Ellen Daniels-Howell, Executive Director of Global Interfaith Partnership
Today was a great time visiting a wonderful friend, Grace Atero. Grace and I met in 2007 when the Project just had gotten underway and we had enrolled only 7 secondary school students (we are over 100 now). One of those 7 students was at Ogada Secondary School, where Grace served as the visionary and dynamic Principal. We quickly became friends, and I have visited with Grace every trip since. She is one of the Umoja Project’s strongest local advocates, with a shared understanding of service and partnership. Sadly, in January Grace was involuntarily transferred to Mawego Girls School, quite a distance from Chulaimbo. The transition has not been easy for her, so it was important for Joseph and me to take the day to go visit her in her new surroundings.
Umoja Project Assistant Judith Winnie Amollo was with us for the day. Although a generation apart, Grace and Winnie actually have quite a bit in common — both are passionate about finding ways to support and mentor girls to become full participants in their communities.
As a secondary school student, Winnie received tuition support from the Umoja Project her last two years, completing her final exams last November. In January she began a one-year contract as Project Assistant, a position offered to one of our graduates each year. Winnie is an inordinately bright young woman who succeeded in school against high odds. During her senior year alone, Winnie’s sister died and her mother’s illness has stopped responding to medications. Winnie has had to assume primary responsibility for her family, while also completing her schooling and beginning her first job. Nonetheless, she already is making a significant contribution to Umoja’s work in the community.
Today, at Grace’s school, Winnie had the opportunity to speak with several of the students. She eloquently told the girls about the difficulties she encountered in her own education and urged them to persevere just as she has had to persevere. She offered herself as a role model to these younger students, reminding them that if she could make it so could they. She talked with them about the importance of girls completing their education, setting high goals for themselves, and becoming strong members of their communities.
It really was quite an inspirational talk and I was moved to tears. We envision the Umoja Project having the potential to transform lives and women like Grace do everything they can to make that possible. Today, watching Winnie interact with the Mawego girls was an opportunity to see the impact that transformation can have long-term: as students like Winnie are given the support necessary to complete their education and fulfill their potential, they begin “paying back” by serving as inspirational role models for the students who follow.