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: 一個建立學校的女孩

Filmed:
2,655,648 views

來自非洲馬賽族的Kakenya Ntaiya跟她的父親約定:如果要她參加傳統的女性成人禮(割禮),就要讓她繼續上學。她勇敢地要求上大學的權利,跟她村子裡的長老們共同在社區裡建立女子學校。從此以後,125個年輕女性可以接受教育,這是個改變她們命運的故事。(短片來自 TEDxMidAtlantic的演講現場)
- 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肯尼亞.
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在肯亞有一群人
00:20
People cross交叉 oceans海洋 to go see them.
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人們會飄洋過海來見他們
00:24
These people are tall.
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這些人很高
00:27
They jump high. They wear穿 red.
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他們跳得高,他們穿紅色衣物。
00:31
And they kill lions獅子.
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他們還會獵殺獅子
00:33
You might威力 be wondering想知道, who are these people?
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你可能會想知道,他們到底是誰?
00:36
These are the MaasaisMaasais.
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他們是馬賽族人
00:39
And you know what's cool? I'm actually其實 one of them.
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最酷的是,我也是其中一員呢!
00:45
The MaasaisMaasais, the boys男孩 are brought up to be warriors勇士.
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在馬賽族裡,男孩長大都要當戰士。
00:49
The girls女孩 are brought up to be mothers母親.
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女孩長大則要當母親。
00:52
When I was five years年份 old,
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我五歲的時候,
00:55
I found發現 out that I was engaged訂婚
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我發現自己已經被配婚了
00:57
to be married已婚 as soon不久 as I reached到達 puberty青春期.
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一旦到了青春期,我就要結婚
01:00
My mother母親, my grandmother祖母, my aunties阿姨,
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我媽媽、祖母和阿姨們
01:03
they constantly經常 reminded提醒 me that
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她們都會不斷的提醒我
01:06
your husband丈夫 just passed通過 by.
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妳丈夫剛剛從我們面前走過哎!
01:08
(Laughter笑聲) Cool, yeah?
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(笑聲)很酷是吧?
01:13
And everything I had to do from that moment時刻
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從那個時候開始,我做的每一件事情
01:16
was to prepare準備 me to be a perfect完善 woman女人 at age年齡 12.
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都是為了讓我在12歲可以成為一個完美女性的準備
01:21
My day started開始 at 5 in the morning早上,
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我的一天從早上5點開始,
01:25
milking擠奶 the cows奶牛, sweeping籠統的 the house,
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為牛擠奶、打掃房子、
01:27
cooking烹飪 for my siblings兄弟姐妹, collecting蒐集 water, firewood.
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為我的兄弟姊妹煮飯、挑水、收集柴枝
01:31
I did everything that I needed需要 to do
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我做了所有必須的做的
01:35
to become成為 a perfect完善 wife妻子.
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讓我成為一位完美的妻子
01:38
I went to school學校 not because the Maasais'Maasais“
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我去上學不是因為
01:41
women婦女 or girls女孩 were going to school學校.
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馬賽族的女人或女孩子都會去上學。
01:44
It's because my mother母親 was denied否認 an education教育,
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而是因為我母親被剝奪了教育,
01:47
and she constantly經常 reminded提醒 me and my siblings兄弟姐妹 that
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她就不斷地提醒我和我的兄弟姊妹們
01:51
she never wanted us to live生活 the life she was living活的.
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她不想我們過她的過去的日子
01:55
Why did she say that?
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為什麼她會這樣說呢?
01:57
My father父親 worked工作 as a policeman警察 in the city.
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我父親在城裡當警察
02:00
He came來了 home once一旦 a year.
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他每年回家一次
02:02
We didn't see him for sometimes有時 even two years年份.
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有時候,我們甚至兩年都見不到他
02:05
And whenever每當 he came來了 home, it was a different不同 case案件.
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每次他回來,情況都不一樣
02:09
My mother母親 worked工作 hard in the farm農場
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我媽媽在農莊裡勤奮地工作
02:11
to grow增長 crops作物 so that we can eat.
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種植作物好讓我們有得吃
02:13
She reared飼養 the cows奶牛 and the goats山羊
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她會餵牛和羊群
02:15
so that she can care關心 for us.
