Many of you have followed from time to time a project that I decided to do while creating an empowerment and leadership program here in East Africa. The project involved a group of single mothers who were making ends meet the only way they knew how… by brewing illegal alcohol. They had a dream of leaving that way of life and having a dairy herd. The project I created was to make their dream a reality. For those not familiar, a media company here in East Africa did a short 5 minute documentary of their efforts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCSjudNPoS0

There have been many challenges and they have have made much progress since the exciting days of the cows arriving. But in my admiration and absolute respect for what these women are trying to do, I sometimes forget what they are truly facing and the real challenges that surround them each day. I forget until I take off my rose colored lenses and take a look from a different perspective. When seeing what they have done and what still needs to happen from a “non-rosy” viewpoint, their success is anything but certain. Here is some of the views from that perspective:

* One simply cannot ignore that the women are in their society “just women” who are not supposed to run large businesses. They live in a male dominated culture where to be a women, a girl must only do three things: get married, have children, and submit to their husbands. Women who are “old” which is to say older than 40 are considered to be too old to marry with many men (and women) assuming that something must be terribly “wrong” with the older woman making her unmarryable. An older woman might become a second or third wife of a man but probably not a first wife at their age. As a humbling example, a couple of women in the group are “standing in” for older members who are sick, giving birth, or otherwise unable to attend meetings or work for the project. These women are married. If they are not home when there husbands come home they are beaten. If they need to help grind maize for feed for the cow project, their husbands will refuse to give them permission as it is not work suitable for women and as wives, they should remain in their home. Yet, these women must attend the meetings of the group as “stand ins” so it is not uncommon for them to run home after seeing or hearing their husbands heading home so as to be there before he arrives.

* Family alliances are a real issue. The family structure in many of Kenya’s tribes are very complex… at least from my perspective. And, since most families have been in “survival mode” for many generations, there has developed a “do what must be done to support the family’s attempt to survive” mentality. If one needs to steal, lie, cheat, threaten or force in order to obtain money needed for food or basic needs all is fair and ok since it is for one’s family. So imagine what is going through the minds of the women and their family members when they see cows showing up of great value, and money coming in from donors all over the world to further purchase more cows, feed, land etc. And if you think you can sense the reactive nature of somehow wanting one of the cows or some of the money for themselves or their families… multiply it by a factor of 10 and you have it. PLUS the added pressure of family “elders” (men) who are asking what is in this new project for them or the children of relatives of family member further removed. It is a real issue that is being dealt with almost every day. In another case, a woman of the group received some money from the fund raiser the group held not too long ago. She was beaten and her home searched by other family members living elsewhere until they found and took the money she had been given. Such is the way life can be for many women in Kenya… more in the conservative countryside that in the larger more educated urban centers.

* Thinking in a business sense and for the long term is simply a new line of thinking. There is no baseline for comparison or for a foundation of what to do as they have always spent each day what was obtained that day in order to get to tomorrow. The concept of allowing money to accumulate in order to expand the business, have a reserve for emergencies, and to create more capital is simply a foreign concept. They get the concept easily enough but the pressures to take the money that is “right there” NOW for the pressing needs is almost overwhelming.

* The work they have had to do to get enough grass and feed to last through the coming dry season (now here) has been hard. It is hard because they are working and not being paid (although they know it will pay off in the long run) and because it competes sometimes with the needs of their own personal businesses that they desperately need to create the short term income each need if they are to remain out of brewing. They have enough time, but managing that time is a very disciplined mindset and the Kenyan sense of time is very laid back. If one understands the Native American Indian’s sense of time then you have a good sense of “Kenyan Time”. It is very hard to be time bound when everyone around you are not.

* Finally, the unseen economic pressures have hit them full force… international oil prices and the International monetary system. They are on a very strict income where every penny (shilling) counts. When fuel, kerosene in this case, rises 60% and as a consequence basic food requirements (flour, sugar, vegetables and fruits) rise more than 100% in a few months, that is as close to an economic disaster that one can get anywhere in the world. The impact obviously is what they were making with their new businesses to replace their old brewing income is not near enough and school fees for their children are now fast approaching. Most do not see a way they will be able to pay and they are committed to their children going to school… boys AND girls. So the pressures to go back to the “sure thing” income of brewing mounts daily and the needs for the women to help each other also increases each day.

This is the real world these women find themselves in today. It is hard. They are stretching what has been considered to be the norm and they are having to learn how to think and respond rather than simply react and repeat. They are stretching and expanding the norms of society and culture and in some ways society and culture are pushing back. Yet, they are committed, focused, and truly want to create a better life for themselves, their families, their community and region. What the actual outcome will be is anyone’s guess. Yet I believe in them and I get a sense that they see what their future can be as they slowly begin to believe it will be if they can just hold on, work hard, and have a whole lot of faith.

