Protect Girls from FGM in Tanzania

September has been another meaningful month for us at Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania (HGWT). Thanks to your continued support, we have been able to offer protection, education and empowerment to girls and young women escaping harmful practices such as FGM, child marriage and GBV.

Safe Houses:Providing Protection and Hope

Our two safe houses in Mugumu and Butiama continued to provide safety and shelter to 182 survivors in September.

• At Mugumu Safe House, we supported 88 girls incluidng survivors of FGM, child marriage, battery and vulnerable children and admit new girls.
• At Butiama Safe House, we provided care to 94 girls with new admissions of girls escaping early marriage and abuse

During the month, 4 girls successfully reconciled with their families and 4 new children were rescued in collaboartion with social welfare officers and police.

Education and Skills Training

Education remains a cornerstone of our work. This month, 173 survivors across both safe houses attended different education levels; from Primary school level to Vocational and tour guide courses.

We also provided school supplies and learning materials to support their academic journey. Beyond formal education, the girls engaged in vocational skills training such as tailoring, beekeeping, gardening, bracelet making and hotel management to help them build self - reliance.

Agriculture and Gardening

Through our Sayuni Garden, the girls learned organic farming methods and harvested a variety of vegetables including tomatoes, spinach, collard greens and African nightshade. These activities not only support our daily nutrition needs but also empower the girls with practical life skills.

Legal Support and Justine

In partnership with the Police Gender Desk and Social Welfare Offices, we continued to pursue justice for survivors. The number of active court cases has dropped from 14 to 3, marking a significant step farward in resolving pending legal matters.

Wellbeing, Training and Empowerment

• 18 yoga sessions were held via zoom to boost physical and mental well - being.
• self - defense training, supported by Polish Aid, equipped 78 girls with skills to protect themselves from harm.
• First Aid and Personal hygiene trainings were conducted at Butiama safe house to improve health knowledge and preparedness.

Ongoing Challenges

While we celebrate our achievements, we continue to face major challanges including:

• Limited funds for daily safe house operations (food, education, healthcare, personal needs etc).
• Operatinh in rented facilities, which limits our capacity during peak rescue seasons.

Your continued support helps us bridge these gaps and ensure that every girl can live in safety and dignity.

The former “season” when girls became targets for FGM has been replaced with constant risk for girls because we are making inroads into protecting them and changing entrenched traditions. However families still prefer tradition to health, safety and wellbeing of their daughters and Hope for Girls is struggling to keep ahead of the families who have the intent to cut their daughters. HFG’s is struggling to achieve the necessary to educate and protect those taken in and maintain Safe Houses.

Our Mission includes

• protest FGM,
• defends and advocates for girls’ and women’s rights against gender based violence and child marriage
• We believe by providing education to girls and the community at large is in the best interest of all,
• Strengthen love and solidarity in the community
• Create a community which is free from bad traditional ties
• Grow as a community with dignity and development that will collectively declare an End to FGM, child marriage and other forms of Gender Based Violence.

Review:

Hope for Girls and Women currently supports survivors in its two safe houses Butiama and Mugumu . Parallel with the safe houses, we are conducting community outreach in five districts; Serengeti, Butiama,Tarime, Rorya and Bunda but receive girls from other regions in the county as well.

In Butiama safe house we have recently reconciled 2 girls with their parents and now host a total of 93 girls while in Mugumu Safe house we managed to reconcile 7 children with their parents/relatives and host a total of 81 girls in this safe house of whom 1 girl was rescued from a child marriage. Each reconciliation is a step forward to success although it is not always successful as in the case of the child marriage this month.

Reconciliation:

During the month of May, Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania in collaboration with social welfare from Serengeti, Butiama, and Tarime District offices managed to conduct the reconciliation session meeting and succeeded to meet the parents of 9 girls, the parents/gardians who surrendered themselves to the Police Gender Desk, Social Welfare office and HGWT accepting to take care of their daughters with all basic needs.

Education:

Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania continues to enable girls to go to school for them to achieve a brighter future. We have girls in different colleges: O’ level, primary schools and university. The organization has successfully managed to support the girls by providing them with basic needs, school materials and materials for skill practices, such as machinery and tool s. The weekly budget per girl can be expensive and difficult to manage by the end of the month and we rely on donors. We have 174 children in schooling under our care and guidance this season.

Additionally

A. Giving Counseling to the girl survivors plays a vital role in nurturing. Specific mental health disciplines are essential. At safe houses we always provide individual and group counseling.

B. HGWT staff continue to collaborate with the Police Gender Desk Office and Social Welfare Office to ensure that they can help girls who are victims of acts of gender violence by cooperating with the courts to obtain their legal rights under the laws of the United Republic of Tanzania. We currently have 9 cases in various points of legal action.

CHALLENGES:

We are nearly past the early months of 2025 and it is a struggle as usual but we work with optimism. Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania is running two Safe Houses without having a reliable and stable source of funding to support the running cost. We currently have 174 girls who need to be given maximum care in terms of human basic needs including; food, accommodation, education, personal items, medication and the many other basic need items.

Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania is addressing a new challenge in the Serengeti District in order to have permanent buildings in the future to accommodate 80 – 100 girl survivors. The current Safe House Mugumu will not be available in 2026 and it must be replaced by a development on our own property. Our current fundraising goal is to include the following:

• Strong Fence for Security purpose
• Water tank for preserving water
• Administration block
• Staff quarters
• Office equipment
• Reliable source of internet access
• School Bus for transport

 ACHIEVEMENTS:

Professional Training, on going, brings together various stakeholders committed to child protection, fostering a collaborative environment for learning and sharing

best practices. The child protection training conducted by Haki Elimu at Morogoro, represents a crucial step towards strengthening child safeguarding mechanisms in Tanzania. The knowledge and skills imparted will undoubtedly contribute to creating safer and more protective environments for children, in line with national and international child protection standards.

CONCLUSION:

Hope for Girls and Women in Tanzania, would like to acknowledge and appreciate our partners, friends, individuals and donors

for their many contributions towards our project. Without your continued input and interest in these girl’s lives we would not have the facilities and opportunities available to give them an opportunity to seize life and education for their brighter future.

With gratitude, Rhobi