“I realized these may not be very comfortable conversations to have, so I started with the people I went to the gym with. We would meet in my house, and just talk. I created that safe space for women to open up because I knew if they can remove their shoes, they can open their hearts,” Dawryn Nyiramugisha.

Dawryn Nyiramugisha, a Ugandan woman living in Nairobi, Kenya has taken the social and mainstream media by storm, through her direct approach to matters of sexual and reproductive health of women in Kenya and abroad.

A recent Sexual and Reproductive Health Fact Sheet report by the World Health Organization on the WHO African Region Website quotes that “Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest proportion (32%) of young people aged 10 – 24 years. Policies which do not permit or expressly guarantee youths and adolescents access to sexual and reproductive health and rights can lead to unplanned pregnancies, increase in STIs and HIV, and unsafe abortions.”

Lack of some of these policies or a general underestimation of sex education and women’s health and wellness knowledge has been a contributing factor to some of the problems seen, which problems Dawryn seeks to deal with through her ‘hard’ conversations on social media.

In this women’s month, she seats down with Migrant Narratives Africa’s, Kevin Githuku, to discuss the importance of spreading awareness of women’s health and wellness of women, and most especially in matters of sexual and reproductive health as well as wellness of women.

Born in western Uganda and raised in different parts of the country, including Kampala, Dawryn gained massive knowledge around sexual and reproductive health from the traditional women leaders ‘Ssengas,’ which would later lay a foundation for her in the health and wellness of women globally.

“Growing up in Mubende, and Kisoro Districts, I gained a connection to natural herbs and plants. My parents, elder siblings and aunties would get solutions through most of these traditional herbs and would be able to solve a multitude of issues,” Nyiramugisha says.

She also talks of falling in love with the natural probiotic food culture in western Uganda that helped women cope with a lot of issues that would otherwise arise in the future.

“In western Uganda we have probiotic foods. I did not know the term back then, but often came as fermented products like ‘bushera’ and others. These were and still are very important to women especially those faced with post maternal dietary needs,” She added.

She also mentioned that ‘moving to Kampala and interacting with her Ssengas inculcated in her the ‘Ganda Culture’ that she would later come to see was lacking in Kenya when she transitioned.

Career Path & Education

Dawryn attended different Ugandan schools and gained qualifications in different careers including but not limited to Arts in Arts from Makerere University, Journalism and would often take classes in Nutrition.

 

Some of her other qualifications include: Bachelor of Arts In Arts Degree from Makerere University with a major in psychology, Film & Literature. She has also had Online Certifications: Post Graduate Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics offered by Africa Training Institute and a Certificate in professional counseling through Udemy.

Despite having a successful career in the media space, (Radio and TV) she still felt a higher calling in matters nutrition, health and wellness of women.

She especially ventured into nutrition because of her ‘love for good healthy food.’ It was clear for her audience and those around her that she was drawn to all things wellness and would later organically grow into her role as a wellness coach.

She has also been a researcher on Women’s Health, Researcher in Human Sexuality, A reader and a Teacher through Lived experiences Cultural influences & Wisdom.

The Therapy that shaped her holistic sexologist passion

While at University and in her earlier career life, Dawryn engaged in relationships but noticed a few things would go off that would eventually lead to the loss of her relationship. These coupled with a few changes in her body caused her to seek therapy.

For about a year, Dawryn seeked professional guidance from a therapist who deeply engaged her on conversations around the female body, health boundaries, female wellness and sex education by extension.

The therapist unreservedly engaged her in conversations around the authenticity of the female body, which conversation would later spark her interest in pursuing a holistic sexologist approach on the matter.

She also noticed through her lived experiences later as a wife and a mother, that she needed to share enlightenment and knowledge that would occasionally be unpopular or even at times be considered ‘taboo’ by society to young women who undergone similar challenges that she had been through especially in her earlier life.

Dawryn’s entry into the Kenyan Space

At 30, Dawryn moved to Kenya alongside her husband.

In her interaction with the Kenyan women in non-formal settings like the gym or other recreational spaces, she was shocked at just how much they lacked in as far as sexual education and female health and wellness were concerned.

 

“I was shocked at how most Kenyan women, at least the ones I interacted with, had little or no information and support growing up, on matters of sexual and reproductive health and how it all works. In Uganda we imagine this is obvious but here I was shocked that not many people talk about it,” Nyiramugisha said.

She knew these were sensitive matters and had to approach with caution, so instead of immediately setting up a clinic or rushing to social media, she took the baby steps.

“I realized these may not be very comfortable conversations to have, so I started with the people I went to the gym with. We would meet in my house, and just talk. I created that safe space for women to open up because I knew if they can remove their shoes, they can open their hearts,” Nyiramugisha says.

The conversations in her house would turn to cook outs, for example she would prepare them healthy meals as they talked. They even had ‘Salad Socials,’ which would be conversations and interaction had while they made salads.

Dawryn notes that most women loved every bit of these spaces, because she was a very good cook who paid very keen attention to her healthy food, but also was a professional on matters that affected women in terms of sexual health and wellness.

“For me, I believe that it all starts with the kitchen. That kitchen is your source of healing as a woman. How you prepare your food for your family, what you prepare and the energies just around the kitchen also contribute to a woman’s wellness.”

She later reveals that some of the new friends she had formed would contract her to go and teach their nannies how to prepare the kind of food that she made, all while engaging them in those conversations.

In a short while, she had garnered a multitude of friends and followers from women who felt the importance of the work she was doing.

She would receive more invitations to ‘chamas’ (Saccos or groups of women meetings that happen often in Kenya) where she would share insights on how a woman is to be holistically productive in her marriage, most especially in sexual health and well-being.

 

Dawryn’s Entry into Social Media

After about five years of gaining trust and impact from her circles, Dawryn decided that it was time larger audiences in Kenya and the rest of the world got a hold of her message.

She started her Instagram Page, her YouTube and other social media platforms where many people and especially women resonated with her teachings.

“I was expecting criticism from the local people and the church given the sensitivity of these matters but I was surprised to see so many taking in the information positively and the churches appreciative of the content,” Nyiramugisha said further adding, “I also don’t create content to seek instant gratification. I intend to gain the attention span of the people engaging with my content because these are sensitive matters and need you to listen attentively and learn. I don’t do click bait.”

Dawryn identified the gap of missing information that some women in Kenya and across the world face in as far as sexual health and wellness is concerned. She filled that gap and has been massively reaping of the fruits.

“It took me time but truthfully speaking, I have been preparing almost all my life. I can now go to podcasts naturally ready to have genuine conversations without necessarily preparing and will deliver,” Dawryn says.

A number of her videos have gone viral into the Kenyan space, attracting more interviews from the mainstream media, who have featured her and allowed her to speak freely of these matters.

Kenyans on social media have also received this message with a lot of enthusiasm as it has not been a common topic in the past, especially among young women and even in the public space.

Let’s talk Impact

In an engagement with one of Kenya’s podcast platforms dubbed ‘Dialogues with Jagero’ with a reach of over 2.7 million people, last year, Dawryn talks about the connection of women and their husbands and the importance of each playing their marital obligations right. This particular discussion attracted thousands of responses from the online space, where both women and men came out to comment in support of her statements. It later sparked a widespread conversation on just how much the average married couple knew, and especially woman in as far as marital obligations were concerned.

This was just one of the hundreds, maybe thousands of interviews and videos that have been trending in Kenya from Dawryn’s direct approach on women’s holistic health, wellness and obligations in a marriage and the society at large.

 

She tells this reporter that besides the massive social media traction she gained through her conversations, she is particularly interested in ‘solving women’s problems.’

“Having solutions to women’s problems organically all over the world without having to oversell myself on the media has been a great impact. I receive notifications from my clients around the world everyday thanking me for the change in their lives and for me this is impact,” Nyiramugisha said.

She also stresses the importance of women’s health on their mental health as well as social and physical wellness saying that those cannot be separated from each other.

Lulu Shabel, the Founder and CEO of Lulubell Group, a consulting firm for African luxury brands, who has been a beneficiary of Dawryn’s services says that Dawryn helped her ‘reset her struggle with Perimenopause in under two months.’

“Her work is a holistic journey, and because of it, I have never felt more alive. Her hormonal detox program reset my struggle with Perimenopause within 2 months! With a deepened understanding of myself, I am now cultivating healthier, more fulfilling relationships,” Lulu said.

She also adds, “Dawryn is a true maven, guiding women to reclaim their femininity and step into the profound power of who they truly are. Through her transformative coaching and thoughtfully designed programs, she has awakened my consciousness to the beauty of embodied connection—a deep re-connection with myself that explores and expands my understanding of wholeness. Her approach has empowered me to bring my authentic self into every relationship, both professional and personal, granting me a sense of alignment and authenticity I had never experienced before. Her wisdom, guidance and expertise have been nothing short of life-changing.”

Kenyalyn Makone, a 64-year old woman living in the Diaspora expresses her gratitude for the services she received from Dawryn.

“Me at 64! Dawryn! Heavenly Father loves us so much! Our bodies are truly a boundless mystery! One can’t make this stuff up. It’s all in the body we just need to be guided,” Makone said.

Challenges in this journey

Dawryn notes that there are a couple of challenges faced by anyone engaging in conversations around sexual health and wellness as well as reproductive health which cannot be ignored.

“There are obviously many misconceptions and misrepresentation of the female body that need to be demystified. These are hard conversations and some people sometimes consider them a taboo and this is lagging us behind, especially in sex education,’ Nyiramugisha said further adding, “the good news is that a number of Africans are waking up and embracing these conversations. Sex education for example is common in other countries like America, and it is good to know that these conversations can also be had in Africa.”

Her Advice

Dawryn called for more knowledge and awareness around sexual health and wellness in her remarks.

“Don’t underestimate the importance of sexual health and sex education. I’d like to add the importance of sexual education for youths, and importance of healthy womanhood for young women as they transition through puberty. Embrace it just as you would embrace other equally important conversations. Break the cycle of under-representation on these matters. We need to be forerunners,” Nyiramugisha said.

Clarion Call

Dawryn acknowledges the efforts set in place by both the Kenyan and Ugandan governments in line of sexual health, reproduction, contraception and even gender equity & equality but further advocates for better sexual justice policies.

“There is a gap in social justice. Government should be deliberate in fostering conversations around issues of consent, sexual justice and women’s hormonal changes,”

She proceeds to ask the general public, “Please focus on women’s pleasure. Men’s pleasure has been valued but at the expense of women’s pleasure. There are a lot of conversations like mood swings and other stereotypical shaming around women’s nature,” Nyiramugisha said.

END