ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kakenya Ntaiya - Educator and activist
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.

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. 

More profile about the speaker
Kakenya Ntaiya | Speaker | TED.com
TEDxMidAtlantic

Kakenya Ntaiya: A girl who demanded school

Kakenya Ntaiya: Uma menina que exigiu a escola

Filmed:
2,655,648 views

Kakenya Ntaiya fez um acordo com seu pai: Ela se submeteria ao tradicional rito de passagem Maassai, a circuncisão feminina, se ele a deixasse frequentar o ensino médio. Ntaiya conta sua corajosa história até chegar à faculdade, e seu trabalho junto aos mais velhos de sua vila, para construir uma escola para meninas na comunidade. É a jornada educacional de alguém que mudou o destino de 125 jovens mulheres. (Filmado no TEDxMidAtlantic.)
- Educator and activist
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.

00:16
There's a group of people in Kenya.
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Existe um grupo de pessoas no Quênia.
00:20
People cross oceans to go see them.
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Há gente que atravessa oceanos só para vê-las.
00:24
These people are tall.
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Essas pessoas são altas.
00:27
They jump high. They wear red.
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Saltam alto. Vestem-se de vermelho.
00:31
And they kill lions.
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E matam leões.
00:33
You might be wondering, who are these people?
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Você deve estar se perguntando: quem são essas pessoas?
00:36
These are the Maasais.
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Elas são os Maasais.
00:39
And you know what's cool? I'm actually one of them.
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E sabe o que é legal? Sou um deles.
00:45
The Maasais, the boys are brought up to be warriors.
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Os Maasais, os meninos são criados para ser guerreiros.
00:49
The girls are brought up to be mothers.
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As meninas são criadas para ser mães.
00:52
When I was five years old,
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Aos 5 anos de idade,
00:55
I found out that I was engaged
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descobri que estava noiva,
00:57
to be married as soon as I reached puberty.
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e que me casaria tão logo chegasse à puberdade.
01:00
My mother, my grandmother, my aunties,
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Minha mãe, avó e tias,
01:03
they constantly reminded me that
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constantemente, me recordavam que
01:06
your husband just passed by.
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meu marido acabara de passar.
01:08
(Laughter) Cool, yeah?
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(Risos) Legal, não é?
01:13
And everything I had to do from that moment
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E tudo que eu tinha que fazer a partir dali,
01:16
was to prepare me to be a perfect woman at age 12.
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era me preparar para ser uma mulher perfeita aos 12 anos.
01:21
My day started at 5 in the morning,
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Meu dia começava às 5 da manhã,
01:25
milking the cows, sweeping the house,
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ordenhando vacas, varrendo a casa,
01:27
cooking for my siblings, collecting water, firewood.
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cozinhando para meus irmãos, pegando água e lenha.
01:31
I did everything that I needed to do
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Fiz tudo que precisava ser feito
01:35
to become a perfect wife.
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para me tornar uma esposa perfeita.
01:38
I went to school not because the Maasais'
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Frequentei a escola, não porque as mulheres
01:41
women or girls were going to school.
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ou meninas Maasais fossem à escola.
01:44
It's because my mother was denied an education,
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E sim porque minha mãe não teve direito ao estudo,
01:47
and she constantly reminded me and my siblings that
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e assim ela sempre lembrava a mim e a meus irmãos
01:51
she never wanted us to live the life she was living.
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que não queria que tivéssemos a mesma vida.
01:55
Why did she say that?
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Por que ela dizia isso?
01:57
My father worked as a policeman in the city.
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Meu pai trabalhava como policial na cidade.
02:00
He came home once a year.
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Ele vinha em casa uma vez ao ano.
02:02
We didn't see him for sometimes even two years.
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Às vezes, ficávamos até dois anos sem vê-lo.
02:05
And whenever he came home, it was a different case.
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E sempre que ele vinha, era uma história diferente.
02:09
My mother worked hard in the farm
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Minha mãe trabalhava duro na fazenda
02:11
to grow crops so that we can eat.
