Girls for the future Project

The Mango Tree has continued to support more vulnerable women explore their potential and achieve their gifted talents through the donations from GlobalGiving.

In the reporting period of October to December 2022, more interventions geared towards such supports were implemented in the Girls for the Future project, which entails the Women Enterprise and the Girls Rescue Centre.

In order to ensure that the adolescent girls and young women still in school stay safe, we distributed reusable sanitary towels to 344 adolescent girls. This helps the girls to remain dry even during their menstrual periods hence retained in school especially for those who cannot afford to buy the pads.

We followed up on 70 women whose businesses were boosted and continues to develop financial support base for the 10 groups that had been trained on business skills. The groups have been further organized into small village saving groups where they can save and access loans thus boosting their social economic purchasing power.

Within the period, 36 young women completed their training on beauty therapy, hairdressing and tailoring. So far, 5 young women have graduated with skills in tailoring and design while 31 of them with salon, beauty therapy skills. Among the girls that graduated, 5 young women have established a modern saloon to enable them continue being self-reliant.

To ensure that the apprenticeship program exposes the girls to the real world experience, 11 young women finished their three (3) months field attachment upon which they undertook their trade test examinations by the National Industrial Trade Association (NITA) which the young women performed exemplarily well. Furthermore, 20 new admissions were done and are ongoing with their training in beauty therapy and hairdressing.

Continued with sensitization on SRH (Sexual Reproductive Health) in various schools across the county were 1427 (521 boys 806 girls) young people benefitted from the presentations. During the training other partners were involved especially on Family Matters program (FMP) that involved 867 parents/guardians and children on various social issues affecting the family.

We continue to support persons with disabilities (PDWs) undergo correctional surgeries for purposes of regaining their mobility, where so far 20 children with different limb defects have benefit from the surgeries and 70 PWDs joined the ongoing psychosocial support group which helps in community sensitization and fighting stigma against PWDs.

Since most of the children in AFBC (alternative family-based care) homes are HIV affected and infected, we supported the 12 children with nutrition services. This ensures that they are protected from the harsh unfriendly environment in their homes and that they are able to adhere to their antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) and also access education from the foster homes.

Trauma and psychological counselling has been offered to the 15 Gender-Based Violence (GBV) survivors, 11 girls and 4 boys, due to the effects caused to them by perpetrators where some were close family members which enables them to open up and share their circumstances.

As an organization we still experience some challenges associated with incest which is still on the rise since most of the families tend to settle the matter out-of-court and as such justice is not served to the victims. Additionally, due to the back-log in court cases especially on GBV issues, most of the victims are still awaiting justice.

There is need to establish a baby-care Centre to assist the young women who are undergoing beauty therapy and hairdressing a place to take care of their babies while undergoing their trainings. This will allow them to concentrate more in their sessions within the day.

The Mango Tree has continued to ensure that more opportunities are available for the girls and young women as they continue to get supported by the organization through the generous funding from GlobalGiving. 

During this reporting period, the Girls for the Future project participated in the 11^th graduation ceremony of The Mango Tree Orphan Support Trust Kenya. This saw 20 young women graduating from the different apprenticeship programs (20 girls in beauty therapy; 5 girls in tailoring). A caregiver who also undertook the program was also delighted to graduate as this will enable her to become self-reliant as she starts her business.

The project continues to protect and promote the dignity of the girls through the distribution of sanitary towels. This ensures that they continue staying in school even during their bad days of the month. During this period, through school reproductive and sexual health outreaches in schools, 150 girls benefited from the sanitary towels distribution. Additional 222 adolescent boys also benefited from the health talks sessions.

The project continues to link the apprenticeship girls with attachment, where 6 girls are honing their skills as required in the real world. The girls are expected to proceed to be examined in the next three (3) months to be certified with the National Industrial Trade Association Examinations.

The Mango Tree has continued to ensure that more opportunities are available for the girls and young women as they continue to get supported by the organization through the genourous funding from GlobalGiving. 

In the last three months (February to April 2022), we undertook several interventions in the Girls for the future project that encompasses Women Empowerent and also Rescuing Girls who are survivors of Sexual and Gender Based Violance.

During the reported quarter, we made sure that 18 women were assessed and that their businesses were improved, after which they joined the Village Savings and Loaning Associations (VSLA). So far, 70 of the women who had their businesses strengthened have joined VSLA.

The National Industrial Training Authority exams were taken by seven of the 19 girls enrolled in the apprenticeship program. They will be given business start-up kits to help them establish their own venture.

Positive parenting approach messages were delivered to 200 women. Families Matter is a program that strives to help parents improve their parenting skills in any way they can. This program helps women understand themselves and their children better. hence avoid problems like early pregnancy and early marriage, which are widespread in the project region.

We rescued eight girls in the last quarter, seven of them were rape victims and one who was lost and found. Six of the seven rape victims had just finished their elementary school examinations when they were molested by their teachers, with one of them becoming pregnant as a result. Our organization has made certain that all of the instances are brought before a court of law, and that the victims are counseled and provided with safety in order to help them heal from the heinous act. The lost and found girl was traced through the local authorities and reunited with the family.

A reproductive health presentation was given to 302 students at one of the primary schools, including messages about sexual reproductive health, behavior change, peer impact, and gender-based violence.

Following community mobilization, we were able to refer 20 children with lower limb disabilities, such as clubfoot, bowed legs, and knocking knees, for corrective surgery, and 13 of them have recovered and returned home.

Conducted Community-wide disability awareness in order to reduce stigma, as well as psychosocial assistance for caregivers. So far, 65 caregivers have enrolled in a monthly psychological support group.

The organization will continue to support the young women achieve their potentials in the various apprenticeship programs they are undertaking and also assisting victims of sexual gender-based violence recover at the safe-space.

PROJECT SUMMARY

The Mango Tree Orphan Support Trust Kenya is currently implementing a “girls for the future” intervention in North Rachuonyo Sub-County.

AIMING TO STRIVE

This project encompasses two great projects dubbed “Women’s Empowerment Project” and “Rescue Centre”. The Women’s Empowerment Project endeavors to eradicate the education barriers that prevent girls from regularly attending school and to empower them to achieve their full potential. This project targets 600 girls in both primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education. On the other hand, the Rescue Centre helps in supporting young girls who have been sexually abused, forced into early marriage, and physically assaulted through domestic violence in the community, with a safe space away from the perpetrators of such heinous acts.

 These two projects under the Girls for the Future aim to:

1)     Recruit vulnerable women who had dropped out of school to join apprenticeships and boost their business to cater to their daily needs and support their children’s education.

2)     Train women on business skills and record-keeping through linking up with the Institutions doing financial literacy education.

3)     Empower women through well-organized groups where they get necessary skills and knowledge from those who are now pioneers of their businesses.

4)     Incorporate the Family Matter program to equip women with the knowledge on family matters to avoid domestic violence in the community.

5)     Enrol those who have acquired relevant skills in the program at National Industrial Trade Authority (NITA) examination for certification.

6)     Provide start-up kits to those in the apprenticeship programs after completion and also boost businesses of women who have been trained on how to manage their finances and record keeping.

7)     Attach the women to different institutions to acquire more knowledge and skills and gain experience in the current business world.

8)     Create market linkages and referrals to women with already existing businesses to earn income.

9)     Organizing for exchange tour visits with other institutions to know the currently trending businesses and readily available markets to the women’s products.

10)Create employment opportunities in the community for other women.

11)Provide psychosocial and Counselling support to the survivors

12)Create awareness on gender-based violence and children’s rights

13)Conduct Reproductive Health and empowerment Seminars 

14)Offer Alternative Family Based Care (AFBC)

15)Support in crafting of Skills work

Activity Progress

• We conducted follow-ups on the 52 women who were supported in small businesses this quarter and discovered that they are doing well and have grown. We decided to form a VSLA (Village Savings and Loaning Association) where the women save money and take out soft loans with a ten percent interest rate at the end of the month because what we gave was insufficient to help them grow their enterprises. This has gone well so far, and the women are pleased with their growth, which they can demonstrate through their enterprises. We set a goal of boosting business for 70 women, and the remaining 18 women will be evaluated in the next quarter.
• Thirteen of the twenty girls enrolled in the apprenticeship program were placed in various institutions while they awaited the National Industrial Training Authority examination, which was scheduled for December 2021. We did supervision this quarter before their assessment to see how well prepared they were for the December exams and what we might do to help other students interested in taking the same courses. Thirteen girls passed the NITA exam, and ten of them were hired by various institutions, allowing them to support their families and children. They will be given start-up kits next quarter so that they can start their own enterprises, and this will also make it easier for us to fill attachment spots for additional girls enrolled in the same program.
• We taught 112 women positive parenting techniques and the importance of family in this quarter's program. Families Matter is a program that aims to assist parents in doing all they can to improve their parenting skills. This program assists mothers in gaining a better understanding of themselves as well as their children. We started the program to help mothers better understand their children and avoid challenges like early pregnancy and early marriage, which are common in the project region.
• In the last quarter, nine girls who had been victims of sexual gender-based abuse had been rescued. One of the victims (a seven-year-old girl who was sexually raped by an uncle) was so stigmatized that she was always crying. Another epileptic had Down syndrome, necessitating home therapy. The victims had a variety of counseling sessions in order to help them overcome their difficulties.
• Held a reproductive health presentation at one of the girls' schools, reaching out to 79 girls. A conference for OVC at the college level as well as those in secondary school was also conducted where we met 156 students and had sex talks, behavior change, peer influence, and Gender-Based Violence discussions.
• During our community implementation, we discovered that there were many children with disabilities who were left at home while their peers went to school and that others were concealed in their homes so as not to be seen by visitors due to social stigma. As a result, we chose to link those with lower limb problems, such as clubfoot, bowed legs, and knocked knees, to the  Association of People with Disabilities in Kenya (APDK) Mombasa branch for correctional surgery, and we were able to connect 14 of them. 7 people have recovered from their procedures and returned to their homes.
• We provide ongoing disability awareness in the community in order to minimize stigma, as well as psychosocial support to caregivers. So far, 50 caregivers have joined a psychological support group that meets monthly.
• People living with disabilities who have been discharged from the hospital, particularly those who have had surgery, must be followed upon in order to help them reintegrate back into their families.

Challenges

• Obtaining spaces for attachment has remained a significant difficulty since the owners of the premises want money in order to accept our children into their institutions.
• With more students enrolling in apprenticeship programs, our training facilities have insufficient training kits.
• Insufficient finances to grow women's enterprises; what we have is insufficient to meet the needs of our targeted women's businesses.
• Girls with young children have a difficult time deciding where to keep their children throughout the class, which interferes with their ability to concentrate.
• The majority of abused children come from extremely vulnerable households to the point where reunification with their relatives is difficult, and they would prefer to spend the remainder of their lives at the rescue center.
• Because there are so many occurrences of GBV in the communities, it takes too long for a victim to come forward and testify, thus some people want to drop the charges.
• Most people still equate disability with witchcraft, thus stigma remains a problem.

Next Quarter Work plan

• Recruitment of other women in the women empowerment program
• After the results are out, the 13 girls who were trained and completed their exams will be given start-up kits.
• Providing small business support to the remaining 18 women
• Purchase of training materials for the new apprentices who will be joining the program.
• Share outs of the VSLA to the groups
• Follow-ups on businesses for women
• Creating a new VSLA for new and established women entrepreneurs.
• Reproductive health outreaches
• Positive parenting
• Counseling
• Tracing and re-integration
• Referrals of PWDs for correctional surgery
• Mobilization and identification of PWDs
• Conducting psychosocial therapy sessions to PWDs caregivers
• Offering alternative family-based care home
• Awareness creation on GBV and health-related issues e.g. wash program

Success Story

Case1: Hilda, a total orphan who started her course in St Benard Youth Vocational Training and dropped out due to a lack of school fees, says, "A very big thank you to TMT family for considering my plea after dropping out of college and losing hope in life, you came as a God's blessing, may God bless you abundantly, I didn't know I would one day have skills and knowledge to explore. I am now employed and earning a commission of 30,000 per month if it is accumulated over the course of the month. I now pay school fees, rent, and provide for my children and family”.

Case2: Yvone was born with clubfeet, and as a result of her condition, she was unable to attend school on a regular basis due to her mobility issues. She is currently very thrilled following corrective surgery because she can now move about freely.

This project encompasses two great projects dubbed “Women’s Empowerment Project” and “Rescue Centre”. The Women’s Empowerment Project endeavors to eradicate the education barriers that prevent girls from regularly attending school and to empower them to achieve their full potentials. This project targets 600 girls in both primary, secondary and tertiary levels of education. On the other hand, the Rescue Centre helps in supporting young girls who have been sexually abused, forced into early marriage, and physically assaulted through domestic violence in the community, with a safe space away from the perpetrators of such heinous acts.

 These two projects under the Girls for the Future aim to:

1)     Recruit vulnerable women who had dropped out of school to join apprenticeships and boost their business to cater to their daily needs and support their children’s education.

2)     Train women on business skills and record-keeping through linking up with the Institutions doing financial literacy education.

3)     Empower women through well-organized groups where they get necessary skills and knowledge from those who are now pioneers of their businesses.

4)     Incorporate the Family Matter program to equip women with the knowledge on family matters to avoid domestic violence in the community.

5)     Enrol those who have acquired relevant skills in the program at National Industrial Trade Authority (NITA) examination for certification.

6)     Provide start-up kits to those in the apprenticeship programs after completion and also boost businesses of women who have been trained on how to manage their finances and record keeping.

7)     Attach the women to different institutions to acquire more knowledge and skills and gain experience in the current business world.

8)     Create market linkages and referrals to women with already existing businesses to earn income.

9)     Organizing for exchange tour visits with other institutions to know the currently trending businesses and readily available markets to the women’s products.

10)Create employment opportunities in the community for other women.

11)Provide psychosocial and Counselling support to the survivors

12)Create awareness on gender-based violence and children’s rights

13)Conduct Reproductive Health and empowerment Seminars 

14)Offer Alternative Family Based Care (AFBC)

15)Support in crafting of Skills work

Activities Progress

• Within 6 months, a total of 72 young women have been empowered in different entities. So far, 20 girls have undergone training in an apprenticeship program which entails hairdressing, beauty therapy, and tailoring in which; 13 have proceeded on industrial attachment while 7 transitioned out of the program and are now earning income to support their families’ meet basic needs. The 13 girls have been enrolled for the NITA examination which they shall be examined in December 2021. Furthermore, 52 women have been empowered to start or expand their businesses which through continuous monitoring by the program team are progressing well. Currently, they are involved in Village Savings and Loaning Association where they come together and share their experiences in businesses and be trained on financial literacy education.
• The program has carried out 3 rounds of assessment with 2 different Tutors from different institutions that is Pambo Hairdressing and barbering, and Vera Beauty College. The assessments covered various units of the course. The apprenticeship girls had an opportunity to learn from an exchange visit to Glovance hair and Beauty salon located in one of the urban towns within the program operation area.
• With numerous networks and linkages to various institutions, 3 girls have secured jobs in which they are earning some commissions hence the ability to cater for the necessities. A girl has secured a place in one of the vocational training centers where she is currently on an internship program as a Tutor and 2 girls have been placed in the best salons in town where they have improved on other techniques on the job.
• Currently, we are mobilizing 40 more women to join the apprenticeship and women empowerment program where 29 women who have joined the project while screening for more recruits is ongoing.
• The program is currently creating market linkages to women that had their businesses boosted which has motivated them to do more to double their profits by diversifying in other products that were not part of the initial startup.
• Undertook the 483 caregivers through Family Matters Program to train them on how best to take care of their adolescence since it was realized that most of the parents have neglected their duties of discussing sex-topics with their children and as well impacting their values to them not knowing that they are the first teachers to their children.
• Through the Rescue Centre, a trained teacher was attached to the 21 girls to help with their studies as they are being rescued while awaiting their court cases. The 21 girls were also taken through skills works which involved modeling using newspapers as this makes them realize and nature the different talents. We also supported one girl to join hairdressing and beauty therapy since the girl had dropped out of school and was not finding it easy going back to classwork.
• Through reproductive health seminars, 637 AGYW (adolescent girls and young women) in schools were through healthy talks on how they can handle challenges faced at adolescence stage and as well on menstrual hygiene.
• Continued offering trauma and psychological counseling to the 21 SGBV survivors due to effects caused to them by perpetrators where some were close family members which enables them to open up and narrate their experiences.
• The 12 orphans who are on ART are still supported through the Alternative Family Based Care (AFBC) homes to get the full basic needs necessary for their moral support and also enforce adherence to their drugs hence eliminating frequent sicknesses during their stay at AFBC, and also supported access learning in public schools
• Through linkages with other partners, 3 girl’s victims of sexual violence were linked to Rehema Girls Rescue Centre based in Nairobi for further management and empowerment. Rehema Girls Rescue Centre strives in supporting victims of SGBV that become pregnant by providing two years of skills training in tailoring, hairdressing, weaving, kneading, and jewelry.
• In partnership with the APDK (Association of People Living with Disability in Kenya) Mombasa branch, the program supported referrals for 7 girls and 1 boy PWDs (People With Disabilities) for corrective surgeries. While 6 have successfully been operated on and undergoing physiotherapy sessions, 2 are awaiting surgeries being that they were recently identified from the community and linked with APDK

