INTRODUCTION

Rosemary Segero the founder of Hope For Tomorrow has followed her parents footsteps, her father Jeremiah Segero was the Ex-Senior Chief Kenyan Colonial leader, in Kakamega District in the Republic of Kenya.

Mr. Jeremiah Segero was among the African leaders awarded a Golden Medal by Queen Elizabeth II on her visit to Kenya in 1959. Under his leadership protection of women against violence was a priority. Her father died in 1985 leaving his widow Diana Segero who carried on his mission of empowering women through education and skills  training.

As a prominent elder in their local community, she founded a women’s group in her home where women could receive basic education and skill training. Advocating for the protection of women against violence. Through her leadership, the women groups grew large and she was among the pioneers of the Kenyan Giant women group Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (Progressive of Women) The First Women United Women Conference was held in Nairobi Kenya in 1985 following the creation of this Kenyan Giant organization. She also established  Senior Chief Segero Orphanage in memory of her late husband Ex-Senior Chief Jeremiah Segero which she supports orphans and vulnerable children in  the community to get day care education, food, uniforms and other basic needs.

After her  fathers death in 1985, her  mother who was the First Lady in the community and had  worked with my father closely on women empowerment and violence against women  continued his good works.

Today  her mother  in her  late 70’s, her  mother is not as  active as she once was, but she remains a powerful symbol for women in Kakmega District, where she is now the Treasurer for Kakamega Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, District branch. Her  mother is  one of the pioneers of the Giant Women Organization Maendeleo Ya Wanawake (Women Progressive) After the founding of this organization, the first Women’s Rights Conference was held in Kenya in 1985,  she also started an orphanage  in memory of my late father Jeremia Segero, the orphanage has more than one hundred children. These children are in day care, that is where they come from when they go to  Musingu elementary  school .

Her children, friends and well wishers like you help her to run this orphanage and the money goes towards their food, pay teachers, clothes, education books and pencils and humanitarian needs like health care.

While in the United States  the untimely death of Rosemary Segero ‘s  son Bob Segero, who fell a victim to ethnic group  community  violence in Kenya, Bob was a president of an organization Kenyan Disability Concern which cared for children with disability.  saddened she vowed to continue her  parents and also  inspired by the death of her son. MS. Segero  felt the urge to become community activist. This brought about  the birth of Hope For Tomorrow.

Rosemary Segero established (HFT) as a mechanism for local and international communities to campaign against hate crime and community violence,  violence against women. Hope for Tomorrow (HFT) provides capacity building training to women and youth to fight poverty  and empowers them to become self-sufficient.  HFT  also assist victims of violence, abuse, HIV/ADIS, human trafficking.

HFT strives also to reverse the causes of violence in the hope that no parent has to endure the pain and suffering of losing a child. HFT believes communities should be trained and educated   through the use of social  - media to stop violence., that is video conferencing, facebook, twitter, yutube etc. through roundtable dialogue, networking and collaboration with the government, organization, civil society.

Ms. Segero’s  journey with Hope For Tomorrow has taken her to  places like the United States Congress where she collaborated  with the Universal Human Rights Network on conference which was  Co-chaired by Congresswoman Sheila Lee Jackson on Child Soldier, and Violence Against Women in Conflicts.

Ms. Segero  in the past had  met with former  President George W. Bush before he left office and discussed with him issues on  empowering women and violence against women. And I had also communicated to the G8 Summit leaders to support women empowerment in the financial resources they allocate to African countries. When women are empowered the whole community is empowered. Women are the backbone of the communities. It has also taken her  to the United Nations where Hope For Tomorrow has been active and  has attended  numerous sponsored UN Conferences on women and youth and annual meetings of the World bank here in Washington DC as apart of Civil Society.

Ms. Segero represented Hope For Tomorrow as a featured speaker in March of 2011 during Women’s History Months at the National Women’s Democratic Club in Washington DC, where she spoke on the subject of Women Empowerment.

Additionally, Ms. Segero represented Hope For Tomorrow as a guest speaker  interviewed be on Emerald Planet on women’s empowerment in Kenya . http://www.UStream.TV/recorded/13463524 .