrimonio precoz.
just how big this dream was,
de cuán grande era este sueño,
could be the foundation --
mi escuela podría ser la base...
I enrolled these 30 girls.
inscribí a estas 30 chicas.
otras eran huérfanas
that are very traditional,
de familias muy tradicionales,
a las niñas a la escuela.
seemed excited to be there,
emocionadas de estar allí,
para mantenerse despiertas.
en el camino,
but they had no energy.
pero no tenían energía.
de que tenían hambre.
un cocinero y comida.
that a classroom was not enough.
un aula no era suficiente,
and hungry from chores
y hambrientas de las tareas domésticas
a la escuela y de regreso a casa,
raped and even kidnapped
asaltadas, violadas e incluso secuestradas
could learn math or history,
pueda aprender matemáticas o historia,
and be well-nourished.
y estar bien alimentada.
algunas de mis chicas.
family in the community.
muy tradicional en la comunidad.
gone through FGM and already married,
pasado por MGF y ya se había casado,
when she heard about it.
cuando se enteró.
a su padre, a su madre...
and we enrolled her in my school.
la inscribimos en mi escuela.
was only just the start.
fue solo el comienzo.
necesitaba medicinas,
who already believed in her.
que ya creían en ella.
who dreams of becoming a pilot someday,
sueña con convertirse en piloto un día,
will follow in her footsteps.
the global economy trillions of dollars
billones de dólares a la economía mundial.
is the doctor, the teacher,
será la médica, la maestra,
will need in the future ...
necesitarán en el futuro...
lift out of poverty.
pueden ayudarnos a salir de la pobreza.
to go to university,
para ir a la universidad,
soñar o tener un sueño,
all by myself.
who helped me more than a decade ago.
me ayudaron hace más de una década.
if I was going to be successful.
si quería tener éxito.
with religious leaders, parents
con líderes religiosos, padres
and in the community
en el gobierno y en la comunidad
the support of the chief
el apoyo del jefe
the no-FGM policy in my school.
la política de no MGF en mi escuela.
did not believe in the education of girls.
en la educación de las niñas.
and brought her to enroll in my school,
y la llevó a inscribirse en mi escuela,
to get Momposhi to believe in Linet, too.
que Momposhi también creyera en Linet.
of revealing Linet's grade
de revelar el grado de Linet
his daughter being promising as a student.
era una estudiante prometedora.
a strong relationship with his daughter --
una fuerte relación con su hija,
as someone with full potential.
como alguien con pleno potencial.
mejores escuelas secundarias nacionales
in one of the top national high schools
and how smart his daughter was.
lo inteligente que era su hija.
to the new school himself.
had ever been to Nairobi.
de ellos estaba en Nairobi.
at university in Australia --
en la universidad en Australia...
advocate in the community.
en la comunidad.
in one of our training programs.
nuestros programas de entrenamiento.
in the education of their own children.
en la educación de sus propias hijas.
are the proud keepers
las cuidadoras orgullosas
and embrace our rich Maasai culture.
y abrazaran nuestra rica cultura masái.
do story time with the girls,
narran cuentos con las niñas,
our community remains connected.
nuestra comunidad permanezca conectada.
mindset as their fathers before them?
mentalidad que sus padres antes?
called I'm Worth Defending:
la organización I'm Worth Defending:
led by Alfred and George.
liderados por Alfred y George.
a training program for boys and girls
de capacitación para niños y niñas
asistir a mi escuela,
about gender equality,
sobre la igualdad de género,
over 10,000 boys and girls and counting.
10 000 niños y niñas y seguimos sumando.
to make this kind of a dream come true.
para hacer realidad este tipo de sueño.
have not gone through FGM
no han pasado por la MGF
of women have been cut.
de las mujeres han sido mutiladas.
their cousins and their friends.
en la nueva normalidad.
by the same, same community --
por la misma comunidad,
communities mean to Kenya?
comunidades para Kenia?
from organizations
representantes de organizaciones.
a mejorar las comunidades.
have the same opportunities,
tuvieran las mismas oportunidades,
like Enoosaen are thriving
como Enoosaen prosperaran
tuvieran oportunidades.
that each daughter is a treasure,
a ver que cada hija es un tesoro,
see that value in herself.
a ver ese valor en sí misma.
to what that future will cost.
to my school will be a PhD,
a mi escuela se doctorarán,
will achieve her full potential
su máximo potencial
for her children
by what I learned from them
por lo que aprendí de ellos.
out of Enoosaen and back again.
fuera de Enoosaen y de vuelta.
dreaming and keep going
achieve their dreams
logran sus sueños.
give every single woman
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kakenya Ntaiya - Educator and activistKakenya Ntaiya refused to accept the continued oppression of women in her Maasai village -- so she built a school that's shifting gender expectations in her community.
Why you should listen
Kakenya Ntaiya was set to follow the traditional path of girls born in the small village of Enoosaen, Kenya. Engaged at the age of 5, she was to participate in a female circumcision ceremony as a young teenager and then be married. But she had a different plan. First, she negotiated with her father and willingly agree to be circumcised -- only if he would allow her to finish high school. Later, when she was accepted to Randolph-Macon Women's College in Viriginia, she negotiated with her village elders to do what no girl had ever done before: leave her village to go to college in the United States.
She didn’t leave forever, though. Deeply proud of her heritage and of her community, Ntaiya returned to the village after school and worked with her elders to establish a school for girls there. The Kakenya Center for Excellence was established in 2009 with 32 students. A primary grade boarding school just for girls, the curriculum focuses on academics, leadership and female empowerment, along with cultural preservation and life skills. While families that can afford tuition do, Ntaiya also works with donors to provide scholarships for others.
In addition to her work with the school, Ntaiya is also a National Geographic emerging explorer.
Kakenya Ntaiya | Speaker | TED.com