Eunice Wanjiku Kamaara | |
---|---|
Born | January, 5th 1965 Ngemwa, Kiambu County. |
Nationality | Kenyan |
Occupation(s) | Professor of Religion at Moi University, Eldoret, Kenya |
Spouse | Francis Karanja |
Academic background | |
Education | PCEA Ngemwa Primary School Kiambu High School, Bachelor of arts, University of Nairobi, MPhil in Religion, MSc. in International Health Research Ethics, and PhD in African Christian Ethics. Moi University, Eldoret |
Alma mater | Moi University, Eldoret |
Academic work | |
Discipline | Religious Studies |
Sub-discipline | African Christian Ethics Social anthropologist |
Institutions | Moi University,Eldoret |
Eunice Wanjiku Kamaara is a professor of religion at Moi University,Eldoret,Kenya. Her area of specialization is African Christian Ethics. She is an International Affiliate of Indiana University,Bloomington,Indiana. Kamaara has authored over 100 publications. She is the founder and Director of African Character Initiation Program (ACIP),a program that equips adolescents with information on their identity,sexual and reproductive health and rights,life skills and African character values. Kamaara is a Top 30 World Health Organization (WHO) Africa health innovator recognized for her work with young people in the African Character Initiation Program (ACIP). Her research and publication focuses on holistic development and practice from socio-anthropological,ethical,gender,and social health perspectives. [1]
Kamaara was born on January 5,1965, [2] in Ngemwa village,Kiambu District (now Kiambu County),in Kenya. [3] She is the last born child of Stephen Mwaura Kamaara and Anne Nduta Kamaara. [4] She is married to Francis Karanja and they have two children. Kamaara was born into a Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) family. She later became a Catholic by marriage and continues to be a Catholic. [4]
Kamaara began her education at PCEA Ngemwa Primary School from 1971 to 1978. She attended Kiambu High School from 1979 to 1984 where she sat for her Ordinary level and Advanced level examinations. She attended the University of Nairobi in 1986,pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Religion. In 1993,she graduated with a Master of Philosophy in Religion from Moi University,Eldoret. She earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Religion from Moi University in 2003. Kamaara holds a postdoctoral degree in Gender Mainstreaming and a Master of Science in International Health Research Ethics. She delivered her inaugural lecture at Moi University in 2012. [5]
Eunice Kamaara is a professor of religion,whose specialization is in African Christian Ethics with interests in the intersection of Religion and health,Holistic development research,Gender and Intersectionality studies. [6] She began her teaching career at Mother of Apostles Seminary in Eldoret,Kenya,from 1989 to 1990. She later joined Moi University as a Graduate assistant (1992–1993),and rose ranks to Associate Professor (2006–2012) and a full professor (2012). [7]
Kamaara is the founder and Director of the African Character Initiation Program [8] (ACIP),which she founded in 2004. This program accompanies and empowers adolescents with information through their identity and sexual crises,helps them build their confidence and self-esteem,and provides them with life skills and character values.
Kamaara is a co-director of the Chaplaincy Training Centre at Moi University in collaboration with Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital,Kenya. The Centre integrates spiritual care in hospital settings,leadership,and teaching and learning. She has consulted for the World Council of Churches (WCC),the World Bank,United States Agency for International Development (USAID),the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF),and Institute of Development Studies/Partnership for African Social Governance Research (PASGR). She has served on international boards such as the Church World Service, and the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) ethics review board. Her consultancies are in the areas of Research,Teaching and Learning and in Mainstreaming Gender,and Diversity and Inclusivity.
Kamaara is a Top 30 WHO Africa health innovator recognizing her work with the youth in the African Character Initiation Program (ACIP). [8] She is an SRF Fellowship (2018) recipient at Indiana University Prude University Indianapolis (IUPUI),and has won several grants such as the Collaborative Partner Africa by Humboldt Research Hub in Africa. She was a Project Ethics Advisor funded by Horizon Grant of the European Research Council,and a Co-Researcher,Kenya Christian Scientist Affiliation,funded by the Templeton World Charity Foundation.
The Kikuyu are a Bantu ethnic group native to East Africa Central Kenya. At a population of 8,148,668 as of 2019,they account for 17.13% of the total population of Kenya,making them Kenya's largest ethnic group.
Eldoret is town and urban centre in Kenya. Gazetted as a municipality,it is in the Rift Valley region,and it serves as the capital of Uasin Gishu County. The town was referred to by white settlers as Farm 64 and colloquially by locals as 'Sisibo'. As per the 2019 population census,Eldoret is the fifth most populated urban area in the country after Nairobi,Mombasa,Nakuru and Ruiru. Lying south of the Cherangani Hills,the local elevation varies from about 2,100 metres (6,900 ft) at the airport to more than 2,700 metres (8,900 ft) in nearby areas. The population was 289,380 in the 2009 Census,and it was the fastest growing city in Kenya with 475,716 people according to 2019 National Census. Eldoret was on course to be named Kenya's fourth city,but was edged out by Nakuru in 2021.
Nakuru is a city in the Rift Valley region of Kenya. It is the capital of Nakuru County,and is the third largest urban area in Kenya. As of 2019,Nakuru has an urban population of 570,674,making it the largest urban centre in the Rift Valley,succeeding Eldoret,Uasin Gishu County. The city lies along the Nairobi–Nakuru Highway,160 kilometres (99 mi) from Nairobi.
Moi University is a public university located in Kesses,Eldoret town,Uasin Gishu county,in the former Rift Valley Province of Kenya. It was established in 1984 by the Moi University Act of the Parliament of Kenya,after recommendations from the McKay Commission.
