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MADRE Fall 2006 Speaking Tour:
October 2nd - October 11th

Umoja: How an African Village is Banning Violence against Women

Violence against women can be stopped.

That conviction underlies the life's work of Rebecca Lolosoli, an Indigenous Samburu woman from Kenya who has transformed her life and her community. Rebecca is the founder of Umoja, a women-run village in rural Kenya which has declared itself a "Violence against Women Free Zone."

Umoja was created by survivors of gender-based violence who resolved to build a better future for themselves and their children. Working with the international women's human rights organization MADRE, the women of Umoja are defending their right to a life free from violence and developing models for promoting women's health and economic rights. The women of Umoja are among a group of Samburu women bringing a case against the British military for the rapes of over 1400 Samburu women. Umoja has inspired other communities to replicate their model.

Rebecca Lolosoli and MADRE's Executive Director, Vivian Stromberg, will be addressing audiences across the United States in October 2006. They will share ideas and strategies, successes and challenges, and the inspiring story of the women of Umoja. Their presentation will include a slideshow of photographs of the community and the opportunity to purchase beadwork made in Umoja.

If you are able to provide an honorarium and cover domestic travel expenses for these speakers, please contact us to arrange for Ms. Stromberg and Ms. Lolosoli to visit your campus. Travel expenses include airfare, taxi and/or rental car, hotel, and meals; we ask that universities arrange an honorarium in the range of $4,000 (or $2,500 for universities in New York City). If the cost of the MADRE speaking tour exceeds your department's budget, we strongly urge you to partner with other departments, community organizations, and/or religious institutions to co-sponsor this unique and exciting event. Proceeds will benefit the Umoja Uaso Women's Group and MADRE's community-based sister organizations in Indigenous communities around the world.

To arrange a speaking engagement, or if you have any questions, please contact us at speakers@madre.org or (212) 627-0444. We look forward to hearing from you.

Speakers' Bios

Rebecca Lolosoli is an Indigenous women�s human rights activist from Kenya. She is part of a group of African women activists that is bringing a case against the British military for raping over 1400 Samburu women during the 1980s and 90s. Ms. Lolosoli is the founder of Umoja Uaso Women�s Group, an organization and community of Samburu women formed over 10 years ago to meet the needs of Samburu women living in extreme poverty, without access to critical information about HIV/AIDS, high-quality healthcare, and education. Under her direction, Umoja has offered human rights trainings for local women on HIV/AIDS, forced female genital mutilation (FGM), and combating domestic violence, and has created programs that promote women�s economic self-sufficiency and provide access to education and healthcare for Samburu women and their families. The Umoja Uaso Women�s Group is a member of the Indigenous Information Network in Kenya.

Vivian Stromberg is the Executive Director and a founding Board Member of MADRE. Ms. Stromberg's areas of expertise include women's economic development, US foreign policy, health care, popular education, sexual violence, human rights, and child development. With an emphasis on gender in all areas of work, she speaks on a broad range of subjects, both in the United States and internationally, as a keynote speaker at conferences, seminars, and symposia.

As a MADRE representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Ms. Stromberg has participated in numerous international conferences, such as the 1992 United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna; the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and the NGO Women's Forum in Beijing, China; and the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2002. She was also an Expert-in-Residence for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 1994. She has received awards and recognition from the New York City Council, the Committee for a Democratic Palestine, Gloria Steinem Women of Vision, United Bronx Parents, and Haitian Women in Solidarity. She has been featured in print media, radio, television and film, including Ms. Magazine, The Progressive, Working Mother, The Gay Financial Network, and CNBC.