A Youthful Spirit for All Times: a Biography of Julia Auma Ojiambo

Abstract

The efforts put in place, both conscious and unconscious by women in public spaces have contributed to a large extent in the achievement of the national development goals. Be it in policy making, income generation, poverty alleviation, eliminating illitpracy or empowerment of the masses, these women have been at the forefront of various campaigns aimed at improving the well-being of their target groups, whose results can be verified by valid and verifiable statistics. Among these women are writers, educators, politicians, entrepreneurs, managers, medical personnel, entertainers, pastors and scientists, just to mention but a few. This is to say that the influence of women has and still is being felt in all domains of the social arena, which is part of a long struggle to raise the status of all people in the society. However, even with the visible changes that these women have effected in the Kenyan society, most of their efforts have not been acknowledged or well documented, thus the existing debate about the in ability of women to handle matters of power as well as men.

This study focuses on Julia Auma Ojiambo, whose participation in the political agenda has made her a considerably conspicuous person in the Kenyan public space. The focus of the study has been to write a biography of Julia's life so as present aspects of her life that have contributed to what and who she is today. Her journey to self-actualization, the challenges she has had to overcome, and the impact of her achievements to the development and political agendas of Kenyan society are some of the salient issues that have been captured by this study. The study was carried out in her childhood home area, her current constituency and various social arenas she navigates in. I collected data through interviews, observations and review of documents. I then wrote a biography to capture important milestones in her life.