Establish Girls' Empowerment Centre in Rural Kenya

“I truly learnt much from our exchange visit at the Kibera School for Girls under Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) in Kibera Slums in Nairobi. I was impressed of the community based programs run by the organization, some of which we can adopt into our programming. As Girls steering Committee we are going to establish a Girl-led Safe Spaces in the 3 major slums in Kisumu to curb the increasing number of Sexual and Gender Based Violence cases in the region according to recently released statistics.” Milka Ofwa, Chair-Girls Steering Committee.

During the period of June-September 2017 NIGEE have had the following activities:

• So far we have reached 305 girls at the GEC (90 girls - computer classes, 155 girls - hairdressing and 60 girls - tailoring) with the skills training since the inception of the program.
• During this period, we were able to enroll 100 new girls. Presently, 276 girls (41 – computer classes, 158 – hairdressing and 27 – tailoring) are undergoing vocational training at GEC; 49 have completed training.
• As part of enhancing our Girl-led programming, the members of the Girls Steering Committee (GSC) participated in a 2 day exchange visit at Kiberia School for Girls under SHOFCO, a local organization located in Kibera Slums, Nairobi. The visit was aimed at providing a platform for the girls to benchmark and borrow a leaf that would help inform our girl-led programming. The GSC members are in the process of developing the new five year girl-led strategic plan (2018-2022).
• Construction of our Girls Empowerment Centre which commenced in June is ongoing and the ground floor is almost complete. We still believe that once the building is completed will touch the lives of hundreds of teen mothers with their children each year by preparing them to continue with their education before transitioning them to regular schools.
• In our Kuria anti-FGM project the field coordinator visited all the 16 schools where the 60 FGM survivor’s beneficiaries are studying to check if all the students are in school and are continuing with their education. Follow up on their school attendance register and performance for all girls has been done on a regular basis to assist in case they experience challenges.

The girls’ experience at SHOFCO exchange Visit and their planned programs:

Looking at their faces, one could realize the magnitude of joy. The visit surely meant a lot to the members of girls’ steering committee. Being the first beneficiaries of the NIGEE education scholarship and empowerment through the girls empowerment centre (GEC), the girls had vowed to empower and mentor their peers. As part of realizing their desired goal, they proposed to visit the Kiberia School for girls as part of the benchmarking and learning process. The visit was dubbed “Empowered girls, Empower girls”. From the visit, the girls’ steering committee had the following experiences to share about what they learnt and some of the activities that they will adopt into their programs through a well scripted strategy plan which they are currently working on.

The visit to Nairobi took place from September 21-22, 2017 and 10 members of the girls’ steering committee represented NIGEE. The girls were taken through different programs’ components and they later visited project sites. The girls were impressed by the best practises and holistic approach used by the organization in their programming. Sharing their experiences after the trip the girls had the following to say;

“It was a great experience at SHOFCO, personally I was impressed by what I saw over there. As girls steering committee member I think we can establish a childcare and early childhood development and education (ECDE) centre at GEC and within the NIGEE bridge centres. This will host toddlers of the young women attending classes at our centre and nearby formal schools.” Lucy Masika, Girls Steering Committee member.

There is a great demand for Childcare and ECDE centre at the GEC to accommodate and provide a safe place for the children of the teen mothers undertaking vocational training in hairdressing, dressmaking and computer studies at the GEC and to those already linked to formal schools. So far the centre host over 20 young women and their kids.

While sharing her experience after the visit, Milka Ofwa alluded that the visit is an eye opener to them and they are planning to fast-track the strengthening of the sexual and gender based violence (SGBV) prevention and recovering mechanism in major slums in Kisumu City to help mitigate the increasing cases of SGBV cases in the area. “I truly learnt much from our exchange visit at Shining Hope for Communities (SHOFCO) in Kibera Slums in Nairobi. I was really impressed with their community based SGBV prevention and response program ran by community volunteers, some of which we can replicate in our program areas. As Girls steering Committee we are going to establish Girl-led Safe Spaces in the 3 major slums in Kisumu to curb the increasing number of Sexual and Gender Based Violence cases in the region according to recently released statistics.” Milka Ofwa, Chair-Girls Steering Committee.

NIGEE seek to establish a Girl-Led safe spaces in Obunga, Manyatta and Nyalenda slums. Already NIGEE has bridge centres in the mentioned slums which serve as a transition hub for young teen mothers who would like to resume formal learning.  

The girls’ steering committee members have unanimously decided that they are going to establish a Girl-led safe spaces in the slums of Kisumu, strength the SGBV referral path, establish a child care and ECDE Centre at the GEC.

“I sat my KCPE in 1997, and scored 498 out of 700.Can you imagine receiving calling letters from both Lwak Girls and Nyakach Girls (National schools) and not being able to go because your father believes you do not deserve it because you are a girl?” reports a NIGEE girls' mentor.

It has been yet again an action-packed quarter with beneficiaries accessing training at the GEC, bringing with them new ideas and energy to our activities and classes. Our girls’ babies continue to enjoy nutritious porridge provided daily, thanks to our donors! Most importantly, construction of our very own (not rental!!) Girls Empowerment Centre commenced in June and we are all excited to see this HUGE dream kick off.

