Guest post by Linda Lockhart – Managing Director, Global Give Back Circle

Participants of the Global Give Back Circle

1990 – In the outskirts of Kisumu, Kenya, not far from the home of Mama Sarah Obama (as she likes to be called), a baby girl is born to a very young mother. The baby girl is said to have entered the world ‘smiling’ and has not stopped since. Vivian Onano, was born into the Luo tribe, the same tribe as President Obama.

Although not common for a girl from this rural community to complete high school, Vivian’s mother did, and her education played an important role in Vivian’s journey to ‘I am’. Vivian was raised by her grandmother during the years while her mother worked hard to find employment in the town of Kisumu. Vivian had a happy childhood and loved helping her grandparents catch fish from Lake Victoria to sell in town. They lived in a typical rural area manner – in huts made from dung and mud without electricity or water.  Every day, Vivian playfully walked cows and goats to the lake and on the way back she balanced a colorful container of water on her head.   She made dolls out of mud and balls out of plastic bags.  At night, she slept on the traditional bed of her village - a mat made of sweet reeds.  Vivian was surrounded by love.

By the time Vivian finished 4^th grade, her mother had a stable job selling used clothes in the open air market in Kisumu. Concerned that Vivian was not getting an education fitting her aptitude, she managed every way she could to enroll Vivian in a primary school where she would wear shoes to class and receive an education that would eventually propel her to being one of the highest primary school performers in her province and would secure her a place is a school for gifted, disadvantaged girls in Nairobi called Starehe Girls’ Centre.

In 2006, Vivian (pictured above) became a member of the Global Give Back Circle. In 2007 she wrote her first Give Back Commitment and learned how to Give Back 'Time & Skills' from reading GIVING. In 2008 she learned that a CGI Commitment for $350,000 came to fruition at the 2008 CGI Meeting and as a result she will not walk back into the circle of poverty when she graduated high school. In 2009 she participated in the 9-month Microsoft IT Course, which was a part of the CGI Commitment, and the computer connected her to the world in ways she could never imagine. She used it to research colleges and landed herself a full scholarship to Carthage College in Wisconsin, as a pre-med major.

In 2009 Vivian Committed to Ambassador Ranneberger, US Ambassador to Kenya, that she would help him in his efforts to get the private sector involved in societal interventions like the Global Give Back Circle, and she spent 6 months selling to CEOs the importance of ‘Good Economics’ a term she heard President Clinton coin as the sweet spot whereby the business strategy of ‘human capital development’ is linked with compassion as private sector invest in girls as an investment in the economic sustainability of their markets. Vivian figured she could help raise $1 M of private sector investment to enable 100 more girls to continue onto college, employment and global citizenship. She was part of a group of 35 girls who were already invested ‘in’ – thanks to CGI. She wanted to Give Back now.

In September 2010 Vivian was the youngest speaker at the annual CGI Meeting in NYC, speaking on the topic of 'Democratizing Education'. She was able to be a voice for how technology is flattening the world. Vivian will always hold a place in her heart for Microsoft and the gift of ICT skills that they bestowed on her through their commitment to the ‘Unlimited Potential’ of women and girls. During CGI week, Vivian attended a reception with Pamela Passman (one of her role models, pictured left together) from Microsoft. She wore a traditional dress from her province in Kisumu. A traditional dress for a Luo. A traditional dress for a woman with unlimited potential.

In February 2011, in Nairobi, Kenya, Vivian's best friend, Wilkista (lost both her parents and also from Kisumu) rejoiced with other girls when it was learned that USAID joined the CGI Commitment with a $3.5 M GDA Award for the education & empowerment of GIRLS.  This meant that the Circle’s original Commitment of $350,000 for 35 girls would escalate to a $7 M Commitment for 500 + Girls! A miracle created through the vision of CGI and the compassion of the citizens of the United States of America and the support of the people and government of Kenya.

In February 2011 - Wilkista visited Mama Sarah Obama and let her know the good news about the USAID Partnership and that the Global Give Back Circle would be in a position to help girls in the orphanage she runs, as they are just like Vivian and Wilkista, girls who wish to soar. 

On March 8 Vivian will visit the White House as a guest of the First Lady for a reception to commemorate International Women’s Day. She will wear her traditional Luo Dress. If asked, she will speak about her CGI U Commitment to Action 'Hey Sister, Get Clued-Up' – a peer-to-peer social network website to educate African women and girls on issues related to health, financial literacy and social network protection. She will also speak about her upcoming trip to San Diego to be with President Clinton when she will launch the ‘Hey Sister’ Commitment to Acton with Wilkista, and two other colleagues who will travel from Kenya to represent the Global Give Back Circle at CGI U – a tangible reflection of how a circle of empowerment can become a sustainable model for change as beneficiaries transform into benefactors.

Wilkista Akinyi