ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Teresa Njoroge - Criminal and social justice reform advocate
At Clean Start Kenya, Teresa Njoroge builds bridges connecting the formerly imprisoned to the outside world and vice versa.

Why you should listen

Teresa Njoroge is the cofounder and CEO of Clean Start Kenya. She was pursuing her childhood dream, a career in banking, when she was falsely accused of a fraudulent transaction. Sentenced to imprisonment in the High Security Langata Women’s Maximum Prison, Njoroge was forced to bring her three-month-old baby with her.

What began as a loss of career and social standing led to her purpose in life, advocating for Kenyan women, youth and men trapped in a cycle of poverty, survival, petty crimes and life behind bars and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills, jobs and formal education. Later cleared of any wrongdoing, Njoroge is now a beacon of hope and second chances to thousands, with her mission to build up the bottom-of-the-pyramid economy and an inclusive Africa. As she writes: "I am an optimistic, self-driven social entrepreneur with over a decade of progressive experience in economic and social justice work, in my journey from 'I can do it' to 'I did it'!"

More profile about the speaker
Teresa Njoroge | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2017

Teresa Njoroge: What I learned serving time for a crime I didn't commit

泰瑞莎喬洛格: 我從冤獄的日子學到了什麼

Filmed:
1,361,792 views

2011 年,泰瑞莎喬洛格因為她沒有犯的金融犯罪被定罪──這是她的家鄉肯亞的一連串虛假指控、嘗試賄賂、以及腐敗司法體制所造成的結果。入獄後,她發現和她關在一起的大部份女子和女孩也是同樣出問題之體制下的受害者,陷入進出監獄的人生循環中,只因為她們沒有錢受教育且缺乏經濟機會。喬洛格現在已經自由了,上訴法庭也還了她清白,她來分享她如何給獄中的女子技能、工具、和支持,讓她們得以打破貧窮和犯罪的循環,建立更好的人生。
- Criminal and social justice reform advocate
At Clean Start Kenya, Teresa Njoroge builds bridges connecting the formerly imprisoned to the outside world and vice versa. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:12
When I heard聽說 those bars酒吧
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當我聽到牢門
00:16
slam猛撞 hard,
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重重地關上,
00:20
I knew知道 it was for real真實.
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我知道這是真的發生了。
00:23
I feel confused困惑.
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我覺得很困惑。
00:26
I feel betrayed背叛.
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我覺得被背叛了。
00:29
I feel overwhelmed不堪重負.
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我覺得無法招架。
00:33
I feel silenced沉默.
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我覺得被奪去了聲音。
00:37
What just happened發生?
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剛發生了什麼事?
00:40
How could they send發送 me here?
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他們怎麼能把我送到這裡?
00:44
I don't belong屬於 here.
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我不屬於這裡。
00:47
How could they make such這樣 a huge巨大 mistake錯誤
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他們怎麼可以犯這麼大的錯誤
00:51
without any repercussions反響
whatsoever任何 to their actions行動?
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不計後果的做出這些行為?
00:57
I see large groups of women婦女
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我看到一大群女人,
01:00
in tattered破爛 uniforms制服
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穿著破爛的制服,
01:02
surrounded包圍 by huge巨大 walls牆壁 and gates,
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周圍都是高牆和大門,
01:07
enclosed封閉 by iron barbed帶刺 wires電線,
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被鐵絲籬網包圍著,
01:10
and I get hit擊中 by an awful可怕 stench惡臭,
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我聞到一陣惡臭,
01:14
and I ask myself,
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我問我自己,
01:17
how did I move移動
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我是怎麼從在
01:20
from working加工 in the respected尊敬
financial金融 banking銀行業 sector扇形,
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原本被人景仰的金融銀行部門工作,
01:26
having worked工作 so hard in school學校,
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並且在學校非常努力的過去,
01:30
to now being存在 locked鎖定 up
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淪落到被關在
01:32
in the largest最大 correctional懲教 facility設施
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肯亞最大的女子監獄?
01:35
for women婦女 in Kenya肯尼亞?
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01:39
My first night
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我在蘭加塔女子最高安全級別
監獄的第一個晚上,
01:41
at LangataLangata Women婦女 Maximum最大 Security安全 Prison監獄
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01:45
was the toughest最艱難的.
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是最難熬的。
01:48
In January一月 of 2009,
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2009 年 1 月,
01:51
I was informed通知 that I had handled處理
a fraudulent騙人的 transaction交易 unknowingly不知
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我被通知我在我工作的銀行裡,
01:56
at the bank銀行 where I worked工作.
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無心地經手了一項詐欺交易。
01:58
I was shocked吃驚, scared害怕 and terrified.
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我很震驚、害怕、恐懼,
02:03
I would lose失去 a career事業
that I loved喜愛 passionately熱情.
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我會失去我非常熱愛的職業。
02:09
But that was not the worst最差.
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但那不是最糟的。
02:12
It got even worse更差
than I could have ever imagined想像.
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情況糟到我完全無法想像。
02:17
I got arrested被捕,
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我被逮捕,
02:20
maliciously惡意 charged帶電
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被惡意指控,
02:22
and prosecuted起訴.
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被起訴。
02:26
The absurdity荒謬 of it all
was the arresting逮捕 officer
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最荒謬的是,逮捕我的警官
02:31
asking me to pay工資 him 10,000 US dollars美元
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要我付他 $10,000 美金,
02:36
and the case案件 would disappear消失.
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這樣案子就會消失。
02:39
I refused拒絕.
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我拒絕了。
02:42
Two and a half years年份 on,
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之後兩年半,
02:45
in and out of courts法院,
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我不斷進出法庭,
02:47
fighting戰鬥 to prove證明 my innocence無辜.
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拼命證明我的無辜。
02:50
It was all over the media媒體,
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媒體都在報導,
02:53
in the newspapers報紙, TV電視, radio無線電.
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包括報紙、電視、廣播。
02:57
They came來了 to me again.
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他們又來找我。
03:00
This time around, said to me,
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這次,他們對我說:
03:03
"If you give us 50,000 US dollars美元,
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「如果你給我們 $50,000 美金,
03:09
the judgement判斷 will be in your favor偏愛,"
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判決就會站在你這邊。」
03:13
irrespective不管 of the fact事實
that there was no evidence證據 whatsoever任何
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即使沒有任何證據顯示
在我被指控的這件事中
03:18
that I had any wrongdoing壞事
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我有做錯任何事,
03:20
on the charges收費 that I was up against反對.
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他們還是這樣索求。
03:25
I remember記得 the events事件
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我清楚記得
03:27
of my conviction定罪
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我六年前
03:29
six years年份 ago
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被定罪的那個時刻,
03:32
as if it were yesterday昨天.
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彷彿昨天才發生。
03:35
The cold, hard face面對 of the judge法官
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法官帶著冷漠無情的面孔
03:38
as she pronounced宣判 my sentence句子
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宣布我的判刑,
03:41
on a cold Thursday星期四 morning早上
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在那個寒冷的星期二早上,
03:45
for a crime犯罪 that I hadn't有沒有 committed提交.
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我因為我沒犯的罪而被判刑。
03:49
I remember記得 holding保持
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我記得我抱著
03:51
my three-month-old三個月大的 beautiful美麗 daughter女兒
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三個月大的美麗女兒,
03:55
whom I had just named命名 OmaOMA,
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我剛幫她取名為歐瑪,
03:58
which哪一個 in my dialect方言
means手段 "truth真相 and justice正義,"
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在我的方言中,歐瑪意謂著
「真相和正義」,
04:02
as that was what I had longed渴望 so much for
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因為我在這段時間當中,
極度渴求的就是真相和正義。
04:07
all this time.
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04:09
I dressed連衣裙的 her in her
favorite喜愛 purple紫色 dress連衣裙,
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我幫她穿上她最喜歡的紫色衣服,
04:13
and here she was, about to accompany me
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她就在這裡,準備要陪伴我
04:17
to serve服務 this one-year一年 sentence句子
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去服一年的刑,去坐牢。
04:20
behind背後 bars酒吧.
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04:24
The guards衛士 did not seem似乎
sensitive敏感 to the trauma外傷
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警衛似乎對這次經驗給我帶來的傷害
04:28
that this experience經驗 was causing造成 me.
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沒有任何敏感度。
04:32
My dignity尊嚴 and humanity人性 disappeared消失
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在入獄的過程中,
我的人性尊嚴消失殆盡。
04:37
with the admission入場 process處理.
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04:41
It involved參與 me being存在
searched搜索 for contrabands違禁品,
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過程中我被搜身找有沒有違禁品,
04:46
changed from my ordinary普通 clothes衣服
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我平時的服裝被換成了
04:50
to the prison監獄 uniform制服,
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監獄制服,
