Gloria Lihemo
Gloria Lihemo
Gloria Lihemo who combines her professional work in social change and development communications with her love for art and travel.
Born in Kenya, growing up she was acutely aware of the cynical and pessimistic narratives portrayed about Africa, that were mostly about poverty and famine. This sparked her interest in international development where she purposed to tell positive and optimistic stories of Africans as dynamic, enterprising, resilient, and innovative.
A passionate advocate of social change, she has used her work in humanitarian communications to empower communities, especially women and girls in Africa, to find their own solutions to address local problems including; gender-based violence and ensuring that girls realize their right to manage their menstruation with dignity. She believes in harnessing people’s capabilities to realize their own potential in order to become active and successful change makers in their own lives and communities. Sustainable change comes from within, no ‘expert’ has more knowledge than a caring mother, a young girl or a community health worker about how to solve local problems.
Gloria thrives in socially and culturally diverse environments, her varied background and travels around the world have not only profoundly shaped her view but have also challenged her to break stereotypical representations of the places she visits. A serial traveller, having visited more than 50 countries and lived in seven, she is inspired by the growing movement of African story tellers on social media. Gloria documents her experiences on her travel blog @mid_life_safaris