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para plantar o que comemos.
02:13
She reared the cows and the goats
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Ela criava vacas e cabras,
02:15
so that she can care for us.
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e assim, conseguia cuidar de nós.
02:17
But when my father came, he would sell the cows,
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Mas quando meu pai chegava, ele vendia as vacas,
02:20
he would sell the products we had,
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vendia os produtos que tínhamos,
02:22
and he went and drank with his friends in the bars.
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saia e bebia com os amigos nos bares.
02:27
Because my mother was a woman,
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Por minha mãe ser mulher,
02:28
she was not allowed to own any property,
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ela não tinha direito a um bem imóvel,
02:31
and by default, everything in my family anyway
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e por princípio, tudo em minha família
02:34
belongs to my father, so he had the right.
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pertencia a meu pai, portanto, o direito era dele.
02:36
And if my mother ever questioned him,
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E se minha mãe o questionasse,
02:39
he beat her, abused her, and really it was difficult.
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ele a espancava, a violentava, e era tudo difícil.
02:45
When I went to school, I had a dream.
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Quando fui para a escola, eu tinha um sonho.
02:48
I wanted to become a teacher.
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Queria ser professora.
02:51
Teachers looked nice.
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Professoras têm boa aparência.
02:53
They wear nice dresses, high-heeled shoes.
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Usam vestidos bonitos e sapatos de salto alto.
02:55
I found out later that they are uncomfortable, but I admired it.
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Depois descobri que eles são desconfortáveis, mas eu admirava.
02:58
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:01
But most of all, the teacher was just writing on the board --
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Mas, acima de tudo, a professora apenas escrevia no quadro --
03:05
not hard work, that's what I thought,
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não era trabalho duro, assim eu pensava,
03:08
compared to what I was doing in the farm.
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comparado ao que eu fazia na fazenda.
03:11
So I wanted to become a teacher.
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Então, eu queria ser professora.
03:13
I worked hard in school, but when I was in eighth grade,
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Esforcei-me muito na escola, mas quando estava no 8º ano,
03:16
it was a determining factor.
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algo determinante aconteceu.
03:19
In our tradition, there is a ceremony
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Em nossa tradição, há uma cerimônia
03:21
that girls have to undergo to become women,
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em que as meninas são submetidas para se tornarem mulheres,
03:24
and it's a rite of passage to womanhood.
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e é um rito de passagem para a vida adulta.
03:27
And then I was just finishing my eighth grade,
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Na época, eu estava terminando o 8º ano,
03:30
and that was a transition for me to go to high school.
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e foi uma transição para mim ir para o ensino médio.
03:33
This was the crossroad.
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Foi um momento decisivo.
03:35
Once I go through this tradition, I was going to become a wife.
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Assim que eu passasse por essa tradição, me tornaria uma esposa.
03:40
Well, my dream of becoming a teacher will not come to pass.
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Bem, meu sonho de ser professora não se realizaria.
03:44
So I talked -- I had to come up with a plan
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Então pensei -- preciso de um plano
03:47
to figure these things out.
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para resolver essas coisas.
03:49
I talked to my father. I did something that most girls have never done.
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Conversei com meu pai. Fiz algo que a maioria das meninas não faz.
03:53
I told my father, "I will only go through this ceremony
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Disse a ele, "Só vou passar por essa cerimônia
03:57
if you let me go back to school."
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se você deixar eu voltar para a escola."
03:59
The reason why, if I ran away,
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O motivo foi que, se eu fugisse,
04:02
my father will have a stigma, people will be calling him
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meu pai ficaria estigmatizado, as pessoas o chamariam
04:05
the father of that girl who didn't go through the ceremony.
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de pai daquela menina que não passou pela cerimônia.
04:08
It was a shameful thing for him to carry the rest of his life.
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Ele teria que carregar essa vergonha por toda vida.
04:12
So he figured out. "Well," he said, "okay,
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Então, ele pensou. "Bem", disse, "ok,
04:15
you'll go to school after the ceremony."