An After Thought: The women’s group has 6 children in secondary school at this time. Primary school is free but secondary schools have fees attached for attending. The cost to send one child to secondary school for a year is about 16,000 shillings or approximately $188 USD (assuming the shilling to be near 85 to the dollar). So for $1,128 dollars the pressure of the fees would be off their shoulders for a year as they work to stabilize and grow their dairy business. Relieving that pressure will give them some breathing room… something that they desperately need at the moment. If you would like to help, please send a check payable to: David Bernard-Stevens (me) and send it to 501 Hazelwood Drive, Lincoln, Nebraska 68510. When received, family members will deposit it into the proper account and I will withdraw it via an ATM in shillings to give to the women when a meaningful level is reached. Please put “School Fees” in the notation portion of your check. If you would rather send your donation directly to me here in Kenya via MoneyGram or Western Union, let me know and I will send you the Swift Codes and other pertinent information. You will be advised when your donation has been received and kept updated on the effort. Please note that your donation will not be tax deductible.

These women have the potential of changing the very social fabric that has kept women and children “down” in most developing countries. The impact they could have to other women within Africa and the world is infinite in its potential. The world needs them somehow to find a way. With your help, the winds of change being sown here may become a gale of possibilities…

David

I do not know the words to adequately describe what I experienced the other day in rural Kenya. It seemed almost surreal yet it was as real as life can get. It was in a small unlit room that a group of single women with children met to work out some difficult issues that had arisen within the group in their attempt to switch from making and selling illegal “brew” to establishing alternative incomes and leave brewing forever.

They had done so much already. They had created small businesses in order to replace the income they chose to lose when they determined that brewing was not what they wanted for their lives or how they wanted to impact the people and youth of their area. They had captured the hearts of many in the world with their efforts to create something positive out of virtually nothing. They had stated to some their dream of one day creating a dairy business to positively change the lives of their children and community around them. And when people around the world heard of their courage and dream, they responded by donating to buy the first cows for their future herd.

It was at that moment when everything changed. What was a dream was becoming a reality. The contempt and being looked down upon of the past had seemingly overnight changed to respect and appreciation of what they were attempting to do and the role models they were becoming for women, youth and yes, even men. Overnight it seems their lives changed from no one caring to almost everyone watching and caring what they did in their daily lives.

Of course there were people who did their best to help prepare the women for what was about to happen, yet no one can be totally prepared for something they have never experienced before. This I know from my own experiences. I remember people trying to prepare me for the changes my life would have when I was appointed to be a state senator and when I was chosen as a teacher of the year. Yet as others tried to prepare me I can tell you that the actual experience was nothing I was prepared for. I struggled mightily, made mistakes, and learned some tough but valuable lessons… just as these women are now beginning to experience, struggle and learn.

So there we all were in that small unlighted room one afternoon as a steady rain came down making walking difficult along the mud roads and pathways. There had been challenges. There had been mistakes made. There was a need to clear the air and find some stable ground again. And when the sharing began no one held back and the truth of their challenges and lives flowed freely and earnestly.

For me it was an experience in many ways I will cherish forever. It was in that small unlit room where the insidious effects of inflation, the fact that there was little money in the area and businesses everywhere were down, the increasing challenges of paying school fees for children getting older, children and relatives in desperate need of health care and of the huge tasks and individual effort facing all of them in getting their now six cows through the dry season… effort that was needed immediately but would not bear fruit for another 3 or 4 years. To a person, every woman knew the value of their efforts to maintain the herd for what the future would hold for them and their families. Yet how to survive in the prevailing economic conditions until that time was weighing heavily on their minds and hearts.

It was a sharing I shall never forget. It was a sharing of individual struggle. It was a sharing that found comfort and support from the others within the group and it was a sharing where the real challenges of surviving for most of the people in the world came into clear focus and light. And throughout it all, I grew to respect these women so much more and yes I love each of them for what they are attempting to do. They are attempting to do the right thing for their lives and for others when everything around them is seemingly pushing them to go against what they know in their hearts to be true. The survival mentality is strong in everyone and the sense of doing what one must whether right or wrong to survive another day can become overwhelming.

In the room that day there was pain. There were tears and a sharing that held nothing back. And in that room was great courage and still a sense of hope. It was there that the realness of life and the deciding of how to respond and create something new and not just react and repeat the past came front and center. It was so very real and not just something to write about in theory. It was as real as it can get.

Yet, these women know what they want for their lives and are doing everything they can to support each other, to be strong, to be firm when needed and to somehow find a way. It was an amazing thing to see and experience and it reaffirmed within my spirit the true power we all have within our internal spirit if we dare to dream, act to create, and most of all believe that we can change our future and become who we wish to be.

In the end, they all recommitted to where they wished to go, who they wished to be and that it would be by their actions that they would be successful… or not. They reinforced how they would help each other and put in stronger enforcement of where they are going along with strict accountability for each member.

And with that the community also responded. The District Chief of Law Enforcement, community Elders and many others within the community offered to help the group with a “Harambee” or community fund raiser with the proceeds to help solidify the small businesses the women began almost a year ago. For it is the view of the community leaders that if these women can succeed, everything will potentially change. Women will be more empowered, youth will see that just because there are no jobs doesn’t mean jobs cannot be created, and there will be income over time from the dairy farm that will benefit all including education and health care.

The Harambee will take place on December 1st. If you feel you would like to be supportive of this community in rural Kenya and their fight to create something different for their future, you can send a check to me, David Bernard-Stevens at: 501 Hazelwood Drive, Lincoln Nebraska, 68510. Put “Harambee” in the notation section and any amount will have an impact. When your donation is received it will be put into the appropriate account where I will withdraw all proceeds in Kenyan Shillings via ATM services here in Nairobi. I will then send the proceeds to the women’s group as a contribution to the Harambee from the world community. Please understand that your donation will not be tax deductible.

Finally, the women too know that they must show their own support for the Harambee besides what they have already done and are currently doing. They are assessing themselves and putting that money into the Harambee as they know they must be part of the solution and not just receivers of good will. In a time where every shilling is valuable, each has pledged 500 shillings or about 5 US dollars for the Harambee. It may not seem like much, but in life here, it is everything.

May each of you have the most blessed of Holiday Seasons.

David

Here I am posting a thought about leadership and I am cringing a bit. Not that I am not passionate about leadership, I am. I cringe, I think, because we (those of us who live and breathe leadership) have gotten lost over the years. For the more I get into the true essence of leadership, I get the clear sense that all of the hype, the sales, the workshops, books and 7 step processes are more about successful business models rather than helping to build better leaders in the world. That is not a bad thing, mind you for I too have a business model that I use to create my leadership training throughout the world. I just think that we get lost somewhere between the hype, sales, and ego and that of truly making a difference for people in the world.

I am finding that the word leadership is sadly overused, abused and blurred to the point where even when one hears the word “leadership” one sees a picture in the mind that is illusion at best.

I was working with a wonderful group of educated, bright and committed career professionals not too long ago when after attending a two day workshop had had developed for them, they admitted they had attended countless workshops on leadership and team-building throughout their careers and NEVER had they had they experienced a concept of leadership that was so deeply personal and meaningful. Never had they been asked to discover their own core values and to ask the tough questions as to whether they were living their lives in each moment in alignment with their values. Never had they thought in a meaningful way as to their purpose in life and how choosing to live within their core values that flowed towards their purpose could bring such joy, passion, commitment and energy in their life.

That was a wonderful moment as they had begun to learn about what leadership truly is and always has been. They saw were leadership is simply having the courage and commitment to be whom one was created to be… that leadership is simply leading one’s self. It is the knowing of what one stands for (core values) and the understanding of the power and joy that comes with choosing to act within ones values and purpose. They began to see the possibilities of finding shared visions and values from their own lives with those of where they worked and from their colleagues. They began to see the ways of finding joy both at home and at work in a way that gave their lives meaning, purpose and best of all joy. They began to learn what true leadership was all about – and it was not what they had been taught before.

When one opens their mind to the possibilities of what can be, becomes aware of how reality is created along with the infinite realities that can exist, and the true power and impact of thoughts, intentions and action; then one becomes open to the infinite possibilities of personal leadership. When one does, they find that leadership is not the managing, administering, or “controlling” events at all. Rather it is the realization of the power within each of us and our ability make real our dreams and hopes. It is leading from deep within ourselves and with others in a way that creates sustainable outcomes that most thought were impossible. It is the power to create lives of meaning and purpose and to change the reality of our world. Leadership is a personal choice.

So what will you choose to do and to be today? More importantly, why?

Here I am posting a thought about leadership and I am cringing a bit. Not that I am not passionate about leadership, I am. I cringe, I think, because we (those of us who live and breathe leadership) have gotten lost over the years. For the more I get into the true essence of leadership, I get the clear sense that all of the hype, the sales, the workshops, books and 7 step processes are more about successful business models rather than helping to build better leaders in the world. That is not a bad thing, mind you for I too have a business model that I use to create my leadership training throughout the world. I just think that we get lost somewhere between the hype, sales, and ego and that of truly making a difference for people in the world.