04:51
forced被迫 to squat on the ground地面,
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被迫蹲在地上,
04:55
a posture姿勢 that I soon不久 came來了 to learn學習
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我很快就學到,這個姿勢
04:59
would form形成 the routine常規
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會是例行的動作,
05:01
of the thousands數千 of searches搜索,
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將來我要面對的,
05:05
number counts計數,
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還有數千次的搜身,
05:06
that lay鋪設 ahead of me.
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以及報數。
05:11
The women婦女 told me,
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那裡的女人告訴我:
05:13
"You'll你會 adjust調整 to this place地點.
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「你會適應這個地方。
05:16
You'll你會 fit適合 right in."
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你會融入的。」
05:19
I was no longer referred簡稱 to
as Teresa鄧麗君 Njoroge恩喬羅格.
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我不再被稱為泰瑞莎喬洛格。
05:23
The number 415/11 was my new identity身分,
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我的新身份是 415/11 號,
05:28
and I soon不久 learned學到了 that was
the case案件 with the other women婦女
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我很快就了解,
在這個地方的其他女子也都一樣。
05:31
who we were sharing分享 this space空間 with.
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05:36
And adjust調整 I did to life on the inside:
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我適應了監獄裡的生活:
05:40
the prison監獄 food餐飲,
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監獄食物、
05:43
the prison監獄 language語言,
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監獄語言、
05:45
the prison監獄 life.
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監獄人生。
05:47
Prison監獄 is certainly當然 no fairytale童話 world世界.
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監獄肯定不是童話世界。
05:54
What I didn't see come my way
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我沒料到會遇上的,
05:57
was the women婦女 and children孩子
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是女人和孩子,
06:01
whom we served提供服務 time and shared共享 space空間 with,
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我們一起服刑、共用空間,
06:07
women婦女 who had been imprisoned囚禁
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女人被囚禁,
06:11
for crimes犯罪 of the system系統,
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是因為體制的犯罪,
06:14
the corruption腐敗 that requires要求 a fall秋季 guy,
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腐敗貪汙需要有替死鬼,
06:20
a scapegoat替罪羊,
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代罪羔羊,
06:22
so that the person who is responsible主管
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這麼一來,該負責的人
06:25
could go free自由,
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才能逍遙法外,
06:27
a broken破碎 system系統 that routinely常規
vilifies詆毀 the vulnerable弱勢,
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有問題的體制去誹謗脆弱的人,
是司空見慣的事,
06:34
the poorest最窮 amongst其中包括 us,
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受害的是最貧窮的人,
06:36
people who cannot不能 afford給予 to pay工資 bail保釋
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他們無法負擔保釋費用
06:39
or bribes行賄.
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或賄賂。
06:43
And so we moved移動 on.
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所以我們繼續走下去。
06:46
As I listened聽了 to story故事 after story故事
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我傾聽了近七百位女子
06:49
of these close to 700 women婦女
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一個又一個的故事,
06:52
during that one year in prison監獄,
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在監獄的一年中,
06:57
I soon不久 realized實現 that crime犯罪
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我很快就了解到,
07:01
was not what had brought
these women婦女 to prison監獄,
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這些女人不是因為犯罪而入獄,
07:06
most of them,
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大部份女人不是,
07:08
far from it.
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且差得很遠。
07:11
It had started開始 with the education教育 system系統,
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打從教育體制開始就有問題,
07:16
whose誰的 supply供應 and quality質量
is not equal等於 for all;
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其供給和品質並非人人平等的;
07:22
lack缺乏 of economic經濟 opportunities機會
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缺乏經濟機會,
07:26
that pushes these women婦女
to petty小氣 survival生存 crimes犯罪;
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逼著這些女子為了生存
去做小規模的犯罪;
07:31
the health健康 system系統,
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健康體制、
07:33
social社會 justice正義 system系統,
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社會正義體制、
07:35
the criminal刑事 justice正義 system系統.
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刑事司法體制,
07:37
If any of these women婦女,
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如果這些大多
07:40
who were mostly大多 from poor較差的 backgrounds背景,
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來自貧窮背景的女子,
07:43
fall秋季 through通過 the cracks裂縫
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掉進已經出問題的體制細縫中,
07:46
in the already已經 broken破碎 system系統,
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07:49
the bottom底部 of that chasm裂口 is a prison監獄,
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那等在下面的,就是入獄,
07:52
period.
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就這樣。
07:56
By the time I completed完成
my one-year一年 sentence句子
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我在蘭加塔女子最高安全級別監獄
07:59
at LangataLangata Women婦女 Maximum最大 Prison監獄,
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服完了一年的刑之後,
08:03
I had a burning燃燒 conviction定罪
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我有著非常強烈的信念,
08:06
to be part部分 of the transformation轉型
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要成為轉變的一部份,
08:10
to resolve解決 the injustices不公正
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去消除那些我目擊的不公平,
08:13
that I had witnessed目擊
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08:15
of women婦女 and girls女孩
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有女人、有女孩,
08:16
who were caught抓住 up in a revolving旋轉 door
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她們被捲入了循環,
08:19
of a life in and out of prison監獄
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一生都在進出監獄,
08:22
due應有 to poverty貧窮.
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只因為貧窮。
08:25
After my release發布,
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我被釋放後,
08:27
I set up Clean清潔 Start開始.
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我成立了「Clean Start」
(清白的開始)。
08:30
Clean清潔 Start開始 is a social社會 enterprise企業
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「Clean Start」是一間社會企業,
08:33
that seeks尋求 to give these women婦女 and girls女孩
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旨在給這些女子和女孩
08:36
a second第二 chance機會.
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第二次機會。
08:39
What we do is we build建立 bridges橋樑 for them.
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我們所做的,是為她們搭起橋樑。
08:42
We go into the prisons監獄, train培養 them,
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我們到監獄去訓練她們,
08:45
give them skills技能, tools工具 and support支持
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給她們技能、工具、和支持,
08:48
to enable啟用 them to be able能夠
to change更改 their mindsets心態,
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讓她們能夠改變她們的心態、
08:52
their behaviors行為 and their attitudes態度.
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她們的行為、她們的態度。
08:55
We also build建立 bridges橋樑 into the prisons監獄
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我們也從企業部門
08:59
from the corporate企業 sector扇形 --
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搭起進入監獄的橋樑,
09:01
individuals個人, organizations組織
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和願與「Clean Start」
合作的個人、組織結合,
09:04
that will partner夥伴 with Clean清潔 Start開始
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09:06
to enable啟用 us to provide提供 employment僱用,
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讓我們能提供工作機會、
09:08
places地方 to call home,
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可稱為家的地方、
09:10
jobs工作, vocational專業 training訓練,
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工作、職業訓練,
09:12
for these women婦女, girls女孩,
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給這些女人和女孩,
09:15
boys男孩 and men男人,
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男孩和男人,
09:16
upon transition過渡 back into society社會.
159
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在轉換回到社會時協助他們。
09:20
I never thought
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我從來沒有想過,
09:23
that one day
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會有一天,
09:25
I would be giving stories故事
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我會在訴說故事,
09:27
of the injustices不公正 that are so common共同
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揭露刑事司法體制中非常
09:30
within the criminal刑事 justice正義 system系統,
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常見的不公平,
09:34
but here I am.
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但我就在這裡了。
09:37
Every一切 time I go back to prison監獄,
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每次我回到監獄,
09:40
I feel a little at home,
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我有點回到家的感覺,
09:43
but it is the daunting艱鉅 work
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但,是為了達成
這個願景的艱鉅工作,
09:48
to achieve實現 the vision視力
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09:50
that keeps保持 me awake甦醒 at night,
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讓我在夜間無法入眠,
09:54
connecting the miles英里 to Louisiana路易斯安那州,
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連結通往路易斯安那的路程,
09:58
which哪一個 is deemed認為 as the incarceration監禁
capital首都 of the world世界,
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路易斯安那被視為是
世界的監禁首都,
10:04
carrying攜帶 with me stories故事
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我會帶著這些故事,
10:07
of hundreds數以百計 of women婦女
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它們來自我在監獄
10:09
whom I have met會見 within the prisons監獄,
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遇見的數百位女子,
10:12
some of whom are now
embracing擁抱 their second第二 chances機會,
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其中有些人現在已在
擁抱她們的第二次機會,
10:17
and others其他 who are still
on that bridge of life's人生 journey旅程.
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其他人則仍然在
那人生旅程的橋樑上。
10:24
I embody體現 a line
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我在實踐一句話,
10:27
from the great Maya瑪雅 Angelou安吉羅.
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這句話來自偉大的馬婭安傑盧。
10:31
"I come as one,
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「我一個人來,
10:33
but I stand as 10,000."
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但我有一萬人的力量。」
10:37
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
10:45
For my story故事 is singular單數,
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因為我的故事是單數,
10:49
but imagine想像 with me
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但和我一起想像,
10:51
the millions百萬 of people
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有數百萬人
10:55
in prisons監獄 today今天,
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現在在監獄中,
10:58
yearning懷念 for freedom自由.
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渴求自由。
11:03
Three years年份 post崗位 my conviction定罪
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我被定罪的三年後,
11:07
and two years年份 post崗位 my release發布,
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我被釋放的兩年後,
11:10
I got cleared清除 by the courts法院 of appeal上訴
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上訴法庭還了我清白,
11:13
of any wrongdoing壞事.
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我沒做錯事。
11:15
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
11:20
Around the same相同 time,
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大約同時,
11:22
I got blessed幸福 with my son兒子,
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我有了個兒子,
11:25
whom I named命名 Uhuru烏呼魯,
195
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我把他取名為烏乎魯,
11:27
which哪一個 in my dialect方言 means手段 "freedom自由."
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在我的方言中,意思是「自由」。
11:30
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
11:34
Because I had finally最後 gotten得到 the freedom自由
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因為我終於得到了我如此
11:38
that I so longed渴望 for.
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渴望的自由。
11:40
I come as one,
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我一個人來,
11:42
but I stand as 10,000,
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2576
但我有一萬人的力量,
11:45
encouraged鼓勵 by the hard-edged鋒芒畢露 hope希望
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被鋒芒畢露的希望給鼓舞,
11:50
that thousands數千 of us have come together一起
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我們數以千計的人集合在一起,
11:53
to reform改革 and transform轉變
the criminal刑事 justice正義 system系統,
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要來改革和轉變這個刑事司法體制,
12:00
encouraged鼓勵 that we are doing our jobs工作
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被鼓舞要用我們必須的方式
12:04
as we are meant意味著 to do them.
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來做我們的工作。
12:07
And let us keep doing them
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讓我們繼續做下去,
12:09
with no apology歉意.
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沒有辯解。
12:12
Thank you.
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謝謝。
12:13
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Lilian Chiu
Reviewed by Chengrui Wang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Teresa Njoroge - Criminal and social justice reform advocate
At Clean Start Kenya, Teresa Njoroge builds bridges connecting the formerly imprisoned to the outside world and vice versa.

Why you should listen

Teresa Njoroge is the cofounder and CEO of Clean Start Kenya. She was pursuing her childhood dream, a career in banking, when she was falsely accused of a fraudulent transaction. Sentenced to imprisonment in the High Security Langata Women’s Maximum Prison, Njoroge was forced to bring her three-month-old baby with her.

What began as a loss of career and social standing led to her purpose in life, advocating for Kenyan women, youth and men trapped in a cycle of poverty, survival, petty crimes and life behind bars and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills, jobs and formal education. Later cleared of any wrongdoing, Njoroge is now a beacon of hope and second chances to thousands, with her mission to build up the bottom-of-the-pyramid economy and an inclusive Africa. As she writes: "I am an optimistic, self-driven social entrepreneur with over a decade of progressive experience in economic and social justice work, in my journey from 'I can do it' to 'I did it'!"

More profile about the speaker
Teresa Njoroge | Speaker | TED.com

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