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você vai para a escola após a cerimônia."
04:19
I did. The ceremony happened.
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Eu fui. A cerimônia aconteceu.
04:21
It's a whole week long of excitement.
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É uma semana inteira de entusiasmo.
04:25
It's a ceremony. People are enjoying it.
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É uma cerimônia. As pessoas se divertem.
04:27
And the day before the actual ceremony happens,
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E na véspera que a verdadeira cerimônia acontece,
04:30
we were dancing, having excitement,
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estávamos dançando, nos divertindo,
04:32
and through all the night we did not sleep.
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e não dormimos nada naquela noite.
04:36
The actual day came, and we walked out of the house
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O dia de verdade chegou, e nós saímos da casa
04:40
that we were dancing in. Yes, we danced and danced.
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em que dançamos. Sim, nós dançamos muito.
04:42
We walked out to the courtyard, and there were a bunch of people waiting.
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Fomos para o quintal e havia um monte de gente esperando.
04:46
They were all in a circle.
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Todo mundo em círculo.
04:48
And as we danced and danced,
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E dançamos e dançamos,
04:50
and we approached this circle of women,
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e nos aproximamos desse círculo de mulheres,
04:53
men, women, children, everybody was there.
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homens e crianças, todos estavam lá.
04:56
There was a woman sitting in the middle of it,
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Havia uma mulher sentada bem no centro,
04:58
and this woman was waiting to hold us.
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e ela estava a nossa espera para nos segurar.
05:03
I was the first. There were my sisters and a couple of other girls,
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Fui a primeira. Minhas irmãs e outras meninas estavam lá,
05:07
and as I approached her,
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e ao me aproximar dela,
05:10
she looked at me, and I sat down.
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ela me olhou, e eu me sentei.
05:12
And I sat down, and I opened my legs.
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Sentei-me e abri as pernas.
05:16
As I opened my leg, another woman came,
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Ao abrir minhas pernas, outra mulher veio,
05:19
and this woman was carrying a knife.
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e ela estava com uma faca.
05:23
And as she carried the knife, she walked toward me
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Vinha com a faca em minha direção,
05:26
and she held the clitoris, and she cut it off.
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segurou meu clitóris, e o cortou fora.
05:31
As you can imagine, I bled. I bled.
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Como podem imaginar, eu sangrei e sangrei.
05:36
After bleeding for a while, I fainted thereafter.
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Após sangrar por um tempo, acabei desmaiando.
05:41
It's something that so many girls --
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É algo que tantas meninas --
05:43
I'm lucky, I never died -- but many die.
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Tenho sorte, não morri -- mas muitas morrem.
05:47
It's practiced, it's no anesthesia, it's a rusty old knife,
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É feito sem anestesia, com uma faca velha e enferrujada,
05:54
and it was difficult.
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e foi muito difícil.
05:56
I was lucky because one, also, my mom did something
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Tive sorte porque minha mãe fez algo
05:59
that most women don't do.
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que a maioria das mulheres não faz.
06:02
Three days later, after everybody has left the home,
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Três dias depois, quando todos já tinham saído de casa,
06:05
my mom went and brought a nurse.
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minha mãe saiu e trouxe uma enfermeira.
06:07
We were taken care of.
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Cuidaram de nós.
06:09
Three weeks later, I was healed, and I was back in high school.
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Três semanas depois, eu estava curada, e de volta à escola.
06:13
I was so determined to be a teacher now
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Aí fiquei tão determinada a ser professora
06:17
so that I could make a difference in my family.
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para fazer a diferença em minha família.
06:21
Well, while I was in high school, something happened.
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Bem, enquanto eu estava no ensino médio, uma coisa aconteceu.
06:24
I met a young gentleman from our village
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Conheci um jovem da nossa vila
06:27
who had been to the University of Oregon.
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que tinha estudado na Universidade de Oregon.
