t’s Valentine’s Day and many Kenyans in every corner of the country are painting their towns red, literally.
Flower vendors are cashing in on the cliché tradition of gifting their loved ones with flowers, as are chocolate sellers.
However, as the focus on showing love to people we care about is often reduced to a day of treats, a call has been made to shift from outward – and often short-lived – expressions of love and look inwardly towards self-love, to be able to give others love.
To be able to love others, one needs to first love themselves. This was Eva Muraya’s message during Valentine’s Day.
Muraya – a serial entrepreneur and CEO of BSD Group, advised both women and men to live by what she described as a LOVE framework during her speech at a Women On Boards Network (WOBN) meeting to mark Valentine’s Day.
The LOVE acronym represents four elements: Letting go of past hurts and failures and forging forward with the confidence that lessons have been learnt along the way. O stands for overcoming barriers, which Muraya said is a crucial element of self-love.
Another element is valuing lessons learnt in one’s journey and building opportunities out of them. Muraya acknowledged that she has experienced several failures in both her entrepreneurship and personal journeys, but she has always chosen to keep going and not give up.
The last element of the acronym is employing new tactics. In a fast-paced world, old ways of doing things are a sure way of stagnating, so she encouraged individuals to be open to doing things differently.
On her part, MSK chief executive, Zuhura Ogada urged women to go for their goals and claim their space. She said the days when women were only seen as playing an auxiliary role in the marketplace are long gone and there is a need to show up to claim one’s space.
Catherine Musakali, one of the co-founders of WOBN, urged women to focus on making an impact in everything that they do. When sitting on a board for example, one should look at it from the point of service, rather than merely having a seat on the board. Quoting Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, she said, “I raise up my voice-not so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be heard.”
