By Trizah Waiyaki | Operations and Development Director
One of the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been school closure which has exposed children to increased risk of sexual and other form of abuse. Many children in the communities we serve are living with abusing relatives or have been exposed to unsafe working conditions to help supplement the family's income. In Kenya, more than 30,000 teenage pregnancies have been recorded during the pandemic. All these factors have made it nearly impossible for these children to continue with their studies.
At Freely in Hope, we have modified our programs to cater for our community's changing needs. We have moved our scholars into a live-in safe house, providing meals, individualized tutoring and mentorship. This has not only protected our girls from exposure to sexual violence but it has also allowed them to continue pursuing their academic dreams in the midst of the pandemic. We have also distributed over 1,500 resource cards with information on how to identify, prevent and report sexual violence to high school students, with incredible feedback on how helpful the information has been.
We are greatful for our community of donors who's generosity continues to make it possible for us to provide this much needed support to our scholars allowing them to achieve academic excellence even during this pandemic.
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
