Rescue Maasai Girls from Female Genital Mutilation

We are proud to announce a small but epic victory against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). 

We admitted a young girl named Nelly into our program four years ago. After establishing the fact that Nelly was indeed at great risk of FGM, we sent our team to collect her and she moved into our safe house. It took some doing but she was soon enrolled into a nearby boarding school.

At that time, Nelly was a frightened 13-year-old girl who knew that she could not go home. All she wanted was to stay in school and be with her friends. She didn’t know much about the implications of FGM or what her life would be like if she were sold into early marriage.

It was indeed a difficult period for Nelly but Mary, our house mother, took care of her as if she were her own daughter.

Over the years, it became clear to Nelly’s birth mother that it would not be possible for her to remove Nelly from school. She would not be able to reap a dowry by selling her daughter into marriage after the FGM “preparation for marriage” process. (please write to info@globalroots.org if you want to learn more about what this means).

Global Roots representatives in Kenya made it clear to Mary’s mother that anyone who illegally pulled Mary from boarding school to be illegally subjected to FGM and sold into marriage would be turned over to the local police.

This is when the magic started to happen. Gradually, Nelly’s mother started to see a change in her once meek and shy daughter. Nelly was suddenly more confident. She could read and do complex mathematical equations. When not in boarding school, Nelly would help Mary with chores around the Safe House, taking care of younger children, making meals and doing whatever Mary needed.

Intrigued by her daughter, Nelly’s mother started to check in with Nelly herself. Suddenly employed at a local gold mine operation, Nelly’s mother had funds that she could deliver to Nelly at her school so that Nelly could take part in group activities. Nelly and her mother started to build a different kind of relationship. Nelly’s mother no longer saw Nelly as a commodity to sold at the marketplace. Nelly was becoming a powerful young woman and her mother wanted to be part of her life.

In two weeks, Nelly will take the college entrance exams. This is a harrowing time for all Kenyan school children – but even more so for those who have no family support.

Fortunately for Nelly, the outcome doesn’t matter as much because marriage isn’t her only option if she doesn’t pass the exam.

It is our mission at Global Roots to protect young girls from FGM until they are old enough to protect themselves. Our big victory today is that Nelly’s own mother – once a great threat – is now on her side. She no longer wants to subject her daughter to FGM or block her schooling. She believes in her daughter’s future and wants to be part of it!!

See photo below of Mary at school two weeks ago with her best friend (on the left) and Mary (on the right).

Now that Nelly will be returning to live with her mother, we have an available bed in our Safe House and a few candidates to check into next month at our coming outreach session.

Outreach, April 2022

The campaign against FGM funded and managed by Global Roots will continue with an outreach event on the grounds of Looltingual Primary School in Narok county next month (April 2022).

The campaign’s main goal is sensitize girls between the ages of 14 to 18 about the threat of FGM. We will ensure that the target audience is sensitized to both short term and long term effects of FGM.

The outreach team will include an MC and comedian who also champions against FGM and promotes girl empowerment in the Maasai community and a trained nurse who will explain FGM and its medical effects. Other participants include a Maasai woman who managed to escape FGM and graduate from college, a student in university who will motivate the girls to work hard in school and a Maasai male who will give the point of view of a man who is against FGM.

A beneficiary of Global Roots who is now a primary school teacher will also be present. During the event, a representative from Global Roots (also a beneficiary of the program) will present the goals and objectives of Global Roots. The girls who attend will learn their rights and be given a contact number at Global Roots that they can reach out to if they are in trouble.

METHODOLOGY AND OUTCOME

This outreach campaign is the best way to fight against FGM because it convinces young girls that they have a voice and can say no when they are told they will go through the practice of FGM. Knowledge is a powerful tool. Global Roots will achieve its goal if each participant leaves the outreach session understanding their legal rights to stay in school and not be forcibly married and subjected to the human rights crime of FGM

The budget for the event $1,325 has been approved by Global Roots in the USA and funds wired to Silvia Soina -- GR manager in Kenya.

Thanks to all GlobalGiving donors for supporting our fight against FGM.