She turned her pain into purpose – And her voice became her community’s alarm bell

“In our community, when you give birth to a child with any kind of disability, they are considered a moron.” These are the first words Alice, a community activist and COVAW-trained paralegal from Narok County, says as she begins her story, a story that still shakes her voice six years later.

One morning, while at the market, Alice received news no mother should hear: her daughter Ann, who lives with an intellectual disability, had been attacked by a man almost three times her age. “Because of my training with COVAW,” she says, “I knew what to do.” She rushed Ann to the hospital to preserve evidence, then reported the case to the police.

Within three days, with the community’s help and Alice’s insistence, the perpetrator was arrested in the market while trying to flee across the border. COVAW’s legal team supported the case through trial; the man was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Alice’s courage did not end there. In Narok’s deeply traditional communities, where FGM and early marriage still hide in secrecy, she continues to lead dialogues that challenge silence. “COVAW taught us how to respond as well as how to prevent through advocacy,” she says.

Alice’s voice is one of many rising through #SautiYetu (Our Voice), COVAW’s new storytelling campaign launching this October ahead of the 16 Days of Activism.

Today, Alice stands as both a mother and a voice for inclusion, proof that when women are equipped, communities move.

“I have accepted that Ann is God’s gift. I love her, and through her I fight for others.”