06:29
This man was wearing a white t-shirt, jeans, camera,
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Esse homem usava camiseta branca, jeans, tinha uma câmera,
06:35
white sneakers -- and I'm talking about white sneakers.
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tênis brancos -- e digo tênis brancos.
06:38
There is something about clothes, I think, and shoes.
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Acho que há algo a respeito de roupas e sapatos.
06:42
They were sneakers, and this is in a village
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Eram tênis, e isso numa vila
06:46
that doesn't even have paved roads. It was quite attractive.
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que nem estradas asfaltadas têm. Isso chamava a atenção.
06:50
I told him, "Well, I want to go to where you are,"
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Eu disse a ele, "Bem, quero ir para onde você está,"
06:55
because this man looked very happy, and I admired that.
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pois ele parecia tão feliz, e eu admirava isso.
06:59
And he told me, "Well,
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Ele me disse, "Bem,
07:01
what do you mean, you want to go?
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o que você quer dizer com quer ir?
07:02
Don't you have a husband waiting for you?"
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Você não tem um marido a sua espera?"
07:05
And I told him, "Don't worry about that part.
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E eu disse, "Não se preocupe com essa parte.
07:08
Just tell me how to get there."
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Apenas diga como chegar lá."
07:11
This gentleman, he helped me.
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Esse cavalheiro me ajudou.
07:13
While I was in high school also, my dad was sick.
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Enquanto eu estava no ensino médio, meu pai adoeceu.
07:16
He got a stroke, and he was really, really sick,
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Teve um derrame, e ficou muito doente,
07:19
so he really couldn't tell me what to do next.
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e aí, ele não podia me dizer o que fazer.
07:23
But the problem is, my father is not the only father I have.
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Mas o problema era que meu pai não é o único pai que tenho.
07:26
Everybody who is my dad's age, male in the community,
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Todo mundo da idade dele, todo homem da comunidade,
07:30
is my father by default --
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é meu pai, por princípio --
07:32
my uncles, all of them -- and they dictate what my future is.
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meus tios, todos eles -- e eles ditam sobre o meu futuro.
07:36
So the news came, I applied to school
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Aí, a notícia chegou, eu me inscrevi numa faculdade,
07:39
and I was accepted to Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Virginia,
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e fui aceita em Randolph-Macon Woman's College em Lynchburg, na Virginia,
07:43
and I couldn't come without the support of the village,
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e não poderia ir sem o apoio da vila,
07:48
because I needed to raise money to buy the air ticket.
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porque eu precisava juntar dinheiro para comprar passagem de avião.
07:50
I got a scholarship but I needed to get myself here.
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Consegui uma bolsa de estudos, mas precisava chegar lá.
07:53
But I needed the support of the village,
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E precisava do apoio da vila,
07:56
and here again, when the men heard,
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e de novo, quando os homens souberam,
07:59
and the people heard that a woman had gotten an opportunity to go to school,
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e as pessoas ouviram que uma mulher conseguira a oportunidade de ir para a faculdade,
08:03
they said, "What a lost opportunity.
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disseram, "Que desperdício de oportunidade.
08:06
This should have been given to a boy. We can't do this."
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Isso deveria ser dado a um rapaz. Não podemos fazer isso."
08:09
So I went back and I had to go back to the tradition.
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Então, voltei e tive que retornar à tradição.
08:14
There's a belief among our people
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Há uma crença em nosso povo
08:16
that morning brings good news.
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de que o amanhã traz boas notícias.
08:19
So I had to come up with something to do with the morning,
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Então, tive que pensar em algo para fazer na manhã seguinte,
08:22
because there's good news in the morning.
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pois o amanhã traz boas notícias.
08:25
And in the village also, there is one chief, an elder,
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E há um chefe na vila, um ancião,
08:29
who if he says yes, everybody will follow him.
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que se ele diz sim, todos o seguem.
08:32
So I went to him very early in the morning, as the sun rose.
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Então, fui falar com ele de manhã cedo, ao nascer do sol.