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這樣地養育照顧我們
02:17
But when my father父親 came來了, he would sell the cows奶牛,
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但是每次我爸爸回家,他便會把牛隻賣掉
02:20
he would sell the products製品 we had,
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變賣我們的產品,
02:22
and he went and drank with his friends朋友 in the bars酒吧.
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然後去酒吧跟朋友喝酒
02:27
Because my mother母親 was a woman女人,
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因為我媽媽是女性,
02:28
she was not allowed允許 to own擁有 any property屬性,
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她不能擁有自己的財產
02:31
and by default默認, everything in my family家庭 anyway無論如何
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按照慣例,我們家裡面所有的東西都屬於我爸爸
02:34
belongs屬於 to my father父親, so he had the right.
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所以他喜歡怎麼樣就怎麼樣
02:36
And if my mother母親 ever questioned質疑 him,
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如果我媽向他提出意見的話
02:39
he beat擊敗 her, abused濫用 her, and really it was difficult.
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他會打她,虐待她,真的,那真的很糟
02:45
When I went to school學校, I had a dream夢想.
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我在學校裡念書的時候,我有一個夢想
02:48
I wanted to become成為 a teacher老師.
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我希望成為一位老師
02:51
Teachers教師 looked看著 nice不錯.
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老師看來很不錯
02:53
They wear穿 nice不錯 dresses禮服, high-heeled高跟 shoes.
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他們都會穿好看的衣服,還有高跟鞋
02:55
I found發現 out later後來 that they are uncomfortable不舒服, but I admired尊敬的 it.
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雖然我後來發現它們其實不是很舒服,但我還是很喜歡
02:58
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:01
But most of all, the teacher老師 was just writing寫作 on the board --
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但最重要的,老師們都只是在黑板上寫字
03:05
not hard work, that's what I thought,
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我想這工作不辛苦
03:08
compared相比 to what I was doing in the farm農場.
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跟我在農場做的比起來
03:11
So I wanted to become成為 a teacher老師.
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所以,我想成為一位老師
03:13
I worked工作 hard in school學校, but when I was in eighth第八 grade年級,
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我在學校裡很努力學習,但在我八年級的時候
03:16
it was a determining決定 factor因子.
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發生了一件關鍵的事情
03:19
In our tradition傳統, there is a ceremony儀式
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根據我們的傳統,有一個儀式
03:21
that girls女孩 have to undergo經歷 to become成為 women婦女,
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女孩必須經過才可以變成女人,
03:24
and it's a rite儀式 of passage通道 to womanhood女大十八變.
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那是一個女性的成人禮
03:27
And then I was just finishing精加工 my eighth第八 grade年級,
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我當時即將要完成八年級,
03:30
and that was a transition過渡 for me to go to high school學校.
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接著我就要上高中
03:33
This was the crossroad十字路口.
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那是一個決定性的時刻
03:35
Once一旦 I go through通過 this tradition傳統, I was going to become成為 a wife妻子.
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一旦完成這個傳統,我就會成為一名妻子
03:40
Well, my dream夢想 of becoming變得 a teacher老師 will not come to pass通過.
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若是這樣的話,我想要成為老師的夢想便會無法實現。
03:44
So I talked -- I had to come up with a plan計劃
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於是,我必須有個計畫
03:47
to figure數字 these things out.
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處理這些事情
03:49
I talked to my father父親. I did something that most girls女孩 have never doneDONE.
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我找爸爸商量,我做了大部份女孩子永遠不會做的事情
03:53
I told my father父親, "I will only go through通過 this ceremony儀式
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我告訴爸爸:我不會完成這儀式
03:57
if you let me go back to school學校."
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除非你讓我回學校”
03:59
The reason原因 why, if I ran away,
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我之所以這樣做,因為如果我逃跑,
04:02
my father父親 will have a stigma柱頭, people will be calling調用 him
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我爸爸會蒙受恥辱,人們會叫他
04:05
the father父親 of that girl女孩 who didn't go through通過 the ceremony儀式.
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沒完成儀式女孩的爸爸
04:08
It was a shameful可恥 thing for him to carry攜帶 the rest休息 of his life.
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他將終身背負這種恥辱
04:12
So he figured想通 out. "Well," he said, "okay,
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於是他想通了對我說 “好,可以"
04:15
you'll你會 go to school學校 after the ceremony儀式."
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儀式之後妳可以回去上學“
04:19
I did. The ceremony儀式 happened發生.
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於是,我參加了這個儀式。
04:21
It's a whole整個 week long of excitement激動.