During the period of April to June 2017 NIGEE continued to advance activities at the GEC:

• So far we have reached 205 girls (70 girls - computer classes, 108 girls - hairdressing and 27 girls - tailoring) with the skills training since the inception of the program.
• In the period under review, we were able to enroll 63 new girls. Presently, 176 girls (41 – computer classes, 108 – hairdressing and 27 – tailoring) are undergoing vocational training at GEC; 29 have completed training.
• We have now purchased two tents to accommodate the large number of girls enrolling for hairdressing.
• Our porridge program continues as a focal point of our activities with the girls. Currently we have 25 toddlers benefitting from the daily porridge offered at 10am. This large number illustrates how important it is for our girls to know that their children are close at hand and are being cared for as they attend classes.
• Our dedicated matron cares for the children while their mothers attend classes and we have an allocated room for the toddlers where they take naps and play.
• There are 12 girls and young women, 3 children, the matron and her child residing in the hostel; 10 are undertaking different courses at the GEC, while two are school going girls who were rescued from difficult living conditions at their homes.
• The GEC and Training Coordinators have worked towards expanding our training capacity by engaging additional 2 tutors to cope with the growth in enrollees; this has made a significant impact with girls now attending both morning and afternoon classes.
• Our 3 dedicated tutors for computer, tailoring and hairdressing courses have now been engaged as regular staff and continue to give quality lessons.Other achievements during the quarter:
• A five day training on Girl-led media was conducted and was attended by 20 participants, thus heralding the beginning of classes for videography and photography being offered at GEC. These initial girls are now participating in a project to film and capture the stories of the girls benefiting from our intervention.
• Our GEC Coordinator participated in an interview with Radio Sahara Kisumu; the interview focused on how NIGEE is empowering our girls through vocational training.
• In our Kuria FGM (female genital mutilation) project, the field coordinator and many of our girls participated in a march to honor the champions who campaign against FGM. This event was graced by Miss Kenya/Miss Africa 2016 who is also a champion against FGM, and an inspiration to all our girls
• Construction of our Girls Empowerment Centre commenced in June which is a long awaited initiative that once completed will touch the lives of hundreds of girls each year by preparing them to continue with their education before transitioning them to regular schools.NIGEE is proud to share a success story of one of our mentors who dedicates her time to encourage and support our girls:

One Mentor’s story

NIGEE has set up bridge centres in two densely populated informal settlements in Kisumu City (in Obunga and Manyatta). We recently set up another one in a rural setting (Seme) which currently has 3 teen mothers. These centres serve as hubs for young teen mothers who would like to resume formal learning. They participate in sessions where they share their experiences both as young mothers and students, to encourage and support each other in their journey back to and through school.

Mentors guide and encourage young girls in the pursuit for quality education and in bridge centres, their involvement inspires these girls to keep up with their studies. They incorporate their personal narratives to inspire girls and young mothers to resume school, proving to them that it can be done.

In Seme, we came across Judith who scored C+ in her national secondary school exams (KSCE) last year and is a mother of 5 children. Her eldest son will be sitting the same exams (KSCE) this year, the second born will sit the same exams next year and the third born the year after. The fourth born is in Grade 7, and the youngest in Grade 5.

Judith knows the struggles a young teen mother faces in resuming formal learning, because she was married at the age of 13. She spent ten years out of school and then resumed, only to face isolation and more challenges at school.

When she talks about her Father, her hands tremble a bit and she keeps her eyes trained on the television screen in her house. Her children are watching a Nigerian movie, and she looks on and then says, “After I had sat for my national primary school exams (KCPE) and passed, my father clearly told me that he would never choose to educate me over his sons and if it hurt so much, that I could kill myself for all he cared.”

The Deputy Head Teacher of her primary school had been the one trying to persuade her father to take her to school and when they could not get through to him, the deputy promised that he would pay for her education. She was happy but that was until she heard his condition: he would pay for her education only if she got married to him, and by then she was 12. She refused and sought admission at a local school and stayed on for only two terms before she dropped out due to lack of tuition fees. She relocated to Seme and that’s when she got married.

At this, she turns and asks, “I sat my KCPE in 1997, and scored 498 out of 700. Can you imagine receiving calling letters from both Lwak Girls and Nyakach Girls (both national schools) and not being able to go because your father believes you do not deserve it because you are a girl?”

Judith knows she will get admission into the University however her priority at the moment is to support her three children who are in secondary school. She admits that having a supportive husband helped her resume her studies and she now encourages young girls who are in school to focus on their studies first. She says that education opens up someone’s mind to what is happening in the world. She wants her children to get the best education and to use their knowledge and experiences to live a better life than she led.

In terms of profession, she is looking forward to pursuing teacher education and believes she would be an understanding teacher as it would give her an opportunity to encourage young girls to stay in school and complete their studies.

As a Mentor of other girls, she feels that young girls at this time and age have many more opportunities to seek for help and guidance in achieving their dreams. Parents are more aware of the value of the girl child, but she wants the girls to know their worth and value first. She mentors the three teen mothers at the Seme Bridge Centre, and is mobilizing more to join.