By Dr Grace Mose Okong'o | Project leader
Dear Friends, Colleagues, and supporters,
In our last report we did mention that the Gisebei primary school invited the health promoters and HFAW staff back on March 6th to speak to the parents of the children about child abuse, children’s rights and FGM. We knew that this was going to be hard to do considering our meager resources. Thanks to your help we are glad we made it.
The health promoter turnout was great as always. Over 400 parents joined their children, the teachers, some guests and a local catholic choir on the school play ground. There were other education officials who came to witness the award giving as this was an educational day for the pupils. The health promoters got a brief period to share their knowledge with parents and they used it well. First, they offered an educational song filled with messages and action and then conducted a child abuse play and children’s rights. This action packed episode was entertaining but very educational; a song recrafted to urge the parents, teachers, educators and children to stop all kinds of harmful practices ranging from FGM to child abuse.The song urged them to come together for the good such as education. The parents expressed total interest to hear more even when we had to let the school carry on with other agenda. The headmaster requested that I take a few minutes to address the parents. I took advantage of this to recap the issues for the parents. Through question and answer method we knew that that these abuses happen and very frequently in their neighborhood and they disapprove. I asked, are there parents among you who beat up their children and sometimes bite or burn them up? They answered in chorus with loud “yes” from one question to the other. To this moment we were pleased at the responses. But not with FGM.
We were not completely shocked to expect women especially shout that they wanted FGM to continue. We are already aware of how they hide kids and mutilate them at night since the passing of antifgm bill. Many women especially were saying that anything else can end but not FGM. FGM is equivalent to motherhood, how can it end? Right there we know that our work is cut out for us. The health promoters have publicly sworn not to continue with the practice but they came to this conclusion after very personalized, intimate and participatory discussions with them in way that they had to probe the practice themselves and find answers. We know that the approach can work if only we can reach as many women and men as possible. We were pleased however that the youth and children are getting it. HFAW staff and health promoters began to find out what they know from our last engagement with them. The ones who had a chance to share their views revealed that they condemn child abuse, FGM and support child rights. With that we know that intervening with youth and children is the first step to ending these vices and especially FGM.
Today’s development just like many of our episodes left each of the health promoters and HFAW staff with an urgency. The urgency to reach more youth and children, women and men. Our methods do work but our resources are just not there. We passionately appeal to you to reach out to your friends and relatives to support this work. It is worth fighting for that one child, one youth, one woman and one man who gets it for our future depends on them. View some of the photos from March 6th, 2015.
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