Gender and Social Inclusion Conversations 

I have learnt never to discount any of my experiences.

A few years ago, life pulled the rug from under my feet. I fell into deep depression, faced a massive financial crisis, and teetered on the edge of homelessness. It wasn’t that I wasn’t welcome at my parents’ or siblings’ homes,  but going back wasn’t one of my preferred options. Wanja Gathura hosted me for around 9 months.

So I did what I could. I took my small car, changed the insurance to PSV, upgraded my driver's license, and hit the road as an Uber driver.

At the same time, the consultancy firm I had leaned on for years had slowed down. Driving became my escape giving me an income and motion when everything else WAS stuck.

Somewhere along that road, I met Tsheri Mwongera who introduced me to the labour rights movement in the e-hailing space. Through her organization, TAWU Divas, I began to see just how sparse and underrepresented women are in this industry, and in so many others.

One day, arriving fashionably late to a meeting, I sat for lunch next to Ayoade Ibrahim. I didn’t know who he was or how deeply he was involved in the labour movement in Nigeria. That moment sparked something. Today, I find myself speaking on gender and social inclusion in e-hailing and preparing to formally launch AWCD-K.

So how about getting more women behind the wheel, driving, leading, negotiating and building? Let’s make sure women in commercial driving are fully represented in conversations about income, opportunity, and the complex challenges that affect our working lives.

Through my work in agriculture, I’ve also witnessed how systemic and cultural inequalities block women from reaching their full potential and earning power. We’ll address that too. Just like the women who came before us and raised their voices, we will raise ours.

In Habakkuk, we are asked to write the vision. And though it may tarry, it will surely come. I wrote mine. And every day I wake up, I get to rewrite it. To the friends who cheered me on, thank you. To the ones who brought pain, thank you too. You gave me fuel to rise and make a difference.

Let the Spirit lead.