Episode 03 with Leila de Bruyne
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Leila de Bruyne is the co-founder of Flying Kites, a Leadership School & Teacher-Training Center serving 16,000 students in rural Kenya. A lifelong advocate for the power of education, Leila has raised more than $25 million to support critical services and expand opportunity for marginalized children, with a particular focus on girls, and her work has recognized by the Longines Women of Courage and Vision Award, The Obama Foundation's Girls Opportunity Alliance, and Bono's Herstory initiative, highlighting female leaders and activists promoting gender equality.
As a writer, Leila's work has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, TED, Forbes and Motherly. Her debut novel, Eliza is a sultry and darkly funny exploration of desire, aging, and motherhood.
Summary
We talk about the early years of Flying Kites and what Leila had to learn about trying to create change in a community that wasn't her own. But we also talk about becoming a mother and raising three children, the ways her ambitions and understanding of herself have changed, and what it has meant to build a life around work that began when she was barely an adult.
And then there is writing. Leila shares the long and often uncertain process of writing and publishing her first novel, Eliza, and what it has been like to begin something entirely new after being known for one body of work for so long
Episode Links
Instagram @instagram.com/flyingkitesglobal
Instagram @instagram/leila.debruyne
Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Leila and her impactful work
01:53 The origins of Flying Kites in college
05:58 First trip to Kenya and the impact on Leila
08:55 Building the organization brick by brick
12:07 Challenges and lessons from community work
16:01 Transformations in the community over 20 years
19:57 Empowering girls and women through education
26:03 Mentorship, leadership, and team building
33:08 Balancing motherhood, impact, and personal growth
38:58 Writing the book: inspiration, challenges, and process
50:10 Overcoming rejection and trusting the process
59:56 The importance of self-awareness and authenticity
01:10:02 Reflections on community, culture, and impact
01:15:00 Looking ahead: future projects and hopes