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EMPOWERING<br />
AFRICAN WOMAN<br />
Sheila Gatonye<br />
Sheila Gatonye is a name synonymous<br />
with women empowerment from her<br />
powerful, raw and open life stories on<br />
social media that almost any woman<br />
can relate with to her annual African<br />
Women’s Dinner event with a mission<br />
to CONNECT, INSPIRE, EMPOWER and<br />
CELEBRATE the African woman.<br />
Born and raised in Kenya before<br />
relocating to the UK when she was<br />
15yrs, Sheila Gatonye is a mother of 3<br />
and the founder of AWD International,<br />
a brand that believes in the importance<br />
of building, promoting and maintaining<br />
meaningful women’s networks<br />
through women empowerment and<br />
Entrepreneurship. “My aim in life has<br />
always been to create a positive impact<br />
on people’s lives. There is nothing more<br />
empowering than to uplift another<br />
woman or a young person”<br />
Tell us a little bit about AWD<br />
International<br />
The AWD Journey has been a long<br />
road that has taken me to different<br />
paths along the way. Starting out<br />
as just The African Women’s Dinner<br />
in 2014, i created the event as an<br />
inspirational platform to bring people<br />
from all walks of life together through<br />
dining and entertaining to reduce<br />
social isolation and provide a positive<br />
enjoyable experience inspired by my<br />
own journey as an African woman living<br />
in the diaspora. The event attracts<br />
women from all corners of the African<br />
Continent and has grown each year<br />
In January 2018, The African<br />
Women’s Dinner changed names<br />
and incorporated the name AWD<br />
International as an umbrella to cover all<br />
the work that we do. Our core brands<br />
include AWD Expo, AWD Retreats,<br />
AWD Ladies Club and The African<br />
Women’s Dinner. This change created<br />
a framework where we could continue<br />
with our work<br />
AWD International also gave me a<br />
platform where i could give back to<br />
our community through the “Elimu<br />
campaign; a charitable initiative with<br />
an aim to support women and children<br />
living in extreme poverty through<br />
education and skills development to<br />
break the cycle of poverty. We work<br />
in partnership with several registered<br />
charities in the UK<br />
Empowering women is an issue you<br />
often talk about and advocate for.<br />
What inspires and motivates you<br />
66<br />
3RD EDITION | JULY 2018
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