Moving Through Childhood Trauma, One Note at a Time: Ageless Author Kyeni Matee: “The Eyes Behind The Violin: Finding My Identity”

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Kyeni Matee (Rechel Bryant Nganga) was traumatized by years of sexual abuse which started in her childhood, at the hands of a relative  Later she married her rapist. He was her first husband.

Statistics find that 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys is a victim of child sexual abuse.  Experts say those numbers are much higher, but the prevalence is hard to determine because it’s not often reported. The most vulnerable are between the ages of 7 and 13.

In this week's Ageless Book Author's Podcast Series, you'll meet a woman who's one of those statistics.  Kyeni (pronounced Chain-ee), is a violinist and youth orchestra teacher from Florida.  She’s also a new author. Kyeni  documents her abuse which started when she was 7 or 8 
and lasted for several traumatizing years, in her new book – “THE EYES BEHIND THE VIOLIN: FINDING MY TRUE IDENTITY.” Her moving story is one of survival and resilience. Her saving grace? Music, Therapy, and Faith. 

BIO: Kyeni Matee (Rechel Bryant Nganga) has a Bachelor of Music in Violin Performance from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She has been teaching with Osceola County Schools in Florida, for 25 years. She currently works as an Itinerant String teacher at one elementary school, and two middle schools in the Osceola County area. Outside of school, she works as the Orchestral Director of the Osceola Arts Youth Orchestra. She also runs a private music studio. She is an active professional musician and enjoys performing on her violin, playing the piano, and singing at church and other churches and venues around the Central Florida area. 

Rechel is now married to Chuma Nganga Matee, who is from Kenya in East Africa. Rechel visited Kenya for the first time back in 2010. On that first trip, she began a project called: “The Parkway Kawelu Project.” This project allowed her to work with her students here in the U.S. and join Kawelu Primary School in Kenya. The schools worked together to raise money and help Kawelu, an underserved school in Kenya, to refurbish their school and make it more suitable for students. That program continues today but has gone through a metamorphosis. Rechel travels to Kenya every few years and takes members of the community, or students from her Youth Orchestra over to Kenya to service projects like planting trees and doing performances for several schools. Through the project, Rechel led a fundraiser to raise money to purchase English and Kiswahili books for school libraries at Yikisemei Primary School and Kawelu Primary School. When they were married, Chuma, as with custom, gave Rechel a Kenyan name. That name is Kyeni, (Chain-ee) which means “Light.” Outside of work, Rechel goes by her pseudonym: Kyeni Matee, in her new book, which you can order from most book-sellers, including Amazon.

Facebook: @kyenimatee
Instagram: @kyenimatee
YouTube: Kyeni Matee /

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