Challenges

• Inadequate funds to fully purchase all the training materials for the girls to enable them to catch up with the new trends in the markets
• Girls on attachment experience challenges in handling the new machines as it’s their first time experience with that kind of technology.
• Women involved in businesses have challenges in getting the raw materials, this is because the cost of the materials and goods has gone higher due to the economic situation in the country brought about by COVID19.
• Girls in the apprenticeship program who have young children from 2 weeks old have a challenge in concentrating on their training, as there is no baby care where they can leave their children and attend classes without any interference hence concentrating too much on their babies missing some sessions.
• Online marketing is the current trend means of doing business in the country; this has affected the local businesses and most women are also not able to access and use the internet or social media.
• The high cost of goods has also posed challenges on current businesses hence whatever the women are provided with is not adequate to fully make them strong in their families to meet full family needs.
• In cases where the fathers are the perpetrators, some mothers tend to tune the girls so that they do not admit that it was their fathers who raped them to protect their marriages
• There are so many cases of SGBV at the court and so they tend to take too long before they are solved until the rescued lose patience hence imagining that they will never be reunited back to their families
• The COVID 19 pandemic has also created a negative impact on our girls since most of the girls became pregnant countrywide and some ending up getting into early marriage due to poverty. There were also cases of lost and found and physical assault as well. Most of these cases were solved at the village level due to lack of awareness and as well poverty.
• The stigma attached to disability resulting in discrimination especially on children with disabilities
• Ignorance and lack of knowledge of the caregivers/ community hence resulting in the low self-esteem of PWDs
• Misunderstandings about disability such as assumptions that disability is a curse   punishment for bad behavior
• Special vulnerability for females with a disability as compared to their male counterpart

Next quarter activities

• Recruitment of women to join the apprenticeship program
• Conduct assessment on the units covered by each course
• Involving vulnerable young vulnerable women who have been identified in the community for business boost and linking them to market opportunities around.
• Taking parents through families matter program for good parenting purposes
• Supporting students on attachment with fees to get quality support from the institutions and do their NITA examination.
• Offering psychosocial support to women in apprenticeship and women in empowerment program
• Training of business skills and boosting on business ideas to women
• Joining online platforms to promote women in marketing their products
• Offering psychosocial and adherence counselling to children at the AFBC and as well to the rescued girls
• Organizing reproductive health seminars to adolescents

• Offering trauma and psychosocial counseling to the rescued victims to curb stigma and trauma

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  Offering formal learning and skills work training
• Providing sanitary packs to the girls
• Conducting health outreaches
• Creation of awareness on children’s rights and gender-based violence
• Mobilization and identification for PWDs to support in linkage to other social services