Tracklist:
Sanaipei tande- amina 8:48
Lizzo- Like a girl 27:47
Uyo Meyo- Teni 31:51
Tune in to this episode on Education and Metis (Greek for 'local knowledge')with Rebecca Ume Crook (also known as Stickylittleleaves). We talk about our favorite learning experiences why we feel the world is changing through education and through Metis and why regardless of race, status, sexuality or gender Metis is here to improve your learning experience. We talk about how education has the power to shift our relationships with ourselves with the environment and with others. More than just fostering courage and creativity, Rebecca explores how education has the power to equip us with knowledge and skills to understand reality and really participate in its transformation and how Metis is here to set a blueprint globally by being a part of a learning revolution. Rebecca explains that those who are closest to the problem are closest to the solution and that is why Kenyan education leaders are at the heart of Metis. Rebecca explains that Metis is here to build the capacity of leaders and to create an ecosystem of support around them that can transform education in Kenya and beyond by empowering and equipping our teachers with new skills and technologies including innovative apps. She shares an amazing story of the brilliant and passionate fellow Dr Suzanne who is a PhD holder from Cambridge. Dr Sue who was determined to make a change in girls transition into secondary school moved to nairobi to start a mentoring program -Children in Freedom, a school whose vision is to mirror to kids who they are.
I ask American-Japanese Rebecca what keeps her motivated and she says reminding herself of the 'why' during every step of the journey. Whether this means journalling through this thought or calling her deeply cherished grandfather to remind her. She explains that she always wanted to know how she can do something to make sure systems are working for more people, and education was a path through which she could enact change to transform learning and make it and more inclusive.
I ask Rebecca what self care means and she doesn't hesitate to explain that you must find your oxygen. Find and follow the things that give you life. For her it’s spending times in classrooms with children, being in schools and connecting her purpose in these spaces.
More than that, find your tribe regardless of which field you're in. For her, cross fit in Nairobi provides that community to challenge her to be her best self outside of work. “Joy is resistance” Rebecca expresses, you aren't meant to be living a joy-full life in the structures present especially as women of colour.
We also talk about photography and I get to understand that 'sticky little leaves' is a metaphor for appreciating the extraordinary in everyday life, the magnificent and the mundane. That process of gratitude and paying attention and staying present through visual storytelling is really important to Rebecca. We all have a fundamental need to be seen, and photography can help us be seen and to truly see other people she expresses. Photography is a tool for power and a way for people to share their stories on their own terms, transcending borders of language. Its a great story telling tool and an enabler of curiosity.
As we wrap up with her love for photography, Rebecca concludes the episode with the words- ”you can do hard things and we can do harder things together” and I can't say Metis stands for anything less.
To find out more about my incredible guest, follow Metis on instagram and find Rebecca on instagram as @stickylittleleaves.
