A slew of award nominations for #Bridgerton while I was out of the country… Congratulations Everyone!!!
A slew of award nominations for #Bridgerton while I was out of the country… Congratulations Everyone!!!
A slew of award nominations for #Bridgerton while I was out of the country… Congratulations Everyone!!!
A slew of award nominations for #Bridgerton while I was out of the country… Congratulations Everyone!!!
A slew of award nominations for #Bridgerton while I was out of the country… Congratulations Everyone!!!
The 35-hour Birthday!!!! I took off in Nairobi at 1:35am, traveled 22ish hours and landed in Seattle at 11:45am. Longest birthday ever! Thanks @qatarairways for the airborne celebration!
You do not want to be on the receiving end of this Kate Sharma expression… Anyone want to try to caption this illustration by @mhj.creates?
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 5 of the Landesa Kenya trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We met with paralegal Aggrey Majimbo (picture 7 and 10) who, along with @landesaglobal, trained six women from Kakamega County to be paralegals—now they are able to serve the people of their county to settle land disputes and aid with ordinary land transactions (saving people a lot of money from predatory middlemen.) We also met Merceline Ilusa Likalaba, the first woman chief in her area! Chiefs report to the office of the president here in Kenya, and they are critically important to the communities they serve. Madame Chief is an absolute FORCE. She told us about the difficulties she had getting appointed to her job (misogyny ugh) and how she won everyone over with her no nonsense attitude and common sense. She has zero tolerance for domestic violence, and it has been reduced drastically during her tenure. The number of women obtaining title deeds to land has also gone up. When women lead, lives improve!!! After lunch we visited a different part of the county (not in Merceline’s jurisdiction) and met Dimitila Azangala (picture 10), who nearly lost a portion of her land to a corrupt chief. When her husband died, the chief lent money to Dimitila for a new roof in exchange for use of a land tract for farming for a specified period. Two years later, however, he said he was going to take the land. Dimitila said no, that wasn’t the agreement, and said that she’d rather pay him back the money. He said no, he wanted the land (which was obviously worth more than what he’d lent her.) With Landesa’s help, the matter was settled legally, and she paid him back. It wasn’t easy; she had to sell a cow and her son traveled to Nairobi for several months to work as a security guard. But she won her case and showed that women can’t be bullied by corrupt officials. At the end of the day we traveled to Lake Victoria for a farewell dinner but the restaurant was OUT OF FISH. (How does that happen on the shores of Lake Victoria? Seriously, how?) So we went back to the hotel, and as you can see, I headed to the bar…
DAY 4 of the Landesa Kenya Trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We set out early and drove 6 hours from Baringo to Kisumu County, where we met with a group of women who are experiencing legal conflicts regarding land ownership. Much of the land in Kenya has never been adjudicated, meaning that the government never issued titles. Everyone knows which family has been living on which land, and that is who “owns” it. As you can imagine, this can lead to disputes. Kisumu County land, however, was systematically titled in the early 70s. This is good, except that each time land changes hands, the government collects a fee, and buyers and sellers often instead choose informal transactions without providing the buyer with the deed. Also, when a landowner dies, very often the family doesn’t “do succession,” which means to legally register the transfer of inherited property. This leads to situations where land is still registered to long-dead grandfathers. Women face extreme difficulty in owning land for several reasons. First, traditional rural Kenyan culture dictates that when a couple marries, the wife goes to live with the husband’s family. It’s NEVER the other way around. So parents don’t bequeath land to their daughters. Also, when a woman is widowed, the husband’s family usually tries to “reclaim” his land. The wife may be kicked off the property (especially if she has no sons). The women we met were so strong. One woman (we’ll call her Anne) was nearly kicked out of the home she’d been living in for 2 decades because when her in-laws bought the property in 1971, they did so informally and never received a deed. Fast forward 50 years, and the descendants of the original seller came out of nowhere to claim that their ancestor never received the full price. Fortunately, Anne had the original contract, but the claimants tried to bully her off her land and attacked her family with a machete. She now lives in fear for herself and her children. @landesaglobal is working with her, and we are hopeful that she will finally get the title to her land and feel secure in her home.
DAY 4 of the Landesa Kenya Trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We set out early and drove 6 hours from Baringo to Kisumu County, where we met with a group of women who are experiencing legal conflicts regarding land ownership. Much of the land in Kenya has never been adjudicated, meaning that the government never issued titles. Everyone knows which family has been living on which land, and that is who “owns” it. As you can imagine, this can lead to disputes. Kisumu County land, however, was systematically titled in the early 70s. This is good, except that each time land changes hands, the government collects a fee, and buyers and sellers often instead choose informal transactions without providing the buyer with the deed. Also, when a landowner dies, very often the family doesn’t “do succession,” which means to legally register the transfer of inherited property. This leads to situations where land is still registered to long-dead grandfathers. Women face extreme difficulty in owning land for several reasons. First, traditional rural Kenyan culture dictates that when a couple marries, the wife goes to live with the husband’s family. It’s NEVER the other way around. So parents don’t bequeath land to their daughters. Also, when a woman is widowed, the husband’s family usually tries to “reclaim” his land. The wife may be kicked off the property (especially if she has no sons). The women we met were so strong. One woman (we’ll call her Anne) was nearly kicked out of the home she’d been living in for 2 decades because when her in-laws bought the property in 1971, they did so informally and never received a deed. Fast forward 50 years, and the descendants of the original seller came out of nowhere to claim that their ancestor never received the full price. Fortunately, Anne had the original contract, but the claimants tried to bully her off her land and attacked her family with a machete. She now lives in fear for herself and her children. @landesaglobal is working with her, and we are hopeful that she will finally get the title to her land and feel secure in her home.
DAY 4 of the Landesa Kenya Trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We set out early and drove 6 hours from Baringo to Kisumu County, where we met with a group of women who are experiencing legal conflicts regarding land ownership. Much of the land in Kenya has never been adjudicated, meaning that the government never issued titles. Everyone knows which family has been living on which land, and that is who “owns” it. As you can imagine, this can lead to disputes. Kisumu County land, however, was systematically titled in the early 70s. This is good, except that each time land changes hands, the government collects a fee, and buyers and sellers often instead choose informal transactions without providing the buyer with the deed. Also, when a landowner dies, very often the family doesn’t “do succession,” which means to legally register the transfer of inherited property. This leads to situations where land is still registered to long-dead grandfathers. Women face extreme difficulty in owning land for several reasons. First, traditional rural Kenyan culture dictates that when a couple marries, the wife goes to live with the husband’s family. It’s NEVER the other way around. So parents don’t bequeath land to their daughters. Also, when a woman is widowed, the husband’s family usually tries to “reclaim” his land. The wife may be kicked off the property (especially if she has no sons). The women we met were so strong. One woman (we’ll call her Anne) was nearly kicked out of the home she’d been living in for 2 decades because when her in-laws bought the property in 1971, they did so informally and never received a deed. Fast forward 50 years, and the descendants of the original seller came out of nowhere to claim that their ancestor never received the full price. Fortunately, Anne had the original contract, but the claimants tried to bully her off her land and attacked her family with a machete. She now lives in fear for herself and her children. @landesaglobal is working with her, and we are hopeful that she will finally get the title to her land and feel secure in her home.
