“I was a home birth,” Violet Naanyu says, smiling at the memory of her arrival into the world, deep in the heart of Kajiado County. “At the time, there was only one person with a vehicle in the entire village who would be called upon whenever there was an emergency. Someone was sent to fetch them, but by the time they came back, I was already here.”

Her parents named her Naanyu, meaning “to wait.” She laughs at the irony. “Perhaps they meant to slow me down. But slow is hardly the word you would use to describe my journey.”

Born the fifth of six children to a peasant farmer and a high school clerk, she grew up in a household where paying school fees was a constant struggle. “There were six of us, so my parents struggled even to pay my school fees. But I wanted a better life for myself.”

Her early schooling followed the 7-4-2-3 system. She began in a church-based school that helped Maasai girls avoid circumcision and early marriage. Later she joined Alliance Girls’ High School, thanks to a policy that placed top students from across the country into national schools. “My marks were not among the best nationwide, but I was the best in my school, and that is how I ended up at Alliance,” she recalls.

At Alliance, she met students from diverse backgrounds, which sharpened her sense of cultural identity. “I kept hearing that the Maasai are a very cultural people. It got stuck in my head so much that when they asked what I wanted to study in university, I decided I wanted something to do with culture.”

Read: How Prof Damaris Paristau is inspiring Maasai girls to pursue education

She had qualified for law at the University of Nairobi but chose anthropology at Moi University. Her turning point came in her final year when a visiting lecturer introduced medical anthropology. “He taught that if one was to have an intervention, they needed to think about who is affected, how they are affected, and how it connects to their culture. Immediately, I knew this was what I wanted to do.”

Prof Violet Naanyu — Associate Professor Violet Naanyu.

Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group

Her first job was with a Swedish team studying pit latrine sanitation in Eldoret. “They needed some young anthropologists to help do interviews, run observations, and collect data. One of my professors recommended me, and that became my first job.” She was given a red bicycle and assigned to observe ten households sharing a latrine, bathroom, and borehole. “At first, I was a stranger to the households I was studying, but over time, I became like family to them.”

A tough decision

Naanyu later joined Moi University as a graduate assistant and won a scholarship to study medical anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. When she returned to Kenya, HIV/AIDS was ravaging the country. Through a partnership between Moi and Indiana University, she met Professor Joe Mamlin, who was building AMPATH, a program to fight HIV in western Kenya.

“He came to me and said, ‘I’ve been told you’re the only social scientist in the College of Health Sciences and would like us to work on HIV and a grant proposal together,’” she recalls. At first she hesitated. “I had already been accepted for a PhD in London, where I planned to study infertility. My husband was excited because he could accompany me and receive a work permit.”

Mamlin persisted. “I think you’ll change your mind,” he told her. “We are burying 850 Kenyans every day.” He offered her the chance to pursue her PhD through Indiana while working with AMPATH. She eventually turned down her London funding. “I told them, I think I should go back home to Eldoret and apply to Indiana University, and you should fund the two master’s students.”

Her decision coincided with a personal crisis. Her seven-year-old daughter lost her hearing. “After seeking treatment in Kenya, we travelled to Indiana University’s Riley Children’s Hospital, where she eventually received a cochlear implant.” The same academic network that had drawn Naanyu into HIV research helped facilitate the trip.

She enrolled at Indiana University for a PhD in sociology. “It was not easy. I had to work many hours, do housekeeping, do assignments at night, make sure the children were okay and still take care of classes assigned to me by my professor.”

Read: Kajiado men, under pressure, slowly embrace education for girls

Life grew harder when her marriage ended before she completed her doctorate. She returned to Eldoret with her daughters, then aged 13 and 8. “It was challenging. I cried many nights but kept speaking to myself, saying, I am a finisher.” In May 2009, she graduated in the US but chose to return home. “Staying in America would make me just another professor. At home I would be at the top and very much needed.”

Prof. Violet Naanyu

Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group

Her role expanded as partnerships grew to include 20 universities. She joined an ethics review committee, ensuring research met standards. “At first, I didn’t know much about ethics. But people would come to me with questions about the ethical considerations in their projects. That’s when I realised I didn’t know enough, so during COVID-19, I went back to school to pursue a master’s degree in global bioethics.”

For her, research is about engaging communities as partners. “Patients, caregivers, health workers and local leaders are involved not only as research participants, but as partners in identifying problems, shaping interventions and evaluating whether they work.” This philosophy led her to establish the AMPATH Qualitative Research Core in 2018.

Her work has spanned cancer, hypertension, diabetes, and maternal health, but her most recognised contributions remain in HIV research. AMPATH has reached more than a million Kenyans through home-based testing, provided care to 11,000 people living with HIV, and reduced mother-to-child transmission to 4.2 percent.

Yet she insists impact is not only about policy. “If you can change something as simple as patient flow, maybe by just sorting out a waiting bay, that is a big score for me.” With about 140 peer-reviewed publications, she now focuses on mentorship. “I think someone who helps you reflect on where you are, what your skill set is, and guides you to resources can really help you grow. Letting someone else learn from me so they avoid the holes is the best way to leave a legacy.”

She believes Kenya is improving in responding to health problems with appropriate research, but funding remains a challenge. “There’s a lot of good talk, but where the rubber meets the road, I don’t think we are doing enough. But when we start scratching our back the right way, it’s easier for external funders to come in and help us.”

If given unlimited funding, she would invest in maternal vaccines. “There are a lot of illnesses and baby deaths that can be prevented simply by pregnant women getting a vaccine. I would like to spend time answering questions within that space and translating the findings into practical change.”

Her pride in her Maasai heritage remains strong. “I am very proud to be a Maasai woman. I was raised there, my parents still live there, and that’s why I plan to go back and work there.”

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hsaya@ke.nationmedia.com