Establish Girls' Empowerment Centre in Rural Kenya

RESCUE FGM CAMP

The Kuria community practice Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) annually, mostly between November - December. The specific time are decided by the clan elders. This year the practice started on 28^th September and is still going on.

Whereas the community considers FGM as a rite of passage that makes girls more disciplined and better wives while at the same time elevating the girls’ parents in the society, its harmful effects include severe pain, ulceration of the genital area, increased risk of infections and HIV transmission, complications during child birth or haemorrhage that may lead to death. FGM is one of the leading causes of school dropouts, child marriage and teen pregnancies in Kuria community.

This year, the situation has been particularly dire for girls, as was reported in one of the leading television stations [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ91aES1ghc]. As a direct result of COVI-19, safe spaces ordinarily provided by schools are closed. Some girls under go FGM as a precursor to marriage as re-opening of schools is not certain. Due to the economic downturn, some parents force their girls to undergo FGM to get cash handouts.

NIGEE’s intervention

NIGEE partnered with two like-minded CSOs in Kuria, Msichana Kuria and Zinduka Kenya to hold an FGM rescue camp from October 2020. The camp is to recue and shelter girls from being forced to undergo FGM. As at 9^th November, the camp has 39 rescued girls, who will be at the camp until the FGM period ends.

• Those who run away from home for fear of being forced to undergo FGM.
• Those rescued by police officers, area chiefs and other stakeholders.
• Those from single-parent(mother) homes. Kuria community is a patriarchal community where women’s voices don’t count. Girls from single-parent homes are usually forced to undergo FGM, without their mother’s consent.
• Those who have undergone FGM have had complications and hence their parents arrested. The camp acts as a safe space where the girls are sheltered as their cases are being heard and determined.

The three organisations are contributing materially to facilitate the camp. NIGEE’s contribution is part of the GlobalGiving microgrant won in July 2020.

The girls we have rescued are of the following categories

At the camp, there are mentorship sessions (where girls are taught on human rights and life skills), storytelling sessions (giving girls the opportunity to learn from each other’s experiences) and outdoor activities like football.

The camp has been visited by stakeholders from the Ant-FGM Board and officials from the Ministry of Gender, National Government. The stakeholders mentored the girls, encouraged them and assured them of their security when they return home when the FGM period ends.

The camp is expected to end in November, upon which time we will engage the girls’ parents and local stakeholders/child protection units to safely reintegrate the girls back to their community and their families.

• GlobalGiving_November_2020.docx (DOCX)
• GlobalGiving_November_2020_Photos.pdf (PDF)
  

As COVID-19 continues to spread, the future has never felt so unpredictable. These are challenging times for us all, and we hope you’re in good spirits and health! Right now, NIGEE is doing everything possible to sustain daily operations and provide services to our community. While there’s a lot of uncertainty, we know that we need to adapt fast to our changing reality. Now, more than ever, our community needs us. And we need you.

Given the situation, we’ve made a few important modifications to our programs. These changes include;

• Distribution of dignity packs as part of girls’ personal effects in Siaya, Migori, Homabay and Kisumu. In providing these, we will be in effect releasing funds for the families to cater for other important things such as food, rent, electricity, water etc. The dignity pack contain bar soaps, sanitary towels, petroleum jelly, tissue rolls, toothbrush, toothpaste and a face mask.
• Following up and solving SGBV cases through our existing hotlines. The girl advocates will continue conducting home visits, with necessary precautions. From the phone call records, there is a spike in GBV cases that needs an upward reporting and NIGEE will follow up cases until it is closed.
• Conduct an assessment to explore and understand the effects of COVID-19 on the lives of adolescent girls and young women (AGYW) in Nyanza region. We target at least 1,000 girls since with the various levels of lockdown, there have been job losses, increased reports of SGBV and other forms of abuse, and with reporting and support systems disrupted by the same measures, it is critically urgent to find out how vulnerable populations such as AGYW are coping and whether there is any support NIGEE and its partners can offer to make it easier for them.
• A total of 15 beneficiaries have gone through girl led media training and the girls' advocates are now ready to spearhead change through their own stories using social media platforms and local media stations! The girls' advocates and mentors from both Kuria East and West sub-counties in Migori County joined the training to strengthen their grassroots advocacy movement to End Child marriage and FGC during the COVID-19 period! The training focused on community-led innovative dialogues to protect girls from harmful practices, storytelling/writing, group formation, managing group dynamics, good leadership qualities and decision making. The sessions were participatory and interactive hence providing hands on strategies to sustain the action through teamwork.

“I am a NIGEE beneficiary from Kisumu County; COVID-19 is uprooting my daily life. I am no longer able to afford a sanitary pack and luckily NIGEE came through just in the nick of time. Right now, you can help by making a donation!”

“Your generosity is key to the success of our dreams. We are so grateful for the continuous support of our donors and volunteers”

Thank you again for supporting this project – you have made a tremendous impact in our community and We look forward to resuming original programming once it’s safe to do so.