Thanks to Petya Tsankova for the fabulous book cover!

I’ve had Whats App calls with my fellow author of Not So Black and White . Nancy is working hard to find shelter and food for families made homeless because of the severe flooding in Western Kenya . While ‘Not So Black and White’ is fiction and the main character Precious Mukosi is a work of our imagination, the authenticity of the novel is down to Nancy’s life experiences both in Kenya and in the UK .There is no doubt in my mind that she deserved the NatWest 2015 Award for Most Inspirational Woman! (pic)
We have decided to self- publish our novel through OxfordeBooks in June so the income from the sales @ £2.99 can go to the Nasio Trust.  Any additional income stream is welcome  because charities cannot mount fundraising events. My desire is that more people will come to know about Nancy Mudenyo Hunt and the Nasio Trust and hopefully be moved by our novel.

See below to understand why she was given that MOST INSPIRATIONAL WOMAN award.!

Nancy Mudenyo Hunt.

Nancy Mudenyo Hunt is an inspirational leader who impacts on the lives of so many people. Her way of thinking and responding to problems, and challenging those who say it can’t be done, breaks through boundaries to meet a need.

Nancy was born and grew up in a small village called Musanda in western Kenya, the 13th child of the Chief’s first wife. Those early life experiences gave her insight and empathy.

Having had a successful career as a leadership trainer for senior police officers and then running her own training consultancy, she gave that up to tackle the plight of orphaned and disadvantaged children in western Kenya. All aspects of a vulnerable child’s life are covered, supporting their emotional, physical and psycho-social development through access to education, emotional support, advocacy, food security, health and welfare service. Through supporting children in their communities, rather than in orphanages, they are enabled to reach their full potential and able to support themselves, their families and their community.  The projects are geared towards breaking the cycle of poverty. Some of the earliest beneficiaries have graduated – a previously unheard of achievement from their background. Two exceptional students have been given scholarships to study in the USA.

Nancy’s leadership has had a profound impact in this area of high poverty levels. Not only has she set up the infrastructure to support the health and educational needs of children, she had the vision to build a medical centre in this remote rural area. This facility now treats 10,000 patients a year and provides maternity support for the delivery of around 50 babies a month and provides immunisations to keep them safe.

While working for Thames Valley Police a programme to help young people who had lost direction was born. Nancy, with police colleagues, developed a unique programme culminating in volunteering at the Nasio projects in Kenya. This life-changing programme has taken over 200 young people from South Oxfordshire to Kenya, many of whom were disadvantaged or otherwise vulnerable. The connection between two very different communities had a profound effect on the young people, discovering how communities with little material wealth are rich is other ways, changing their lives for good. Nancy, has just written a novel  ‘Not so Black and White’with me. It is  inspired by her life experiences in the UK and western Kenya in transforming lives. It draws out the common humanity that lies beyond differences of nationality, culture, race or class and is aimed to cast light on issues that affect many young people today.

Another example of how Nancy thinks is the Spirulina project – a solution to feeding malnourished children with a healthy diet and provide a sustainable income for women. The potential to scale the project across East Africa to provide income and improve health is being now being developed with interested partners.

Nancy’s commitment to help people is further demonstrated by her support in Oldonyosambu, Tanzania. She discovered children were being born with severe abnormalities due to excessive fluoride in the water, a problem first identified in the 1960s. She visited the community, identified their needs and organised funding and installation of rainwater collection tanks to allow children to drink safe water while a longer-term solution is found.

Nancy has also been instrumental in persuading central government to build a technical college for 1,000 students which is giving further opportunities to this neglected community to find their route out of poverty.

Other initiatives include providing Peer Educators for sexual health for young people across the county, partnering with One Acre Fund to provide food security for 1,000 subsistence farmers, eradicating jiggers and establishing a programme to give additional support to exceptional students from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Currently Nancy is in Kenya and has taken the initiative (to fill a gap left by the Kenyan authorities) to set up and lead a team of 1,000 Peer Educators and local government workers to sensitise the communities on Covid-19 and how to keep safe. The community has now been hit with floods resulting in 68 families losing their homes, their crops and their livestock. They are in temporary accommodation in a primary school. She has raised £50,000 to provide food, clothing and essential items for those whose homes and small incomes have disappeared and is now turning to rebuilding their lives.

These videos will give you a flavour of what Nasio does and the personality of Nancy.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaUwI5fUPI0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6Y5yh3zo1o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h49V8CV8ak4