The Diplomat
The Kenyan economist Susan Kinyua received this week in Madrid the Harambee 2024 Award for the Promotion and Equality of African Women, which thus recognizes her professional work as a director of the Kianda Foundation.
The award ceremony, which took place in Caixabank’s All in One space, was chaired by Teresa de Borbón dos Sicilias and Nicolás Zombré, general director of Laboratorios René Furterer of Pierre Fabre Spain.
Also speaking at the celebration was Professor Albert Ribera, Associate Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, who spoke about Africa’s challenges, highlighting its demographic strength: “Africa’s wealth is Africans.”
This year, the event also included the presence of the mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, who closed the event by highlighting “the commitment of Harambee ONGD to African society in the present, but also in the future, for its commitment paramount for education”.
In its 15th edition, the Harambee Award has recognized the career of Susan Kinyua, General Project Coordinator and Director of Awareness at Kianda Foundation, in which she develops projects that train women in Kenya for business entrepreneurship, improving their future and generating a positive impact on the life of your family and your environment.
“These programs are nothing more than the continuity of a journey started by my foundation, which spans more than six decades of work (…), with more than 600,000 beneficiaries,” said the award-winner.
Graduated in Banking and Finance, after twelve years working at Barclays Bank in management and leadership positions, Kinyua decided to continue her professional career at Kianda, a foundation promoted by people from Opus Dei and which was a pioneer in its creation, more than 60 years ago. , from the first multi-racial hospitality training and secretarial school in Kenya.
In this social entity, Susan Kinyua has assumed different management roles and has been developing, for more than 20 years, programs with a notable social impact such as the Fanikisha project, to which she will allocate the prize money.
Through the Fanikisha Women Entrepreneurs Support Program (which means breakthrough in Swahili), they have trained more than 4,500 women in 90 villages and urban suburbs in business skills.
After passing through the program, more than 60% of the beneficiaries manage to double their income in six months. Kinyua also stands out for implementing a care approach that includes the mental health care of the participants – she currently combines her work with studying for a degree in Psychotherapy.
“Supporting women is not just training them on a business level, it is giving them comprehensive attention, listening to them with genuine interest and seeing beyond their businesses. It is this space of listening and mentoring of the program, which significantly improves their self-esteem and that has a real final impact on their families, their companies and their environment,” explained the Kenyan economist in her speech.
For his part, Antonio Hernández Deus, president of Harambee, declared that for his NGO “it is an honor to unite his name with Kianda” through this award: “Kianda is a dream because his achievements overwhelm the imagination, but it is so real like the face, like the name, of each of the thousands of women it has reached.
Since 2010, the Harambee Award for the Promotion and Equality of African Women has recognized people and initiatives that carry out outstanding humanitarian, cultural and educational work in sub-Saharan Africa.
