Your name and what do you do?
Elizabeth Wakesho Marami, Marine Pilot.
How does it feel to be the first Female Marine Pilot in Kenya?
It comes with a lot of responsibility. So I’ll say pressure. Lol.
Why Marine Pilot?
I always aspired to be different and well here I am today.
You run a fashion blog as well, how do you manage to balance both?
The fashion blog is my hobby, an escape from my day-to-day life. More like therapy. I love fashion and above all I love writing. It’s not easy at all but I love being busy. Like overwhelmingly busy that way I feel like I’m fully utilizing my time on earth. Plus you know what they say; an idle mind is the devil’s workshop
Do you think Mombasa has embraced blogging?
I believe so.
Look at where you are today with life in Mombasa!
Baby steps
Are you part of any young women empowerment programs?
I have worked with different organizations on this but I mainly do it on a personal, where by I just talk to young girls/women through whatever channel available. I have worked with P&G as their ‘keeping girls in school’ campaign ambassador, which allowed me to reach more girls to mentor. I also work closely with WOMESA (women in maritime in eastern and southern Africa) whereby I chair the mentorship committee and get to visit secondary schools to empower women and many more.
What would you tell a young lady who doesn’t know what career path to choose?
It can be very confusing especially when you are young and have no guidance towards career choices, attending mentorship forums is definitely a starting point, However I’d personally advise them to find their passion, what they desire to become, what they dream of doing and work towards achieving that.
You travel a lot, what 3 developments in other countries that you have seen that can be implemented in Mombasa?
Infrastructure, medical care and shelters for the less fortunate
What are your future plans?
To establish a foundation that can mentor young girls and provide scholarships to young girls but more so to ensure gender quality in the seafaring sector is achieved through my ‘Against the Tide’ Initiative by advocating for change that will hopefully in the long run influence policy change at IMO (UN body that governs maritime affairs) that allows for equal employment opportunities and more favorable conditions for women who choose a career at sea because to be honest it’s really tough out there right now, not just for me but all female seafarers across the globe. We don’t have a voice out there and so I hope ‘Against the Tide’ will be that voice.
P.S I hope to have a fashion line too but that’s just on the side.
Parting shot
Dare to dream, nothing is impossible all you have to do is implement the idea in your mind and work towards achieving it. Nothing comes easy, hard work goes hand in hand with achieving dreams.
