Sharon Akoth, Millions of Corn Kernels
Celebrating one of the billions of women whose everyday contributions to family and community are heroic!
Yesterday, I completed the 14th portrait and story in the RainMaker & ChangeMaker series. It marked two weeks of writing every day as part of the 1000 Words of Summer 2-week writing challenge hosted by
. With that challenge complete but the 61-day Index Card A Day challenge still underway (it’s day 15!), I’ve halted writing for a bit but am still drawing! I’ll return to writing in a few days once I’ve had a chance to catch up on life and all of the wonderful stories of amazing people I have waiting in queue to share with you!Today, for Day 15 of Index Card Art, Small Art Big Heart Series showcasing RainMakers & ChangeMakers, I drew Sharon Akoth of K5Village. As an accompaniment to the drawing, I am re-publishing a portion of a story I wrote about her for International Women’s Day in March on my Spaghetti Twisted Thoughts Substack.
While it’s no longer International Women’s Day, there is no reason not to celebrate the women half way round the world who are doing incredible amounts of work today and every day. Women who are literally picking millions of kernals off of thousands of corn cobs. Right now. Wow.
There’s nothing like a picture of women picking corn kernals to give a fresh dose of perspective and appreciation for what women do day in and day out.
Like so many women around the world, Sharon Akoth of K5Village in Rangwe, Homa Bay County, Kenya is working to make her community a safer, more loving, more hopeful, economically sustainable, more nutritious and joyous place.
Meet Sharon Akoth of K5Village Project
Sharon is from Kisumu, Kenya (western Kenya near Lake Victoria) and is married to
who is Project Director at K5Village, a sustainable agriculture demonstration farm that provides vocational training, food, shelter, and other supports to orphaned children and widows as well as other vulnerable community members. Sharon is the youngest from a family of five. She is 29 years old and has two beautiful children with Omito: Rhyan and Ashley.
Sharon is a warm-hearted person who welcomes all ages of children into her home. According to her husband Omito (because maybe she was to busy to come to the phone, LOL), “the orphan children at K5Village love her so much due to the love she gives them. Sharon is very active in church, loves to sing, and is responsible for teaching Sunday school to children.”
Like many women in the village, her life is shared between parenting, housework, cooking, and farming-related responsibilities. In this part of the world, where maize is both a cash crop as well as a staple in the daily diet, removing kernals from corn cobs is one of the tasks that Sharon along with other women in the community (including widows and elderly who receive support at K5Village) engage in daily.
When it comes to preparing foods, Sharon (unlike me) is an expert and facile cook. Her specialty is cooking “Managu” or African Nightshade, an indigenous plant grown widely in western Kenya. A relative of the eggplant, Managu can be dried, creamed, boiled, steamed, sauteed or fried. It can be prepared with milk or not and is often served with ugali (cooked corn meal). Remember those corn kernels?
Another commonly prepared vegetable full of nutrients and beneficial properties is the “Spider Plant” otherwise commonly known as “cat’s whiskers”.
Approximately one-third of Kenya's population suffers from food insecurity according to the IPC website. In Homa Bay County where Sharon lives, the percentage is closer to 50%. Additionally, two-thirds of residents live in poverty, compared to the country-wide average of 50%. Indigenous vegetables have been identified as a crucial source of income for farmers since the farmers do not need to be dependent on multinational seed companies. You can read more here about how K5Village is using sustainable agriculture, animal husbandry, and other techniques to empower and lift up the vulnerable in their community.
Happy International Women’s Day then in March and every day, Sharon! I hope you got some rest today!
What activity do you engage in daily that feels like picking a million kernals of corn off of a cob?
We all live in different areas of the world. We all have access to different levels of resources, supports and help. And, while the challenges we face may pale in comparison to those faced by some around the world, they are still valid.
Whether you are young, middle-aged, elder, married or not, with kids or not, there is likely something in your life that you do day in and day out because you have to… or else. So, what is your “million kernal” task that if you didn’t do it things would fall apart (literally or figuratively).
I’ll go first:
Washing dishes (I don’t have a dishwasher) in a very small galley kitchen.
Picking parsley to make tabouleh. I only do it every three days but if my ten year old had his way it would be every day; and there is usually hell to pay if he doesn’t get homemade at least twice a week (he does help pick the parsley and my other son dices the tomatoes). If you need a tabouleh recipe and instructions, hit me up. I’m an expert (but I’m not Lebanese, so not an expert expert).
Wishing you a glorious day of rest wherever you are. Get some rest, ladies. Take care of you!
Where in the world is Sharon?
Sharon, Omito Abraham and K5Village are located in Rangwe, Homa Bay County in Kenya.
