Thank you so much for your support of this project providing families we work with in Kenya with the means to survive the challenges and impact the pandemic has brought to their lives. This project is bringing people together through education, peer support, skills training, information and resources. All the while supporting development of stronger health systems with training and resources for health care workers to support their communities.
One of the donation items in this project is to support girls and women with sustainable sanitary packs which contain reusable sanitary pads with instructions on how to make more. Without access to menstrual health resources, girls and women miss out on school and work for up to 1 week every month. Providing this sustainable solution means that girls can stay in school and finish their education and women can accomplish more in the workforce. The pads are just one part of our Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights programme of education in schools and in the community. Having the means and knowledge to take control of their own menstrual health helps contribute to the elimination of gender based violence, increases understanding of human rights, reduces teenage pregnancy and ultimately helps break the cycle of poverty.
On Saturday, June 3rd, 500 students and their teachers from 13 schools gathered to celebrate Menstrual Health Day in Londiani. This is an annual global day focusing on menstrual health challenges, ending stigma and raising awareness. Brighter Communities Worldwide facilitated the day to bring the students together for workshops on sexual reproductive health, games, learning about menstrual health, discussing challenges, learning about the sustainable sanitary packs.
This year the global theme was to show ‘we are committed’ to making menstruation a normal part of life for all of us – it’s no longer ‘womens’ business’ it is ‘community business’!
One of the highlights of the event was seeing how the boys engaged on the day. They took part with enthusiasm and asked lots of questions. To close the event, there were some speakers including teachers and representatives from the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health. Then two boys speaking on behalf of Londiani Township and Londiani Boys High Schools, spoke of their commitment. One said – “we now understand there are some things we can do to help our girl child and we say to you today, see how your brothers have come to help you” and the other boy said “it is our duty to provide for our girls and daughters the necessary materials – if we provide for them, menstruation will be alike any other biological process in our bodies. It is time to come together so that we can achieve equality in our society”.
Providing families with the means to survive involves the whole community and raising awareness of the issues and challenges facing different sections of the community. Witnessing the response from the students, the adults of tomorrow, gives hope because with this project they are taking charge of their future and challenging inequality. Thank you for the part you play in this with your donations.
Thank you so much for donating to this project providing families in Kenya with the means to survive through these challenging times. This is a big project with an ambitious target and with your support we are getting there. We say that change does not come overnight but slowly with each person, household, volunteer and donor it grows. Our focus on supporting girls and women while involving boys and men is addressing inequalities, creating lasting change and in the long run helping to lift communities out of poverty.
March 8th is International Womens’ Day and we are celebrating and marking this day throughout this month with community workshops. Men and women are taking part at six different locations across the county. They are discussing the challenges women in the community are facing and looking at how these challenges can be turned into change for the better. They are imagining a more gender equal world free of stereotypes and discrimination and talking about the myths and taboos in their own communities that they have the power to break. Each year International Womens’ Day carries a different theme and this year it is #EmbraceEquity with the aim of getting the world talking about why equal opportunities aren’t enough.
Icebreakers, discussion groups, games and role plays are used with the participants at the workshops. They are challenged to see that if we want to create a more inclusive and gender equal world we need to recognise that everybody comes from different circumstances and with different needs. Equity is about acknowledging that and taking action to address it because providing equal opportunities alone are not enough to ensure all members of the community are included.
In the families where we work, traditionally girls and women carry the load of daily household tasks like collecting water, gathering wood for cooking fires/stoves and looking after the kitchen garden growing vegetables for the family. For girls who have dropped out of school during COVID-19 they are left with limited education and more likely to follow traditional roles. Their confidence and self-esteem is low, they are not aware of their rights and so they are more vulnerable to early marriage, gender-based violence and teenage pregnancy. The cycle of poverty continues.
The workshops taking place this month raise awareness of these circumstances and the challenges including sexual and reproductive health and rights, female genital mutilation, menstrual health and access to education that prevent girls and women reaching their full potential. Armed with this awareness the participants are better equipped to take action that will create change. Keeping their girls in school, taking part in more of our community based workshops, breaking down the barriers that keep us from seeing that gender equality is within our power.
We are participating in the GlobalGiving Little by Little campaign from April 3rd to 7th where all your donations up to €50 will be matched at 50%. Please consider supporting this project again – your donation leads to real and lasting change for the families we are working with.
Thank you so much for your donation to this project which continues to provide vital support to the families we work with. Every donation helps us to strengthen communities by giving them the tools they need to build themselves up and make change happen. This is a huge challenge right now as these families face the triple impact of Conflict, COVID-19 and Climate Change.
During this past month, there have been several events and trainings involving volunteers from the community who support the delivery of this project. This report captures some of these activities highlighting how our model of community development works through partnerships and bringing people together.
