Selam & Hello

Monica, Aluong and Andrew are South Sudanese nationals and scholarship recipients of the Student Refugee Program from World University Service of Canada. In this episode, they share insights from their past and present lives and hopes for their future - just weeks before beginning their higher education in Canada. And Up/Root was fortunate to talk to Aloung again after she arrives in Canada! She shares her first impressions, favorite foods and what she misses most about home. This episode was produced with generous support from UNICEF Kenya and is edited by Dan Adachi ([email protected]). The Up/Root jingle was written and performed by Selah Piper. To learn more about how you can support higher education programs for refugees, please visit: World University Service of Canada: https://srp.wusc.ca/ UNICEF Kenya: https://www.unicef.org/appeals/kenya.html

Sippy Chadha is the writer, producer and director of the award-winning film Subira: Kenya's entry to the 2019 Academy Awards. Subira tells the story of a young Muslim woman who is pursuing her dreams, defying tradition and embracing love. Sippy shares with us her journey of taking Subira from being the first Kenyan short film to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2008 to a feature-length film in 2019. We talk the role of tradition in modern society, the multiple identities that informed the film and even arranged marriage. Updates on Subira screenings and the film's progress in the Academy Awards can be found at: https://web.facebook.com/subirafeaturefilm/ This episode was edited by Dan Adachi ([email protected]) and the Up/Root jingle - as always - is written and performed by my darling daughter, Selah Piper.

Four out of 5 women and girls in Kenya lack access to sanitary pads and health education. In the US, 35 states tax tampons as a luxury item while Viagra is tax-free. Project Imagine is a group of high school students in Nairobi, Kenya, led by Selah Piper and Isabella Bunkers, who are working to eliminate the shame and stigma attached to menstruation by distributing sanitary pads to poor girls who would otherwise have limited access. In addition, for the last four years, they have been visiting three schools to not only distribute pads but administer a self-empowerment and health curriculum through a peer to peer model of mentorship with over 600 girls. Listen in as they share about their work and passion to not just imagine - but create a world where every girls can finish her education and pursue her goals. You can learn more at their efforts at: projectimagine.net This episode is edited by Dan Adachi. Up/Root jingle is written and performed by Selah Piper.

Wanjira Mathai is an environmental activist and Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation. As the daughter of Nobel Peace Laureate Wangari Maathai and Board member of the Green Belt Movement, she is carrying forward her mother's work and is striving to preserve and honor her legacy. Wanjira shares with us what she learned from her mother, how she "keeps at" the work of enviornmental justice and her vision for the Wangari Maathai Foundation (http://www.wangarimaathai.org/). This episode was recoreded at the Aga Kahn Graduate School of Media and Communication (https://akumedia.aku.edu/)and was edited by Dan Adachi ([email protected]). Up/Root jingle performed and written by Selah Piper.

Get rid of your assumptions, ideas and what you think you know about refugee communities. Instead, listen with an open heart and mind to student refugees as they share about their lives, experiences and hopes for the future in this special live episode of Up/Root. In this honest and complex conversation, they offer us joy, courage, a few dope bars and the inspiring plans they have to change the world. This live episode is a collaboration between Up/Root and UNICEF Kenya in honor of World Refugee Day and was recorded live on location in Kakuma Refugee Camp. We are indebted to Lisa Kurbiel, Joyce Wanja, Mariam Abkow and Ali Omar Duale of UNICEF Kenya for making this series of upcoming podcasts possible. Dan Adachi ([email protected]) is the sound engineer and editor and photography is courtesy of Armstrong Kiprotich (https://www.behance.net/armstrongtoo). Song courtesy of students at Angelina Jolie Primary School and Mourneau Sharpel Secondary School in Kakuma Refugee Camp).

Latanya Mapp Frett is the incoming President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women and a lifelong human rights activist who has worked in over ten countries. She is the past-President of Planned Parenthood International and in her storied and dynamic career has worked tirelessly to access power and justice for women and vulnerable communities across the globe and at critical moments in history. She is also a daughter, mother, partner and passionate feminist who believes the future is bright and that empowering women is the key to anchoring and sustaining transformative global change. Learn more about the Global Fund for Women at: globalfundforwomen.org This episode was recorded at the Aga Kahn Graduate School of Media and Communication and is edited by Dan Adachi. The Up/Root jingle is written and performed by Selah Piper.

Living mobile and global lives as members of military, diplomatic, private sector or humanitarian service families comes with many wonderful benefits. But often – it does not come with professional opportunities for one partner in the relationship due to work permits, language barriers or visa restrictions. Join Hanne, Donovan and Susanne, all members of Here We Are Kenya (a chapter of Here We Are Global) as we discuss the term no one likes and how they have navigated identity in their years as expats in Kenya. This episode was recorded at the Aga Kahn Graduate School of Media and Communications and edited by Dan Adachi. The Up/Root jingle is written and performed by the wonderful Selah Piper.

Transformational storytellers and artists Usifu Jalloh, Khanyisa Sigwanda and Alim Kamara share with Lilly how ancient, culturally-relevant and modern stories connect us to our roots and why they are essential to the future of the continent. Listen in to our conversation about about the power of stories and hear the tales of Truth, Mr. Cat and an impromptu story at the end that will "inspire greatness and preserve tradition." You can find more of our guests' work below: Usifu Jalloh at: www.usifujalloh.com Khanyisa Sigwanda: (IG) khanyisamaryann and (FB) Khanyisa Mary-Ann Sigwanda Alim Kamara: www.storiestorie.com (IG), (FB) and Twitter as: StorieStorieHQ Episode edited by Dan Adachi. Up/Root jingle composed and performed by Selah Piper. This episode was recorded at Aga Kahn Graduate School of Media and Communication.

Ruth E. Van Reken, one of the leading experts on Cross-Cultural (CCKs) and Third Culture kids (TCKs) sits down with Lilly and discusses how parents, teachers and adults can best support students who are living "among worlds." How do we help students who are the "stayers" in a transient community? What are we learning about the brain science regarding mobliity? Are we all just CCKs? This episode is edited by Dan Adachi. Up/Root jingle is composed and performed by Selah Piper. Resources referenced by Ruth: - Brain Science of Mobility (John Hattie): a. https://globallygrounded.com/2016/03/15/mobility-impacts-learning-the-bad-news-and-the-good-news/ - Safe Passages Across Networks by Dr Doug Ota (book: Safe Passages); https://spanconference.com/ - The Global Nomads Guide to University Transition and Survive and Thrive: The International Student's Guide to Succeeding in the U.S. both by Tina Quick (https://www.amazon.com/Survive-Thrive-International-Students-Succeeding/dp/1540787567) - https://www.summertimepublishing.com/

"Third culture kids" (or TCKs) are defined as children who are not growing up in either of their parent's home country or culture; they may be the children of diplomats, business people or development professionals and as such, find themselves moving often and living between cultures. Today's episode features the voices of six students: Adrian, Isaiah, Juliane, Lauren, Roman and Sahara and two adult TCKs, Alicia and Kieke, who share wise and witty insights into the lives they've lived across over 20 countries. Hear how they navigate their global lives, questions of identity and make the most of being from everywhere and nowhere. Edited by Kate Stephens. Sound Engineering by Dan Adachi. The Up/Root jingle is written and performed by my babygirl, Selah Piper.