African Women Come by Train

They travelled through dense, snake-infested jungles, crossing rivers, lakes and valleys, enduring several train derailments and numerous visa problems just to take a peace message through several African countries while on their way to the current World Summit.

Along the way, two first ladies, those of Botswana and South Africa, government ministers and dozens of mayors greeted the “African Peace Train” with more than 150 African women, some carrying infants as it left Kampala, Uganda to traverse Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana and ended its journey in South Africa.

In all, the Peace Train rolled over 10,000 kilometres of rail from the time it pulled out of a Kampala station at 10:00 am on Aug. 16 to the second it huffed and puffed to a halt three days ago in Johannesburg at 7.15 am. The group received a standing ovation from the women’s tent when they arrived on Aug. 26.

Many would argue that the 159 women who started out on the journey overland rather than watching a movie on a Jumbo jet at 39,000 feet were crazy if not eccentric, but for Litha Musyimi Ogana, the Kenyan-born brains behind the ride, it was important that they carried a peace message through the neighbouring states.

“It is the African woman’s way of saying that you can’t get sustainable development, much less normal development without peace,” said Ogana. “We choose to take a very tedious journey just to make that point along the way, and here in Johannesburg and we have no regrets.”

Ogana is a founding member of the African Centre for Empowerment, Gender and Advocacy, a dedicated group of women determined to improve the lives of African women.