Cherish Others Organisation was founded by three people who are also currently serving as directors. The founders are people who have in the past, faced problems in their lives and have overcome them. As a result they have devoted their lives to helping the poor in the society.
The founder members are:
- Ruth K. Tito
- Amina R Juma
Ruth K Tito is one of the founders of the Organisation, Ruth K Tito derived her inspiration from her mother Grace Mesopirr Sicard who is a renowned writer, one of her popular book is "a tale of a maasai girl" Ruth is devoted to giving to the needy members of the society. She was born in TransMara within a society that practices early marriages and female genital multilation. These practices form the key components in the spread of HIV/AIDs as the girls are married off in polygamous family settings probably as second or third wives.
She says, "last December, my immediate younger sister went through FGM, forcefully. This was under the influence of her mother, my step mum" Ruth has a back ground in Psychology and a Counsellor in Voluntary Counseling and Testing (VCT Counsellor) and so she strongly advices people on the benefits of having an HIV test and even test as required. She therefore is determined to help those who are less fortunate in life get a chance in life.
RUTH K. TITO
I wish to thank the Canadian high commission more sincerely for having sponsored the launch of my mother's book "A tale of a Maasai girl "back in the year 1998. Since then i being one of her daughters took up the campaign against early marriage and female genital mutilation back at home in TransMara district where it is still practiced. My mother, now a resident in France, has been very supportive with advice, technical and financial back up.
The community and the administration have been keen to see the end of FGM and by last year the practice has been on the decline. With the help of my mother Grace Mesopirr Sicard who gave a percentage of her royalty towards the sponsorship of the project in 2004-2005 we felt we needed to expand and have more people in the field to counsel and educate the people against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and early/ child marriages. By this we opted to officiate our NGO called Cherish Others Organisation Kenya.
I appeal to you as visitor to this site to contact us in order to enroll in the Pledge Partners program so as to support the work we are doing to eradicate FGM and early marriages.
RUTH'S PERSONAL EXPERIENCE: My mother went through the cultural tradition of early marriage and FGM, which left her with four children at the age of 17 . The husband's family started complaining that she gave birth to only girls and this made her realize that her daughters, if they continued to live in the up country would not be spared from FGM and other harmful traditional customs that affect the girl child.
She decided to take us to African Inland Church Girls Kajiado where girls are rescued from early marriages and FGM. Although I escaped, the thought of going back home was unbearable as there were high chances of being cut as an adult if your husband disclosed your state to the community. I therefore ended up not getting married to a Maasai man.
THE LETTER I WROTE TO MY MOTHER DURING THE LAUNCH OF HER BOOK:
Dearest Mum,
"Congratulations on your book and on your life. You have been a wonderful mother and a wonderful person; you have triumphed over many hardships and setbacks. I remember mum those tough days when you made sure that we were clothed and had enough to eat, a new dress and some extra chapatis for Christmas. The family complained that you were only giving birth to girls but that only strengthened your love for us and now thanks to God you are blessed with seven grandsons, Most of all you gave us an education and set us to educating our children. We are proud of your life and proud that you have written it down and found a publisher. May it inspire others as you have inspired us. You deserve to be called the best of mothers"
Amina R Juma
Today, she is successful in business, but has never forgotten the long way she has come. she was brought up in a destitute background, This memory and her strong Christian belief has given her the feeling she should support those members of the society, who don't have access to the necessary education institution and the right to receive knowledge,"… which is the basis with which one should possess in order to reach the top…" Amina says. To date Amina is supporting adolescent orphans to undergo secondary education while others undergo vocational training. .
STAFF EMPOWERMENT
Cherish Others Organisation recognizes that Staff empowerment is equivalent to staff training. While empowered staff should be well trained, trained staff are not necessarily empowered staffs. A distinctive ingredient of an empowered staff is having the ability to make credible decisions for the organisation.
STAFF PROFILE
Irene Nyambura - Programs Officer
With a background in BSc. Agricultural Economics from a Kenyan University, Irene has worked for almost 10 years with rural communities in the areas of Socio-Economics, Community Development, Food Security and Natural Resource Conservation. She is an ardent believer in conservation of the environment and has a passion for making a contribution towards improving the livelihoods of the deprived members of the society.
She supposes that the world is composed of amalgamate of persons who must realize and respect the fact that they are very much part of the earth's ecosystem and they do possess innate potential to make each other happy. All one has to do is simply stretch forth at least one helping hand to support the needy so that they can have access to their basic requirements such as food and produce markets, education, health services and shelter.
As a child she grew up in a poor single mother headed family, so it's in Irene's personal interest to encourage and empower girls and women in undertaking positive life enhancing initiatives. Irene feels that working with Cherish Others gives her the opportunity to realise her dream.
Sabrina Nyakio Lindner - Project Officer
During her 6 years experience in community development, Sabrina has been involved in the development of a youth programmes centre, which offers vocational training services to the underprivileged youth in Korogwe, Tanzania and has further done field work in a children's home for rehabilitated street children and orphans, located in Embu, Kenya.
She has special interest in dealing with vulnerable children, as she believes that every child should have access to basic needs and education, because they belong to the next generation of tomorrow and therefore have to be enabled to look after the planet earth in a responsible way.