Leadership Training for Girls in Rural Kenya

In May, Kakenya’s Dream launched its extensive six-month Health and Leadership Training in an effort to teach more girls and boys in our community essential information as they approach and navigate through adolescence. The trainings provide resources on reproductive health and rights as well as the harmful effects of female genital mutilation (FGM) and early marriage. We train youth Mentor Trainers, many of whom are program alumnae, to deliver the curriculum in a fun and engaging manner. The Mentors offer their friendship and guidance to facilitate group discussion on gender-related inequalities from the girl-centric perspective. This peer-led approach allows participants to learn how to advocate for themselves and others, develop effective communication and leadership skills, and build relationships with adults in the community who can lend support without judgement or stigma.

We collaborate closely with the Ministry of Education in an effort to expand our programming across the region. More schools each year express an interest in participating in our trainings. In 2021, we have been hard at work expanding our program capacity to fifteen additional schools, an increase from ten the previous year, and in 2022, we plan to partner with twenty more schools. 

The ongoing COVID pandemic has underscored the importance of health education. Over the course of the past year, we have witnessed an  increase in the number of unplanned, teenage pregnancies in our communities. We, in response, created the Linda Dada (“Protect a Sister” in Swahili) campaign as an extension of our Health and Leadership Trainings to raise awareness of and reduce unplanned teen pregnancies by working with various stakeholders, including community leaders, parents, teachers, media, and nurses. The Linda Dada campaign provides critical sexual and reproductive health information, training on healthy interpersonal communication and relationships, as well as forums to have honest conversations around related topics traditionally seen as taboo, such as FGM and child marriage. To date, we have held a series of stakeholder meetings and have partnered with local media to launch an advocacy campaign which has reached over 325,000 people.

We remain excited about the potential of our revamped Health and Leadership Trainings and the Linda Dada campaign. We look forward to providing you more updates on both in the coming months and years!

After 10 long months, Kakenya’s Dream fully reopened its two campuses on January 4! Our girls were excited to see their teachers, matrons, staff, and friends, and to continue their education in a safe and nurturing environment.

Our teachers, staff, and students are acutely aware that COVID-19 remains a threat, and have taken strict precautions to avoid the spread of the virus by forming a learning “bubble” on campus. Prior to our students’ return, our faculty and staff received COVID-19 training so that they could uphold strict health standards and protect our girls’ wellbeing. We also supplied each student, teacher, and staff member with double-layered cloth masks upon their return. For a month, we performed daily temperature checks on our students and enforced strict mask wearing, hand washing, and social distancing protocols. With no symptoms of COVID-19 present on our campuses, our students are now able to continue learning without masks within the safety of the campus “bubble.”

Linet, one of our Class 7 students, says that being back on campus has brought her a great sense of happiness: “I’m happy sharing the dormitories with my classmates, especially my bedmate. She makes me laugh before I go to bed...even competing with other people in sports, you feel like you’re happy everywhere you go.”

Despite the joy on campus, our girls faced emotional stress at home related to abuse, the pressure to get married, and other cultural barriers. Our initial priority was our girls’ nutritional and physical health, but we are now focusing on their mental health and wellbeing. Our experienced school counselor is supporting our students by helping them overcome any trauma they faced at home and ensuring that any new mental health needs are addressed promptly. Once our girls’ physical, nutritional, and mental health needs are met, they will be able to concentrate on their studies and more effectively make up for lost time.

The COVID-19 pandemic is far from over, but we are excited to see what our students will achieve now that they are back in the optimal environment to thrive, become leaders, and achieve their potential.

We look forward to providing you with more updates on our girls as the year progresses!

Links:

• Video - Our Girls are Back at School
• Website