I am Martha Jalbert, and in 2004, I took my first trip to Kenya. Ever since then, I have had a passion for Kenya and the Kenyan people. This passion is impossible to put into words. It’s something that one must experience to fully understand. I hope, though, when I write or speak about Kenya, I can spark an interest in others to visit this incredible country. Their lives will be changed.
From my first trip in 2004, I had a dream of returning to Kenya someday to help. But I kept asking myself what could just one woman do? It appeared to me that I was very limited in my ability to make a difference. Plus, the problems for too many Kenyans seemed insurmountable. Over a seven year period, I returned to Kenya four times, and my passion grew. These visits ranged from one to three months each, and during these trips, I learned about the people, their culture, and their history. I learned my way around, and I learned what was safe and what was not safe for a woman alone in Kenya. At the time, I did not realize it, but the groundwork for my dream was being laid. These were the things I needed to know to work in Kenya.
In October of 2011, I was turning 70, and this was a wake-up call. My dream was slipping away; I had to do something soon. But I kept returning to my original question of what could just one woman do? Eventually, I decided on the vague idea of just helping in small ways. This was my starting point.
In April of 2011, I formed One Woman in Kenya. The name seemed appropriate since I had questioned for so long what one woman could do. For a starter, I thought I would concentrate on education, food, the arts, and women’s issues.
So on July 1, 2011, I left O’Hare in Chicago. From there, I flew into Amsterdam and then down to Nairobi, Kenya. The trip took approximately twenty-four hours. This was my fifth trip, and I was very excited but also very unsure if I could be successful.
My dream was finally coming true! Family and friends in the United States had encouraged me from the beginning, and my friends in Kenya had helped to organize and facilitate the programs I would work on during my two month stay. It is with my deepest appreciation and love that I thank them. I am so privileged to have these people in my life – I am definitely not one woman alone.