Moulding girls to women

Growing up, Joyce Sintamei Kiereini never tasted a parent’s love. This triggered her to start an organisation that shields young women from backward cultural practices in Narok County. She spoke to Jeckonia Otieno

Every child desires to be raised under the love and comfort of both parents. But Joyce Sintamei Kiereini never tasted this warmth.

She lost her mother when she was six months and her dad went on to remarry forgetting all about her.

The loneliness and neglect she felt growing up inspired her to start Olmarei Lang (our family in Maa) — an organisation that has transformed the lives of young girls in Narok County.

Through the organisation, Joyce is now a powerful agent of change.

 Against early marriage

• .

  Keep Reading

• 
  Kenya Power eyes home internet space in new digitalisation plan
• 
  All-women's varsity set to unveil new courses starting in January
• 
  FKF-WPL: Trinity Starlets move top as defending champions Kenya Police Bullets drop points
• 
  Junior Starlets keep heads high despite losing on U17 World Cup debut

She shares the journey: “I started this organisation in 1999 when I saw the misery young girls were going through when they were forced into early marriage or to undergo female genital mutilation.

We offer solace to girls who run away from such backward cultural practices. When I started I got funding from an organisation in Italy and with time I have gotten more partners to support our efforts.”

Olmarei Lang has a voluntary counselling and testing centre and trains traditional birth attendants on safe motherhood.

So far, more than 100 traditional birth attendants have received the training.

The organisation, which is based in Narok Town, has a wide reach in Narok.

It has rescued a number of girls from forced marriages and sponsored many girls to school.

But who is this woman with a heart of gold?

Born in Nairragie Enkare in Narok County, Joyce was the last born in a family of four children. After her mother’s death she was forced to live with her big sister who educated her. She had little recollection of life with her father.

She recalls an interesting episode: “When I was young, I used to play by the roadside and occasionally a man would pass by and give me a few shillings. I would report this to my sister and she would tell me that was my father.”  

Other than that, she knew nothing about him.

Joyce attended Nai Primary School until Class Four then she transferred to Regional Education Board Primary School — now Maasai Girls Secondary School in Narok.

Background

She sat for her O-level exams at Alliance Girls High then proceeded to State House Girls High School for her A-levels.

She then joined the University of Nairobi for a Bachelors degree in Education after which she was posted to Mary Leakey Secondary School.

  Joyce has also been a teacher at Precious Blood Riruta where she taught for more than 12 years before she joined the Catholic Relief Services.

Later, Joyce joined Plan International to implement a gender programme then had a stint at Concern Universal which was running projects in Ukambani and Kajiado.

Many milestones

After 17 years in the teaching field, Joyce called it quits to serve her people in Narok.

Despite the milestones that have been made in fighting backward cultural practices in Masaailand, Joyce says female genital mutilation and early marriage is still a big challenge in her community.

Says Joyce: “Just recently, there was a case where a young girl in Form One was to be married off because her parents could not afford to pay her school fees.

As an organisation, we stepped in and paid her fees. She is now going on with her studies.

These are the kind of cases we handle and it is our joy when we empower girls with education.”

For school dropouts who are already adults, the organisation trains them on vocational skills like hairdressing, tailoring and metalwork.

This has seen a number of young people who would otherwise be jobless fend for themselves.

Joyce is married to Douglas Kiereini, a motorbike enthusiast, and they have four children and five grandchildren.

 Joyce’s dream is to empower Masaai girls so that they can lead successful and meaningful lives.