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那是一整個星期的興奮
04:25
It's a ceremony儀式. People are enjoying享受 it.
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那是個儀式,大家都樂在其中
04:27
And the day before the actual實際 ceremony儀式 happens發生,
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儀式舉行的前一天,
04:30
we were dancing跳舞, having excitement激動,
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我們都很興奮地跳舞
04:32
and through通過 all the night we did not sleep睡覺.
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徹夜不睡
04:36
The actual實際 day came來了, and we walked out of the house
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那一天到來,我們走出我們跳舞的房子
04:40
that we were dancing跳舞 in. Yes, we danced跳舞 and danced跳舞.
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是的,我們一直跳,一直跳
04:42
We walked out to the courtyard庭院, and there were a bunch of people waiting等候.
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我們走到庭院,有一大群人在等待
04:46
They were all in a circle.
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他們圍了一個圈
04:48
And as we danced跳舞 and danced跳舞,
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我們繼續地跳啊跳
04:50
and we approached接近 this circle of women婦女,
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然後,我們來到這一群婦女的圈子裡,
04:53
men男人, women婦女, children孩子, everybody每個人 was there.
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那裡有男,有女,還有小孩,幾乎所有人都在那裡
04:56
There was a woman女人 sitting坐在 in the middle中間 of it,
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有一個女人坐在中間
04:58
and this woman女人 was waiting等候 to hold保持 us.
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那個女人在等著我們
05:03
I was the first. There were my sisters姐妹 and a couple一對 of other girls女孩,
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我是第一個。還有我妹妹和一些其他女孩子
05:07
and as I approached接近 her,
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當我靠近她
05:10
she looked看著 at me, and I satSAT down.
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她看我,然後我坐下來
05:12
And I satSAT down, and I opened打開 my legs.
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我坐下來並打開雙腳
05:16
As I opened打開 my leg, another另一個 woman女人 came來了,
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當我打開雙腳的時候,另外一個女人進過來
05:19
and this woman女人 was carrying攜帶 a knife.
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這個女人帶著一把刀
05:23
And as she carried攜帶的 the knife, she walked toward me
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她拿著刀走向我
05:26
and she held保持 the clitoris陰蒂, and she cut it off.
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她抓住我的陰蒂, 然後割下來
05:31
As you can imagine想像, I bled流血. I bled流血.
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你可以想像當時的情況,我一直流血 一直流
05:36
After bleeding流血的 for a while, I fainted昏厥 thereafter其後.
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流血一陣子之後,我暈倒了
05:41
It's something that so many許多 girls女孩 --
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很多女孩子會就此死去,
05:43
I'm lucky幸運, I never died死亡 -- but many許多 die.
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我很幸運,沒有死
05:47
It's practiced, it's no anesthesia麻醉, it's a rusty生疏 old knife,
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儀式就是這樣舉行,沒有麻醉,只用一把生鏽的舊刀
05:54
and it was difficult.
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想起來,那真是很不容易渡過的。
05:56
I was lucky幸運 because one, also, my mom媽媽 did something
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我很幸運因為我的媽媽做了些事情
05:59
that most women婦女 don't do.
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那是大部份的婦女都不會做的。
06:02
Three days later後來, after everybody每個人 has left the home,
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三天之後,當人們都離開了我們的房子,
06:05
my mom媽媽 went and brought a nurse護士.
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我媽媽去請了一位護士來
06:07
We were taken採取 care關心 of.
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我們被照料
06:09
Three weeks later後來, I was healed癒合, and I was back in high school學校.
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三個星期之後,我康復了,也回到了高中
06:13
I was so determined決心 to be a teacher老師 now
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我非常堅決的要成為一位教師
06:17
so that I could make a difference區別 in my family家庭.
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這樣我可以對我的家庭有所作為
06:21
Well, while I was in high school學校, something happened發生.
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當我上了高中,又發生了一件事情
06:24
I met會見 a young年輕 gentleman紳士 from our village
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我遇見了一位來自我們村子的年輕的先生
06:27
who had been to the University大學 of Oregon俄勒岡.
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他念過美國奧勒崗州大學
06:29
This man was wearing穿著 a white白色 t-shirtT恤衫, jeans牛仔褲, camera相機,
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這個人穿白色T-shirt,牛仔褲,帶著照相機,
06:35
white白色 sneakers球鞋 -- and I'm talking about white白色 sneakers球鞋.
