Kakenya Ntaiya: Empower a girl, transform a community
Kakenya Ntaiya: Date potere a una bambina, trasformerete una comunità
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
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
I learned something much bigger.
si trasforma una comunità.
you transform a community.
helping my mother cook, clean, farm
a cucinare, pulire, coltivare la terra
a very young age to be married.
quando ero molto giovane.
dei genitali femminili,
that are used to perform FGM on girls.
usati per praticare la MGF alle bambine.
the end of my childhood
la fine della mia infanzia
per poter continuare la scuola
in order to stay in school --
my community's support,
della mia comunità,
to repay that support.
per ripagare quell'aiuto.
when I went back to my village,
una volta tornata al villaggio
to men older than their fathers
più vecchi dei loro padri
when they're teenagers.
any more girls go through that.
to give back to my community.
restituire qualcosa alla mia comunità.
and early marriage.
alla MGF e ai matrimoni precoci.
just how big this dream was,
quanto fosse grande il mio sogno
could be the foundation --
poteva essere l'inizio,
I enrolled these 30 girls.
accettai queste 30 bambine.
altre erano orfane
that are very traditional,
da famiglie molto tradizionali,
le figlie a scuola.
seemed excited to be there,
felici di essere a scuola,
but they had no energy.
ma non avevano energie.
that a classroom was not enough.
non era sufficiente.
and hungry from chores
stanche per i lavori di casa
per andare e tornare da scuola,
raped and even kidnapped
aggredite, stuprate e persino rapite
could learn math or history,
matematica o storia,
and be well-nourished.
di alcune delle mie bambine.
family in the community.
molto tradizionale della comunità.
gone through FGM and already married,
aveva subito la MGF ed era già sposata,
when she heard about it.
e voleva frequentarla.
per iscriversi.
and we enrolled her in my school.
e la iscrissi alla mia scuola.
was only just the start.
who already believed in her.
che credevano già in lei.
who dreams of becoming a pilot someday,
è felice e sogna di diventare pilota.
will follow in her footsteps.
seguiranno i suoi passi.
costeranno migliaia di miliardi di dollari
the global economy trillions of dollars
is the doctor, the teacher,
il mio villaggio di dottori, insegnanti,
will need in the future ...
avranno bisogno in futuro:
lift out of poverty.
possono aiutarci ad uscire dalla povertà.
to go to university,
per andare all'università,
all by myself.
who helped me more than a decade ago.
aiutato una decina di anni prima.
if I was going to be successful.
per riuscire nel mio intento.
with religious leaders, parents
formato da capi religiosi, genitori
and in the community
nel governo e nella comunità
a portare avanti il mio obiettivo.
the support of the chief
il sostegno del capo
the no-FGM policy in my school.
la MGF nella mia scuola.
did not believe in the education of girls.
riteneva inutile istruire le bambine.
non era mai andato a scuola.
and brought her to enroll in my school,
e la iscrisse alla mia scuola.
to get Momposhi to believe in Linet, too.
che anche Momposhi credesse in Linet.
of revealing Linet's grade
i voti di Linet,
his daughter being promising as a student.
era una studentessa promettente.
a strong relationship with his daughter --
un forte legame tra lui e la figlia,
as someone with full potential.
tutto il suo potenziale.
delle migliori scuole superiori del paese
in one of the top national high schools
and how smart his daughter was.
e quanto sua figlia fosse intelligente.
to the new school himself.
alla nuova scuola.
had ever been to Nairobi.
at university in Australia --
l'università in Australia
advocate in the community.
sostenitore nella comunità.
in one of our training programs.
corso di formazione.
in the education of their own children.
nell'educazione dei propri figli.
are the proud keepers
sono le orgogliose custodi
e della nostra cultura.
and embrace our rich Maasai culture.
ed abbracciassero la ricca cultura Masai.
do story time with the girls,
our community remains connected.
per mantenere unita la comunità.
a lavorare coi bambini!
mindset as their fathers before them?
con la stessa mentalità dei loro padri?
called I'm Worth Defending:
di I'm Worth Defending, un'organizzazione
led by Alfred and George.
guidata da Alfred e George.
a training program for boys and girls
formativo per bambini e bambine
about gender equality,
essenziale su parità di genere,
over 10,000 boys and girls and counting.
bambini e bambine, per ora.
to make this kind of a dream come true.
per realizzare sogni come questi.
have not gone through FGM
of women have been cut.
delle donne è stata infibulata.
their cousins and their friends.
le cugine e le amiche.
by the same, same community --
communities mean to Kenya?
cambiare le comunità per il Kenya?
ha visitato il Kenya nel 2015
from organizations
i rappresentanti di organizzazioni
have the same opportunities,
hanno pari opportunità,
like Enoosaen are thriving
possono prosperare
hanno delle opportunità.
that each daughter is a treasure,
che ogni figlia è un tesoro,
see that value in herself.
a riconoscere il proprio valore.
to what that future will cost.
to my school will be a PhD,
otterranno un dottorato,
will achieve her full potential
il proprio completo potenziale
for her children
by what I learned from them
da ciò che ho imparato da loro
out of Enoosaen and back again.
da Enoosaen per farmi tornare.
una nuova promessa a voi,
alle mie sorelle e ai miei amici.
dreaming and keep going
achieve their dreams
e Faith non realizzeranno i loro sogni
give every single woman
permettano a ogni donna
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