0:00:18.953,0:00:23.100 There's a group of people in Kenya, 0:00:23.100,0:00:26.872 people cross oceans to go see them. 0:00:26.872,0:00:35.478 These people are tall, they jump high,[br]they wear red and they kill lions. 0:00:35.478,0:00:38.318 You might be wondering,[br]who are those people? [br] 0:00:38.318,0:00:41.288 These are the Maasais. 0:00:41.288,0:00:43.204 And you know what's cool? 0:00:43.204,0:00:47.317 I'm actually one of them.[br](Laughter) 0:00:47.317,0:00:51.384 The Maasais, the boys are brought up[br]to be warriors, [br] 0:00:51.384,0:00:55.129 the girls are brought up to be mothers. 0:00:55.129,0:01:00.176 When I was five years old,[br]I found out that I was engaged, 0:01:00.176,0:01:03.069 to be married as soon as I reach puberty. 0:01:03.069,0:01:05.846 My mother, my grandmother, my aunties, 0:01:05.846,0:01:11.310 they constantly reminded me [br]that, "Your husband just passed by." 0:01:11.310,0:01:14.857 (Laughter)[br]Cool, yeah? 0:01:16.169,0:01:19.250 And everything I had to do from that moment 0:01:19.250,0:01:24.758 was to prepare me to be [br]a perfect woman at the age of 12. 0:01:24.758,0:01:27.289 My day started at five in the morning,[br] 0:01:27.289,0:01:30.405 milking the cows, sweeping the house,[br]cooking for my siblings, 0:01:30.405,0:01:34.968 collecting water, fire wood.[br] 0:01:34.968,0:01:41.858 I did everything that I needed to do,[br]to become a perfect wife 0:01:41.858,0:01:47.843 I went to school not because[br]the Maasai women all go to school. 0:01:47.843,0:01:51.307 It's because my mother [br]was denied an eduction 0:01:51.307,0:01:54.742 and she constantly reminded[br]me and my siblings that, 0:01:54.742,0:01:58.913 she never wanted us [br]to live the life she was living. 0:01:58.913,0:02:00.881 Why did she say that? 0:02:00.881,0:02:05.770 My father worked [br]as a policemen in the city, 0:02:05.770,0:02:11.393 he came home once a year, we didn't see him[br]for sometimes even 2 years. 0:02:11.393,0:02:14.932 And whenever he came home, [br]it was a different case. 0:02:14.932,0:02:20.037 My mother worked hard in the farm [br]to grow crop so that we can eat, 0:02:20.037,0:02:24.141 she read the cows and the goats [br]so that she can care for us. 0:02:24.141,0:02:26.805 But when my father came,[br]he would sell the cows, 0:02:26.805,0:02:29.102 he would sell the products we had 0:02:29.102,0:02:33.418 and he went and drank [br]with his friends in the bars. 0:02:33.418,0:02:37.912 Becasue my mother a women, [br]she was not allowed to own any property 0:02:37.912,0:02:39.831 and by default everything in my family, 0:02:39.831,0:02:43.406 anyway, belonged to my father[br]so he had the right. 0:02:43.406,0:02:47.801 And if my mother ever questioned him, [br]he'd beat her, abused her 0:02:47.801,0:02:52.245 and really, it was difficult. 0:02:52.245,0:02:57.422 When I went to school, I had a dream, [br]I wanted to become a teacher. 0:02:57.422,0:03:01.513 Teachers looked nice, they wear [br]nice dresses, high-heeled shoes -- 0:03:01.513,0:03:04.662 I found later that they were [br]uncomfortable, but I admired it. 0:03:04.662,0:03:07.788 (Laughter) 0:03:07.788,0:03:12.089 But most of all, the teacher [br]was just writing on the board -- 0:03:12.089,0:03:14.514 not hard work, that's what I thought, 0:03:14.514,0:03:19.663 compared to what I was doing at the farm, [br]so I wanted to become a teacher. 0:03:19.663,0:03:23.634 I worked hard in school, [br]but when I was an eight grader, 0:03:23.634,0:03:25.763 it was a determining factor. 0:03:25.763,0:03:30.841 In our tradition, there's a ceremony that girls[br]have to undergo to become a woman. 0:03:30.841,0:03:34.026 And it's a right of passage to womanhood. 