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還有白色的運動鞋,白色運動鞋呢!
06:38
There is something about clothes衣服, I think, and shoes.
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我想應該是衣服還有鞋子的關係
06:42
They were sneakers球鞋, and this is in a village
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然而在這村裡
06:46
that doesn't even have paved鋪砌 roads道路. It was quite相當 attractive有吸引力.
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根本沒什麼鋪好的道路。所以鞋子蠻引人注目
06:50
I told him, "Well, I want to go to where you are,"
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我告訴他:”我想去你所在的地方。“
06:55
because this man looked看著 very happy快樂, and I admired尊敬的 that.
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因為這個人看來很快樂,我很嚮往這個樣子
06:59
And he told me, "Well,
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他告訴我,”喔,
07:01
what do you mean, you want to go?
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妳想去,是什麼意思?
07:02
Don't you have a husband丈夫 waiting等候 for you?"
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妳沒有丈夫在等妳嗎?“
07:05
And I told him, "Don't worry擔心 about that part部分.
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我告訴他:”這你不用擔心
07:08
Just tell me how to get there."
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只要告訴我怎樣可以去你那個地方就行。“
07:11
This gentleman紳士, he helped幫助 me.
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這位先生幫了我。
07:13
While I was in high school學校 also, my dad was sick生病.
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我在念高中的時候,我爸爸病了
07:16
He got a stroke行程, and he was really, really sick生病,
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他中風,病得很嚴重,很嚴重
07:19
so he really couldn't不能 tell me what to do next下一個.
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所以他沒辦法告訴我下一步應該怎做
07:23
But the problem問題 is, my father父親 is not the only father父親 I have.
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問題是,我爸爸不是我唯一的父親
07:26
Everybody每個人 who is my dad's爸爸的 age年齡, male in the community社區,
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社區裡每個和我爸爸同年紀的男性
07:30
is my father父親 by default默認 --
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按照慣例都是我父親
07:32
my uncles叔叔, all of them -- and they dictate聽寫 what my future未來 is.
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還有我叔叔們,所有人,都可以主宰我的未來
07:36
So the news新聞 came來了, I applied應用的 to school學校
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然而消息傳來,我申請學校
07:39
and I was accepted公認 to Randolph-Macon倫道夫 - 梅肯 Woman's女人的 College學院 in Lynchburg林奇堡, Virginia弗吉尼亞州,
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我被美國維吉尼亞州林奇堡的蘭都爾夫女子學院錄取了
07:43
and I couldn't不能 come without the support支持 of the village,
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但是如果沒有村子的支持,我不可能前往
07:48
because I needed需要 to raise提高 money to buy購買 the air空氣 ticket.
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因為我得湊錢買機票
07:50
I got a scholarship獎學金 but I needed需要 to get myself here.
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我拿到了獎學金,但是我需要自己想辦法來到這裡
07:53
But I needed需要 the support支持 of the village,
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我需要村子的支持,
07:56
and here again, when the men男人 heard聽說,
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當男性們聽到這個消息,
07:59
and the people heard聽說 that a woman女人 had gotten得到 an opportunity機會 to go to school學校,
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還有大家聽到一位女性得到去學校念書的機會
08:03
they said, "What a lost丟失 opportunity機會.
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他們說:”多可惜啊,
08:06
This should have been given特定 to a boy男孩. We can't do this."
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這個機會應該留給男孩,我們不能這樣做。“
08:09
So I went back and I had to go back to the tradition傳統.
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於是,我知道,我必須要回到傳統。
08:14
There's a belief信仰 among其中 our people
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我的族人有一個信念
08:16
that morning早上 brings帶來 good news新聞.
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早晨會帶來好消息
08:19
So I had to come up with something to do with the morning早上,
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於是,我必須在早上做點事情
08:22
because there's good news新聞 in the morning早上.
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因為好消息都是發生在早上。
08:25
And in the village also, there is one chief首席, an elder長老,
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在村子裡,有一位長者領袖,
08:29
who if he says yes, everybody每個人 will follow跟隨 him.
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只要他同意,其他人都會跟隨他
08:32
So I went to him very early in the morning早上, as the sun太陽 rose玫瑰.
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所以在一大清早,太陽剛剛升起的時候去找他
08:36
The first thing he sees看到 when he opens打開 his door is, it's me.
