A Stellar Woman's World

Truth be told, I never sat in a classroom learning Event Planning 101. No lecture notes, no group work, no exams on table settings or guest lists. Yet somewhere along the way, life said, “Congratulations, you’re now the event planner.” 😄 As the Co-Founder of Stellar Generation Kenya and the Team Leader of Stellar Women, I somehow also inherited the unofficial role of chief planner of our gatherings. What started as “let’s just organize something small” has turned into nearly five years of planning events; some big, some intimate, but all memorable in their own way. Let me tell you, every event comes with its own lessons, surprises, and those beautiful “Aha!” moments that make the next one a little better. Among the many events we’ve hosted, the ones closest to my heart are women-centered gatherings. There’s something magical about bringing women together in one space; whether it’s a Women’s Prayer Day, a Fun Day, or our annual International Women’s Day Celebration. When it comes to th...

No one really tells you that motherhood is less about giving birth to a child and more about giving birth to yourself , over and over. I read a quote that said " Every time a mother births a child, a new version of her is also born i.e. for every new child, there's a new mommy." They warn you about sleepless nights, stretch marks, and how your tea will always go cold before the second sip, which are all true to some degree but what they don’t prepare you for is how deeply motherhood rearranges your heart (and mindset). How it humbles you. How it softens and strengthens you in the same breath and how freakin' hard it is. Yes, it's H for hard .  I remember the early days holding my tiny human (now all grown) and wondering, “God, are you sure you trusted me with this?” and as an amateur in this field,  I doubted my capability to parent well quite often.  Motherhood taught me patience in ways no sermon ever could. It exposed my limits and then gently pushed me past t...

This morning, in my Continuous Bible Reading (CBR) journey for 2025, I officially cleared the Old Testament! What an incredible feeling of achievement. Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever read the entire Bible cover to cover, I have read it - but not reading to understand deeply! This year, I made a personal vow that I was going to do this for me. Starting tomorrow morning, I’ll be diving into the New Testament, and I couldn’t be more excited! Here’s what my current morning routine looks like: 🕓 4:00 –5:00 AM: Bible reading (4 chapters or more) 🙏 5:00 –5:40 AM: Prayers or virtual morning group devotion 🏃‍♀️ 5:40 –6:40 AM: Morning run or workout (depending on my mood, this part I don’t always do religiously 😅) So far, this discipline has carried me all the way to Malachi! Clap for me, will you? I can’t begin to explain how much this journey has transformed me. This year has been one of unexpected growth and quiet breakthroughs. I promised my dear self early in the year:  “This ...

This May, we celebrated not just the 20-year journey of the HanneHowardFund Lenana - Kids but the extraordinary woman behind it all; our beloved matriarch, Mama Hanne. At 78, she continues to embody the grace, resilience, and fierce love that built HHFL into a beacon of hope and transformation for so many of us. What she thought would be a simple birthday lunch with her loving husband, Ted Horton, affectionately known to us as Baba Ted or Papa Tango, turned out to be an unforgettable surprise. For five months, behind the scenes, the ever-dedicated HHFL management team, Lucy Kalu and Kirieri Njuguna together with HHFL alumni and beneficiaries, lovingly planned a celebration fit for the queen of our family. On the day, Mama Hanne walked in expecting nothing more than a quiet outing, only to be met by the joyful faces of her “children”, HHFL alumni & staff who had gathered to honour her legacy. The surprise was overwhelming. Tears flowed, hugs were shared, and hearts swelled with grat...

Have you ever thought to challenge the idea that sometimes “ settling down” means settling in to roles that make us forget who we are? Today I choose to write for  the wife who loves deeply, the mother who gives selflessly  and the woman who sometimes disappears behind those beautiful titles.  This is a reminder that you’re still allowed to chase your dreams. To glow. To grow. To evolve.  Not in spite of your marriage or motherhood  but right within them. There’s this unspoken notion that when a woman gets married, it’s time to “settle.” and for many, that word is taken quite literally. You get the ring, the man, the home, the children and suddenly, it feels like the chase is over. No more dreams to pursue. No more goals to grind. Just settle. Be a wife. Be a mother. Stay in your lane and when you decide to go against the grain you get unsolicited advise pleading with you to stop 'doing too much' and relax." 😆 But what happens when “settling” becomes self-ne...

