Judy Manene
Program Manager, Girls Excel Initiative, Echo Network Africa
Bold Question: What if Boys and Girls had equal opportunities in Education?
Pathway to Metis: I am a Program Management specialist and education enthusiast with demonstrated expertise in Education and Community Development. Born and raised by teachers, conversations about education were the norm when growing up, and pursuing a career in teaching came almost naturally.
My passion for supporting girls’ education was birthed by an unfortunate incident when I was in class seven (7). A group of girls dropped out of our class because they felt too big to learn with the small girl that I was. They became teenage mothers soon after and engaged in casual labour to cater to their children while the rest of us continued learning.
I went on to become a teacher serving in different schools, including the prestigious Alliance High School and Moi Girls Secondary School – Kamangu. I carried my passion into the classroom and supported many students, both boys, and girls on the sidelines of teaching. The support was in form of providing sanitary towels and school uniforms to needy students. I held mini fundraisers for some and used my resources to support others, to keep my students comfortable in school.
To scale the impact, I left my teaching job, followed my passion to support girls’ education, and joined I Choose Life Africa where I supported 10, 150 girls and 3600 boys to;
Enroll/access education
Attend school consistently through the provision of dignity kits and economic empowerment for parents
Improved learning through teacher coaching, fun learning, accelerated learning, and ICT integration in teaching and learning
Transition through different education pathways
In 2020, I was appointed Education Pillar Head where I designed, resource mobilized, and managed different programs aimed at promoting sustainable and equitable attendance, retention, attainment, and achievement in education.
Currently, I am a Program Manager at Echo Network Africa, heading the Girls Excel Initiative, addressing four (4) key challenges, period poverty, teenage pregnancies, FGM, early child, and forced marriage, and negative attitudes towards STEM subjects.
More about Judy:
