News Categories: Culture

Male Engagement now a Thematic area in the department’s programs.
CEC-M for Gender, Cooperatives, Culture, Tourism & Wildlife, Janet Sereu, chairing a gender sector working group consultative meeting who’s main Agenda was a new thematic area i.eMALE ENGAGEMENT IN POLICY AND INCLUSION OF THE BOY CHILD.The sector work group saw the growing need to have the boy child brought on board, so as to address issues facing them as well as have male Engagement in fighting GBVs such as domestic violence, FGM etc.

Women mentorship program at Olgulului.

Our CEC-M in charge of Gender, Cooperatives, Culture & Tourism today led a very informative mentorship program for women at Olgulului, Kajiado South.
The Women were taken through various topics on the girl child education, menstrual Hygiene, drugs, substance abuse and pornography among young people.
The CEC will lead another session for the girls tomorrow.

Kajiado County Government’s Department of Gender,Co-operatives,Culture,Tourism and Wildlife, in collaboration with World Wildlife Fund(WWF) and the Ushanga Kenya Initiative, has ended their capacity-building training program for 50 women beaders in Kajiado South Sub-County.

This empowerment is aimed at transforming their traditional art into marketable commodities, thus yielding significant economic and social benefits.

This initiative’s strategy is centered on:
• Enhancing the business and production capabilities of women
• Organizing them into cooperative groups
• Providing essential production infrastructure
• Facilitating competitive access to local, regional, and international markets.

The culmination of this endeavor is the one-week Training of Trainers (TOT) workshop.

During this intensive program, the 50 women participants will;
• Acquire a diverse skill set, including proficiency in various bead styles.
• Adoption of new designs
• Efficient use of beading tools, leather crafting, experimentation with color combinations, and the mastery of high-quality finishing.
The overall objective is to equip these women with the ability to produce top-quality products and empower them to disseminate their acquired expertise to other women’s groups.

The workshop is a joint activity supported by IWT-CF (five groups) and BMZ II (six group ranches) in Kajiado South.

In this regard, I hosted a team of scholars and good will Ambassadors from the United Kingdom led by Prof Dr Laura Van Broeckhoven, the Director of Pitt Rivers Museum and Professor of Museum Studies, Ethics and Material Culture at the University of Oxford.

Our meeting was also attended by more than 50 traditional leaders from 25 sections of the Maa Nation from both Kenya and Tanzania.

I was elated to see the commendable research work done by the Pan-African Living Cultures Alliance (PALCA), a team led by one of their Directors, Mr. Samwel Nangiria, in identifying and properly documenting the discovery of scattered artefacts that are presently being held at numerous historical museums across Europe.

This revelation gives critical evidence of the negative impact colonialism has had on many of our communities for generations now. We strongly support the ongoing deliberations, in particular, between the Maasai through identified channels of representation and Pitt Rivers Museum as this will present an opportunity for reconciliation and healing process.

I applaud the efforts by many human rights groups working with our communities to see that progressive aspects of our culture are well preserved.

Culture remains a significant part of identity for individuals and communities as it forms an important aspect of people’s way of life, and fosters cohesion, unity through unique identity. The preservation of our cultural practices and Maasai traditions are the signals of a community that remains alive.

Governor Joseph Ole Lenku attended a rite of passage blessing ceremony (Esajata Orkiteng) at Oldule village in Entonet Lenkism Ward in Kajiado South.While delivering his speech at the ceremony he urged Maasai youth to preserve their community’s culture and still engage in education at the same time and as a result education would bring better tidings for them in future. “The culture we are observing gives you the discipline you need to excel in education. When you succeed in education, you will make it in life Mr. Lenku told the morans.
The excited morans, whose battle antics awed the huge crowd, said they had appreciated the elevation of one of their fellow constituents to the highest office in the County and promised to support Governor Lenku’s administration.
The event was meant to bless the Morans, most of whom are in school, before the school reopen next week.
Kajiado Women Representative Janet Teiyaa, and MPs Katoo Ole Metito( Kajiado South) and George Sunkuyia( Kajiado West) graced the colorful ceremony and promised to promote education among the morans.

Maasai morans during the blessing ceremony (Esajata Orkiteng) at Oldule village in Kajiado South

Fifth Annual Devolution Conference hosted in Kakamega County.
Theme: “Sustainable, Productive, Effective and Efficient Governments for Result Delivery”.

Best moment at the Devolution conference 2018 was at the Kajiado County booth.

Ezekiel Mutua of the Kenya Film Classification Board together with County staff at the Kajiado exhibition booth as he is being awarded a ”rungu” that demonstrates sign of leadership.

Kajiado County Governor Joseph Ole Lenku has called upon pastoralist communities in Kenya to be pro-active in pushing for national policies and legislation on pastoralism for it to be accepted as a viable business and a way of life.

He said Northern Kenya had for a long time been at the fore front of pushing for such policies and legislation on pastoralism. He revealed that Kajiado County had joined the fold and with strong representation of leaders from pastoral communities in The Senate and National Assembly, they were assured of responsive laws.

“Kajiado County is a key pillar in advancing development for our country anchored on the big four agenda championed by our President Uhuru Kenyatta”, said the Governor.

The Governor was speaking on Wednesday while hosting a gala for pastoralists at the ongoing Kenya Pastoralists Week in Kajiado where he challenged key stakeholders in pastoralism to engage in policy making processes at National and County level since that is the only way they would entrench prosperity of the trade in the face climate change that is threatening to disrupt their normal way of life.

At the same time he implored upon investors to consider Kajiado as the next business frontier endowed with expansive landscape, beautiful scenery and a cosmopolitan composition of cultures.

Speaking at the same function, County Commissioner David Kipkemei while praising the County Government for hosting the Pastoralist week,he urged the Maasai community to shun petty clanism and unite as one people adding that such groupings were the root cause of disunity and mistrust among the citizens of the County.

“Kajiado is the most peaceful and loving County, we should avoid uphold our culture but avoid petty clanism”, said Kipkemei.

His sentiments were echoed by trade CECM, Jackline Koin who called on the residents to maintain peace and tranquility that Kajiado has been known for adding that it is this that has made it the cradle of culture.

“Never run away from your culture but let us all work as one people,” said Koin.

Also present at the function was former Senate Speaker, Ekwe Ethuro.

The Kenya Pastoralist Week is a platform that brings together pastoralism from across the Country to discuss among other issues, pastoral practices, livelihood and legislation governing animal trade and movement. This forum is key as it happens in the face of imminent climate change that has changed pastoral patterns and it is hoped that the stakeholders will learn from and adopt best practices from other Counties.

The year’s theme focuses on Supporting Climate Smart Pastoralism in Kenya through approaches geared towards transforming and reorienting pastoralism development under new realities of climate change.

County News