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讓他一打開門,第一個可以看見的就是我
08:40
"My child兒童, what are you doing here?"
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他問:“我的孩子,妳在這裡做什麼?”
08:42
"Well, Dad, I need help. Can you support支持 me to go to America美國?"
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我說:“父親,我需要幫忙。 你可以支持我去美國嗎?”
08:47
I promised許諾 him that I would be the best最好 girl女孩,
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我答應他,我會是最好的女生,
08:49
I will come back, anything they wanted after that,
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我一定會回來,之後他們希望我做的事情
08:52
I will do it for them.
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我都一定會去做。
08:54
He said, "Well, but I can't do it alone單獨."
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他說:“好!但是我不能一個人作主。“
08:56
He gave me a list名單 of another另一個 15 men男人 that I went --
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他給了我一份有十五個男性的名單
09:00
16 more men男人 -- every一切 single morning早上
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總共16個男人,我每天早上
09:02
I went and visited參觀 them.
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逐一去拜訪了他們
09:04
They all came來了 together一起.
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然後,他們全部都聚集在一起。
09:06
The village, the women婦女, the men男人, everybody每個人 came來了 together一起
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村子、女人、男人,所有人都來了
09:09
to support支持 me to come to get an education教育.
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支持我來這裡接受教育
09:12
I arrived到達 in America美國. As you can imagine想像, what did I find?
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我到了美國。 你猜,我發現了什麼?
09:17
I found發現 snow!
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我發現了雪!
09:20
I found發現 Wal-Marts沃爾瑪, vacuum真空 cleaners清潔工,
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我發現了沃爾瑪超市,吸塵器,
09:23
and lots of food餐飲 in the cafeteria自助餐館.
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還有學校餐廳裡的不同食物。
09:26
I was in a land土地 of plenty豐富.
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我在一片豐盛的土地上
09:29
I enjoyed享受 myself, but during that moment時刻 while I was here,
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我很享受這裡的生活,但在這期間
09:35
I discovered發現 a lot of things.
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我發現了很多事情
09:37
I learned學到了 that that ceremony儀式 that I went through通過
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我知道了我十三歲所經歷的那個儀式
09:40
when I was 13 years年份 old, it was called female genital生殖器 mutilation斷肢.
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它被稱為女性割禮
09:46
I learned學到了 that it was against反對 the law in Kenya肯尼亞.
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我得知在肯亞是違法的
09:49
I learned學到了 that I did not have to trade貿易 part部分 of my body身體
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我得知了,其實我不需要用我的身體來作為接受教育
09:53
to get an education教育. I had a right.
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的交換條件。我有接受教育的權利
09:57
And as we speak說話 right now, three million百萬 girls女孩
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至今,在非洲有三百萬的女性
10:01
in Africa非洲 are at risk風險 of going through通過 this mutilation斷肢.
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處於經歷這種割禮的威脅
10:06
I learned學到了 that my mom媽媽 had a right to own擁有 property屬性.
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我學到我媽媽有權去擁有自己的財物
10:09
I learned學到了 that she did not have to be abused濫用
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我學到她不應該被虐待
10:12
because she is a woman女人.
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只因為她是女性
10:15
Those things made製作 me angry憤怒.
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這所有的事情都讓我很生氣憤怒。
10:18
I wanted to do something.
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我想做些什麼
10:20
As I went back, every一切 time I went,
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我每一趟回去村裡,
10:22
I found發現 that my neighbors'鄰居' girls女孩 were getting得到 married已婚.
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都會發現我鄰居的女孩被安排結婚了
10:25
They were getting得到 mutilated肢解, and here,
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她們都經歷割禮,
10:27
after I graduated畢業 from here, I worked工作 at the U.N.,
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我在這裡畢業後,我去了聯合國工作,
10:31
I went back to school學校 to get my graduate畢業 work,
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我回到學校裡去做碩士研究時,
10:33
the constant不變 cry of these girls女孩 was in my face面對.
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我看見這些女孩子不斷在哭
10:37
I had to do something.
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我必須做些什麼
10:40
As I went back, I started開始 talking to the men男人,
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我回去後,我開始跟男士們
10:43
to the village, and mothers母親, and I said,
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跟村子,還有母親們說話,我說
10:45
"I want to give back the way I had promised許諾 you
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”我想尊守我的承諾,
10:47
that I would come back and help you. What do you need?"
