Peninah Musyimi
BornDecember 1978
Mathare Valley, Kenya
EducationUniversity of Nairobi
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur and lawyer
Known forNairobi slums to lawyer

Peninah Nthenya Musyimi (born December 1978) is a Kenyan lawyer activist, who established the 'Safe Spaces' project, to empower young women who were growing up in the slums of Nairobi. The project draws on her own life experience as the first person from her neighbourhood in the Mathare Valley to graduate from university. In 2011 she was the recipient of Care International's "I am Powerful" award.

Life

View of the Mathare Valley in 2009

Musyimi was born in December 1978 in the area of Nairobi known as Mathare Valley.[1] Her family were poor and lived in a house without a toilet, so she worked for her neighbours for cash payment.[2] Drink, drugs and prostitution are common sights in Mathare Valley, which affect the ability of young people from there to access education.[1]

Nevertheless, Musyimi managed to start primary education, although she had no uniform or shoes, and became a good student.[1] However it was unlikely that she would be able to attend secondary school. Despite setbacks, she did manage to arrange funding, walking 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) to school every day.[3] Musyimi wanted to go on to university, but this was without precedent for a girl from her background, plus her father wanted her to get married.[1]

One route to a university education that was open to Musyimi was the possibility of a scholarship based on ability at basketball. However there were few sports facilities where she lived. There was a basketball court at a church and she persuaded a basketball player there to teach her.[4] She told her trainer that once she had the skills then she could create a team at the church.[4] With intensive training, she passed the basketball trials and obtained a $400 scholarship to attend the University of Nairobi, where she studied Law and Social Science.[3][4][2] She was the first woman from the Mathare Valley slum to graduate from university.[5]

After graduation Musyimi trained as a lawyer, but recognised there was further activism that she could undertake.[4] In 2008 she established "Safe Spaces" with funds from Schools without Borders and the Dutch embassy.[2] The aim of the organisation is to increase the confidence and opportunities for girls in Nairobi. The project encourages girls to have ambitions and supplies funding to support secondary and university education. It also teaches girls how to be mechanics.[6] It began with an initial meeting in her home with a small group of teenagers, where they discussed how women were "treated like trash".[7]

Awards and recognition

In 2011 she was given that year's "I am Powerful" award by CARE[7] on the 100th anniversary of International Women's Day.[8] She went to Washington to receive the award.[9]

In 2014 she delivered a TEDx talk about her story titled "I am the Change" in Amsterdam. As of February 2022, it has been viewed 10,000 times.[10] In 2019 she was invited to Amsterdam where she spoke about emancipation at the opening of a symposium. She spoke at the Cobra Museum in aid of International Women's Day.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Peninah's Story, archived from the original on 22 February 2022, retrieved 22 February 2022
  2. ^ a b c "Basketball of hope for Nairobi slum children | Kenya". nation.africa. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Peninah Nthenya Musyimi". www.cultureunplugged.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d "She is a Basketball Champion and Lawyer: Peninah Musyimi". CARE. 8 March 2021. Archived from the original on 16 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  5. ^ Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Children's (31 December 2012). State of the World's Children 2012: Children in an Urban World. United Nations. p. 61. ISBN 978-92-1-059758-6. Archived from the original on 18 March 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  6. ^ "In The Spotlight : Peninah Nthenya Musyimi, Safe Spaces". Tiara International LLC. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b Peninah Nthenya Musyimi was this year's recipient of CARE's "I am Powerful" Award, archived from the original on 22 February 2022, retrieved 22 February 2022
  8. ^ Aafjes, Astrid (2011). "Sports: A Powerful Strategy to Advance Women's Rights". The Fletcher Forum of World Affairs. 35 (2): 53–63. ISSN 1046-1868. JSTOR 45289532. Archived from the original on 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  9. ^ International Women's Day Celebrations, archived from the original on 24 February 2022, retrieved 24 February 2022
  10. ^ 'I am the change' | Peninah Nthenya Musyimi | TEDxAmsterdam 2014, archived from the original on 21 February 2022, retrieved 21 February 2022
  11. ^ "Nieuws: Wethouder Gordon: de vrouwenemancipatie is nog niet voltooid". www.amstelveenweb.com. Archived from the original on 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
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