Ngina Kenyatta,popularly known as "Mama Ngina",is the former First Lady of Kenya. She is the widow of Kenya's first president,Jomo Kenyatta (~1889–1978),and mother of the fourth president Uhuru Kenyatta who served from 2013 to 2022.
Bethwell Allan Ogot is a Kenyan historian and eminent African scholar who specialises in African history,research methods and theory. One of his works starts by saying that "to tell the story of a past so as to portray an inevitable destiny is,for humankind,a need as universal as tool-making. To that extent,we may say that a human being is,by nature,historicus.
Kikuyu is a town in Kiambu County,Kenya,which grew from a settlement of colonial missionaries. The town is located about 20 km (12 mi) northwest of central Nairobi. It is about 20 minutes from Nairobi via a number of routes,including a dual carriage road,and has a railway station on the Mombasa –Malaba Railway Line. The town is named after the Kikuyu/Gĩkũyũpeople,the major ethnicity that settled in the area. As of 2019,the total population was 323,881.
Miriam Khamadi Were is a Kenyan public health advocate,academic,and recipient of the first Hideyo Noguchi Africa Prize. In 2022,she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work in public health.
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital was started in 1916 with a bed capacity of 60 to cater for the Africans Health Needs. It later served as a District Hospital before attaining referral status vide Legal Notice No. 98 of 12 June 1998 of the State Corporations Act. Currently,the Hospital serves as a level six Hospital offering outpatient,inpatient,and specialized healthcare services. It is located along Nandi Road in Eldoret Town,Uasin Gishu County. The Hospital serves residents of Western Kenya,parts of Eastern Uganda and Southern Sudan with a population of approximately 24 Million.
Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) is a public university that is situated in Juja,36 kilometres northeast of Nairobi,along the Nairobi-Thika SuperHighway,off Exit 15. It offers courses in Technology,Engineering,Science,Commerce,Management and Building sciences. The university has a strong research interest in the areas of biotechnology and engineering. Notable alumni include Dr. Paul Chepkwony,the first governor of Kericho County in Kenya and a former lecturer,Emma Miloyo,a prominent Kenyan architect and the first female president of the Architectural Association of Kenya,as well as Aden Duale,the former Leader of Majority in the 11th Kenyan Parliament among others. As at 2023,the Vice Chancellor of the University was Prof. Victoria Ngumi.
Mount Kenya University (MKU) is a private,multi-campus university in the municipal town of Thika,Kenya. It was established by Prof. Simon N. Gicharu and has become one of the most significant private universities in Kenya. MKU has a student population of 52,000 as of September 2015. MKU is chartered and ISO 9001:2015 certified.
Wanjiku Kabira is an associate professor of literature at the University of Nairobi,Kenya. She has specialized in the fields of Oral literature,African-American literature and Caribbean literature. She has been actively involved in women affairs and in gender issues. Wanjiku has served as in various capacities notably as a. Vice-Chair in the Kenya Constitutional Review Process (2000–2005) b. Chair Person Women Political Alliance (2002–2011) c. Director Collaborative Center for Gender and Development (1995–2009) d. Chair,Department of Literature,University of Nairobi
Joseph Maina Mungai was the first African to become Dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Nairobi. Besides a medical journal editor position,and a long-term stint as a newspaper correspondent,he was also Head and faculty member of the Department of Anatomy,.
The history of the evolution of the traits of women in Kenya can be divided into Women within Swahili culture,Women in British Kenya,and Kenyan Women post-Independence. The condition and status of the female population in Kenya has faced many changes over the past century.
Stellah Wairimu Bosire,is a Kenyan physician,corporate executive,human rights activist and author,a former co-executive director of Uhai Eashri and previously served as the chief executive officer of Kenya Medical Association and as the vice-chair of the HIV and AIDS Tribunal of Kenya.
Esther Moraa Mombo is a Kenyan Anglican female theologian and a full professor of theology in the school of theology at St. Paul's University,Limuru. She researches on church history with a focus on mission history,interfaith relations and theology,gender studies with a focus on African women's theologies,sexuality and HIV/AIDS. She is the founder of the Tamar campaign in Kenya which acknowledges gender-based violence in society and empower churches to address it. She is the founder member of Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians St. Paul’s chapter in Kenya.
Teresia Mbari Hinga was a Kenyan Christian feminist theologian and a professor of religious studies at Santa Clara University in California. She was a founding member of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians.
Achola Pala is a Kenyan anthropologist,sociologist,and women's policy specialist. Born in a small town in western Kenya,Pala completed her education at the University of East Africa and Harvard. She worked as a researcher with the University of Nairobi and later was the head of social science research at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology. Concerned about women's empowerment and the impact of public policies on women,she worked with numerous divisions of the United Nations including UNESCO,UNICEF,the United Nations University,and the World Food Council,before becoming chief of the Africa Section of UNIFEM. She also participated in numerous conferences on women including the 1980,1985,and 1995 World Conferences on Women. She worked with Esther Jonathan Wandeka to gain governmental support for the 1985 conference held in Nairobi and was instrumental in introducing the peace torch at the 1995 Beijing conference.
Damaris Seleina Parsitau is a scholar of religion,gender equality advocate,and feminist. She has published extensively on issues of religion,gender and society with a focus on Pentecostal Christianity. She is the first African Woman President of the African Association for the Study of Religion and its Diaspora (AASR) and the first African Woman Director of the Nagel Institute for the Study of World Christianity at Calvin University,in Grand Rapids,Michigan. She is also part of the community of social justice scholars and practitioners at the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice.