By Gladys Kiranto | Project Founder
The Story of my Sister Helen:
My name is Helen. I was born in 1985, as the 6th child in a polygamous family which counted my father and his 6 wifes.
My village where I grew up is called Osupuko. It is located near Kilgoris in the Transmara West District.
I completed primary school 8 years in Osupuko.
My education ended at the age of 14 when my parents decided that it was time for me to get married. According to the Maasai tradition, a girl can only be seen as a woman once she has undergone the traditional passage to adulthood during a celebration whereby each girl undergoes female genital mutilation (FGM).
Shortly after, I was married to a young man whose parents became increasingly negative about our union for the fact that we were both very young. At one point, he was sent back to school and I was left alone at home with 3 small children, all girls. First I thought I could manage but the job was too hard on me so after a while I decided to go back to my parents even though I knew there would be little support from their side. At least, I had more peace of mind.
FGM has been a traumatic experience which impacted on me and my children. I often felt rejected, stigmatized and isolated by others of my age or my former schoolmates. We didn´t have always food, we couldn´t afford clothes and during the most critical times we had no place to stay.
My sister Gladys called me when she started Tareto Maa, to assist her with her new project. I liked the idea to be working to help other children escape the devastating consequences caused by FGM and forced marriage. Today, I am very happy to be working for Tareto Maa and to see that my children have enough food, a home, clothes and most important for us Maasai that they are going to school.
Tareto Maa is a blessing for our community. More than ever, I want to continue protecting the new generation of young girls from FGM and see that what was done to me will finally cease. It is through education that we can bring FGM to an end. For this, I dedicate all my time and energy.
I take this opportunity to thank Gladys enormously for giving me the chance to
work for Tareto Maa and also all the sponsors from all over the world who are
supporting this wonderful project.
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