Esther Masika
"To be a girl or woman today is..." about showing up boldly for the one you love despite their condition.
Tell us about yourself. What's your background? How did you become involved in your cause? What inspired you to begin #LivingForChange?
My name is Esther Masika. In 2019, I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl born with a birth defect and a rare condition that went undetected during pregnancy scans. The difficulty in caring for my child led me to begin The Bold One Out (Tunu Afrika).
Tell us all about your initiative.
The stigma associated with congenital birth defects has long been present in this region and more specifically, here in Kenya. The result has been a flawed negative perception, and in some instances, sub-par humanization of the affected children. In our deliberations on how to address this status quo, The Bold One Out movement began.
We envision a world that sees people and children for who they are as we champion the paradigm shift from Odd to Bold. Only then, can we reinforce to our little angels the spirit of equality. Our focus is drawn to primary caregivers to highlight their successes and resilience; to increase awareness on the prevention and detection of birth defects; to increase awareness of the various congenital anomalies and early treatment and interventions for those affected, in order for them to seek timely professional assistance (direct and indirect care) and to be bold and form communities of practice for the caregivers to support and participate actively in caring for their children.
This has a ripple effect of increasing awareness, promoting psychosocial support, reducing burden and creating peer learning for these caregivers for them to care for their children better.
What have you been doing to spread the word and/or to help your cause so far?
We’ve formed partnerships with cause-related organizations, and we’re running a social media campaign on the prevention and early treatment of birth defects. We’re working to reduce the number of cases of children living with correctable birth defects, to change negative perceptions [of children with birth defects] from Odd to Bold, and to aid in the implementation of a clear policy framework on birth defects (especially in newborns).
Complete this sentence: "I am #LivingForChange because..." of the well-being of every child.
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