Kate Cummings

Kate Cummings (Vital Voices in Kenya): Kate was born in the North Carolina mountains, and received her BFA in photography at Sewanee (The University of the South) in 2004. Kate co-founded a meditation group at the Hampshire County Jail in North Carolina where she led meditation sessions with inmates each week. Upon graduation, Kate was awarded the Thomas J. Watson Fellowship. This allowed her to spend a year photographing in India, Vietnam, Thailand, New Zealand, and France. During this year, she photographed Zen Master and international peacemaker Thich Nhat Hanh's first return to Vietnam since his exile 39 years before. Her images were published internationally. She returned to Vietnam in 2007 with Nhat Hanh and his International Peace Delegation to photograph healing ceremonies. Kate moved to western Massachusetts and began teaching photography to at-risk girls. At the time of her fellowship, Kate was studying for her master’s degree at The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in Boston. After her fellowship, Kate wrote: “Best experience? This is an impossible question! I think, that by spending so much time with Kenyans in their homes and families and in the community setting… I gained a deep understanding of their successes and their significant challenges...I look at myself now as having the potential to be as strong and caring as the amazing women I met in Kenya.”



Vital Voices Global Advisor

23 Jul

After staying with Abby Onencan until July 10th, Luna and I left for Nakuru and Eldoret – two cities to the west of Nanyuki, where Ripe for Harvest has been conducting its youth mentoring program for the last year.  We wanted to meet the mentors and mentees to hear their experiences about how the mentorship affected their lives.  Those stories will come in later blogs.  Before leaving her welcoming home, we interviewed Abby about her relationship with Vital Voices, the challenges she faces as a women leader, and how she manages to balance all of her responsibilities.

Abby Onencan talks about finding balance in her life, and her role as a Vital Voices Global Advisor

Posted By Kate Cummings

Posted Jul 23rd, 2009

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