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我說我會回來幫忙,你需要什麼?“
10:49
As I spoke to the women婦女, they told me,
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當我這樣跟婦女說,她們會告訴我,
10:51
"You know what we need? We really need a school學校 for girls女孩."
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”妳知道我們的需要什麼嗎? 我們很需要一所女子學校
10:53
Because there had not been any school學校 for girls女孩.
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因為那裡從沒有給女孩子的學校。
10:56
And the reason原因 they wanted the school學校 for girls女孩
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她們之所以想要一所女子學校
10:58
is because when a girl女孩 is raped強姦 when she's walking步行 to school學校,
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是因為當有女孩在上學途中被強暴
11:02
the mother母親 is blamed指責 for that.
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母親卻是被怪罪的一方
11:04
If she got pregnant before she got married已婚,
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如果她在結婚前懷孕
11:07
the mother母親 is blamed指責 for that, and she's punished處罰.
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母親會被責怪而她會被懲罰
11:10
She's beaten毆打.
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她會被打。
11:11
They said, "We wanted to put our girls女孩 in a safe安全 place地點."
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她們會說:“我們需要把我們的女兒帶到一個安全的地方。”
11:15
As we moved移動, and I went to talk to the fathers父親,
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然後我們搬了,我去跟父親們商量
11:18
the fathers父親, of course課程, you can imagine想像 what they said:
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理所當然 你可以猜他們說了什麼
11:20
"We want a school學校 for boys男孩."
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我們要一所男子學校”
11:22
And I said, "Well, there are a couple一對 of men男人 from my village
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我說:“有些我們村子的男人
11:26
who have been out and they have gotten得到 an education教育.
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他們也出去接受教育了
11:28
Why can't they build建立 a school學校 for boys男孩,
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為什麼他們不回來建立一所男子學校?
11:30
and I'll build建立 a school學校 for girls女孩?"
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而我來建立一所女子學校?”
11:33
That made製作 sense. And they agreed約定.
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這個說法很合理。最後他們都同意了
11:36
And I told them, I wanted them to show顯示 me a sign標誌 of commitment承諾.
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我跟他們說,我希望他們可以對他們的承擔有所表示
11:41
And they did. They donated捐贈 land土地 where we built內置 the girls'女孩 school學校.
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然後,他們便捐出了一塊地讓我們建立一所女子學校
11:46
We have.
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我們做到了。
11:47
I want you to meet遇到 one of the girls女孩 in that school學校.
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我想讓妳見一見學校裡的一名女生。
11:50
Angeline安吉莉娜 came來了 to apply應用 for the school學校,
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Angeline來學校報讀,
11:53
and she did not meet遇到 any criteria標準 that we had.
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可是,她不具備任何我們要求的條件
11:56
She's an orphan孤兒. Yes, we could have taken採取 her for that.
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她是一個孤兒。沒錯,我們可以因此讓她入學
11:59
But she was older舊的. She was 12 years年份 old,
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但她比其他同學年長, 當時她十二歲
12:02
and we were taking服用 girls女孩 who were in fourth第四 grade年級.
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我們收的是四年級學生。
12:05
Angeline安吉莉娜 had been moving移動 from one place地點 --
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Angeline曾經經歷了無數的搬遷
12:07
because she's an orphan孤兒, she has no mother母親, she has no father父親 --
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因為她是孤兒,沒有母親,也沒有父親
12:09
moving移動 from one grandmother's祖母 house to another另一個 one,
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所以,她只能從一個祖母的房子搬到另一個,
12:11
from aunties阿姨 to aunties阿姨. She had no stability穩定性 in her life.
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從一位阿姨家再搬到另一個阿姨家。她沒有安定的生活
12:15
And I looked看著 at her, I remember記得 that day,
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我記得那一天,我看著她,
12:18
and I saw something beyond what I was seeing眼看 in Angeline安吉莉娜.
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我看到了一個超越了我所能看見的Angeline
12:22
And yes, she was older舊的 to be in fourth第四 grade年級.
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對,她進四年級稍嫌大了點
12:25
We gave her the opportunity機會 to come to the class.
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我們給她機會來上學
12:28
Five months個月 later後來, that is Angeline安吉莉娜.
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五個月之後,這個是Angeline。
12:31
A transformation轉型 had begun開始 in her life.
