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Nakuru WRA HIV/AIDS Thematic Chair |
 | She is married and a mother of 5 adult children, i.e. 4 daughters and a son. She also works as a Secretary with a private auditing firm.She is a member of the Caucus for Women’s Leadership, Society for Women and Aids in Kenya-(SWAK), Nalulu Women Group, Nanyal Women Group, NGO-Parph, and Rift Valley Rural Women Empowerment Network. She is the Conflict Monitor for CCR(K) Nakuru, Lanet Location and the Community contact person for Women in Law and Development in Kenya-(WILDAF) in Nakuru. |
| Maggie is mostly associated with community social work through our Women's Regional Assembly (WRA) in Nakuru. Nakuru WRA was launched in April 2004. Maggie successfully garnered the votes required to secure her position as the Thematic Chairperson on HIV/AIDS, Nakuru Town Constituency. This role is on a voluntary basis and other friendly organisations have joined her in basic training opportunities such as Community Counseling with regards to HIV/AIDS, Memory Book Project, Paralegal Workshops, Alternative Dispute Resolution-Mediation, Home Based Care, Rape Management (PEP) and Peace Building Education. Prior to the Launch of the Nakuru WRA, Maggie had already shown interest in HIV/AIDS programmes in the year 2000. A cause she championed on a personal level. Her relatives were dying of an inexplicable disease, AIDS was viewed then as Chira (a curse) and it took many hashed whispers for the community to come to terms with HIV/AIDS as a manageable disease and not a death sentence. These hashed tones did not last long, as people gained courage to talk about their status given the fact that stigmatization and old customary laws were being rebuked. This has also created confidence in VCT services as more men and women are seeking these services. Initially, those infected with HIV/AIDS secretly sought medical attention. To date this has changed as medical care is easily accessible. Being the Thematic chair for HIV/AIDS comes with its challenges. These range from fewer men compared to women being keen on acquiring the tools for managing the disease, poverty accelerating the prevalence of the disease and HIV/AIDS programme workers having limited ability to meet the demands of those infected and affected with the disease. Everything that has its challenges usually has its milestones. These include Maggie’s ability to counsel those infected and affected, managing to get them to make memory books, and write their wills. She also mediates disputes and creates awareness on preventative measures to curb the spread of HIV/AIDS. Maggie has also had an interest in politics. A passion she had been nurturing prior to becoming a member of the Caucus for Women’s Leadership. This dates way back to 1999. She is one of the few women who understand the need to be active within political parties, so as to boost her chances of nomination come election fever. Parties Maggie has been affiliated to include; FORD K as a committee branch manager, a woman leader with NDP, and ndc for ODM, where she participated in nominating the party’s presidential candidate. Maggie has advocated for an increase in women’s political parties participation by attending the national stakeholders dissemination forum on the Affirmative Action Bill and sat in parliament’s public gallery to follow the debate on the Affirmative Action Motion. She has also participated in meetings on Local Authorities. Her most recent contribution was at KCCT Mbagathi in December 2009, where she together with other women folk, endorsed the Harmonised Draft Constitution. |
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