Eradicate Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya

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Believe it or not, female genital mutilation (FGM) has a “season”. As perverse as this may sound, the season is based on school holidays and other community cycles. Unfortunately, this last season was an excruciatingly long one, as the schools were out for over 8 weeks, which significantly increased the risk of the girls being cut. In response to this protracted cutting season (and with your help), we ran rescue centers in the regions of Kenya we operate in.  Our Field Officers were on the ground and intimately aware of which girls at the greatest risk, maintaining close communication with them, their families and law enforcement authorities.

In response to an explosion of needs during this season, we had to open two rescue centers, something that was not part of our formula or planned for in our funding program. But our brand as the most effective anti-FGM force compelled us to work with community members, school administrators and authorities to set up these centers in the two Kenyan counties of Kuria and West Pokot. In total we rescued, housed, fed, educated and cared for 200 girls, 80 of them not a part of our program, but delivered by the community members or authorities to our centers for safety.

Why were we the go-to-place for fighting FGM? It was because our three-pronged approach continues to be efficacious in keeping the girls safe. This involves giving the vulnerable girls themselves a voice,   engaging parents and other community stakeholders, and on an as needed basis calling in the authorities who are charged with enforcing the laws banning FGM.

It is your continued support that helps us keep the girls safe and the communities engaged in anti-FGM activities. Please help us to keep the girls safe going forward!We ask you to continue supporting our efforts on behalf of the girls. This helps them reach their dreams of a better and healthier life. Some of you have opted to be recurring donors, which brings us matching dollars from GlobalGiving.  A million thanks from me, our team, and of course the girls, for supporting us.

Please follow us on Instagram and Twitter @LastMile_4D. Also, visit our website at www.lastmile4d.org to learn about our work and make contribution to us, directly during the year.

Links:

• Here is a report about our rescue center in Kuria.
• We rescued over 200 girls in two counties that are hotbed of FGM

Thanks to your support that helped us enroll more girls in our anti-FGM efforts in Migori, Kenya (the site of our initial project), we have also expanded our programs to West Pokot, another FGM practicing region of Kenya. In the two communities we have enrolled 1750 girls total since May of 2022. Through that process we learned that eight of the enrollees had already undergone FGM. While this saddened us, we nonetheless encouraged them to participate and they have become potent and active voices against FGM.

But our success has mostly come because our three-pronged approach continues to be efficacious against the pernicious practice of FGM. The formula of giving girls a voice, engaging community leaders, parents, and other stakeholders, and lastly working directly with the authorities and law enforcement, continues being an effective trifecta in breaking apart the cultural, social, and economic systems that perpetuate FGM. Operationally, since May we have held 13 community meetings and engaged close to 1,600 stakeholders. In the community meetings our teams talk about the harm that FGM imposes on the girls, the negative effects on their marriage life, their economic prospects, and the health of future generations. As a result, more than 1/3 of the families that have been in our meetings have signed public declarations that they will not cut their daughters. Men and even a few elders, have begun speaking out against the practice of FGM. And local authorities have joined us to speak about the illegality of FGM at our community meetings.

Despite a difficult funding environment and resistance from certain tribes in Kenya, our community workers on the frontlines continue to inspire us to remain steadfast. They encourage us to help them stay vigilant and continue our fund raising as we head into the cutting season from the end of November until the first week of January. As we head into this dangerous and high-risk period, we are now preparing for a safehouse and shelter for those girls that runaway to escape being mutilated.

One very positive development is that we are now working with the United Nations Joint Program in their effort to eradicate FGM. While this exciting relationship bodes well for the long-term, we need your financial support now more than ever to continue our efforts in the short and medium term.

Please help us to keep the girls safe! Your generosity will help us keep the girls safe and in school. It is your contribution that has made Last Mile4D’s work possible. We appreciate your support up until now. We ask you to continue your support for our intervention efforts on behalf of the girls, so they can reach their dreams of a better and healthier life. Some of you have opted to be recurring donors, which brings us matching dollars from GlobalGiving. A million thanks from me, our team, and of course the girls, for supporting us.

Please follow us on Instagram and Twitter @LastMile_4D. Also, visit our website at www.lastmile4d.org to learn about our work and make contribution to us, directly during the year.

Links:

• A conversation about Shadow Pandemic