I love both medicine and acting

Gloria Kawira, 21, is a fourth year medicine and surgery student at Egerton University. The  filmmaker,  actress and  human rights activist is soaring high with her acting that has seen her film titled Pear nominated for Best Scene Shot By Phoneaward in the Film Scene Festival in the United States.

The film is about Anita who is a naïve girl, guided by her moral values.

She is new to university life and things seem strange but there is a lot of pressure to conform to this life. She tries to stay true to her values but the peer pressure and curiosity overpowers her and she finds herself in a party and for the first time that she fails to honour her values, she is raped.

DEPRESSED

This leads her to a path of depression. Her fears make her turn into a violent person.

She ends up threatening her friends and hurting them. She is left on her own and does not know who to talk to so she turns to drugs.

 “We named the film PEAR in scrabble form which can be reorganised to symbolise the scrabble of life and how things happening around us can change who we end up becoming. Also because of the fruit pear which turns color once bitten to symbolise how Anita’s life, mental state and character changed after being raped.’’

Pear also is a representation of ‘Peer ‘which also brings about the aspect of peer pressure which shapes us in so many ways

Kawira is also pursuing an acting course at Nairobi Performing Arts founded by Stuart Nash and her coach is Nice Githinji.

“When in Class Three, my teacher asked me to present a poem and I got a standing ovation in a public rally, since then she started involving me in school plays."

Kawira says that to balance her acting career and her studies, she has a schedule that she adheres to religiously, which at times see her sleeping late and up early.

“I have been in the film industry for three years as an actress and two years as a film maker. I am a visionary and very enthusiastic, committed to tell stories fearlessly. My work is anchored on authenticity, integrity and professionalism. I’m passionate about the Kenyan cultural beauty and I intend to share this with the world.”

Kawira was also involved in making Daughter of Shompole which was  directed by Moses Irungu. The film that tell the story of a young girl trying to escape female genital mutilation.

The medicine student has made numerous appearances in movies and plays. She’s in the pre-production stage of her first feature film.

She has as well participated in human rights activism: Sexual and reproductive health in Egerton University, Gender based violence education, and she is the conference director - Kenya Model United Nations Egerton Chapter, and as a member of the gender committee in Egerton, she has helped in setting up several health camps.

“The two careers gives me a chance  to give back to the community. Medicine is by saving lives whereas acting by giving meaning to peoples ‘lives by telling stories that brings change.”

“I not only tell stories through film, but also through story themed speeches. I have delivered several speeches including 19th Gender awareness day and gender based violence awareness day which was awarded best speech by GBVRC and Embassy of Denmark.”.