Grace Atieno Owino is a longstanding member of the TAPTA leadership team in East Africa and has been part of CAALN’s story long before the organization was launched. Grace first met our founder, Linda Stolz, in 2009, when she was just 17 years old at the opening of a community library in Kibera. Grace now lives in Kitengela Town with her family and three-year-old son, Ruremeseha, but was raised in Kibera and her life’s work has been deeply influenced by her community.
Grace is a trained social worker and dancer and has worked on programs such as the Kibera Safer Sex Program which provides education on contraception, safe options, and family planning to young girls. Some of her many projects include developing a curriculum focused on children’s rights and gender issues in Kibera through the Uweza foundation and, she has recently been involved in providing creative arts therapy informed sessions to cancer patients and survivors.
Grace has twice been a recipient of our grants program, which includes her work with the Safer Sex Program and the Uweza project.
Grace is attentive to the ways her educational work and support in developing the creative arts therapies in East Africa intersects with Kenyan cultural norms. She is a powerful voice for helping CAALN understand how ideas and theories from around the world can be met with African culture, needs and beliefs at a pace that makes sense for communities. She has been integral to delivering our community TAPTA programs in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
We are delighted that Grace will be joining the Kenya Literary Retreat this year with her passion and advocacy for education for children and youth.
