Kakenya Ntaiya: Empower a girl, transform a community
Kakenya Ntaiya: Empodere uma menina e transforme uma comunidade
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.
é preciso educá-las.
I learned something much bigger.
aprendi algo muito maior:
you transform a community.
transformamos uma comunidade.
num pequeno vilarejo chamado Enoosaen.
a cozinhar, limpar, cultivar
helping my mother cook, clean, farm
a very young age to be married.
visando ao casamento.
genital feminina,
usados nesse procedimento.
that are used to perform FGM on girls.
o fim da infância
the end of my childhood
o fim da minha educação.
in order to stay in school --
mesmo após passar pela MGF.
my community's support,
da minha comunidade,
to repay that support.
para retribuir o apoio.
quando voltei ao meu vilarejo,
when I went back to my village,
to men older than their fathers
mais velhos do que seus pais
when they're teenagers.
any more girls go through that.
nenhuma menina passar por isso.
to give back to my community.
para retribuir à minha comunidade.
and early marriage.
da MGF e do casamento precoce.
eu esperava umas dez meninas.
just how big this dream was,
could be the foundation --
poderia ser o alicerce,
I enrolled these 30 girls.
matriculei essas 30 meninas.
outras eram órfãs,
that are very traditional,
muito tradicionais
frequentado escola.
seemed excited to be there,
de ficarem acordadas.
estava sendo construída,
mas não tinham energia.
but they had no energy.
comida e uma cozinheira.
não eram o bastante.
that a classroom was not enough.
and hungry from chores
e com fome por causa de tarefas domésticas
indo e voltando da escola,
raped and even kidnapped
atacadas, estupradas
matemática ou história,
could learn math or history,
and be well-nourished.
e bem alimentadas.
das minhas meninas.
family in the community.
bastante tradicional da comunidade.
gone through FGM and already married,
submetida à MGF e se casado,
when she heard about it.
quando ouviu falar dela.
a todos que pudessem levá-la até lá,
e comprou um lápis.
para tentar se matricular.
and we enrolled her in my school.
e a matriculei em minha escola.
era apenas o primeiro passo.
was only just the start.
de medicamentos, de aconselhamento,
who already believed in her.
que acreditavam nela.
who dreams of becoming a pilot someday,
sonha ser pilota um dia.
will follow in her footsteps.
seguirão o seu exemplo.
the global economy trillions of dollars
custará à economia global
ao longo dos próximos 15 anos.
is the doctor, the teacher,
para o meu vilarejo
homens vão precisar no futuro,
will need in the future ...
lift out of poverty.
podem nos ajudar a sair da pobreza.
to go to university,
para ir pra universidade,
ou ter um sonho,
all by myself.
who helped me more than a decade ago.
me ajudado mais de dez anos antes.
if I was going to be successful.
do apoio deles para ter sucesso.
with religious leaders, parents
e alguns professores de outras escolas.
and in the community
no governo e na comunidade
the support of the chief
do apoio do chefe do vilarejo
the no-FGM policy in my school.
a política anti-MGF em minha escola.
did not believe in the education of girls.
não acreditava na educação de meninas.
nunca havia frequentado a escola.
and brought her to enroll in my school,
e a levou para se matricular na escola,
to get Momposhi to believe in Linet, too.
de fazer Momposhi acreditar nela também.
of revealing Linet's grade
de mostrar as notas de Linet
his daughter being promising as a student.
que sua filha era uma aluna promissora.
a strong relationship with his daughter --
sua relação com sua filha,
as someone with full potential.
como uma pessoa cheia de potencial.
escolas secundárias do país,
in one of the top national high schools
and how smart his daughter was.
e o quanto ela era inteligente.
to the new school himself.
had ever been to Nairobi.
haviam ido a Nairóbi.
at university in Australia --
numa universidade na Austrália...
advocate in the community.
defensor na comunidade.
in one of our training programs.
in the education of their own children.
de suas próprias filhas.
are the proud keepers
das nossas histórias e cultura,
and embrace our rich Maasai culture.
e abraçassem a rica cultura massai.
de contação de histórias com as meninas,
do story time with the girls,
our community remains connected.
nossa comunidade unida.
mindset as their fathers before them?
com a mesma mentalidade de seus pais?
não mudaria muita coisa.
called I'm Worth Defending:
chamada "I'm Worth Defending",
led by Alfred and George.
coordenados por Alfred e George.
a training program for boys and girls
para meninos e meninas
about gender equality,
sobre igualdade de gênero,
e meninas, e continuamos crescendo.
over 10,000 boys and girls and counting.
to make this kind of a dream come true.
pra realizar esse tipo de sonho.
have not gone through FGM
submetidas à MGF em meu vilarejo,
of women have been cut.
das mulheres são mutiladas.
their cousins and their friends.
a nova realidade,
by the same, same community --
pela mesma comunidade...
communities mean to Kenya?
significa para o Quênia?
visitou o Quênia em 2015,
from organizations
representantes de organizações
have the same opportunities,
tenham as mesmas oportunidades,
like Enoosaen are thriving
como Enoosaen sejam prósperas
todos os seus membros,
que cada filha é um tesouro,
that each daughter is a treasure,
see that value in herself.
a enxergar esse valor em si mesma...
to what that future will cost.
esse futuro trará.
to my school will be a PhD,
em minha escola se tornará doutora,
will achieve her full potential
desenvolverá seu pleno potencial
for her children
by what I learned from them
no que aprendi com elas
out of Enoosaen and back again.
a deixar Enoosaen e a voltar para lá.
dreaming and keep going
achieve their dreams
realizem seus sonhos
give every single woman
proporcionem a cada mulher
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