By Kakenya Ntaiya | President and Founder
Dear Friends,
In April, we hosted our week-long health and leadership training camp on our campus. Our 6th grade girls were joined with 60 girls from other schools throughout the Transmara region. The trainers from I’m Worth Defending in Nairobi and our local trainers exposed the girls to different topics from FGM and legal rights to sexual health and prevention.
These trainings are a reality check for our staff and team. It reminds us of the tremendous need for health education, self-defense training and empowerment building outside our campus walls. The reality is that in Kenya, 85% of all sexual assaults occur in the home with someone the victim knows. Several girls that come to our camp have been violated and have never spoken about it or received any counseling. Our program continues to adapt to the needs and challenges of all the girls we serve. In addition to teaching girls how to protect themselves we are now in the process of hiring a certified counselor to work with girls who have already been victims of sexual assault. I know this counseling will be a tremendous support for many girls.
The days at camp are not completely filled with “structured time.” Every day the girls gather informally to simply share stories about life in their villages and to “compare notes” as all girls across cultures and continents do! I was thrilled to be in Enoosaen for the spring camp. I shared my early childhood experience with the girls who were very excited about my accomplishment and felt personally challenged to do the same. The girls shared with me some of their own challenges but also their hopes and dreams for their homes and community. I left campus feeling motivated and determined to continue advocating for them and all girls in Kenya.
Thank you for supporting this Health and Leadership Training program. I feel blessed to have so many people validating our efforts through your continued support.
Sincerely,
Kakenya
By Kakenya Ntaiya, PhD | President and Founder
By Kate Robinson | Development and Communications Associate
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