At the end of October, a community in Kipkelion West were introduced to our programme to provide training and resources to generate income. The people at this meeting included chiefs, clergy, Boda Boda drivers, youth (male & female), department of social services, elders, womens groups, persons with disability and representatives from Savings and Credit Co-operative (SACCO). The meeting shared feedback with each other about the challenges facing the different groups in their community. They discussed which groups should be prioritised when planning business trainings with Brighter Communities Worldwide. This is the first step to putting trainings and resources such as bee-keeping equipment, goats, seeds etc. in place with this community.
November/December is traditionally the time when Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) takes place in certain communities. So right now the community are mobilising against this and instead proposing an Alternative Rite of Passage that will save girls from cutting. Volunteers from Kapsoit trained to be facilitators in their community. This is repeated in many villages as families are encouraged to choose a safer path for their daughters and say No to FGM.
Each month we hold outreach clinics at dispensary’s located in hard to reach parts of the county. On World Immunisation Day, November 10th Jagoror dispensary had 57 mothers come with their babies for routine immunisation and 60 children were covered. 53 students received their HPS vaccine 1st dose and 12 had their second dose. A total of 101 students received their COVID-19 vaccination.
Several trainings took place for Community Health Volunteers in the last month on how to operate an ANC tracker. This is the system which follows women through their pregnancy with at least 4 Ante Natal Care visits and encourages delivery at a health facility.
Community Health Volunteers at Chepkoiyo held a dialogue day on November 11th. This is a day to discuss what challenges they have seen as volunteers in their community. Their list included – malnutrition among the children; many teenage pregnancies; poor access to clean water and low toilet coverage meaning not every household has a pit latrine. After discussion, they decided that malnutrition is the number one challenge to be addressed right now and they are planning an action day in their community to highlight the issue and work together to try to improve the situation.
The next big day for donating is Giving Tuesday on November 29th. This is our biggest opportunity of the year to raise vital funds to support this project and avail of GlobalGiving’s campaign to #MoveAMillion in bonus funds of $1.2 million. If you can donate again, mark your calendars please!
Thank you so much for your donation to this project supporting families in Kenya to survive the fall out of the pandemic. Since the project began, the impact of climate change, COVID-19 and conflict has grown more than we could have anticipated to put families under even more pressure. Your support is so vital and we really appreciate it.
Climate change has led to the worst drought the horn of Africa region has seen in 40 years. In Kenya, drought conditions are northwest of Kericho county where we work and the impact is felt right across the country already vulnerable from loss of income because of COVID-19. The war in Ukraine is driving up the prices of food and fuel as supplies of wheat and oil are disrupted. East Africa imports 90% of its wheat - a staple food source - from Ukraine and Russia. Levels of malnutrition are rising with people going hungry because they can't afford to buy food.
This project is about providing support so that families and the health system become stronger and more resilient so that in the long run the cycle of poverty is broken. Supplies of soap, water containers, PPE, vaccine cooler boxes, fridges for storage have continued to be distributed to community, health facilities and schools in the fight against COVID-19.
When poverty levels rise in the way they are doing, girls and women become more vulnerable. There is an increase in child marriage as families are forced to marry off their teenage daughters for a bride price and because with one less mouth to feed they might struggle less. With early marriage comes a rise in cases of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). This project supports the Alternative Rite of Passage courses for girls as part of our programme to end FGM. So far this year there have been 48 courses held with 50 girls at each one. There will be more at the end of this year. The courses take 5 days and finish with a public affirmation from the girls, their families, neighbours and village leaders that collectively they stand against FGM.
In response to a rise in teenage pregnancies, we are currently rolling out courses in sexual reproductive health and rights for youth groups in the region. It is so important that girls and boys get to stay in school and finish their education. Knowledge brings strength, confidence and power and young people need this now more than ever if they are to survive the pandemic.
Business training courses offer the tools and skills to learn about business as well as resources for groups setting up income generating projects. Resources included coffee plant seeds, tree nursery tools, goats, sheep, chickens and safety clothing for bee keeping. So far this year, 20 business training courses have been delivered to 283 people. In that number were 169 youths and 56 persons with disabilities (PWD). The 20 groups trained included 6 women's, 6 PWD and 2 mens groups with the rest mixed. We want to make sure that no one is left behind and so priority is given to the most vulnerable in the community.
This project supports programmes that provide for every member of the family so that as a unit they become stronger, communities grow in strength and help each other through. Thank you for being part of this with your donation.
If you would like to donate again, then next Wednesday July 20th GlobalGiving are offering matching funds as part of their July Bonus Day campaign. Keep an eye out for messages from Brighter Communities Worldwide about this campaign and how your donation can be amplified with matching funds!
Stay safe and thank you so much for your support.
Rose Hennessy
on behalf of Brighter Communities Worldwide
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