I am finding that the word leadership is sadly overused, abused and blurred to the point where even when one hears the word “leadership” one sees a picture in the mind that is an illusion at best.

I was working with a wonderful group of educated, bright and committed career professionals not too long ago when after attending a two day workshop I had developed for them, they admitted they had attended countless workshops on leadership and team-building throughout their careers and NEVER had they had they experienced a concept of leadership that was so deeply personal and meaningful. Never had they been asked to discover their own core values and to ask the tough questions as to whether they were living their lives in each moment in alignment with their values. Never had they thought in a meaningful way as to their purpose in life and how choosing to live within their core values that flowed towards their purpose could bring such joy, passion, commitment and energy in their life.

That was a wonderful moment as they had begun to learn about what leadership truly is and always has been. They saw were leadership is simply having the courage and commitment to be whom one was created to be… that leadership is simply leading one’s self. It is the knowing of what one stands for (core values) and the understanding of the power and joy that comes with choosing to act within ones values and purpose. They began to see the possibilities of finding shared visions and values from their own lives with those of where they worked and from their colleagues. They began to see the ways of finding joy both at home and at work in a way that gave their lives meaning, purpose and best of all joy. They began to learn what true leadership was all about – and it was not what they had been taught before.

When one opens their mind to the possibilities of what can be, becomes aware of how reality is created along with the infinite realities that can exist, and the true power and impact of thoughts, intentions and action; then one becomes open to the infinite possibilities of personal leadership. When one does, they find that leadership is not the managing, administering, or “controlling” events at all. Rather it is the realization of the power within each of us and our ability make real our dreams and hopes. It is leading from deep within ourselves and with others in a way that creates sustainable outcomes that most thought were impossible. It is the power to create lives of meaning and purpose and to change the reality of our world. Leadership is a personal choice.

So what will you choose to do and to be today? More importantly, why?

I want to acknowledge Roshanna Evans for her help and inspiration in putting this article together… thanks dear friend.

Almost a year ago I was asked by a young man to come and speak to four groups in rural Kenya on empowerment and authentic leadership. I stepped into a reality riddled by despair, loss, abuse, and impossibility. Yet the dark histories and obvious uncertainties about their future paled in comparison to the vibrant hungry hearts and earnest voices sitting on the ground under a tree listening and asking questions, eager to understand how they could create a new future.

Of the four groups, one group stood out. 20 women had banded together to end their nightmare of abuse and alienation, women who refused to be forgotten, who had children to feed and knew, if they had the tools, they could create a life of meaning and purpose out of nothing, and with all odds stacked against them.

They won my heart with their spirit and tenacity. They hid nothing and gave all. Fearless. Committed. Women who dared to dream of the dairy herd that would allow them to have the money to send their children to school and be educated. Women with motive, heart and backbone, women who made it clear they were ready and capable.

I left that event compelled to find some way of helping these 20 women jump-starting their dream. How? Millions of similar stories come from around the world. There are no upfront guarantees, no promises, only dream and tenacity. And, I knew if these women were given a chance they would not disappoint for they had already shown that they could create lives with meaning from virtually nothing.

One month ago, a woman with a spirit that can engulf a universe donated $100.00 and sent out a viral message to friends to match her so the Kenyan women would have their chance. Within five days enough had been donated for 3 cows and building materials needed to start a dairy herd. That was followed by donations from a group of students I had taught more than 30 years ago who also wanted to make a real difference in the world, a family in the UK, a woman in Australia, a gentleman from Ireland and people within the US from California, to Chicago, Nebraska, New York City and places in between!

It was the jumpstart we needed! A graduate of Agrarian Studies donated his services to teach the women about the business of agrarian farming. A school donated 7.5 acres of land and a water supply. With time very limited before the dry season is upon them, the women immediately began to till the land, plant a hay crop, and construct a cow shed and milking stations. As I write they are putting a fence around the land and the motor is being fixed on the well. With so much going on, even the village elders have come to witness the change.

And now thanks to the wonderful crew of A24 Media/Camerapix, there is a brief 5 minute documentary of the women, their efforts to make change and a difference in their lives, and the dairy project’s jump-start. That link is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCSjudNPoS0

The original donors funded this starship enterprise in Kenya. They helped to change the lives of 20 women who, in turn, changed the future of their children and became living testaments to millions of others in similar circumstances.

Now, your donations can help secure that foundation and three things are critical: