Mary Omosa: Professor of Development Studies

Kenyan Women Professors is grateful for the opportunity to honour the memory of a great Kenyan woman professor, the late Professor Mary Omosa, who achieved notable professional and academic exploits in the field of Development Studies.

Reproduced below, with the kind permission of her sister Eileen, is a beautiful tribute to Professor Omosa. She has gone ahead of us, but leaves behind a rich and inspiring legacy of a devoted academician who worked for the betterment of her community and country at large. May she rest in eternal peace.

Our Gem of Hope

The great and humble lady, Professor Mary Bonareri Omosa-Orina: a beloved daughter, sister, mother and wife; who lived a short span of years here on earth but whose deeds seem to have been performed for over 100 years.

Our beloved Professor Mary Bonareri Omosa was born on August 5^th 1961 to Rufina Kerubo Omosa and Peter Omosa Simba, at the Kisii General Hospital, Kisii district, Kenya. Though she was the second born child, she has been the first born living child of Mr. Peter Omosa Simba and Rufina Kerubo Omosa.

Mary is the wonderful sister to: Dr. Florence Omosa, Dr. Gloria-Susan Omosa-Manyonyi, Eileen Kwamboka, Josephine Moraa, Oliver Morangi, Julius Morara, and Dionysius Nyamweya Omosa. Claire Omosa, Lillian Omosa-Makori, Tom Omosa (the late), George, Gloria and Maurice Omosa.

The Loving Home Maker

Mary is an all rounder in her undertakings, and she demonstrated her love of life as a mother and wife: In 1991, she got married to Orina Momanyi Joseph and they have been blessed with two children: Biko Konrad Orina and Abi Gorretti Orina. The children demonstrate the greatness of their mother through the following words, drawn from their written tributes (www.maryomosa.org): “My Mum is great, she would pick me from school stinking after a football game and she would never complain – she would drive me home without a hint that she had smelled anything. My mother supported my sprouting football career throughout. A day before she went in for a major surgery in November 2008, she still came to watch me play football. Mum supported my rugby even though she didn’t believe in it. She supported me in what I liked”. Biko continues to write “For a long time I never understood why we had to stop along the roadside gardens and why I got squashed in the car with plants. It is now when people admire trees at our home that I appreciate. Mum taught me about practical conservation of the environment – that I have to be the change I talk about, and not be like those people who have never planted a tree but shout the most about the environment”. On being given the saddest news of the death of her Mother, Abi cried like any child would, she then asked “Auntie Sue, can we now kneel down and pray for my Mum, now in heaven, to become a saint”. That was Mary, the loving and practical mother.

The Touch Bearer Admired by many Parents

Mary, as the first born child, lived a life that many parents long for. She is the family’s torch bearer, holding it high without hesitation and with full commitment. Through sheer hard work and parental support, Mary managed to take advantage of available opportunities, while embracing life’s challenges on her way. Her enthusiasm and positive outlook to life saw her complete all levels of education, to become the first girl child from her home area to achieve a university education, and to become the first female PhD holder and Professor. Her welcoming, kind, patient, humble, open heart, admirable leadership qualities and achievements made her a darling of many. Mary was always sought after to give public talks as a way to encourage young people from rural areas, especially girls, to embrace education as the gateway to the many avenues in life.

Mary started schooling at St. Patricks Mosocho which was then situated in the current location of Cardinal Otunga High School. She later joined St. Mary’s Primary Boarding School, Nyabururu, in Standard IV, from where she sat for her KCPE in 1974. She joined the then prestigious Nyabururu Girls Secondary School where she sat for “O” levels in 1978, and joined Ngandu Girls High School (now Bishop Gatimu High School) for her “A” levels in 1979-80. Subsequently Mary joined the University of Nairobi from where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (1985), Honours, from the Department of Sociology. Her dissertation was on People’s Perception of Development in West Kitutu Location of Kisii District. Mary proceeded on to study for a Master of Arts (1988), from the same department. Her Thesis was on The Causes and Effects of the Fuel Wood Crisis in Rural Kenya: A Socio-Economic Analysis of the Fuel Wood Scarcity in Bura Irrigation Settlement Scheme, Tana River District. Upon graduation, Mary was hired by the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) of the University of Nairobi (UoN), as a Project Assistant. While working with IDS, she took study leave and pursued her PhD studies at the Department of Rural Development Sociology, Wageningen Agricultural University, in The Netherlands. Mary obtained her doctorate in 1998. Her thesis was titled: Re-Conceptualising Food Security: Interlocking Strategies, Unfolding Choices and Rural Livelihoods in Kisii District, Kenya.

A Professional in Word and Deed

Since graduating at the Masters level, Mary worked as a researcher and lecturer at the Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi. In 2006, Mary merited and got promoted to the position of Associate Professor of Development Studies. As a researcher, lecturer and professor, Mary has worked on and participated in the formulation of programs and policies on development issues, provided a necessary interface between development theory and practice, especially on how it impacts on our understanding of development and change in Africa.

Mary has carried out more than 65 collaborative researches and commissioned studies, some of which she has been the team leader. In 2006 the University of Nairobi listed Mary as one of the top 3 dons/researchers who sourced the most research funds (her contribution being over Kshs. 100 Million) for the University of Nairobi. Mary’s research and studies have been by institutions such as the British Department for International Development (DFID-Kenya) and TROCAIRE; the International Development Research Agency (IDRC); the Volkswagen Foundation, Germany; Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO); The Ford Foundation; European Union; Bremen University, Germany; UNESCO; and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

Professor Mary Omosa regularly participated in local and international conferences and published widely. Mary has over 40 publications: She has several peer-reviewed journal articles; discussion papers; books and edited volumes; book chapters; working papers; policy briefs; research reports; and seminar and conference papers. Her most recent areas of research centred on food security, rural poverty, and popular participation. She has reviewed many research proposals and publication articles, and been a selection panellist for several national and international organizations. Mary has also served as a resource person in various committees, and from time to time carried out administrative duties both at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS) and at the Centre for International Programmes and Links (CIPL). She held the UNESCO/UNITWIN Chair at the University of Nairobi, and actively engaged in the post-graduate teaching and training program at the IDS.

The Silent Change Agent

Professor Mary Omosa taught innumerable students and people. She has been an external examiner for universities in Kenya, Tanzania and South Africa, and, supervised and examined more than 20 post-graduate students. Currently, she was supervising three masters’ projects (including one who graduated on December 4, 2009) and two doctoral research theses. Mary held membership in a number of boards of directors and management, of which she held position of board chair in four of them, namely: Consortium for National Health Research (CNHR), K-REP, New Opportunities Network, and Tropical Promoters. Additionally, Mary has been involved in the change process in Kenya, as the University of Nairobi Staff Union (UASU) Chair, an advisor to some national political parties and candidates, and a change agent in many other forums. Her driving force in the change endeavours emanated from her desire for dignified living for each and every Kenyan.

Mary carried dignity and freedom blood in her (like Bonareri, the great grandmother she is named after who was a freedom fighter during Kenya struggle for independence), together with a deep sense of the need for fairness and dignified living by all. This is what she pursued in whatever she did in all aspects of her life - family, work and in the larger community. Mary believed and worked towards guiding her children and siblings to better livelihoods, she always cautioned that we had to always remember we are part of a larger community,  a community that also needs to live in a dignified way.

She made it clear that we have to help others and bring them along. She lived this gospel herself as demonstrated by the many “siblings” she made along the way, mentored and assisted (them) towards achieving their dreams. Mary did this with angelic commitment. Many of you know how once she took up an assignment, be it at work, or to help a child choose a career at the University, or help somebody go for further studies, she utterly devoted herself to the assignment to its conclusion. And if it got to a point where the assignment was difficult to complete, Mary would declare so. Mary was never a person that gave stories to buy time or to make the other party give up – she was forthright and honest.

Her Quest for Good Education

Mary’s position was that good education was the key to dignified livelihoods. To achieve this, she got involved in UASU where she argued that the academic environment, learning and lecturing materials, research, staff welfare, management and development, academic systems and structures and the general academic support environment had to be good if the university products were to be competitive in the job market. The people (both academic and non-academic staff) who nurtured these products had also to live dignified lives. For this reason, Mary spent valuable time carrying out research and consulting in order to put the UASU case on the map of Kenya. And she achieved this with a lot of satisfaction.

Mary believed that for things to fundamentally change, Kenya had to change for the better. She thus plunged herself in the Kenyan national politics, doing voluntary work behind the scenes for some of the significant political figures in Kenya. As a result, she made a major contribution to the change process in Kenya. Mary’s most recent desire was to join the relevant review teams in the on-going Kenya Constitution Review process.

Our challenge now is to carry the touch of change to its conclusive end.