The international Harambee project has granted the Harambee Award 2023 for the Promotion and Equality of African Women to Florence Oloo. Dr. Oloo holds a PhD in Chemical Sciences from the University of Agriculture and Technology, Jomo Kenyatta of Kenya; a degree in Philosophy and Educational Sciences from the University of Rome; a lecturer at the university; She is the founder of an ethics committee that oversees the supervision of human-related research to prevent abuses in human clinical trials; she is the director of the Centre for Research in Therapeutic Sciences; and she is also the driving force behind the Women Empowerment Program, Jakana - Kenyawegi, the program for which she received the Harambee Award.
A program to help women in Kenya
Dr. Oloo's Jakana Center targets vulnerable women and girls in Kisumu County (Kisumu County).Kenya). They make up more than 50 % of the population and grow up in situations of poverty with the constant threat of teenage pregnancies, child marriages, sexually transmitted diseases and violence.
In the Jakana area, near Kisumu, it is very common for fathers to sell their daughters, while they are still children, to older men. In exchange, the fathers receive a dowry with which they usually pay for the boys' education, while the girls enter into a relationship of absolute dependence on their husbands.
To combat this abusive situation, the Jakana Center modeled a three-month program in which women learn about finance, business management and leadership. In this way, they are given the opportunity to start their own projects to gain independence.
The first program has now been completed and 30 women have participated. The Harambee award is an important help to further promote the Jakana Center, so that Florence Oloo's vision becomes a reality. Empowering women is empowering the whole community, and thus the whole country," she says.
The award, which is given annually, is intended to reward individuals, institutions or groups whose humanitarian, cultural or educational work benefits African women. The prize is worth 10,000 euros and is sponsored by the René Furterer brand of Pierre Fabre Laboratories. In addition, it involves a campaign to make visible and promote the activity of the award winner.
