Eradicate Female Genital Mutilation in Kenya

• Include close-up, high-resolution photos of your project.
• Tell a story about a constituent. Provide details about how many individuals have been helped.
• Share a brief summary of your activities since the last report.
• Try to keep your report to two to four paragraphs. This allows enough length to provide a substantial report, but not too long to lose your donor’s interest.

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