Send girls in Kenya at risk to FGM to school

In 2020, when schools in Kenya closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, rates of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C), early marriage, and gender-based violence have skyrocketed. However, we are proud to report that within the last group of Maasai girls you supported, no girls underwent FGM/C, no girls were married-off, and only one girl fell pregnant during quarantine. This is an incredible impact. 

With your support, Amref aims to continue supporting the secondary education of 150 girls from the Samburu and Maasai communities in Kenya. We will also provide trainings to key educators in the girls’ school districts to better support them as they continue their education, and train the girls on advocacy to demand the end of FGM/C in their own communities.

We want to support another cohort of girls (aiming for 150) who have recently completed an alternative rites of passage ceremony that excludes FGM, with two years of boarding school to complete their secondary education. Scholarships are awarded based on both need and merit, with national examination scores as a key factor in the selection process. The two-year scholarship program is comprised of financial support for secondary school, support and counseling for educators and students throughout the program, and advocacy training to enable girls to become anti-FGM ambassadors within their communities.

• Tuition, Room & Board: While day school is a less expensive option, it has higher dropout rates and does not provide the buffer needed to protect girls from the ongoing societal pressure of harmful traditional practices of FGM/C and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM). Boarding school will provide the girls the opportunity to focus on their studies and learn skills needed to earn an income post-graduation. Scholarships of $530 per student per year will cover tuition and room and board, outside of the below.
  
  
• Psycho-social training for educators: To support the girls throughout their secondary school experience, Amref educational experts and staff familiar with the Samburu community provide psycho-social training to educators from each school in which the girls are enrolled. A five-day training for headmistresses and teachers will take place before the start of the first school year and will cover the social context in which the girls have been raised, the pressures they are facing, and strategies for dropout prevention that are specific to this cohort of girls. The teachers will also be sensitized on the dangers of FGM/C and CEFM and be encouraged to become advocates against them.
  
  
• Follow-up and support: Amref staff will conduct follow up visits with girls, their schools, and their families throughout the program (following COVID-19 prevention guidelines) to ensure that students are doing well in school, are healthy and adjusting to boarding school, and are not at risk of dropping out or going through FGM/C. Amref staff will meet with students at the beginning of each school term and at critical points throughout the year as needed. Any student that drops out of school will be reported to Amref and the Ministry of Education for counseling, psycho-social support with the aim of re-integration to school.

The scholarship program aims to support girls through the completion of their secondary education, as well as ensure they are empowered through advocacy efforts to become anti-FGM ambassadors. With additional support, the project will train an estimated 20 headmistresses and 60 teachers to support the girls through school. As anti-FGM ambassadors, each girl is expected to enroll five additional girls into the ARP program, resulting in a total of 750 new enrollees who will commit to abandon the practice. Further, each girl will reach 50 girls in her school, village, and church with SRHR, anti-FGM and CEFM messages, totaling an estimated 7,500 girls reached at the end of two years. In schools, girls will use school clubs to which they belong or they will join to sensitize club members and during holidays they will use their neighborhood and religious networks and spaces to reach their peers.

Links:

• Amref Health Africa
• HERstory - Celebrating Women's History Month

Since its launch in 2018, we've supported 49 girls with scholarships, including room and board, school supplies, leadership training and life skills training to further empower each student. Preference was given to girls at risk to or escaping Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C) and Child, Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM), and who want to advocate against both practices within their own communities.

We can break this cycle for girls in Kajiado County – and this is only made possible through your generous support.

Thanks to you, we’ve been able to reach bright students like Evalyne, Abigael and Naomi who I’m excited to introduce you to.

Evalyne is from an impoverished household in a remote village in Kajiado. Her father is a livestock herder, and her elder sister did not attend school and was married off at a young age. Her dream was to complete her education to help her family improve their economic security.

Evalyne is now in year two of secondary school. She is the only girl in her family who has reached this level of education, and she does not take it for granted. “I am happy because I am getting closer to my dream and with this help, I will work hard to become a teacher. I thank Amref for this opportunity,” she says.

17-year-old Abigael dreams of becoming a lawyer. Thanks to the scholarship, she has been able to excel in her favorite subjects: English and Chemistry and is now in year two. For Abigael, the scholarship opportunity meant that her single mother would not have any more sleepless nights, stressed about how to pay for Abigael’s school fees.

“My future aspiration is to work hard and help the girls in my community who cannot afford school fees, just like Amref helped me,” Abigael tells us.

Naomi, the oldest of the three is now in year four of secondary school. Naomi comes from a village where she is now a role model for many girls. Through training with Amref, Naomi inspires girls in her village to refuse to undergo FGM.

“Amref enabled me to go to school because my parents value our traditions and were not keen on educating girls,” Naomi says.

In the communities where these girls are from, schools have served as a safe-haven for girls, where they can escape their families' pressure to undergo FGM/C and CEFM. With schools closing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many girls have been forced to return home where they may be at risk to FGM/C and CEFM. This has led to increased reports of gender-based violence in the area, including FGM/C, CEFM, and teen pregnancies. 

A national helpline for GBV received 1,108 calls in the month of June, compared to just 86 in February. 

It is clear that our work is not yet done. 

With your support, we'll be able to continue supporting girls at risk to FGM and child marriage even while schools are closed. We can establish a Girls' Mentorship Home Visit Program for 45 girls and provide each of them with Dignity Kits - backpacks pre-packed with sanitary napkins, underwear, soap, towels, a flashlight, a toothbrush and other necessities. We can also provide 200 girls with solar powered lights and a radio, enabling them to enable them to listen to radio academic lessons aired by the Kenyan government.

Please give to Amref Health Africa today and you can help us reach more girls at risk to FGM/C and CEFM.