About Susan Wood:
Susan Wood was born to missionary parents in the Ituri Forest Congo- Central Africa in 1918 making her the first white baby born in Central Africa. Her parents made the long foot safari from the Congo River to the Nile.
Educated in England, Susan became a nurse during World War II and married Micheal Wood - then a newly qualified surgeon.
When the war ended they journeyed to Kenya with their two tiny children where Micheal practised as a surgeon before starting the Flying Doctor Service of East Africa which grew into the African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF). During the 1950's they survived the Mau Mau crisis and became activists for political change in the 60's, leading up to the Independence of Kenya.
In the years following, Susan managed the family farms on the slopes of Mt. Kilimanjaro and was active in social work which included the movement for social change across Africa as Championed by the Capricorn Group - where the Woods were brought out by the Tanzanian government, Susan and her family returned to Nairobi and she started an industry making ceramic beads. For the next 25 years Susan did the designing for this growing business which employed disadvantaged women.
Her strength was demonstrated in the early 1960s, in the days of Capricorn Africa, the first political party committed to a multi-racial solution. Susan had a real passion for 'one man one vote' long before it became acceptable and fashionable in Kenya. To do this she stood for Parliament, and wrote a political tract, 'Kenya, the Tensions of Progress'.
Her strong commitment to women, was shown by founding Kazuri Beads in 1975 with two Kenyan women, to date and under new ownership, Kazuri now employs over 200 people, mostly women, and continues to export beads and pottery all over the world.
In the 1990's, Susan's work was recognized by the Queen and she was honoured with an MBE.
