The Newest PA-MOJA Team Member

Emily Rosa Lerosion joined the Ol Pejeta staff as a Project Kenya Sister School Coordinator in April of this year. Her position is uniquely dedicated to PA-MOJA work.

What brought you to this position with PA-MOJA?

I was a teacher at Sweetwaters Secondary. I was the computer teacher, the librarian, and I also worked in the science lab. I became aware of PA-MOJA because all of these areas were funded by PA-MOJA.

Also, the environment seemed interesting working with PA-MOJA and Ol Pejeta.  It had been my dream job because I had always wanted to work with information technology.

How did you know about this position?

I knew some of the people involved with PA-MOJA and I was curious about their work. I asked my friend Sylvester Saibulu, an Ol Pejeta community department staff, if he would let me know if a position became available.  I waited for quite some time, and had almost given up hope. Then a position came up in the office and they asked for someone who could do the PA-MOJA work.

How did you feel when you were called about the position?

I was happy, excited, and willing. I asked them to recommend me for the job, which they did.  Then when I was interviewed, they asked if I was experienced in Word Press. I was not, but I told them that that would not be a block to me getting the job because I am a quick learner and I have a lot of computer experience. So, they gave me a chance and I learned Word Press in one day.

Now that you are actually employed with Ol Pejeta for PA-MOJA, how are you finding it?

 I find it good working with PA-MOJA and Ol Pejeta because I’ve landed in my dream job that I’ve always wanted. I am adding to my skill background because I am able to learn. I have now learned how to work on a website and I’m still in the process of learning video editing.

Outside of work, what are your interests?

 I am interested in improving the Samburu girl-child’s value in the community.  I am a Samburu and I know how a girl-child is raised with so many challenges. The majority of these girls grow up in hardships.

For example, they are forced to undergo female genital mutilation, they are forced into marriages at a tender age, girl beading, which is when a Moran warrior presents beads to a girl, they get the right to have sex with that girl every moment they want. The girl has no choice, as it’s decided by the family. This is a cultural practice that is believed to control the teenagers from prostitution. This is a torture to this girl because she is as young as nine years, but the Moran is 18 and above.

Another example is that the girls are not given priorities in the community, such as going to school because they are considered as a source of wealth to the family. They are married out when they are very young for the cows that the father will receive upon that marriage.

For me I did not have this challenge because my father is a Catholic church elder. He is not traditional, but I saw all of my classmates drop out of school due to the above problems.

My father went to church and became connected to Father Limo Riwa, who was also interested in getting girls to school. They sponsored me from Standard One to Form 2, which equates to grade one through 10. Father Riwa managed to get so many girls to school that the community fought against him and he had to run for his life. They saw that he was fighting against the community’s culture. This change led to most of the girls dropping out of school because of the withdraw of the sponsors, forced marriages, and pregnancies.

What did you do to finish your studies?

 My father sold the property he had and he was able to pay for my fees up to Form 3. Then I was forced to play hide and seek in Form 4. That means I would be sent home, but then I would sneak back to class. Some students disappear completely because they don’t love going to school, but I did love education.  At the completion of Form 4, I did not receive my certificate because of a large fee balance. I managed to go knocking on doors for jobs and I did various jobs, such as working as a matron in primary school, and I managed to pay for my certificate.

Do you have sisters and brothers?

 Yes I do have four biological sisters, one sister that my dad adopted, and three brothers. I have supported six of my siblings so far to get through school. Four are still in high school.

How do you find any time to help Samburu girls outside of your family?

I play a major role in volunteering for the Samburu Women Trust Organization during my free time. This organization works in the uplifting of the girl child and giving Samburu women a voice in the community.

We work against the girl beading culture and we teach the girls and the women about their rights to say no to any negative culture. We do this by teaching them on their rights as expressed in the Kenyan Constitution.  My hope is that this organization grows and gets support from all well-wishers to be able to rescue these girls from these negative cultural practices.

It seems that your work and your outside interests all relate to community development. Do you think that this is because of your childhood experiences?

Yes, it is true. This is because I’ve always had interests of supporting my community and these experiences working with PA-MOJA at Ol Pejeta have given me a wider look at several communities’ challenges in different tribes.

Through this work, I am able to see similar challenges in other communities, and I’m able to see various solutions through different tribes.  In this way, my work has introduced me to strong women from different tribes, and I am able to use their example to uplift the Samburu women.

Dawn Kane