Eve sisters, back with a bang!

Eve Sisters is back. After more than a year in passivity, the event, run by Eve Woman and sponsored by The Standard Group, debuted back to life this year — last Saturday — at the Hilton Hotel where progress savvy ladies turned up in numbers to share from a stream of knowledge and wisdom.

Young and old, tall and short, big and small, slender and girthed, ladies streamed into the ballroom in modern couture; zestful and ready to learn and share.

“It is a great forum for any woman who is looking forward to learn,” said Njoki Karuoya, the brain behind women sharing knowledge and experiences, which began as Sista-to-Sista.

A part-time lecturer at University of Nairobi’s School of Journalism, Njoki had nothing but approbation for the Eve Sisters forum through which she learnt “to be myself and not what others want me to be: I will do me and let you do you.”

Dorcas Muga-Odumbe, Saturday Standard’s Deputy Managing Editor and a pilot member of the sisterhood, opened the forum by narrating her own journey rising above the fog of mediocrity and ‘average-ness’ to be a better and more fulfilled person on first-class cabin that Eve sisters has turned out to be. She said: “Our goal is to nurture women, girls and the young alike, to realise their potential and contribute to the greater good of the society. I have learnt to operate from the sky and not look at it as the limit. But more so, I know that I have to be the best — not average.”

Six Ps

Caroline Mutoko’s trance of “quit being average” rang true to the spirit of the moment.

But the theme of the day was wealth creation. The audience, as one attendee confessed, was full with ‘wealthy’ expectations but ended up getting much more than that. The room was already experiencing positive energy even before the first speaker, Fridah Owinga of Passion Profit tuned the mood to effervescent with her ‘six Ps’ presentation.

“A woman has to   P  urpose in her mind that she wants to succeed. Sh e also has to be  P rogrammed to know  that being wealthy is not a sin. You must  be comfortable having a lot of money,” her voice pierced through to a continuous applause. “But your  P erformance also has to be top notch: you must put in the work. All these are qualities you use on a  particular  P laying field under which you will be transacting your activities.” 

Fridah’s two final Ps advised the ladies to identify a  P rofit engine corroborative with their Passion in life. To succeed, she continued, they need to  connect with the right people.

Her mantra, “Kimbelembele huenda mbele,” not only tickled ribs but also spoke to the female psyche that had filled the room.

Security

“Ladies, we need each other. You can’t make it on your own because there is no luck; life happens to those who stand up and go for it,” she said as she concluded her presentation.

Then came Yvonne Wamalwa, the widow of former VP Kijana Wamalwa. As she sashayed to the podium, hardly could anybody predict what she would talk about. “I am here to talk to you about security,” she said with her characteristic relaxed voice. “Security is quite important for wealth creation. We live in a technological age where a small gadget can compromise one’s security. For you to create and keep your wealth, you need to protect information, your business and yourself. Don’t be too casual with people around you. The people you trust the most — those who are close to you — can compromise your security by dishing out information about you or your business. This is bound to impact the process of your wealth creation,” Yvonne told the audience.

Know your neighbours

For 30 minutes, she dished out information and data that support her hypotheses on security. As information is passed very fast through moshene (no pun intended) in a quick-paced information age, she asked women to be on the guard at all times: “Who you speak to, who you allow to handle your documents, who you share information with and where you store important data sets.”

Sally Mahihu, the third speaker, reinforced Yvonne’s points by pointing out that women should pay more attention to what is happening around them as well as characters at play.

“The white widow (Samantha Lewthwaite) lived on the same apartment block where I live,” she said to a shocked audience. “She would even interact with my children and it’s only now that I understand how important it is to know people around you.”

A lawyer by profession but an Eve sister at heart, Sally — who also runs a women empowerment NGO — assured the women that they were crucial even to the country’s economy.

Gracefully, she said: “Sixty two per cent of world wealth is invested by women. Let’s not pretend; money and wealth is good. It gives you options and does not force you down a road you don’t want. Many times we don’t achieve success because we are our own stumbling blocks. You have to pursue your dreams and earn rightly.”

Low risk investment

She further advised ladies to posses more character than what meets the eye. According to Sally, women should dress well and use make-up in such a way that it does not compromise their stature in public.

To cap it all, the main speaker of the day, Joanne Mwangi of PMS Marketing Group was sharp with wit.  The entrepreneurial spirit in her appealed to many in the audience.

“The mistake we often make in our quest to start successful ventures is that we want to get rich now,” she said to applause. She advised that good entrepreneurs should have a ‘tortoise’ — a low risk investment that gives you a steady income to cater for your needs.

 It is only after the tortoise is established and running that the ‘hare’, which is the actual investment, can come to life. She explained: “The hare is a long-term venture that may take time to gather momentum and produce profits. It is cushioned by the tortoise so that you don’t eat into your long-term investment.”

As the chaperone of her marketing outfit, Joanne told women that they have to be unashamedly capitalistic.

Between 9am and 2pm a lot had been said. The forum, attended by many first-timers and a clique of Diaspora returnees, came to a soft landing as attendees yearned for more.

“We will bring the speakers back in next sessions,” promised Njoki, who was the moderator.

“We are woken up,” was the unanimous conclusion. Now set for every first Saturday of the month, Eve Sisters promises new forums tailored for women who want more than just living life.