Gender Equality Tanzania, United Republic of Project #16843

Protect Girls from FGM in Tanzania

by Tanzania Development Trust

Project Report | Nov 21, 2022
Continuing to Protect Girls from FGM in Tanzania

By Rhobi Samwelly | Project Leader

community outreach

Since 2017, when Rhobi founded the organisation “Hope for Girls and Women” to shelter and support people escaping of gender based violence like FGM 3972 girls have been rescued and now have new opportunities to build a better life.

Thanks to generous donors like you, Hope runs:

Two safe houses, providing basic needs such as food, clothes, sandals, bed sheets, mattresses, and also health checks, medications, counseling sessions and other activities like yoga, music, dance and social events
Access to formal education, uniforms and education materials
Community forums to build awareness about women’s rights
Partnerships and Collaborations to ensure girls in danger can be found quickly - We use OpenStreetMap to map Mara region and empower Tanzanian women - named as “Digital Champions” - to monitor their villages and report cases of violence using smartphones.
Reconciliations works encouraging and counseling parents to receive back their girls after fleeing from FGM. This process involves police gender desk officials and social services. Families are required to complete legal documentation confirming their daughters will be treated well and allowed to continue their education..
Classes and sessions of vocational training to support women’s entrepreneurship and learn skills such as tailoring.
Organising talks to persuade cutters to stop FGM - We work with ex cutters such as Mama Mohabe, who decided to drop her tools and now helps to create awareness to the community on the effects of FGM. She was considered a traitor for a while but after reporting this to the police she is now at peace and happy with her new life.
Outreach work to share stories and informations about FGM subject and other types of gender based violence locally and globally - We recently showed to community boys the award winning film “In The Name of Your Daughter”. It explores the impact of FGM in Northern Tanzania and the work that we do to prevent it.

Since our last report we have:

-219 girls and women supported at the safe houses;

-139 families trained to commit to not cutting their girls;

-146 remote villages monitored in Mara region of Tanzania using the app OpenStreetMap, helping a lot to report girls and women at risk to the relevant authorities

-More than 21 awareness events engaging the community about women’s rights

-More than 100 girls managed to have Formal Education and Vocational Trainings

Top priorities of the next period

-Girls rescue camp to protect who are flee from FGM

-Enhance supporting education

-Enhance the reconciliation process between girls in the safe houses and their parents

-Fit families training to support stay with girls and children with light cases to their homes and promote continuous parental care.

Thank you for your help and generosity!

reconciliation

outreach

ex-cutter

tailoring class

graduation

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Jul 26, 2022
Interventions to Overcome Gender-Based Violence

By Rhobi Samwelly | Hope for Girls and Women

Many girls in our community have avoided gender-based violence due to the necessary interventions and resources provided through your support. Our Digital Champions have reported at least 36 cases in June alone, and, according to our latest reports, 86 girls reside in our Mugumu Safe House while 59 girls reside in our Butiama Safe House. We have continued to support their education and entrepreneurial endeavours such as tailoring, soap making, and pad distribution.

Our community outreach programs continue to educate locals on the risks of female genital mutilation and attempt to reconcile girls with their families. In June, we counseled parents not to cut their daughters where a total of 140 girls were identified as at-risk in Serengeti. Our school club programs continue to build a network of students and teachers as well. We have created awareness to a total of 10,500 boys and 12,109 girls during our latest outreach to 22 schools.

Research, community sensitization, and training have also been equally as important. We have been pursuing a Fit Persons program in which we have identified and trained 30 people to provide continual parental care to girls who have been estranged from their families. This program is in its early stages, though in the month of June, 5 Fit Persons have received 5 children.

Female genital mutilation continues to be an urgent issue that festers in our community. We received information that 13 clans plan to start cutting in June, September, and December 2022. These will be conducted in private so we are working with our local partners such as Digital Champions, school districts, and anti-FGM groups in order to intervene.

Your donations make a huge impact in the lives of those in rural Tanzania. Thank you for continuing to support our work and being a part of our more global community.

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Mar 30, 2022
Continuing to Champion Girls' Rights

By Rhobi Samwelly | Hope for Girls and Women

Dear Friend,

Thank you for continuing to be a part of our global community. Our work in local Tanzania wouldn't be possible without this incredible network.

Our latest reports have shown that 52 girls are staying at Butiama while 84 girls are staying at Mugumu. We're continuing to support their education either through formal education (primary and secondary school), vocational training, or hotel management and hospitality. Our counseling sessions have also been successful, with each girl having the choice of joining individual or group sessions. We've developed a home garden in Mugumu and Butiama through our ongoing agricultural activities. We have also been educating girls on reproductive health, and through that process, we have started producing pads. We purchased 6 sewing machines and have created over 200 pads so far. Our Digital Champions have reported at least 7 cases of gender-based violence, and at least 12 cases are being processed through legal systems.

We've conducted work beyond our safe houses as well. In celebration of International Women's Week, we hosted a virtual careers event that brought together a number of women working across industries, including aviation and wildlife. We have also hosted an event for mapping regions of Tanzania to support our local rescue operations. We are always looking for new ways to continue growing our network, expanding our horizons, and championing gender equality together.

We are continuing to facilitate rescue operations, community education, and reconciliation. We've made many strides but these practices are still embedded in our local regions. We hope that you continue to be a part of our journey as we strive to end female genital mutilation in its entirety.

Thank you!

Rhobi Samwelly
Hope for Girls and Women

Career Mentors

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