Introducing East Africa Communications Manager, Liberty Kituu

TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOU AND HOW YOU GOT TO WOMEN LIFT HEALTH

My name is Liberty Kituu and I am the East Africa Communications Manager here at WomenLift Health.  I am an advocate for gender equality and a male ally engaged in the process of building relationships based on trust, consistency and accountability for a gender-equal society.

 

Growing up, my father told me that, as a man, it is my responsibility to respect and protect my sisters from any harm and allow them to flourish in their line of choosing. A few years later, we continue to live in a patriarchal society in which women’s voices are suppressed in our societies and professional settings. I intend to combat these biases against women by utilizing my skills and telling more stories about women, thus bringing their voices to decision-making tables in the long run.

 

Prior to joining WomenLift Health, I served as the communications lead at The Mawazo Institute, a women-led African organization based in Nairobi, Kenya, which supports early-career women researchers as they seek solutions to local and global development challenges, and as a communications officer and strategist at the Community Advocacy and Awareness (CRAWN) Trust, a change catalyst that provides African women and girls with the tools, voice, and platforms through which they can affect change. I stumbled on WomenLift Health’s job posting as I was scrolling down my LinkedIn timeline and found this to be a great platform and an apt opportunity.

 

WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE MISSION? WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO YOU?

Before submitting my application, I thoroughly examined Women Lift Health’s website to comprehend its mission, identity, and culture. I was drawn to the organization’s mission statement, which aims to increase the power and influence of women. This is a subject that is near and dear to me, and it compels me to address barriers to women’s engagement, these can be structural barriers, discriminatory practices, and violence that prevent women from climbing the C-suite ladder; unequal access to education, networks, and resources; and discriminatory institutional practices and laws that prevent women from achieving their goals.

 

WHAT KIND OF IMPACT WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE? 

Given my background in communications and development, and being aware of the immense power of communication, to which I am well fashioned in, I’d like to make a substantial contribution to Women Lift Health’s strategic direction and amplify the voices of these women (members of our Leadership Journey cohort) to better package their stories, experiences, and vulnerabilities to enable them explore their identity and purpose.

 

WHAT KIND OF IMPACT WOULD YOU LIKE THE ORGANIZATION TO HAVE?

I would like to see WomenLift Health advocate (to have) more women in the C-suite, particularly those who have been through the Leadership Journey across the regional hubs. I would also like to see the transformation of global health outcomes through advocacy channels, with the goal of achieving gender equality in health and leadership.

 

WHAT WORDS DO YOU LIVE BY?

I live by these words: Raise the awareness of power differences and use this to leverage opportunities to place women’s health, equity and leadership at the top of the table.