The Vinson Institute International Center hosted a delegation of 14 Kenyan women March 7–27 as part of the Women of the Maasai Empowerment and Networks Project sponsored by the U.S. Department of State. The women visited Athens, Atlanta, Savannah, and LaGrange, where they interacted with representatives from local governments and nonprofit organizations, participated in leadership training sessions, and were exposed to a range of civic experiences.

The visiting Kenyan women are all Maasai, a seminomadic, herding people living across parts of southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. Maasai society is often male-dominated, and the Women of the Maasai project seeks to empower the visiting Kenyan women through their experiences in America.

“The women who participated in the project came from different backgrounds in Kenya—urban and rural areas alike were represented in the delegation,” said Vinson Institute project coordinator Njeri Marekia-Cleaveland, “but they all shared an involvement in small business development in their country. We hope that this project will enable the women to be more active participants in their civil society.”

While in the United States, the women engaged in discussions with American business and government leaders, many of them women. Mayor Heidi Davison addressed the group at Athens-Clarke County City Hall with insights into effective leadership.

The delegation also attended learning sessions designed to introduce them to key concepts in leadership and entrepreneurship and to issues facing leaders in local governments and businesses. UGA’s Small Business Development Center briefed the women on the process of starting a small business. Other topics covered included public speaking, grassroots organization, ethics, conflict resolution, nonprofit management, and grant writing.

Further supplementing their experience were visits to government agencies and community organizations, such as Habitat for Humanity, Nature Conservancy, Athens Transit System, and the Boys and Girls Clubs.

Cultural experiences also played a significant role in the project. While in Athens, the women stayed in local homes instead of hotels, enabling them to gain a more personal connection with their hosts. Other Georgians opened their homes for dinners and teas honoring the visitors.

The Kenyan delegation visited the Dekalb Farmers Market, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, and the CNN Center in Atlanta; a school in LaGrange; and the AIDS quilt and an ecological conservation project in Savannah.

This was the second group of Kenyan women to travel to Georgia as part of the Women of the Maasai project. The Vinson Institute hosted a delegation of 28 in spring of 2008. Following that visit, a group of eight Athens women traveled to Kenya with two Vinson Institute faculty members to meet with Kenyan women working in government and nonprofits.