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她的生命開始有了轉變
12:34
Angeline安吉莉娜 wants to be a pilot飛行員 so she can fly around the world世界
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Angeline希望能成為一飛行員,讓她可以飛往全世界
12:37
and make a difference區別.
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影響世界
12:39
She was not the top最佳 student學生 when we took her.
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當我們錄取她的時候,她並不是最頂尖的學生
12:40
Now she's the best最好 student學生, not just in our school學校,
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現在她是最優秀的學生,不只是在我們的學校,
12:43
but in the entire整個 division that we are in.
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而是在我們整個地區
12:46
That's Sharon沙龍. That's five years年份 later後來.
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這就是莎崙。這是五年後的照片。
12:50
That's Evelyn伊夫林. Five months個月 later後來, that is the difference區別 that we are making製造.
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這是Evelyn。 這是五個月後,這都是我們在做的改變。
12:57
As a new dawn黎明 is happening事件 in my school學校,
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一到新曙光出現在我們學校
13:01
a new beginning開始 is happening事件.
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一個嶄新的開始
13:03
As we speak說話 right now, 125 girls女孩 will never be mutilated肢解.
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此時此刻,有125個女生將永遠不會經歷割禮。
13:08
One hundred twenty-five二十五 girls女孩 will not be married已婚 when they're 12 years年份 old.
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有125個女生不會在她們十二歲時被強迫結婚
13:13
One hundred twenty-five二十五 girls女孩 are creating創建 and achieving實現 their dreams.
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有125個女生正在創造並完成她們的夢想
13:19
This is the thing that we are doing,
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這是我們正在做的事情。
13:21
giving them opportunities機會 where they can rise上升.
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讓她們有機會發光發熱
13:25
As we speak說話 right now, women婦女 are not being存在 beaten毆打
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此時此刻,女性不再被打
13:28
because of the revolutions革命 we've我們已經 started開始 in our community社區.
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因為我們在社區裡開始進行的改革
13:32
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
13:39
I want to challenge挑戰 you today今天.
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今天,我想挑戰你們
13:42
You are listening to me because you are here,
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你們在這裡聆聽我,是因為你們在這裡
13:45
very optimistic樂觀.
255
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你們都是非常樂觀的人
13:48
You are somebody who is so passionate多情.
256
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你們都是充滿激情的人
13:51
You are somebody who wants to see a better world世界.
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你們都想見到一個更美好的世界。
13:55
You are somebody who wants to see that war戰爭 ends結束, no poverty貧窮.
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你們都是想看見戰事結束,不再有貧窮
14:00
You are somebody who wants to make a difference區別.
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你們都是想做些改變的人
14:02
You are somebody who wants to make our tomorrow明天 better.
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你們都希望可以讓明天變的更好
14:06
I want to challenge挑戰 you today今天 that to be the first,
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今天我想挑戰你成為第一個採取行動的人
14:10
because people will follow跟隨 you.
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因為其他人會追隨你。
14:12
Be the first. People will follow跟隨 you.
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成為第一個採取行動的人。 人們會追隨你的
14:14
Be bold膽大. Stand up. Be fearless不怕. Be confident信心.
264
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要放膽,站起來。要無懼,有信心。
14:20
Move移動 out, because as you change更改 your world世界,
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出去吧,因為你可以改變你的世界,
14:23
as you change更改 your community社區,
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改變你的社群,
14:25
as we believe that we are impacting影響 one girl女孩, one family家庭,
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因為我們相信,我們同時在改變一個女孩,一個家庭
14:30
one village, one country國家 at a time.
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一個村子,一個國家
14:33
We are making製造 a difference區別, so if you change更改 your world世界,
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我們在改變,所以如果你想要改變你的世界,
14:36
you are going to change更改 your community社區,
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你也在改變你的社群,
14:38
you are going to change更改 your country國家,
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你也在改變你的國家,
14:40
and think about that. If you do that, and I do that,
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試想一下,如果你在做,我也做,
14:43
aren't we going to create創建 a better future未來 for our children孩子,
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我們不是就在一起創造一個更好的將來給我們的下一代
14:47
for your children孩子, for our grandchildren孫子?
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你的孩子,給我們的子孫嗎?
14:49
And we will live生活 in a very peaceful平靜的 world世界. Thank you very much.
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那麼我們就可以活在一個和平的世界裡了。感謝大家!
14:53
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Sharon Loh
Reviewed by Ingrid Fan

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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