SISI NI JAMII :CELEBRATING DIVERSE AFRICAN FAMILIES

From 12-17th May we celebrate #FamilyWeek !

During this period, we had conversations with our families and here is what they had to say when we asked them what Family means to them.

“My sister takes care of my children as her own and they also recognise her as their parent. This, to me, is what it means to be a family”- SISTER TO A LESBIAN WOMAN

“Mtoto Wangu sio wa kwanza kubadilisha jinsia wala hatakua wa mwisho, anaweza kua wa kwanza kwa hii kijiji ndio, lakini hiyo haiwezi nifanya nimtenge mtoto wangu.

Atabaki kua mtoto wangu!” (My child is not the first one nor the last person to transition.He might be the first one in this village but he still is my son and I hold him dear)-MOTHER TO A TRANS MAN

“Hakuna mtu ako na rights za ku-introduce mtoto wangu, not even his own brothers, yeye mwenyewe atafanya introduction in case anyone asks me who my son is”.(No one has the right to introduce/discuss my son, not even his brothers!if someone is interested to know him,then only he has the right to tell someone who is is) -DAD TO A TRANSMAN

“There is a lot of Stigma and it was not easy for my family to accept that my child is queer, it is not easy too as a mother but I  realised my child is not pretending or being paid to be queer and this is who my child is  and ALL I need to do is love them.” MUM TO A QUEER CHILD

“Being Gay is Not A disease.Being Gay is not Abnormal OR A sin. Just because My son Is Gay does not mean he is not my son..He is Not a criminal,He is a kind person and that is what matters the most to me as a FATHER!” -DAD TO A GAY MAN

My call to parents worldwide is to embrace our children and celebrate their many talents and abilities rather than focus on judgemental attitude based on their sexual orientation alone. If collectively all families could embrace and respect their children irrespective of social demands, then homophobia would be a thing of the past- PARENT TO A QUEER CHILD & A HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST

Our families also insisted that as African, we know and understand that Familia ni upendo,kusaidiana,

ukoo na kushirikiana sio tu kuzaliwa kwa tumbo moja, ni zaidi ya damu(Family is not just blood relation,It goes beyond and it is rooted in care,community, kindness and love )

As Africans,We also root ourselves in the value of Utu/Ubuntu which simply means  “I am because we are” as we are all Human! 

What does Family mean to You?  Please share and tag us using  #SisiNiJamii  #MyKenyanFamily  #RealAfricanValues  #RedefineFamilyKe