Prevent Female Genital Mutilation
Project overview
The goal of this project is to create a community free from Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), free from fear of curses, myths and taboos, enabling young women to celebrate and enjoy a full life.
In Kenya, our Loreto Sisters work to educate women, men and community leaders about the dangers of this harmful cultural practice, which the World Health Organization has called ‘a form of torture.’ The Loreto Sisters initiated the Termination of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) Project in 1998 in response to information from communities and alarming reports in the media. Approximately one in every five women and girls aged 15 to 49 years in Kenya has endured FGM – a practice that is a violation of the rights of women and girls.
Most victims are cut by traditional villagers, including birth attendants in the home. However, girls are now increasingly being cut by health care providers to reduce complications – a practice known as the medicalisation of FGM. The project aims to equip more trainers who will reach more communities at the grassroots level. The focus area is Kajiado county, where the Maasai ethnic group practices cross border cutting, taking girls to Tanzania to be cut.
Loreto Sister Ephigenia Gachiri has dedicated her life to ending the barbaric practise in Kenya where it is estimated 27% of women aged 15 to 49 have undergone FGM. The latest estimates show that three million girls and women are at risk of mutilation every year – approximately 8,000 girls per day.
One of the major issues in eradicating FGM is that there is an enormous amount of culturalism importance placed on this rite of passage, which is believed to prepare a girl for motherhood. As a result, the project has taken a holistic approach. Teachers, community gate keepers, youth, chiefs, law makers and enforcers are engaged to ensure it can be addressed as a community problem and not as women and girls’ problem only.
The project currently operates in over eight constituencies of the Rift Valley in Kenya with an established network of field officers who assist in the coordination of the project, its progress and milestones.
Project activities
- Provide girls and boys with an alternative rites of passage from childhood to adulthood
- Conduct one day school seminars for boys and girls on child safeguarding
- Advocate and campaign for the protection of women and children
- Assist FGM survivors including the referral of women with fistula conditions to hospital for corrective surgeries
- Research the root cause of FGM to address the problem
- Produce and translate FGM material for village campaigns
- Train the community, local leaders and peers about the atrocity of FGM
Project achievements
- The lives of over 20,000 girls have been transformed through the project since it began in 1998!
It is hoped the project will be financially sustainable through:
- Income from the Abundant Life Centre’s farm including: dairy, poultry, sheep and pig keeping and vegetable farming
- Income from workshops at the centre
- Income from regular donors
- Support from the global Loreto Sisters community
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ON termination of female genital mutilation
Nyumbani Village Scholarships
Project overview
The Nyumbani Children’s Village is situated in the Kitui District, Eastern Province of Kenya. Developed in 2004, it currently gives direct support to 939 orphans, and 97 grandparents and carers impacted by the AIDS epidemic. A grandparent or carer may head a family of approximately 10 children. The goal of this project is to assist families that have had the main wage earner die due to HIV/AIDS. Approximately 581,400 Kenyan children are orphaned by the virus, and over 105,200 children under the age of 14 are living with HIV/AIDS*.
These children lack basic necessities such as food, clothing and shelter. They lack parental love, medical, psychological, spiritual care and educational opportunities. To help break the cycle of poverty through education, the compound currently has a primary, secondary, and Vocational Training Centre. Students who aspire to have a university education must seek this elsewhere. This project specifically aims to assist two students pursuing Diploma courses at university.
The Nyumbani Village provides a stable home for the most vulnerable. Even in poverty and drought-stricken areas of Africa it is possible to live in safe shelter and receive an education.
* National AIDs Control Council | Kenya HIV Estimates 2018
Project activities
- Provide quality tertiary education scholarships to two orphaned young people from the Nyumbani Village
- Help young people gain employment or start their own businesses to become self-reliant and financially secure
- Upon graduation, and once they have gained employment, each scholarship recipient is asked to support their siblings who remain in the Village
Recent project achievements
- Two scholarships have been awarded
- At present the project is investing heavily in Primary and Secondary education to ensure that students perform very well in their Form IV examinations and enter government funded institutions, where they can easily access bursaries and student loans
- The project has started a primary, secondary and polytechnic in the compound. Last year 44 candidates sat their Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE). Some of these students pursue courses that are not offered at the polytechnic, while others are admitted to universities or institutions of higher learning. It is this group that are seeking scholarships
- Nyumbani Village has a reintegration program whereby once a family member gains employment, they return to the family home and care for them
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD A PROJECT SUMMARY FLYER
ON nyumbani village scholarships