0:03:34.026,0:03:37.152 And then I was just finishing my eight grade [br] 0:03:37.152,0:03:39.618 and that was a transition [br]for me to go to higschool, 0:03:39.618,0:03:41.375 this was the crossroad. 0:03:41.375,0:03:46.890 Once I go through this tradtion [br]I was going to become a wife. 0:03:46.890,0:03:51.125 Well, my dream of becoming a teacher [br]will not come to pass. 0:03:51.125,0:03:56.330 So I had to come up with a plan [br]to figure these things out. 0:03:56.330,0:04:00.265 I talked to my father, I did something[br]that most girls have never done. 0:04:00.265,0:04:06.248 I told my father, I will only go through this [br]ceremony if you'l let me go back to school. 0:04:06.248,0:04:12.181 The reason why, if I ran away, my father will [br]have a stigma, people will be calling him, 0:04:12.181,0:04:15.185 "The father of that girl who [br]didn't go through the ceremony." 0:04:15.185,0:04:19.327 It was a shameful thing for him [br]to carry the rest of his life. 0:04:19.327,0:04:21.426 So he figured out - well, he said, 0:04:21.426,0:04:25.128 "OK, you'll go to school[br]after the ceremony." 0:04:25.407,0:04:31.636 I did. The ceremony happenned,[br]it's a whole week long of excitments. 0:04:31.636,0:04:33.871 It's a ceremony, people are enjoying. 0:04:33.871,0:04:36.788 And the day before [br]the actual ceremony happens,[br] 0:04:36.788,0:04:39.744 we were dancing, having exceitments 0:04:39.744,0:04:43.230 and through all the night,[br]we did not sleep. 0:04:43.230,0:04:46.452 The actual day came [br]and we walked out of the house 0:04:46.452,0:04:47.856 and we were dancing, 0:04:47.856,0:04:50.746 as we danced and danced [br]and we walked out of the courtyard 0:04:50.746,0:04:54.738 and there were a bunch of people waiting, [br]they were all in a circle. 0:04:54.738,0:04:59.863 And as we dance and dance, [br]and we approach this circle of women - 0:04:59.863,0:05:02.415 men, women, children everybody was there. 0:05:02.415,0:05:05.307 There was a women[br]sitting in the middle of it 0:05:05.307,0:05:09.870 and this women was waiting to hold us, 0:05:09.870,0:05:13.787 and I was the first, there were my sisters[br]and a couple of other girls. 0:05:13.787,0:05:23.195 As I approach her, she looked at me [br]and I sat down and I opened my legs. 0:05:23.195,0:05:30.427 As I opened my leg, another women came, [br]and this women was carrying a knife. 0:05:30.427,0:05:34.088 And she carried the knife[br]she walked towards me, 0:05:34.088,0:05:37.430 and she held my clitoris,[br]and she cut it off. 0:05:38.842,0:05:42.723 As you can imagine, I bled. I bled. 0:05:43.477,0:05:47.416 After bleeding for a while, [br]I fainted there after. 0:05:48.400,0:05:53.756 It's something that so many girls -[br]I'm lucky I never died, but many die. 0:05:54.619,0:05:59.391 It's practice with no anaesthesia, [br]it's a rusty old knife 0:06:00.821,0:06:03.552 and it was difficult. 0:06:03.820,0:06:08.835 I was lucky because my mom[br]did something that most women don't do 0:06:09.433,0:06:12.266 three days later, [br]after everybody has left the home 0:06:12.266,0:06:14.243 my mom went and brought a nurse. 0:06:14.243,0:06:17.557 We were taken care of,[br]three weeks later I was healed 0:06:17.557,0:06:19.823 and I was back in high school. 0:06:20.616,0:06:24.186 I was so determined to be a teacher now 0:06:24.186,0:06:27.960 so that I can make a difference[br]in my family. 0:06:27.960,0:06:31.554 Well, while I was in high school, [br]something happened,[br] 0:06:31.554,0:06:34.960 I met another young gentlemen[br]from our village 0:06:34.960,0:06:37.513 who had been to the university of Oregon. 