New Team Lead at WOVOP: Hi,I'm Carren Joan

How are you doing today, really?

It gives me great joy (and a pinch-me moment!) to introduce myself as the new Team Lead at Women Volunteers for Peace (WOVOP). My name is Carren Joan, I’m 28, and stepping into this role honestly feels like life doing its full-circle magic. It honestly blends my passions for law, elevating youth power, and peacebuilding into one dream job!

Let me take you back a bit…picture little Carren, nose-deep in books about planets and apocalyptic futures. From The Powerbook by Jeanette Winterson to Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler, my childhood heroes weren’t just saving the world; they were reimagining it. These stories shaped how I saw power, justice, and community. Somewhere between the pages, a thought always echoed: “I want to help people, too.” And now,voilà! Here I am at WOVOP, where we’re not just imagining peace, we’re building it and I am part of it.

Could this be destiny? Possibly. My journey from law school to leading social impact projects has equipped me with a toolkit full of practical magic: stakeholder engagement, budget analysis, project management, and policy advocacy. Plus, I love data (weird flex, I know), especially using it for M&E and performance tracking during my early volunteer days. Add in my experience navigating legal frameworks in Kenya and working with local and international teams, and you’ve got someone ready to lead WOVOP boldly and effectively. Don't get me wrong, though, I’m definitely not perfect; I have a lot to learn about, which makes me even more interested, especially with support from my team and my amazing CVO, Ms.Grace Orao and Anne Sopphie (WOVOP board chair), I am super honored to work alongside these young women who are impeccable. Bless them!

 I look forward to learning every day, and I hope that as you read this, our paths cross and that we can learn something from each other.

Two weeks into my role, I feel like I'm stepping into a space where all of that magic is possible. At WOVOP, we’re not just running programs,we’re rewriting stories. Imagine: a girl who once felt invisible now leads a community initiative. That’s the kind of transformation we aim for.

What drives me most is seeing young people spark change. I’ve watched girls find their voices and young men mobilize to fix broken systems. In one OF MY WORKS consultancy project in Nairobi last year, a group of youth successfully influenced local education policy—and I was in awe. That is the power of investing in young people.

Now for the big question: What do I dream of for WOVOP?

Big things. Grounded in Ubuntu and driven by inclusion, I want to grow our reach to women, girls, and youth in underserved areas. Think targeted outreach, leadership boot camps, peacebuilding training, and more safe spaces. I'm also keen to build win-win partnerships with institutions that share our heartbeat for peace to unlock new programs, mentorships, and forums where local voices shine.

Long term, I hope WOVOP becomes a leading grassroots force whose model inspires other community-led peace movements worldwide. It is locally rooted but globally connected—a true vibe.

And when you don’t find me strategically thinking, you’ll find me curled up with a thriller novel or indulging in a good movie binge (plot twists = brainstorming fuel, right?).

So, I thank you all our supporters for your continued engagement with WOVOP over the past six years. Here's to fresh energy, big dreams, and working together to grow WOVOP into an even more powerful space where peace, youth, and women thrive—one meaningful step at a time. And that is our PEACE!

Find us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok as WOVOP.

Email:Carren@wovop.org