Today marks 3 years since I said “I do.” Three years of learning, stretching, laughing, fighting, forgiving, and above all, growing (literally and figuratively). Marriage has been both beautiful and humbling. It has mirrored parts of me I never knew existed, both good and not-so-good. It has amplified behaviours I thought I'd perfected. It welcomed we and stopped me at the door with one question: "So you think you've got it all figured out, huh?" As I reflect on this journey so far, I felt led to share 3 core lessons that have stood out for me in this season of becoming one. I call them “3 Lessons at 3.”  - 3 years. Family of 3. 3 lessons.   1. Forgiveness isn’t easy, but it’s necessary Forgiveness for me has been so hard, I can't lie. I struggle to move on from an offense. It is one of the areas that still needs improvement. I hold onto offense for long and have a tendency of wanting to block and forget anyone who offends me. Marriage, however, doesn't give ...

It all began with two different passions that came together to create something bigger than either of us could have imagined. My husband was deeply passionate about mentorship for the youth. He spent countless hours planning youth rallies and mentorship programs, first in his church (in the city and in upcountry) and later in Nyakach Sango, his hometown - and now my home as well  . Even today, he continues to be an advocate for young people, empowering them to become leaders and live better lives. I, on the other hand, was a young girl determined to empower girls and women. My journey started at Hanne Howard Fund in Lenana, where I worked to uplift and empower young girls to see a future they didn't think possible. From High School to Uni days, my best days were those I spent going for Community Outreach. Our paths crossed, and it was in that shared desire to create change and empower those around us that we founded Stellar Generation Kenya (SGK).  Running SGK together has bee...

Lately, I’ve been reading the Bible, and I mean REALLY reading it from Genesis and targeting to finish it to Revelations; a goal we as the JET MINISTRIES INTL are seriously pursuing. I am currently on 1st Samuel where David was introduced and up to this point, I can say without a shred of doubt that the Bible is more than a thriller movie, it's epic to say the least! There were times I read how the Israelites set for battle and as I went through the narrations all I could think about was "What in the Vikings' Ragnar is happening here?" 🤣 I read the book of Judges, and let me just say - it was heavy!! 😥 One story that stopped me in my tracks was about the Levite and his concubine in Judges 19. It’s disturbing. Violent and painfully silent. You read it and wonder, where was God when all this was happening? Judges 19 brings to our attention a deeply tragic story that reflects the moral decay in Israel during a time when 'everyone did what was right in their own eye...

As I read through this exceptionally written book by Rawder Kidula & Florah Kidula, I couldn't help but silently laugh at one vivid memory still etched in my mind of a time in my teenage hood when I thought the world, with no shred of doubt, revolved around me. Had I had such a book, my approach to life then would probably have been different, who knows? Now, having visitors was the norm while living at Hanne Howard Fund Lenana compound (aka The Project). Some volunteers would come to either teach us art, dance, boxing, taekwondo, others would come teach us how to express ourselves in English and the ones we'd mostly look forward to were those donors, local and/or international, who'd come with clothes and food. This particular week while we were all home for the August holidays there was a donor, beautiful Miss Sonia, who'd booked to spend her week at the project. She would portion her day in a way that ensured she spends time with all groups of kids, starting with...

'Every time women gather together in circles, the world heals a little more.' The forever First Lady, Michelle Obama, in her book 'The Light We Carry' recounts how over time in the course of her life and while at The White House, it became quite hard to meet, form or maintain female friendships. This was largely due to the line drawn between the intricate nature of life in politics brought about by being married to President Barack Obama and the friends' urge to maintain and live a private life, away from the razzmatazz of a political life. She says that making friends for her, albeit hard, had to be something she did intentionally. She would either make friends at her daughter's basketball games, at a book fair, in college, etc and purposed to make these friendships last long. She brags about her small group of 12 'Kitchen Table Friends'; a dedicated group of female friends that she has journey through life with from college days to now. Female friendsh...

After exactly 3 months and 11 days, today I went back up the stairs to the rooftop of the apartment we stay at. Trembling and shaking, I kept taking a step after the next hoping to get to the top. Several times I kept thinking, …why go? …but kept at it regardless. On this rooftop, I had set a very calm meeting place with my Father. For about 3 months leading to the delivery of my darling baby girl, I'd come up here, do some simple workouts but most importantly have a daily tete-a-tete with Him. I couldn't and still can't wrap my head around the fatigue that comes with the 3rd trimester and rightly so, many times I contemplated not going up there. What made me keep up with the routine was the fact that I knew He was waiting for me and was eager to talk about how far and smooth my pregnancy journey was.   We'd talk about my hopes, dreams and plans for baby in my tummy. We'd discuss my maternity leave plans and among other things mostly just sit in the silence of dawn ...

The world didn't quite prepare me for the experience that came with this phase of my life. I boast occasionally of how easy it has been for me to grasp and adapt to changes in my life but this one, naah ...I had to readjust, relearn and extensively educate myself. What I'm I talking about, you ask? Motherhood. I am writing this while on my 3rd trimester; 35 weeks & 6 days to be precise. The once subtle baby kicks are now more defined you'd think the baby's made my womb a mixed martial art ring. It feels heavenly every time it happens and I am not joking when I say that I live for them kicks...I could be having a really crappy day but anytime I sit and the kicks intensify, my mood instantly changes!  The reason I started by saying that the world didn't quite prepare me for the journey is because with my many years of schooling and seeking knowledge, I realized that I didn't know much about pregnancy. I was never taught about what to expect in any of the trime...

Flowers, random hand written notes, nature walks, just-because cards, long ‘vulnerable’ texts 😆 are among some of the things I love and knew to be my expression of romance or love…cute, right? Occasionally, while single I’d pass by City Market after work and buy myself a bouquet of roses and go put in my nice vase at home. I should also mention that I had a fixed mind that any man who’s out there searching for a woman (me) should have basic knowledge that ladies loved stuff like these…right? …WRONG 😅 With these assumptions I went into dating & courtship expecting (without communicating) that my now husbae would without a doubt know that women liked flowers so surprising me with them once in a while sio mbaaaya, right? Lemme tell you Maina…😝 Nilingoja flowers my sister! I had assumed & had expectations that he’d just KNOW. So whenever there was a special occasion and flowers weren’t part of the ‘gifts’ I’d feel some typa way …so najipata na makasiriko while still waiting ...

Stellar Generation Kenya is a mentorship & empowerment initiative for adolescent girls & boys and young men & women in Kenya. Our objective is to EDUCATE, ELEVATE and EMPOWER them emotionally, intellectually, mentally, spiritually and socially with intent to help them acquire skills that will allow them make informed choices and decisions in their life in pursuit of becoming a stellar generation #stellargenke #stellargenerationkenya 1 of  6 2 of 6 3 of 6 4 of 6 5 of 6 6 of 6 

Do you remember your first ever salary? How much was it? How did you spend it? How old were you and what was the job? Given the same amount of money now, do you think you’d use it differently? I was 19 years old when I got my first salary working as a Student Assistant at Strathmore Uni’s current School of Business then called School of Management & Commerce (SMC). How I landed the job and held onto it for the course of my studying there still remains something of a mystery and sheer luck. I started the job during the ever busy graduation period when ‘extra hands’ were needed to help ease the process. For about 3 weeks my job for a start was to issue gowns to the graduands from my faculty. My task included issuing the gown, the tassel, cap and the invitation cards. Each student had to then sign against their name after they’d picked everything. I had to make sure that the numbers tallied at the end of the day lest there be a deficit of invitation cards. “You do know there just ...

I almost forgot how beautifully lost one can get in words and a world carefully curated and gently hidden in a book by an independent mind, in this case Omwa Ombara! In making attempts to not be that ‘black person’ referred to when they mention that ‘easily, secrets can be hidden from a black person if kept inside a book’, I assembled components of my intellectual being and beseeched them to go on this journey, Omwa’s journey - God’s Child on the Run. The 2007 PEV & skirmishes are stories some of us only get to hear retold as while they happened we were struck by the luck light and safely kept away from the warring front back in the cities. It’s in 2007 that I got to deeply appreciate the fact that my upcountry, as interior as it is, was the safest place we could be at the time. We’d occasionally only gather round the radio to listen to updates on the evenings the said Radio ‘accepted’ to work. Omwa on the other hand got served a different plate in comparison to people like me. She...

...where hope is renewed, dreams are restored and dignity is upheld. I watched from close proximity as one teenage girl teased another who looked about 6 months pregnant. “That baby needs to come out now, so that he or she can dance and enjoy some music! Yes, we will teach him or her how to dance.” They both laughed and admired the growing belly. I couldn’t help but smile as I watched them. Maybe this would have been a totally different scenario if Wings of Hope Rescue Centre had not stepped in and made the bold step to take in these beautiful girls. They house them, feed them and take them to school to secure a stable future for themselves and their babies. Stellar Girls Kenya mentors braved through a hot Sunday morning on 12th February 2023 to travel to Ruai to spend the day with the teenage mums. Amid the bonding and stories from CBD town and in the bus, we were full of anticipation of what the day held. We were ready and excited to meet the Wings of Hope family. It was going to be ...