0:06:37.513,0:06:43.589 This man was wearing [br]a white T-shirt, jeans, a camera, 0:06:43.589,0:06:46.211 white sneakers -[br]and I'm talking about white sneakers. 0:06:46.211,0:06:50.444 There's something about clothes I think[br]and shoes. (Laughter) 0:06:50.444,0:06:55.469 And this was in a village [br]that didn't even have paved roads,[br] 0:06:55.469,0:06:58.329 it was quite attractive.[br](Laughter) 0:06:58.329,0:07:01.965 I told him, "I want to go[br]to where you are," 0:07:01.965,0:07:06.888 because this man looked very happy[br]and I admired that. 0:07:06.888,0:07:08.131 And he told me, 0:07:08.131,0:07:12.763 "Well, what do you mean you want to go, [br]don't you have a husband waiting for you?" 0:07:12.763,0:07:14.307 And I told him, 0:07:14.307,0:07:18.391 "Don't worry about that part,[br]just tell me how to get there." 0:07:18.391,0:07:21.205 This gentlemen, he helped me. 0:07:21.205,0:07:25.245 While I was in school also, [br]my dad was sick, he got a stroke - 0:07:25.245,0:07:30.522 and he was really sick so he really [br]couldn't tell me what to do next. 0:07:30.522,0:07:34.282 But the problem is my father [br]is not the only father I have. 0:07:34.282,0:07:39.261 Everybody who is my dad's age, male, [br]in the community, is my father by default. 0:07:39.261,0:07:44.374 My uncles, all of them,[br]they dictate what my future is. 0:07:44.374,0:07:46.631 So the news came, [br]and I applied to school [br] 0:07:46.631,0:07:51.570 and I was accepted to Randolph-Macon [br]Woman's College, In Lynchburg, Virginia 0:07:51.570,0:07:55.053 and I couldn't come [br]without the support of the village 0:07:55.053,0:07:57.662 because I needed to raise money[br]to buy the air ticket. 0:07:57.662,0:08:00.990 I got a scholarship,[br]but I needed to get myself here. 0:08:00.990,0:08:03.576 But I needed the support of the village 0:08:03.576,0:08:07.903 and here again, [br]when the men, the people heard [br] 0:08:07.903,0:08:10.926 that a women had gotten [br]an opportunity to go to school 0:08:10.926,0:08:13.251 they said, "What a lost opportunity, 0:08:13.251,0:08:16.883 this should have been given to a boy [br]we can't do this." 0:08:16.883,0:08:21.774 So I went back, [br]and I had to go back to the tradition. 0:08:21.794,0:08:26.936 There's a belief among our people [br]that morning brings good news. 0:08:26.936,0:08:29.647 So, I had I to come up with something[br]to do with the morning 0:08:29.647,0:08:32.579 because there's good news in the morning. 0:08:32.579,0:08:37.912 And in the village also there's one chief [br]or person, male, an elder 0:08:37.912,0:08:41.347 if he says "Yes,"everybody[br]will follow him. 0:08:41.347,0:08:45.160 So I went to him, very early[br]in the morning, as the sun had rised, 0:08:45.160,0:08:49.125 the first thing that he sees [br]when he opens his door is me. 0:08:49.125,0:08:51.361 "My child, what are you doing here?" 0:08:51.361,0:08:55.698 "Well Dad, I need help, can you support me[br]to go to America?" 0:08:55.698,0:08:59.466 I promised him that I'll be the best girl,[br]I will come back 0:08:59.466,0:09:03.643 anything they wanted after that, [br]I will do it for them. 0:09:03.643,0:09:05.599 He said, "Well, but I can't do it alone." 0:09:05.599,0:09:10.643 He gave me a list of other 15 men [br]that I went, 16 more men. 0:09:10.643,0:09:13.942 Every single morning[br]I went and visited them. 0:09:13.942,0:09:17.424 They all came together - the village, [br]the women, the men. 0:09:17.424,0:09:22.080 Everybody came together to support me[br]to come, to get an education. 0:09:22.080,0:09:25.766 I arrived in America, [br]as you can imagine, what did I find? 0:09:25.766,0:09:29.955 (Laughter)[br]I found snow, 0:09:29.955,0:09:31.690 I found Walmart, 0:09:31.690,0:09:36.306 vacuum cleaners [br]and lots of food in the cafeteria. 