The largest gathering of Kenyan women in the diaspora is set to take place in Minnesota’s Twin Cities in August, when an organization of women from the East African country living in the United States and Canada host their 10-year reunion.
“Our mission is to connect, support, and empower Kenyan women in the U.S.” said Lilly Richards, who founded Kenyan Women in the United States (KWITU) in 2015.
Richards said she founded the organization after experiencing difficulties when navigating life in the United States on her own as an immigrant. She said she wanted to create an organization that offered guidance and resources for new arrivals to help them in their transition to the United States from Kenya.
“When I came here, I was young and I was alone,” she said.
Richards has since made it her mission to ensure that Kenyan women immigrating to the United States have the proper tools to transition and thrive.
“Many people fall through the cracks,” she said. “They do that because they don’t have a soft landing.”
Aileen Mucangi, a board member who has been with the organization since its inception, said that KWITU was a great place for connection and community.
“[KWITU] brings women together, we form relationships, we take care of each other,” Mucangi said.
The population of African immigrants in the United States has increased dramatically in the last several decades, according to the Migration Policy Institute. That population has grown exponentially in the last few years from 1 percent to 5 percent of the foreign-born people in the United States foreign born population, according to Pew Research Center.
African immigrants contribute to their local economies in the United States but also serve as strong economic pillars of their communities back in the continent by sending remittances. The United Nations reports that remittances to the African continent in 2023 totaled $100 billion U.S., which is bout 6 percent of the continent’s GDP. Remittances to Kenya hit a record 4 billion dollars in 2023, with a majority of the money coming from the United States.
Minnesota has one of the fastest growing Black populations, much of which is attributed to the arrival of immigrants from Africa. According to Minnesota Compass data from 2023, there were just over 20,000 immigrants who identified as having Kenyan origins, with 45 percent of them being female.
Since its founding, KWITU has supported several initiatives, including ones that provide safe havens for domestic violence victims, a benevolent fund that helps members in need, and an education fund that supports students in Kenya.
Some of the resources that KWITU provides include sharing documents that help individuals complete checklist items they need to complete upon arrival to the United States. It includes guidelines such as how to register and receive a social security number, United States currency literacy, as well as emergency contact information among others.
For the last 10 years, KWITU has expanded and has over 30 chapters around the United States and boasts a membership of more than 14,000 members with more than half of all the 50 states.
The four-day event will begin on August 7 at the InterContinental Riverfront Hotel in St. Paul. It will feature guest speakers, workshops, vendors presenting their businesses and a gala night where members will be allowed to bring their significant others. As in previous conventions, the Kenyan ambassador to the United States will be the guest of honor. Organizers expect around 1000 members to attend the convention.
Author
About Cynthia Simba, Mshale Reporter
Cynthia is a graduate of the University of Minnesota School of Journalism. She has interned at Mshale and Voice of America and previously worked at the Minnesota Daily. She recently returned from Seoul, South Korea where she was an English educator.
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