In Samburu County where FGM and child marriage are still practiced, we created a scholarship to send girls at risk to these practices to secondary school and provide them with training to become anti-FGM and anti-child marriage ambassadors. We provide the girls with life skills training, reproductive health education, training on convincing her family and peers to give up the harmful traditional practices, and a "dignity kit" filled with hygiene essentials so they feel their best at school.
FGM and child marriage put an end to the limitless potential that a girl can achieve. When a girl (typically between 8-15 years old) undergoes Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), she is considered ready to be married off, often to a much older man and is expected to drop out of school once they are married. Most girls at risk to these practices come from families that cannot afford the required school fees to send their girls to school.
The scholarship provides each girl with annual school fees, room and board, scholastic materials such as textbooks, uniforms, and one "Dignity Kit" to help girls feel their best at school. Through the scholarship, girls also receive training on life skills, reproductive health education, advocacy and public speaking skillst to help them convince their families and peers to abandon FGM/C and child marriage
The program is part of our wider Koota Injena program - which translates to "Come let us talk" in the Borana language - where we promote the use of community dialogues to end FGM/C and child marriage in 40 communities that still practice them. We provide champions in the communities with training to help their peers, family, and friends re-envision how women and girls are treated, why their rights should be respected, and why they should finish their education.
