Kristen Maryn

Kristen Maryn (Hakijamii the Economics and Social Rights Centre): Kristen received her BS in Business Administration and BA in Sociology from the University of Arizona in 2007. Upon graduating, she traveled to Nigeria to work with a micro-finance program. After returning from Nigeria, Kristen worked in corporate management. At the time of her fellowship, Kristen was pursuing her JD at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, with a focus on migration, conflict amelioration, and alternative dispute resolution. After her fellowship Kristen wrote: “This fellowship reiterated my goal of getting to a place where I do not need to sit back and wait for someone to help me in order to get things done. I really enjoyed being part of a network that was small enough that it felt like a family, but had a global reach.”



Happy Madaraka Day!

01 Jun

I arrived in Nairobi four days ago and have been working on a few things for school (law school apparently never takes a break), as well as settling in and spending time with my host family.  I was lucky enough to find a place to stay with my uncle’s friends in Gigiri, which is a far distance from Hakijamii, but is a beautiful place to live.

Oasis

It feels a bit strange to be living in a place this nice, especially when I’ll be advocating for people who hardly have access to water, let alone that amount space to spread out.  My search for housing in Nairobi definitely put into perspective the unavailability of affordable housing…if it was that difficult for me, it’s hard to imagine the search for Kenyans.  I just feel lucky this family was willing to take me in.

Today marks the day Kenya achieved self-rule in 1963 – a sort of pre-independence independence day (official independence day is in December).  Most Kenyans have the day off, and I joined them, officially starting work tomorrow.  I’m looking forward to meeting the staff and getting the work plan finalized.

Posted By Kristen Maryn

Posted Jun 1st, 2011

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