Juliana Olayo Overjoyed After Bagging East African Award for Community Work: "Mlioniombea Kura"
- Juliana Olayo raised Kenya's flag after she emerged as the mental health champion during the Thamani Awards that were held at the KCB Centre
- According to the Open Talk founder, someone had told her that she would not make it since she was not popular on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and X
- Her community on the platforms came out in large numbers to support her and the indefatigable children's defender won in the Mental Health category
Nairobi, Kenya: Philanthropist Juliana Olayo of Open Talk has bagged the Mental Health award for the Thamani Awards.
Source: Facebook
Who do the Thamani Awards honour?
The Thamani Awards 2025 honoured Kenyan mothers and its organisers told TUKO.co.ke that nominations were open from April 15–20.
The public started voting for the 25 categories from April 23–May 5.
Among the categories were Best Media Personality, Super Mum 2025, and Educationist of the Year, and Olayo won in the Mental Health category.
"That moment you realise how blessed you really are...to be sincere I learnt that being good begets good," she said.
"I saw my votes were ahead of the pack with a huge margin and knew that my community had come through for me and I will serve it till my last breath," she added.
Source: UGC
How did Juliana Olayo win without TikTok, Instagram?
Someone had allegedly told Juliana that she would not win the East African Award if she was not on TikTok , Instagram or X?
"But God had a different result... God bless Saigonpunisher, James Teddy Josiah, Githaiga Wa Chaai, Zainabu Zeddy, Sammy Ondimu Ngare, Elvis Arika Theh Ess Way...you really sought votes for me," she said.
"Then there are Kuna Cate Wa Muchoki and Stl Wambui and I will tell you about them later on," she added.
Kenyan female MPs awarded
Another story revealed that Kirinyaga woman representative Njeri Maina bagged the Voice of Reason 2025 award.
Maina was praised for having balanced debates as well as her grassroots empowerment work.
She stood out among MPs like Millie Odhiambo, who has been in parliament for a long time.
On the other hand, Zamzam Mohamed, earned national recognition for her impactful and youthful leadership while Busia woman representative Catherine Omanyo was the Most Outstanding Educationist because of championing education as well as advocacy for vulnerable girls.
Omanyo’s award honoured her tireless work within Busia county, where she works to help many girls stay in school; she mentors and support them.
Proofreading by Asher Omondi, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
