From DREAMS to Assistant Chief – a Leadership Journey

A former beneficiary of PEPFAR/USAID-funded Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe (DREAMS) program for adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Kolwa East Location, Kisumu County, joins the public service as an assistant chief.

Ruth Ramogi, a former DREAMS beneficiary, during her installation as the assistant chief for Buoye Sub-Location in Kisumu County on 8th November 2022 at Rweya Chief’s Camp.

Ruth Auma Ramogi, a 29-year-old mother of two and a former DREAMS beneficiary, told a gathering at Rweya Chief’s Camp where she was being installed as the assistant chief, Buoye Sub-Location, Kolwa East, Kisumu County, that she reclaimed her dreams and potential.

Ramogi was enrolled in the PEPFAR/USAID-supported DREAMS program in 2016 as a young mother. She was out of school due to financial constraints and was forced into early marriage with the hope that her husband would support her to resume her education. The husband, however, had no job and depended on his relatives to provide for his family. Ramogi, therefore, concluded that she would no longer be able to study or pursue her dream.

“As a teenager, I had many dreams and goals in life; I wanted to become someone in a position to uplift my community,” she said. “But I had no idea how to become this person. I had not finished school and was with a baby. Who would want this girl as a leader?”

While in DREAMS, Ramogi was supported to pursue a course in social work and community development at Kisumu Institute of Community Development Training (KICD-T). She also benefitted from the DREAMS package of services targeted at young women her age, including SHUGA II, an education program on contraceptives, Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), and correct condom use; financial capability training; HIV Testing Services (HTS); and Social Asset Building (SAB). Neither Ramogi nor her husband had been taught much about contraceptives or sexual reproductive health. The teenage mother was also supported with a monthly cash transfer of KES 4,000 (about $33 USD) to provide for her household’s needs as well as to improve her school retention.

“In the early days, my husband opposed me going back to school since our children were very young and we needed to respond to our household needs,” Ramogi said about her early DREAMS journey. “My mentor, Victoria Odundo, visited us many times to try to change his perception on women’s empowerment, and he only permitted me to go back to school when my mother-in-law accepted to watch over the young ones while I attended my classes.”

Watch Ruth’s story in this video from PEPFAR

Ramogi, upon graduating from DREAMS in 2018, was engaged by the program as an AGYW mentor. She played a critical role in creating a safe and supportive environment for 60 adolescent girls and young women to build their supportive social networks and learn about HIV and violence prevention. She later became a community health volunteer (CHV) where she reached people with information on family planning, sexual and reproductive health, mother and child health, HIV/AIDS, and women’s and children's human rights.

Ramogi also received training on household economic strengthening (HES) and, in May 2021, got a job with the USAID 4TheChild program’s DREAMS strategic partner, Make Me Smile - Kenya (MMS-K), as a HES assistant, responsible for interventions to reduce the economic vulnerability of families living with HIV while empowering caregivers to provide the essential needs of the children in Kolwa East Ward.

USAID 4TheChild is a five-year PEPFAR-funded program, through USAID/Kenya and East Africa, implemented by AMPATH partner Moi University College of Health Sciences (MUCHS) in a consortium with MMS-K.

Ruth Ramogi posing for a photo with her former DREAMS mentor, Victoria Odundo, the assistant chief for Mayenya Sub-Location, during her installation ceremony in Rweya Chief's Camp.

“In her role as the HES assistant under the USAID 4TheChild DREAMS intervention, Ramogi supported AGYW in Angola Shinners Savings Group by training them on savings and internal lending communities (SILC) and empowering members to access credit and foster their socio-economic empowerment,” said Linda Odawo, the coordinator for DREAMS activities in Kolwa East Ward.

Ramogi’s dream of becoming a community leader had already come true, owing to the several hats she wore to serve her community. That her mentor, Victoria, became the assistant chief for a nearby sub-location, Mayenya, in 2019 showed her just how far she could go in leadership.

“Ms. Odundo was that mentor I have always cherished. Through her guidance and support, I was able to finish school and take up these roles to improve the health and socio-economic situations of people in my area,” Ramogi said. “So, she challenged me to keep dreaming.”

Following her numerous roles in her area, Ramogi, after a competitive process, was selected out of seven applicants (three males and four females) and installed as the assistant chief for Buoye Sub-Location in early November to assist the area chief in administration, development, coordination, and implementation of departmental procedures, policies, and activities.

“My years of experience in community work in Buoye and being a member of the Village Advisory Council where I give inputs on community development gave me an edge,” she told USAID 4TheChild.

Ramogi, during the event, said that with her education and experience in DREAMS, she “understands the impediments to girls’ well-being” and was looking forward to sharing them with the government and inviting actions to support adolescent girls and young women in her area.

“In my time as a mentor and CHV, I was also capacity-built on children rights and articles in the Kenyan Constitution that advocate for child safeguarding standards. With this knowledge, I can use my new post to help violence survivors to access post-violence care as well as reduce the incidences of gender-based violence in my jurisdiction,” Ramogi concluded her speech.