Salome and Melanie, Herstory & AkiDwA (Ireland) and more art by Szabolcs Kariko

Salome and Melanie have been shaped and influenced by their experiences of migration, education, peace, and women’s empowerment. Born and raised in Kenya, Salome Mbugua has always held a deep passion for education and peace. It was the opportunity for further study that brought her to Ireland in 1994 where she quickly became involved in youth work and women’s organisations. In 2001, Salome founded AkiDwA - Ireland’s first national migrant women’s organisation which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Melanie Lynch, born and raised in Ireland, grew up to stories of familial migration and attended a multicultural school in rural Ireland where difference was celebrated. Like Salome, she migrated for further study and worked in the UK and France before she found herself in Kenya where soul searching lead to a new career direction. Returning to Ireland, she founded Herstory, a women’s empowerment movement that tells the stories of modern, historic, and mythic women.