08:36
The first thing he sees when he opens his door is, it's me.
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A primeira coisa que ele vê ao abrir a porta sou eu.
08:40
"My child, what are you doing here?"
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"Minha criança, o que faz aqui?"
08:42
"Well, Dad, I need help. Can you support me to go to America?"
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"Bem, Pai, preciso de ajuda. Você apoia minha ida aos Estados Unidos?"
08:47
I promised him that I would be the best girl,
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Prometi a ele que seria uma menina ótima,
08:49
I will come back, anything they wanted after that,
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Eu voltarei, o que eles quiserem depois disso,
08:52
I will do it for them.
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eu o farei.
08:54
He said, "Well, but I can't do it alone."
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Ele disse, "Bem, mas não posso fazer isso sozinho."
08:56
He gave me a list of another 15 men that I went --
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Ele me deu uma lista com mais de 15 homens e eu fui --
09:00
16 more men -- every single morning
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mais 16 homens -- toda manhã
09:02
I went and visited them.
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eu os visitava.
09:04
They all came together.
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Eles se uniram.
09:06
The village, the women, the men, everybody came together
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A vila, as mulheres, os homens, todos vieram
09:09
to support me to come to get an education.
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me apoiar a conseguir uma educação.
09:12
I arrived in America. As you can imagine, what did I find?
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Cheguei aos Estados Unidos. Como podem imaginar, o que encontrei?
09:17
I found snow!
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Encontrei neve!
09:20
I found Wal-Marts, vacuum cleaners,
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Encontrei Walmarts, aspiradores de pó,
09:23
and lots of food in the cafeteria.
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e muita comida nas cafeterias.
09:26
I was in a land of plenty.
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Estava em uma terra de fartura.
09:29
I enjoyed myself, but during that moment while I was here,
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Eu me diverti, mas durante o tempo em que aqui fiquei,
09:35
I discovered a lot of things.
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descobri muitas coisas.
09:37
I learned that that ceremony that I went through
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Aprendi que aquela cerimônia da qual participei,
09:40
when I was 13 years old, it was called female genital mutilation.
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aos 13 anos, é chamada de mutilação genital feminina.
09:46
I learned that it was against the law in Kenya.
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Aprendi que ela é ilegal no Quênia.
09:49
I learned that I did not have to trade part of my body
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Aprendi que não precisava ter negociado parte do meu corpo
09:53
to get an education. I had a right.
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em troca de estudo. Era direito meu.
09:57
And as we speak right now, three million girls
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E enquanto conversamos aqui, 3 milhões de meninas
10:01
in Africa are at risk of going through this mutilation.
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na África correm o risco de passar pela mutilação.
10:06
I learned that my mom had a right to own property.
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Aprendi que minha mãe tinha o direito à propriedade, sim.
10:09
I learned that she did not have to be abused
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Aprendi que ela não deveria ser sido violentada
10:12
because she is a woman.
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por ser mulher.
10:15
Those things made me angry.
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Senti muita raiva dessas coisas.
10:18
I wanted to do something.
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Eu queria fazer algo.
10:20
As I went back, every time I went,
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Quando voltei, sempre que voltei,
10:22
I found that my neighbors' girls were getting married.
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descobria que as filhas das vizinhas estavam se casando.
10:25
They were getting mutilated, and here,
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Elas estavam sendo mutiladas, e aqui,
10:27
after I graduated from here, I worked at the U.N.,
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depois que me formei, eu trabalhei na ONU,
10:31
I went back to school to get my graduate work,
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voltei para a faculdade para fazer o trabalho de conclusão,
10:33
the constant cry of these girls was in my face.
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o grito constante dessas meninas estava a minha frente.
10:37
I had to do something.
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Eu tinha que fazer algo.
10:40
As I went back, I started talking to the men,
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Quando voltei, comecei a conversar com os homens,
10:43
to the village, and mothers, and I said,
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com as pessoas da vila e mães, e disse,
10:45
"I want to give back the way I had promised you
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"Quero retribuir a vocês como prometi
10:47
that I would come back and help you. What do you need?"
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que iria ajudá-los. Do que vocês precisam?"
10:49
As I spoke to the women, they told me,
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Ia falando com as mulheres, elas diziam,
10:51
"You know what we need? We really need a school for girls."
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"Sabe o que precisamos? De uma escola para meninas."
10:53
Because there had not been any school for girls.
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Porque não há escolas para elas.
10:56
And the reason they wanted the school for girls
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E a razão pela qual queriam a escola para meninas
10:58
is because when a girl is raped when she's walking to school,
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era que quando uma menina é estuprada ao ir a escola,
11:02
the mother is blamed for that.
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culpam a mãe.
11:04
If she got pregnant before she got married,
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Se ela engravidar antes do casamento,
11:07
the mother is blamed for that, and she's punished.
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culpam a mãe, e ela é punida.
11:10
She's beaten.
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Ela é espancada.
11:11
They said, "We wanted to put our girls in a safe place."
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Elas disseram, "Queremos nossas meninas em um lugar seguro."
11:15
As we moved, and I went to talk to the fathers,
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Quando fui falar com os pais,
11:18
the fathers, of course, you can imagine what they said:
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eles, claro, vocês podem imaginar o que disseram:
11:20
"We want a school for boys."
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"Queremos uma escola para meninos."
11:22
And I said, "Well, there are a couple of men from my village
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E eu disse, "Há alguns homens na vila
11:26
who have been out and they have gotten an education.
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que já saíram daqui e estudaram.
11:28
Why can't they build a school for boys,
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Por que eles não constroem uma escola para meninos,
11:30
and I'll build a school for girls?"
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e eu construo uma para as meninas?"
11:33
That made sense. And they agreed.
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Isso fez sentido. E eles concordaram.
11:36
And I told them, I wanted them to show me a sign of commitment.
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E eu disse a eles que queria um sinal de compromisso comigo.
11:41
And they did. They donated land where we built the girls' school.
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E assim foi. Eles doaram a terra onde construímos a escola de meninas
11:46
We have.
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Nós a construímos.
11:47
I want you to meet one of the girls in that school.
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Quero que conheçam uma das meninas da escola.
11:50
Angeline came to apply for the school,
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Angeline veio se matricular na escola,
11:53
and she did not meet any criteria that we had.
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e ela não se enquadrava em nenhum de nossos critérios.
11:56
She's an orphan. Yes, we could have taken her for that.
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Ela é órfã. Sim, poderíamos aceitá-la por isso.
11:59
But she was older. She was 12 years old,
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Mas ela era mais velha. Tinha 12 anos,
12:02
and we were taking girls who were in fourth grade.
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e só estávamos aceitando meninas que estavam no 4º ano.
12:05
Angeline had been moving from one place --
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Angeline tinha trocado de lar muitas vezes --
12:07
because she's an orphan, she has no mother, she has no father --
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pois ela é órfã, não tem mãe, nem pai --
12:09
moving from one grandmother's house to another one,
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passando da casa de uma avó para outra,
12:11
from aunties to aunties. She had no stability in her life.
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de tia em tia. Ela não tinha uma vida estável.
12:15
And I looked at her, I remember that day,
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E eu olhei para ela, me lembro desse dia,
12:18
and I saw something beyond what I was seeing in Angeline.
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e vi algo além do que já vira em Angeline.
12:22
And yes, she was older to be in fourth grade.
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E sim, ela tinha passado da idade para estar no 4º ano.
12:25
We gave her the opportunity to come to the class.
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Demos a ela a oportunidade de frequentar as aulas.
12:28
Five months later, that is Angeline.
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Cinco meses depois, essa é Angeline.
12:31
A transformation had begun in her life.
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Sua vida começou a se transformar.
12:34
Angeline wants to be a pilot so she can fly around the world
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Angeline quer ser piloto para poder voar pelo mundo
12:37
and make a difference.
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e fazer a diferença.