0:09:36.306,0:09:41.930 I was in a land of plenty.[br]I enjoyed myself, 0:09:41.930,0:09:47.227 but during that moment while I was here, [br]I discovered a lot of things 0:09:47.227,0:09:52.520 I learned that, that ceremony that I went [br]through when I was 13 years old 0:09:52.520,0:09:55.790 was called female genital mutilation. 0:09:55.790,0:09:59.282 I learned that it was against the law[br]in Kenya, 0:09:59.282,0:10:04.048 I learned that, I did not have to trade[br]part of my body 0:10:04.063,0:10:07.158 to get and eduction, I had a right! 0:10:07.158,0:10:11.411 And as we speak right now,[br]three million girls in Africa 0:10:11.411,0:10:15.677 are at risk of undergoing through[br]this mutilation. 0:10:15.677,0:10:19.144 I learned that my mom[br]had a right to own property, 0:10:19.144,0:10:24.726 I learned that did not have to abused [br]because she was a women. 0:10:24.726,0:10:27.863 Those things made me angry. 0:10:27.863,0:10:29.861 I wanted to do something. 0:10:29.861,0:10:33.869 Every time I went back, I found [br]that my neighbours' girls 0:10:33.869,0:10:36.532 were getting married,[br]they were getting mutilated. 0:10:36.532,0:10:42.072 And after I graduated from here,[br]I worked at the UN, I went back to school 0:10:42.072,0:10:47.740 to get my graduate work, the constant cry [br]of these girls was on my face. 0:10:47.740,0:10:50.360 I had to do something. 0:10:50.360,0:10:53.082 As I went back, I started[br]talking to the men, 0:10:53.082,0:10:55.004 to the village, and mothers and I said, 0:10:55.004,0:10:57.227 "I want to give back[br]the way I had promised you 0:10:57.227,0:10:59.010 that I would come back and help you. 0:10:59.010,0:11:00.044 What do you need?" 0:11:00.044,0:11:02.022 As I spoke to the women, they told me, 0:11:02.022,0:11:04.853 "You know what we need?[br]We really need a school for girls." 0:11:04.853,0:11:07.228 Because there had not been[br]any schools for girls. 0:11:07.228,0:11:09.502 And the reason they wanted[br]the school for girls 0:11:09.502,0:11:12.376 is because when a girl is raped [br]when she's walking to school 0:11:12.376,0:11:13.972 the mother is blamed for that. 0:11:13.972,0:11:17.850 If she got pregnant [br]before she got married, 0:11:17.850,0:11:21.497 the mother is blamed for that [br]and she's punished, she's beaten. 0:11:21.497,0:11:25.300 They said, "We wanted to put our girls[br]in a safe place." 0:11:25.300,0:11:27.962 As we moved, [br]and I went to talk to the fathers, 0:11:27.962,0:11:30.555 he fathers of course, [br]you can imagine what they said, 0:11:30.555,0:11:32.942 "We want a school for boys." 0:11:32.942,0:11:36.891 And I said, well, there are a couple[br]of many men from my village 0:11:36.891,0:11:39.316 who had been out[br]and they've got an education 0:11:39.316,0:11:43.585 why can't they build a school for boys [br]and I'll build a school for girls? 0:11:43.585,0:11:46.755 That made sens and they agreed. 0:11:46.755,0:11:51.861 And I told them, I wanted them to show me [br]a sign of commitment 0:11:51.861,0:11:53.191 and they did. 0:11:53.191,0:11:57.855 They donated land where we build[br]the girls' school, we have. 0:11:57.855,0:12:00.926 I want you to meet [br]one of the girls in that school. 0:12:00.926,0:12:03.691 Angelene came to apply for the school 0:12:03.691,0:12:07.133 and she did not meet [br]any criterias that we had. 0:12:07.133,0:12:10.146 She's an orphan, yes. [br]We could have taken her for that, 0:12:10.146,0:12:13.573 but she was 12 years old[br]and we were taking in girls 0:12:13.573,0:12:16.020 who were in the fourth grade. 