Hazel Ayanga

Hazel Ong'ayo Ayanga is a Kenyan theologian whose work focuses on the care and empowerment of orphans, vulnerable children and women affected by HIV/AIDS. She is an associate professor of Religious Studies at Moi University, Kenya and also researches spirituality in clinical settings, religion and social change in Africa and the centrality of ritual in human life. She has published over twenty peer-reviewed articles and coauthored several book chapters and edited volumes.

Early life and education Hazel Ayanga was born on 10 January 1952 to John Ayanga and the late Rita Ayanga, at the village of Luanda, in Vihiga County, Kenya. She is a member of the Anglican Church of Kenya.

Ayanga earned Bachelor's and Master's of Arts degrees from the University of Nairobi, Kenya and attained her PhD in Religious Studies at Moi University. Her post-doctoral studies were at Yale University. Her areas of research are on the care and empowerment of orphans, vulnerable children and women affected by HIV and AIDS, spirituality in clinical settings, religion and social change in Africa and the centrality of ritual in human life.

Career Ayanga started her career as a senior librarian at Kenya National Library Services in Nairobi from 1975 to 1983 and later joined Kenyatta University as an assistant librarian in 1987. She was employed by Moi University in 1989 as a tutorial fellow in the department of philosophy, religion and theology and rose through the ranks to become an associate professor of religious studies in the same department and has taught many courses at the university such as: Religion and Society, Phenomenology of Religion and History of Christian Doctrine, among others. She was the head of the department of Philosophy, Religion and Theology, Moi University between 2003 and 2005 and the East African regional representative for the African Association for the Study of Religions (AASR). She has also been an external examiner at several universities among them; the University of Nairobi (2004 to 2005), Kenyatta University (2010 to 2013) and Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology, Kenya (2020 to date). She served as the coordinator of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians (the Circle), East African Region from 2007 to 2019. In this article, she argues that the Circle voices (figuratively and literally) women's issues through research and publications and by providing safe spaces for women to be themselves and to share their stories thus creating reconstructive and transformative theologies. Telling stories gives voice to women's lived experiences and makes women, their lives and experiences audible and visible. AIDS in Africa must therefore be understood within the context of African cultural beliefs which are often understood and transmitted through religious teachings and ritual practices of the community with women and children being the most vulnerable to HIV infections. She called for a holistic approach in the management of AIDS where religion and science work together.

Ayanga further advocated for the role of women in church and society and the need for contextual approach to the concerns of African women in the church. In her article titled, "Contextual Challenges to African Women in Mission," she emphasizes the pivotal role of women in the propagation of the gospel and calls for the recognition of women in mission and missiology. Whereas she problematizes the poor contextualization of the missiological context and environment by the early missionaries to Africa, she acknowledges that these early missionaries and others from different parts of the globe, "recognized that reaching women and improving their status would lead to the transformation of whole communities. This is the basis of all Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians Activities: the recognition of the centrality of women in church and society." She encourages women to be at the forefront in finding and formulating appropriate theological responses to the contextual challenges they encounter and advocates for the training of women in theology and other academic disciplines in Africa.

Selected works

Ayanga, H. O. (2017). Contextual Challenges to African Women in Mission. International Review of Mission, 106(2), 295–306. Ayanga, H. O. (2016). Voice of the Voiceless: The Legacy of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians. Verbum et Ecclesia, 37(2), 1–6. Ayanga, H. O. (2016). Women in African Christianity. In Phiri, Isabel Apawo; Werner, Dietrich; Kaunda, Chammah; Owino, Kennedy; Asamoah-Gyadu, Kwabena; Djomhue, Priscille; Biri, Kudzai; Kalengyo, Edison (eds.). Anthology of African Christianity, Fortress Press, 944–948. Ayanga, H. (2015). African cosmologies past and present. In Eisen, A. & Laderman, G. (eds.),Science, Religion and Society. London: Routledge, 325–331. Ayanga, H. (2015). AIDS, Science, and Religion in Africa. In Eisen, A. & Laderman, G. (eds.), Science, Religion and Society. London: Routledge, 649–653. Ayanga, H. (2012). Inspired and gendered: The hermeneutical challenge of teaching gender in Kenya. In Hendriks, H. J., Mouton, E., Hansen, L. & le Roux, E. Men in the Pulpit Women in the Pew: Addressing Gender Inequality in Africa. Stellenbosch, S.A: Sun Press, 85–92. Ayanga, H. O. (2011). Some Preliminary Notes on Gender, Culture and Theology. Hekima Review, (44), 8–16. Ayanga, H. (2008). Waging Peace: The Role of Religion in Reconciliation Process. Religion and Politics in Africa, 112–123. Ayanga, H. (2008). Religio-cultural challenges in women's fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. In Hinga, T. M., Kubai, A. N., Mwaura, P. & Ayanga, H. O. (eds.). Women, religion and HIV/AIDS in Africa: Responding to ethical and theological challenges, Cluster Publications, 34–48. Ayanga, H. (2005). Challenges to Mission in Contemporary Africa. Maarifa (Eldoret, Kenya), 1(1), 51–58. Getui, M. N., & Ayanga, H. (Eds.). (2002). Conflicts in Africa: A Women Response. Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians, Kenya Chapter. Ayanga, H. O. (1996). "Violence against women in African oral literature as portrayed in proverbs." In Wamue, G. & Getui, M. (eds.). Violence Against Women: Reflections by Kenyan Women Theologians. Nairobi: Acton Publishers, 13–20.

Co-authored works

Simion, K., Koech, J., & Ayanga, H. (2022). "An Investigation of Church Based Peace Building Models in Selected Churches in Kericho County." British Journal of Multidisciplinary and Advanced Studies, 3(1), 1–10. doi: 10.37745/bjmas.2022.0008 Kamaara, E., Nyongesa, P., Ayanga, H., Choge-Kerama, J.E., Chelagat, D., Koech, J.K., Mraja, M., Chemorion, K.E., Mothaly, J., Kiyiapi, L., Katwa, J., Odunga, J. & James Lemons, J. (2020). “Hospital-based Spiritual Care for Mothers of Neonates at RMBH in Eldoret, Kenya: A Situational Analysis”, Health and Social Care Chaplaincy, Vol. 7(2), 145–167. Maua, A. C., Ayanga, H., & Kahiga, J. (2020). Christian Teachings on Marriage and Its Impact on Customary Marriage among the Iteso of North Teso. African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, 5(4), 258–267. Rutto, F., Ayanga, H., & Ngure, S. (2020). The Social Impact of Western Christianity on Marakwet Traditional Funeral Rites. African Journal of Education, Science and Technology, 5(4), 278–289. Christopher, S. K., Ayanga, H., & Choge, E. (2019) A Synthesized Nandi Anglican Ng’anyet Ritual: A Paradigm Shift In A Multi Religious World. International Journal of Innovative Research and Advanced Studies (IJIRAS), 6 (3), 98- 103. Nyongesa, P., Kamaara, E., Ayanga, H. O., Mothaly, J., Akim, S. P., Ivy, S., & Lemons, J. (2019). Integrating Spiritual Care into Maternity Care at a University Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya: Challenges, Lessons and Way Forward. Health & Social Care Chaplaincy, 7(2), 168–215.