Ushcast is a weekly podcast delivering the latest in Ushahidi, open source, mapping and content curation.
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Let’s talk about womanhood the world over. Despite making up over half of the global population, women control less wealth, own less land, hold fewer public offices, and shoulder more domestic burdens. But in every corner of every country there are individuals with enough gumption to break the system and bend the rules. That's why Sabrina Merage Naim and Kassia Binkowski are hosting intimate conversations with individuals who are changing the narrative for women everywhere.
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A Fine Mess presents... The Rise of Satire with Samantha Bee
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43:13Hi friends! It's Sabrina, and I'm here to share a special episode of my new podcast A Fine Mess, recently named a “must listen” by The Guardian and Apple Podcasts. In this episode, I interview legendary Daily Show correspondent and Full Frontal host, Samantha Bee. We’re faced with a 24-hour news cycle, and bad news seems unending. So, many of us tu…
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Hi Breaking Glass friends! It's Sabrina. I want to tell you about my new show A Fine Mess. If you like Breaking Glass, you'll love A Fine Mess, where we're broadening the mission of digging deeper into important and timely topics in order to challenge our own pre-conceived notions. After you hear A Fine Mess' trailer, be sure to click this link to …
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'Tis the Season for Contentious Conversations
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26:18Nothing like a holiday to turn up the heat on hard conversations. In this Season 2 Finale, Kassia and Sabrina reflect on conversations they've had with family and friends who don't necessarily agree with their points of view, including: Sabrina's history of heated arguments with her uncle and how they finally managed to have a calm conversation abo…
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We’ve never met a woman without a complex relationship to her own hair. Shorter, longer, curlier, straighter, lighter, darker, up, down. For many women—especially Black women—hair can be a complicated thing. Founder of Parting the Roots, Simone Wright is working to educate people and organizations on the history, politics, and significance of Black…
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Why Girls Run the World but Men Run for Office
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51:35130 years. That's how long it will take to achieve gender equity at the highest levels of global politics. Around the world, women are still less likely to be encouraged to run for public office at every level - this starts with what we tell young girls about what is possible and ultimately influences women's lack of confidence to step into the rac…
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Regretting Motherhood and Choosing Not to Have Children
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30:56Contrary to what society would like us to believe, not every woman wants to be a mother. Some women regret the choice altogether. Orna Donath was only 16 years old when knew with certainty that she never wanted to be a mother. In the decades that followed she never waivered in that decision. Today, Orna is a sociologist and author in Tel Aviv, Isra…
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Rituals, community-care, and women's mental health
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41:03Every year, one in five women in the United States struggles with mental health. Income disparities, caregiving responsibilities, higher rates of poverty and violence are just a few of the risk factors that leave women especially susceptible to chronic stress. Dr. Beth Ricanati is no stranger to burnout. She was the mother of three children and a p…
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In honor of Sexual Health Month and our recent conversation with Zoe Mendelson, Sabrina and Kassia are opening up - like really, intimately opening up - about sexual health. We're walking through Zoe’s book, Pussypedia, discussing some of its more shocking takeaways, and our relationships with our mothers who were often our own source of education …
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Pussies, patriarchy, and access to sex education
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40:54When Zoe Mendelson first googled squirting, she had no idea the rabbit hole of sexual education she was about to go down. The internet was riddled with inconsistent information and even experts disagreed on some of the simpler questions she was curious about. An information designer by training, Zoe became passionate about curating a comprehensive …
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Data storytelling, crowdmapping, and gender-based violence
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48:01Around the world, 1 in 3 women experiences physical or sexual violence in their lifetime. In India, where a woman is raped every fifteen minutes, the outlook is especially dire. ElsaMarie D'Silva walked away from a twenty-year career in aviation to launch SafeCity - the world's foremost crowdmapping platform for gender-based violence. An entreprene…
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Homosexuality, Christianity, and gender discrimination in religion
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49:13Did you know the word “homosexual” didn’t appear in the Bible until 1946? Neither did we. And neither did Kathy Baldock until a gay friend said, “Even God doesn’t love me,” and Kathy, a heterosexual, practicing Christian, went looking for answers. Today, Kathy is an author (Walking The Bridgeless Canyon), LGBTQ advocate, international speaker and e…
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Intersectional feminism, capitalism, and feminist foreign policy
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41:02Women account for less than 10% of leadership positions in governments around the world. At this rate, we will not achieve gender equality in these highest positions of power for 130 years. Marissa Conway is not surprised. Neither intimidated nor impressed by the foreign policy sector dominated by older, white men, Marissa has had a front row seat …
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History, racism, and erasing Black mothers
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47:15Despite the influence of civil rights icons Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, and James Baldwin, their mother's stories were all but erased from history. That is until Dr. Anna Malaika-Tubbs came along. While pregnant with her first child, Dr. Mailka-Tubbs wrote the award-winning book The Three Mothers: How the mothers of Martin Luther King, Jr.,…
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In the wake of Roe: Hope in Ireland's example
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31:07Abortion saves lives. Abortion is healthcare. Abortion should never have been politicized. But it was. And in the wake of Roe v. Wade being overturned, when we're mostly full of anger and sorrow, we really need glimmers of hope. One such spark can be found in a place one might expect fervent opposition to abortion: Ireland. In this rerelease of one…
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Political influence, double standards, and silencing women
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1:03:29Many double standards exist for women and men, but perhaps none as ubiquitously as how they use their voice. A loud little girl is called bossy, a bold assertive woman is called a bitch. The same leadership qualities that we celebrate in men we often silence in women and Phumzile van Damme has experienced this at every turn of her career. Elected t…
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Feminist rage and the power of women's anger
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50:10Ever been called an angry feminist? Us too. Soraya Chemaly is a writer, speaker, and activist who studies the many reasons women have to be angry, and why they're called bitches, hot-headed, crazy feminists when they are. She is an award-winning activist, the best-selling author of Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger, and director and co-f…
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What we must do now to save reproductive freedom
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33:24We’re releasing a bonus episode from 1972! Just kidding. We’re releasing a bonus episode from 2022 about what to do now that the United States is about to revoke the rights of millions of people with uteruses. Sabrina reaches back out to human rights attorney and previous guest, Julie Kay to talk about: • What this legal ruling might mean for other…
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Poetry, misogyny, and women's unpaid labor
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42:24It's not often that a poet's first paid piece of writing jumps to the top of the New York Times bestseller lists. Kate Baer's did. Her first book, What Kind of Woman was published in 2020 and followed shortly by a book of erasure poetry, I Hope This Finds You Well (2021). Both tackle the underlying treatment of women and mothers in modern society. …
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In a country that criminalizes homosexuality, Kaz is an openly queer individual. Bisexual, lesbians, and transgender persons are not recognized by the Kenyan constitution and yet she lives openly and authentically while encouraging others to do the same. Kaz started her career as a singer and performer. In 2006, she won the Kora Award for The Most …
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Pregnancy, miscarriage, and choosing not to stay silent
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30:04Five kids between the two of them, Sabrina and Kassia know a thing or two about pregnancy. From infertility to miscarriage, morning sickness to stretch marks these ladies could write a real epic. That's why they're pulling back the curtains - not as experts on any one of these issues, but as mothers and friends who want to dispel some of the ways s…
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Comprehensive sex education is not standardized in schools across Arab countries and more than 40% of pregnancies are unintended. Since moving from Chicago to Dubai in 2014, Dr. Salem has defied tradition and delivered sex education to women through her OB-GYN clinic as well as through her Instagram account. With more than 20k followers, she answer…
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Reproductive Rights, Overturning Roe, and Sesame Street
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58:56Reproductive freedom is in grave danger across the United States. Experts predict that it is not a question of if Roe will be overturned this year, but rather when. Kathryn Kolbert is one of the most influential reproductive rights attorneys in the country. Julie Kay is a passionate human rights attorney who came up under the mentorship of Kitty at…
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Season two is coming soon and this is our little love letter to those loyal listeners who are waiting oh so patiently. It's been a few months since our 43rd episode dropped to wrap up Season 1. And since then, we've been chasing babies, growing businesses, and planning how to knock your socks off in our second season. A few of the to dos on our lis…
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Season One Finale with Sabrina and Kassia
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36:12Rules were bent. Glass was broken. Minds were expanded. Join Sabrina and Kassia in reflecting on the audacious, gutsy guests whose stories, advice, and badassery comprised season one. The co-hosts discuss the conversations that left a mark and opened their eyes to the vast array of experiences women are facing around the world. Sabrina reveals the …
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Dr. Faith Mwangi-Powell grew up in rural Kenya with two parents who were deeply committed to her education. The daughter of a village chief, it wasn’t until she completed her PhD and was deep into her career in public health and population studies that she realized child marriage had been happening all around her. Today, Dr. Faith is the CEO of Gir…
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Erin Jorgensen is an artist, musician, and a somewhat accidental abortion activist. Having grown up in a Mormon family in rural Washington, Erin eventually turned her back on the church and moved to the coast to pursue a career in music. A struggling artist, she resorted to sex work to make ends meet. After four abortions, Erin's roommate and dear …
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Matthew Nouriel is a British Iranian who from a young age, was attracted to all the things little boys in traditional homes should never be attracted to - Barbies, dresses, make up. Growing up between the UK and Los Angeles, Matthew diverged from the path that their family laid out for them and found a home among the LGBTQ+ community of West Hollyw…
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Social pressure, regret, and choosing not to mother
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31:16At the young age of 16, Orna Donath knew with certainty that she would never be a mother. To Orna, this self-realization was not as extraordinary as society would want her to believe. To her, it was mundane. Just as common as choosing to become a mother. In the decades that followed she became a sociologist and author, producing thought-provoking r…
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Secrecy, duality, and generational trauma
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42:45Esther Amini is a writer, artist, and psychotherapist whose family emigrated from Mashad, Iran to New York City before she was born. Despite their newfound freedom, the life of secrecy and duplicity that they had known in Iran resulted in generations of trauma. Esther has spent a lifetime navigating these two conflicting realities - that of a conse…
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Jackson Katz is founder & president of MVP Strategies and an outspoken expert on why gender violence is a man's issue. Jackson grew up in a dysfunctional family and in college found himself studying the intersectionality of race, gender, and discrimination. Watching strong female classmates survive rape and campaign for campus safety, Jackson grew …
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Extreme poverty, modern slavery, and a monk
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41:47Nasreen Sheikh was born into a rural village in Nepal to a family struggling to survive. The desperation of her upbringing drove her to work in a sweatshop as a young child where she lived and worked in a 10x10 foot room alongside 5 other people. After escaping child labor, she founded Women’s Local Handicraft to disrupt the manufacturing supply ch…
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Do you ever find yourself wondering who the personalities are behind these voices on Breaking Glass? This one's for you. Today we're pulling back the curtain and co-hosts Sabrina and Kassia are getting personal. We're rambling about the complexity of podcasting, the mess of motherhood, and how in the world we ended up in partnership with one anothe…
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Quotas, democracy, and women in leadership
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52:40Sandra Pepera is a Ghanaian woman raised in Britain by parents who were deeply committed to girls' education. No stranger to the experience of being a minority in the room, Sandra is a campaigner at heart and has dedicated her life to equity and justice work. Today, she is a renowned an expert in international development, democracy, and gender equ…
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Chrissy Powers was 13 years-old when her father brought home a purity ring and sat her down to talk about the importance of waiting until marriage. Purity culture was the norm in her Evangelical Church community but the burden of shame and guilt that was placed on her as a young girl led to years of eating disorders and anxiety. Now, as a licensed …
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American values, childcare, and an unlikely feminist
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1:13:52In this special Father's Day episode we sit down with Sabrina's father, David Merage. A successful businessman, immigrant, and philanthropist, David reflects on his roots in a patriarchal society and the strong women whom he looked up to as a child. We discuss his duality as an Iranian Jew living in America, a successful entrepreneur whose family h…
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Social media, politics, and gendered disinformation
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33:58Kristina Wilfore and Lucina Di Meco are global experts and passionate advocates for women’s digital rights. With more than 800 million people using the internet as a primary source of information, these ladies are critically concerned about the number of intentional and fraudulent attacks against female politicians and journalists online. The rise …
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Professional volleyball, pregnancy, and maternity leave
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39:19Carli Lloyd was headed into her tenth season of professional volleyball when she found out she and her long-term partner were pregnant. This deeply personal news came at a high professional cost. Carli and her partner didn’t even get a chance to process this news personally before it was thrust into the public view and her contract was swiftly canc…
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Safety, immigration, and maternal health in Sierra Leone
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41:43Aminata Conteh-Biger grew up in a well-off family in the capital of Sierra Leone where her father prioritized education and opportunities for his six daughters. She had a happy and protected childhood until a truly devastating civil war broke out in her country resulting in the deaths of more than 50,000 individuals. She herself was kidnapped for s…
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Parenthood, gender stereotypes, and girls in STEM
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42:03After years of working in male-dominated industries, Heide Iravani and Emily Clifford co-founded Piccolina, a lifestyle brand dedicated to empowering today’s young children to become tomorrow’s leaders and problem-solvers. These renegade entrepreneurs share their experiences of how becoming mothers inspired them to take the leap and launch a busine…
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Ester Steinberg has been in the comedy circuit since she was 16 years-old trying to make her way on stage at the one comedy club in Tampa, Fl. The message she received? No girls allowed. She then made her way to Los Angeles before settling with her comedian husband and their son in New York. Ester brings some levity and comedic anecdotes to what it…
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Stigma, taxes, and period poverty with Michela Bedard
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47:28Michela Bedard is an outspoken feminist. She has to be. As the Executive Director of Period, she is heading up a youth-led movement to end period poverty around the world. Michela doesn't shy away from hard conversation and believes that there should be no shame or stigma around the topic of menstruation. We discuss how menstruation inequity is a f…
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Identity, safety, and the transgender experience in India
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41:29From a very young age Neysara realized that the world had something wrong about her. Born to cis-gender parents in rural India, the only transgender individuals she saw were banished to the margins of society, often selling themselves as sex workers to survive. Neysara had different aspirations. She completed college and then pursued an incredibly …
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Poverty, economic opportunity, and fashion
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49:51Carly Burson and Priti Pugalia are business partners working to disrupt generational poverty for women around the world. Carly is based in Texas and is the Founder of ethical fashion brand LAUDE the Label. Priti is the founder of Craft Boat, a recycled paper and textile manufacturing studio in Jaipur, India, deeply committed to encouraging sustaina…
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Body image, photography, and authentic womanhood
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37:10Julie Adams is a Sydney-based photographer widely known for her work in Vogue, Harper’s BAZAAR, Glamour, Marie Claire and others, what we’re talking about today is her personal project titled This Is Me. For this personal project, Julie has photographed hundreds of women, all of whom modeled for an unretouched photograph in their swimsuit and share…
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Confidence, self-promotion, and career advancement
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33:33Meredith Fineman has never struggled to find the right words. The daughter of a journalist and granddaughter of English professors, she comes from a long lineage of wordsmiths. It comes as no surprise that Meredith has found her professional stride as a communication expert. Founder of FinePoint, a communications agency, and author of Brag Better, …
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Authenticity, retouching, and representation
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43:40Sarah Dubbeldam is no stranger to the superficial scrutiny of the media industry. A model for many years, the deterioration of Sarah's mental health drove her to defy the status quo and create more authentic content for women. Darling Magazine was launched as a source of relatable and accessible storytelling on the topics women care most about, and…
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Media, equity, and influence with Pat Mitchell
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43:30Pat Mitchell has shattered nearly ever glass ceiling in the media industry. She was the first woman to lead PBS, CNN, and to produce the first national program hosted by a woman for women. She has won Emmy’s, Peabody’s, and been nominated for Academy Awards. But before any of this success, Pat was an unemployed single mother in New York City naviga…
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Suicide, mental health, and the pandemic in Japan
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26:45Dr. Yuko Kawanishi is a sociologist based in Tokyo, who specializes in mental health, gender relations, and contemporary Japanese social issues. When in 2020, nearly 7,000 women took their own lives and the country experienced one of the highest suicide rates in the world, Dr. Kawanishi took interest. She joins us to reflect on the professional exp…
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Extreme sports, stereotypes and the Amazon River
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38:18Darcy Gaechter is the first woman to kayak the Amazon River from source to sea, a tumultuous journey that lasted nearly 5 months. She has been whitewater kayaking for twenty-one years and for the past fifteen years, she has been considered one of the most accomplished expedition kayakers in the world. Darcy may not have set out to be a feminist or …
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Access, empowerment, and girls' education in Kenya
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41:07This is the story of two women from different corners of the globe whose paths cross as champions of girls education in Kenya. Rebecca Crook is a former teacher from California. Debborah Odenyi grew up in rural Kenya, became a teacher, and is now an independent consultant to education organizations. They met in Nairobi where they are supporting edu…
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