Description
Grace Emily Akinyi Ogot earned several “firsts” in the course of her life. She was the first Kenyan African woman to be awarded a scholarship for advanced studies in Britain in 1955; she was the first African Medical Sister at Maseno Hospital and Makerere University Clinic; the first African woman District Community Development Officer; the first African woman Principal of a Women Training Institute; the first African woman nominated municipal Councillor; and the first African woman in Kenya to be employed as a Public Relations Officer of an International Airline.
A pioneer author, she has written several novels and short stories which have been translated into several languages. She was the founder Chairperson of the Writers Association of Kenya; a former Vice Chairperson of the Kenya Oral Literature Association; a former Vice President of World Association of Women Journalists and Writers and a former Member of the Executive Board of Afro-Asian Translation Bureau based in New Delhi.
Grace was a Member of Parliament for ten years, during which she initiated many development projects in her gem constituency. She was the second African woman to be appointed an assistant Minister in the Kenya government; and was an official of the ruling party KANU at a time when Kenya was a one-party state. She has been involved in national, regional and international women empowerment movements for the last fifty years.Grace Ogot is also a prominent business woman.
In this autobiography, she traces her life story from birth in 1930, and takes the reader through the various phases of her rich and inspiring life. It is an exemplary life of determination, perseverance, self-discipline and selfless service to fellow human beings. The book promises to be a valuable addition to the rapidly expanding library of African autobiographies.