DAY 4 of the Landesa Kenya Trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We set out early and drove 6 hours from Baringo to Kisumu County, where we met with a group of women who are experiencing legal conflicts regarding land ownership. Much of the land in Kenya has never been adjudicated, meaning that the government never issued titles. Everyone knows which family has been living on which land, and that is who “owns” it. As you can imagine, this can lead to disputes. Kisumu County land, however, was systematically titled in the early 70s. This is good, except that each time land changes hands, the government collects a fee, and buyers and sellers often instead choose informal transactions without providing the buyer with the deed. Also, when a landowner dies, very often the family doesn’t “do succession,” which means to legally register the transfer of inherited property. This leads to situations where land is still registered to long-dead grandfathers. Women face extreme difficulty in owning land for several reasons. First, traditional rural Kenyan culture dictates that when a couple marries, the wife goes to live with the husband’s family. It’s NEVER the other way around. So parents don’t bequeath land to their daughters. Also, when a woman is widowed, the husband’s family usually tries to “reclaim” his land. The wife may be kicked off the property (especially if she has no sons). The women we met were so strong. One woman (we’ll call her Anne) was nearly kicked out of the home she’d been living in for 2 decades because when her in-laws bought the property in 1971, they did so informally and never received a deed. Fast forward 50 years, and the descendants of the original seller came out of nowhere to claim that their ancestor never received the full price. Fortunately, Anne had the original contract, but the claimants tried to bully her off her land and attacked her family with a machete. She now lives in fear for herself and her children. @landesaglobal is working with her, and we are hopeful that she will finally get the title to her land and feel secure in her home.
DAY 4 of the Landesa Kenya Trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We set out early and drove 6 hours from Baringo to Kisumu County, where we met with a group of women who are experiencing legal conflicts regarding land ownership. Much of the land in Kenya has never been adjudicated, meaning that the government never issued titles. Everyone knows which family has been living on which land, and that is who “owns” it. As you can imagine, this can lead to disputes. Kisumu County land, however, was systematically titled in the early 70s. This is good, except that each time land changes hands, the government collects a fee, and buyers and sellers often instead choose informal transactions without providing the buyer with the deed. Also, when a landowner dies, very often the family doesn’t “do succession,” which means to legally register the transfer of inherited property. This leads to situations where land is still registered to long-dead grandfathers. Women face extreme difficulty in owning land for several reasons. First, traditional rural Kenyan culture dictates that when a couple marries, the wife goes to live with the husband’s family. It’s NEVER the other way around. So parents don’t bequeath land to their daughters. Also, when a woman is widowed, the husband’s family usually tries to “reclaim” his land. The wife may be kicked off the property (especially if she has no sons). The women we met were so strong. One woman (we’ll call her Anne) was nearly kicked out of the home she’d been living in for 2 decades because when her in-laws bought the property in 1971, they did so informally and never received a deed. Fast forward 50 years, and the descendants of the original seller came out of nowhere to claim that their ancestor never received the full price. Fortunately, Anne had the original contract, but the claimants tried to bully her off her land and attacked her family with a machete. She now lives in fear for herself and her children. @landesaglobal is working with her, and we are hopeful that she will finally get the title to her land and feel secure in her home.
DAY 4 of the Landesa Kenya Trip! 🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪🇰🇪 We set out early and drove 6 hours from Baringo to Kisumu County, where we met with a group of women who are experiencing legal conflicts regarding land ownership. Much of the land in Kenya has never been adjudicated, meaning that the government never issued titles. Everyone knows which family has been living on which land, and that is who “owns” it. As you can imagine, this can lead to disputes. Kisumu County land, however, was systematically titled in the early 70s. This is good, except that each time land changes hands, the government collects a fee, and buyers and sellers often instead choose informal transactions without providing the buyer with the deed. Also, when a landowner dies, very often the family doesn’t “do succession,” which means to legally register the transfer of inherited property. This leads to situations where land is still registered to long-dead grandfathers. Women face extreme difficulty in owning land for several reasons. First, traditional rural Kenyan culture dictates that when a couple marries, the wife goes to live with the husband’s family. It’s NEVER the other way around. So parents don’t bequeath land to their daughters. Also, when a woman is widowed, the husband’s family usually tries to “reclaim” his land. The wife may be kicked off the property (especially if she has no sons). The women we met were so strong. One woman (we’ll call her Anne) was nearly kicked out of the home she’d been living in for 2 decades because when her in-laws bought the property in 1971, they did so informally and never received a deed. Fast forward 50 years, and the descendants of the original seller came out of nowhere to claim that their ancestor never received the full price. Fortunately, Anne had the original contract, but the claimants tried to bully her off her land and attacked her family with a machete. She now lives in fear for herself and her children. @landesaglobal is working with her, and we are hopeful that she will finally get the title to her land and feel secure in her home.