12:39
She was not the top student when we took her.
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Ela não era uma aluna exemplar quando a aceitamos.
12:40
Now she's the best student, not just in our school,
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Agora ela é a melhor aluna, não só da nossa escola,
12:43
but in the entire division that we are in.
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mas de toda a região em que estamos.
12:46
That's Sharon. That's five years later.
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Essa é Sharon. Cinco anos depois.
12:50
That's Evelyn. Five months later, that is the difference that we are making.
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Essa é Evelyn. Cinco meses depois, essa é a diferença que estamos fazendo.
12:57
As a new dawn is happening in my school,
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Como um novo amanhecer acontecendo em minha escola,
13:01
a new beginning is happening.
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um novo começo está acontecendo.
13:03
As we speak right now, 125 girls will never be mutilated.
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Agora, enquanto conversamos, 125 meninas jamais serão mutiladas.
13:08
One hundred twenty-five girls will not be married when they're 12 years old.
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Cento e vinte cinco meninas não se casarão aos 12 anos.
13:13
One hundred twenty-five girls are creating and achieving their dreams.
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Cento e vinte cinco meninas estão criando e alcançando seus sonhos.
13:19
This is the thing that we are doing,
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É isto que estamos fazendo,
13:21
giving them opportunities where they can rise.
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dando oportunidades para que elas cresçam.
13:25
As we speak right now, women are not being beaten
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Enquanto conversamos, mulheres não estão sendo espancadas
13:28
because of the revolutions we've started in our community.
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devido as revoluções que começamos em nossa comunidade.
13:32
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
13:39
I want to challenge you today.
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Quero desafiá-los hoje.
13:42
You are listening to me because you are here,
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Vocês estão me ouvindo porque estão aqui,
13:45
very optimistic.
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muito otimistas.
13:48
You are somebody who is so passionate.
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Vocês são pessoas com tanta paixão.
13:51
You are somebody who wants to see a better world.
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Vocês são pessoas que querem ver um mundo melhor.
13:55
You are somebody who wants to see that war ends, no poverty.
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Querem ver o fim dessa guerra e da pobreza.
14:00
You are somebody who wants to make a difference.
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Vocês querem fazer a diferença.
14:02
You are somebody who wants to make our tomorrow better.
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Vocês querem tornar o nosso amanhã melhor.
14:06
I want to challenge you today that to be the first,
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Quero desafiá-los hoje a serem os primeiros,
14:10
because people will follow you.
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porque as pessoas os seguirão.
14:12
Be the first. People will follow you.
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Sejam os primeiros. As pessoas os seguirão.
14:14
Be bold. Stand up. Be fearless. Be confident.
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Ousem. Enfrentem. Sejam corajosos. Sejam confiantes.
14:20
Move out, because as you change your world,
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Mudem, pois ao mudar seu mundo,
14:23
as you change your community,
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ao mudar sua comunidade,
14:25
as we believe that we are impacting one girl, one family,
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ao acreditar que estamos causando impacto em uma menina, uma família,
14:30
one village, one country at a time.
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uma vila, um país por vez.
14:33
We are making a difference, so if you change your world,
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Estamos fazemos a diferença, portanto, se você mudar seu mundo,
14:36
you are going to change your community,
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mudará sua comunidade,
14:38
you are going to change your country,
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mudará seu país,
14:40
and think about that. If you do that, and I do that,
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e pense nisso. Se você o fizer, e eu o faço,
14:43
aren't we going to create a better future for our children,
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criaremos um futuro melhor para nossas crianças,
14:47
for your children, for our grandchildren?
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suas crianças, nossos netos, não é?
14:49
And we will live in a very peaceful world. Thank you very much.
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E viveremos em um mundo cheio de paz. Muito obrigada.
14:53
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Viviane Ferraz Matos
Reviewed by Nadja Nathan

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Kakenya Ntaiya - Educator and activist
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.

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. 

More profile about the speaker
Kakenya Ntaiya | Speaker | TED.com