Once in awhile you meet someone who exudes the type of positive energy that is absolutely electric and you have the feeling that not only are you’re going to be swept up in their world, but you’d better be ready.

GoodMakers met Gina this past summer while filming for various charities in Nairobi.

Gina is the founder and executive director of Gina Din Corporate Communications, a leading PR and Marketing firm that was recently included in a list of East Africa’s top 100 mid-sized companies. When we were introduced to Gina she had only days before, launched what was to become one of Kenya’s most successful charity campaigns called Kenyans for Kenya (K4K), a campaign that has to date, raised over one million US dollars in cash and pledges to assist starving Kenyans in northern Kenya, many arriving at IDP camps in near death condition from neighboring Somalia after weeks of walking. Tragically, in many cases family members were lost along the way because they were unable to withstand the journey in their weak condition.  Launching the campaign was Gina’s immediate response to the drought that Kenya is facing- One of the worst in 60 years, and something all too familiar to Gina who twenty years ago, spear headed a similar campaign to aid then drought victims.

It was an incredible honor when Gina invited GoodMakers co-founder and commercial director Cris Blyth, to join a media team who visited the Turkana camp, located in northern Kenya. Cris flew on a small plane along with a media team to document the plight of the drought victims, as well as to show the wonderful progress that was being made as a direct result of the funds that were raised by the K4K campaign with the Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS: Kenya Red Cross – Home) at the helm of distributing goods and providing on-going resources to the families. Cris reports, ‘I was amazed at how quickly the drought victims were able to regain their strength, once they were provided the nutrient infused foods provided by the Red Cross.’ Gina is the ambassador for the Kenya Red Cross Society and together with KRCS Secretary General of Affairs Abbas Gullethad, arranged for the media trip, understanding the importance of informing Kenyans about the urgent needs of the drought victims. Gina said, ‘I felt that it was important for Kenyans to provide assistance from within, instead of always reaching out to the western world.’  Children in IDP camps after receiving nourishment.As it happened, hope came in the form of donations- Many millions of Kenyan shillings donated in some cases, such as from Kenya based corporations and also from western conglomerates like Google. Gina sites the incredible support and generous donations received from Kenya corporates such as Safaricom (http://www.safaricom.co.ke/ ) and KCB Kenya ( KCB Kenya – Home), which helped to provide the momentum that garnered wider support and donations. Gina says she was often moved to tears as individual Kenyans came forward to donate, in one instance a local policeman donating an entire month’s wages and in another case, an orphan girl donating funds by selling chickens raised at her children’s home (Video of Lavender and her Friends Discussing Their Assistance to Kenyans for Kenya | GoodMakersFilms).

Over her career Gina has championed many causes such as for Kenya Society for the Blind, Nairobi’s Women’s Hospital, Computers for Schools Kenya and many others.  Add to this, being a wife and mother to two amazing children, a son age 15 attending high school in Nairobi and a daughter 21, currently studying at Oxford University, running a leading firm in Nairobi which requires worldwide travel…  It’s difficult to fathom how Gina is able to juggle so many projects and remain calm, focused and ever glamorous. Gina says she just focuses on what needs to be done, and feels lucky to have a wonderful circle of family and friends who share her passion for living life to the fullest, including being of service to others.  This humble response is what endears so many to Gina and garners her the utmost respect and admiration wherever she goes.

Hopes for 2012

‘My hope for 2012 has to be that no one dies from hunger. That hope has been very defined by what we did this year with Kenyans for Kenya.’  Gina says that although there has been some rain recently, the droughts of the terrible famine will take some time for people from the drought prone areas to get back to normal. She points out that 2012 is also a very critical time for Kenya. ‘We have our first general election since the terrible violence we saw in 2007 after a disputed election result. Kenya was on the brink of a civil war and it was very frightening. Thousands of people were displaced. There will be a number of peace building initiatives of which I hope to be a part of.’