Monika Fauth, a Dutch woman who came to Lamu 12 years ago as a traveller, lives in Shela with her Swahili husband, Banana and their two children. She runs a very charming guesthouse and wellness centre in Shela, Banana House, popular with many NGO and UN staff for recuperating and enjoying the beauty of Lamu Island.
Besides being a very successful businesswoman Monika is also both a yoga teacher and Art of Living teacher. She runs her business with a spiritual approach. She feels that she has received so much from Lamu that she wants to return the gift by improving the lives of the people of the island. So, in her “spare time” she is the secretary for the Shela Environmental Residents Group (SERG); she works with the local health clinic; advises local women on setting up their own businesses and is also joint director of the Shela International Primary School where her two children together with 16 other kids follow the British Curriculum.
Monika’s main inspiration comes from the Art of Living, and its founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. She is the Chairlady of Art of Living Kenya, an international non-profit, educational, charitable and humanitarian organisation offering programmes in more than 144 countries around the world. The Art of Living, through its innovative programmes focuses on eliminating stress, creating a sense of belonging and restoring human values, and encourages people from all religions and cultural traditions to come together. Its core objective is to strengthen our society by strengthening the individual.
As part of her activities with Art of Living, Monika began the Stand Up Take Action Campaign in Lamu in 2007, was the National Coordinator for Art of Living Kenya in Mission Green Earth in 2008 and in 2009 organised the Speed Up campaign. This latest campaign became the starting point for the Hands Up … for Kids project.
Lisa D’Onofrio has many years’ experience in the humanitarian aid sector: after training as a nutritionist she became involved in aid convoys to Bosnia during the 1992-1995 war, and subsequently stayed on after the war working with returning refugees and displaced. After returning to her home country England where she worked as a consultant on refugee and asylum issues she then left for the Democratic Republic of Congo where she spent 5 years and worked for a large NGO involved with primary health care. She moved to Lamu early 2009 for a break with her two young sons, and has stayed on, becoming more involved with the local communities and community issues. She says: “Wherever you go, particularly in Africa, you find the same problems of poverty. To change things we need to find local solutions, working with the people and helping them achieve their potential. Here in Lamu we can make a difference by working at the local level, starting with the schools, teaching our kids that they have the tools to change things for all our futures.”
Monika and Lisa met 4 years ago through their shared passion for yoga, and began a friendship centred initially around yoga and their kids, but above all based on a shared attitude towards their surroundings, believing and committing to being part of the local community. Although they come from very different backgrounds, they found that, based on a common interest in the well-being of people on physical, emotional and spiritual levels, their skills and experience combine well, and complement each other. They both have a joy for life, and a sense of humour, which also helps!
