A young female pilot and education advocate Glain Naneu Kimer has been nominated for the She Awards East Africa in the category of Founder of the Year (Under 30 years) for her advocacy work.
The awards are for women, young or old, making change in the community, and voting is done online through https://ea.sheawards.africa/express-vote.
The young Kimer, who is from Kajiado West, is the founder of Omom Elite, a community-based organization operating in Kajiado County.
She is the youngest female Maasai licensed private pilot. She was nominated to the She Awards competition because of her role in founding the CBO, which has been promoting and ensuring equal access to education for girls (and boys) in her community.
The CBO is part of the She Leads project that is implemented by Kenya Alliance for Advancement of Children (KAACR) in Kajiado County. The project is in 6 counties in Kenya; Nairobi, Kwale, Mombasa, Kisumu, Homabay and Kajiado.
She was elected to be the Kajiado girl and young women representative in the county network committee of the She Leads project in the year 2021 – 2023.
Kimer, who spoke with Education News, said the opportunity made her gain and enhance her leadership skills.
She had identified a gap in the community that children were not passionate and zealous about education, which eventually leads to school dropout either through teenage pregnancy or early marriage.
Through the CBO, the activist has been able to rescue a number of girls from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early marriages before enrolling them back to school.
She has been vocal against cultural barriers and challenges that are obstacles to access to education.
Kimer said she was lucky to have gone to school since most parents from her community do not value girl child education. She got a Bachelor of Civil Aviation Management Degree from Moi University after studying Aviation at FliteStar Academy.
The CBO has also been at the forefront in ensuring that children from vulnerable families who are not able to raise school fees are connected to well-wishers to support their education.
By Obegi Malack
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