0:12:16.020,0:12:19.247 Everybody were telling us Angelene [br]had been moving from one place, [br] 0:12:19.247,0:12:22.253 because she's an orphan,[br]she has no mother, she has no father, 0:12:22.253,0:12:24.778 moving from one grandmother's house[br]to another one 0:12:24.778,0:12:27.610 from aunties to aunties, [br]she had no stability in her life. 0:12:27.610,0:12:30.837 And people said, and I looked at her[br]I remembered that day, 0:12:30.837,0:12:35.689 and I saw something beyond [br]what I was seeing in Angelene 0:12:35.689,0:12:38.364 and yes she was older [br]to be in fourth grade, [br] 0:12:38.364,0:12:41.219 we gave her the opportunity[br]to come the class. 0:12:41.219,0:12:44.380 Five months later, there is Angelene. 0:12:44.380,0:12:47.148 A transformation had begun in her life 0:12:47.148,0:12:50.693 Angelene wants to be a pilot[br]so she can fly around the world 0:12:50.693,0:12:52.178 and [make] a difference. 0:12:52.178,0:12:54.694 She was not the top student [br]when we took her, 0:12:54.694,0:12:57.279 now she's the best student[br]not just in our school, [br] 0:12:57.279,0:13:00.145 but in the entire division that we are in. 0:13:00.145,0:13:04.225 She's showing different, that's Sharon, [br]that's five years later, 0:13:04.225,0:13:09.871 that's Avaleen, five months later, [br]that's the difference that we are making 0:13:09.871,0:13:12.984 As a new dawn is happening in my school 0:13:12.984,0:13:15.460 A new beginning is happening, 0:13:15.460,0:13:21.466 as we speak right now [br]125 girls will never be mutilated. 0:13:21.466,0:13:26.691 125 girls will not be married[br]when they are 12 years old. 0:13:26.691,0:13:32.526 125 girls are creating [br]and achieving their dreams. 0:13:32.526,0:13:34.713 This is the thing that we are doing - 0:13:34.713,0:13:38.092 giving them opportunities[br]so they can rise. 0:13:38.092,0:13:42.141 As we speak right now, [br]women are not being beaten[br] 0:13:42.141,0:13:45.183 because of the revolutions [br]we've started in our community. 0:13:45.183,0:13:53.754 (Applause) 0:13:53.754,0:13:56.250 I want to challenge you today 0:13:56.250,0:14:01.452 you're listening to me because [br]you are here very optimistic. 0:14:01.452,0:14:04.990 You are somebody who is so passionate 0:14:04.990,0:14:08.730 You are somebody who wants[br]to see a better world. 0:14:08.730,0:14:11.933 You are somebody who wants to[br]see the war end. 0:14:11.933,0:14:13.201 No poverty. 0:14:13.201,0:14:15.837 You are somebody who wants to [br]make a difference. 0:14:15.837,0:14:19.441 You are somebody who wants to [br]make our tomorrow better. 0:14:19.441,0:14:23.426 I want to challenge today[br]to be there first - 0:14:23.426,0:14:25.729 because people will follow you. 0:14:25.729,0:14:27.964 Be the first - people will follow you 0:14:27.964,0:14:30.696 Be bold - standup. 0:14:30.696,0:14:32.003 Be fearless. 0:14:32.003,0:14:33.561 Be confident. 0:14:33.561,0:14:37.025 Move out because[br]as you change your world, 0:14:37.025,0:14:38.898 as you change your community, 0:14:38.898,0:14:43.611 as we believe we are impacting [br]one girl, one family, [br] 0:14:43.611,0:14:46.950 one village, one country at a time. 0:14:46.950,0:14:48.569 We are making a difference. 0:14:48.569,0:14:52.114 So if you change your world,[br]you're going to change your community, 0:14:52.114,0:14:53.976 you're going to change your country. 0:14:53.976,0:14:57.321 And think about that, [br]if you do that and I do that, 0:14:57.321,0:14:59.420 aren't we going to create a better future, 0:14:59.420,0:15:02.520 for our children, for your children,[br]for our grandchildren, 0:15:02.521,0:15:05.346 and we will live in a very peaceful world. 0:15:05.346,0:15:06.598 Thank you very much. 0:15:06.598,0:15:21.259 (Applause)