HON. EVE OBARA, MBS

CHAIRPERSON & FOUNDING TRUSTEE, NEWI

Hon Eve Obara is the Founder and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Women’s Initiative in Education – NEWI. She is also the Member of Parliament for Kabondo Kasipul Constituency and immediate former Managing Director of Kenya Literature Bureau, a position she held from April 1, 2007 to September 26, 2016.

In the publishing industry, she was a Council member of the lobby, Kenya Publishers Association (KPA), member of the Marketing Society of Kenya (MSK) and Fellow of the Institute of Human Resource Management (IHRM).

An alumnus of Limuru Girls High School and Lwak Girls High School, Hon Obara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Political Science from the University of Nairobi and has a MSC in Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA. She also holds a Certificate in Personnel Management from the Royal Institute of Public Administration, London, UK.

Under the leadership of Hon Obara, the Kenya Literature Bureau (KLB) maintained a structured and disciplined investment strategy that enabled it become a leading textbook publisher, controlling 79 percent of the Secondary School market and 34 percent of the Primary School market. KLB also became the first indigenous book publisher to be awarded ISO9001 certification in Kenya and to produce e-Books with local content.

In another inspiring feat, KLB was in 2010 ranked the third best-run State Corporation in Kenya, out of a field of 139  agencies in performance contracting. KLB continued to excel and improve its quality management standards and was ranked third best most-sustained State Corporation in 2010-2011 for excellence over the last three years.

During her tenure, KLB also maintained sound industrial relations and was recategorised from PC7C to PC7A in the commercial/ manufacturing functional categorisation of State corporations as a result of impressive performance and growth.

Hon Obara left KLB end of September 2016 and was elected Kabondo Kasipul MP in the August 8, 2017 General Elections. She was a member of the Nyanza Provincial Education Board and sat on several school boards. She supports  girl child education through NEWI, a not-for-profit organisation of over 600 professionals, mainly women who volunteer their time and resources to promote girl child education in Kenya through mentorship, counselling and role-modelling. NEWI also offers material support to girls in school.

As a champion of women empowerment initiatives, Hon Obara served as the Chairperson of Maendeleo Ya Wanawake Organisation (MYWO) Nyanza and National Executive Committee member of MYWO, the largest grassroots women’s organisation in Kenya.

In 2008, she was awarded the Moran of the Burning Spear (MBS), a recognition for Kenyans who contribute to humanity in their specialisation. She is also a recipient of the MSK Warrior Award, 2010, for innovation in industry and the Girl-Child Crusader Award, 2010 by the Ministry of Education.

Hon. Obara is a member of the Education and Public Accounts Committee of the National Assembly. She is also a member of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Caucus and an executive member (Vice-Chairman) of the KEWOPA – the Kenya Women in Parliament Caucus representing single constituency MP’s.

Widowed early, she is a mother of three grown children, two sons and a daughter.