Protect Girls from FGM in Tanzania

Dear Global Givers

I am sorry to be contacting you so soon. 

First of all you'll be both glad to know that the Safe House is receiving a lot more girls, but sorry that it is necessary.

By the time you receive this, 54 new girls will have arrived, mostly Maasai from districts quite a long way from Mugumu where the Safe House situated. A group of 22 who arrived last Sunday travelled in a single Land-Rover pick-up for 5 hours to reach safety. Not surprisingly, they were shattered and distressed, thirsty and in great need. Many had only a single garment without underwear and some had no shoes. It's the school holidays in Tanzania now, so parents feel it's safe to have their girls cut without any authorities knowing. Rhobi is rallying the local churches and mosques to provide additional food. 

These girls are expected to stay for a month or so. It will be hard for the Safe House staff to monitor them when they go home. In Serengeti District, Rhobi and Sophia the Social Worker have a good system. Parents wanting to take their daughters home go with Rhobi or Sophia to the Police Station and sign an undertaking (which if breached can lead to imprisonment) not to carry out FGM or to subject their daughter to any physical violence. In Serengeti Rhobi and Sophia have volunteers in all the villages and they report back to the Safe House. None of last year's orders has been breached. But the new arrivals come from much further away where these networks don't exist. It's not going to be easy. You'll not be surprised to know that the resident girls at the Safe House gave the newcomers a very warm and kind welcome. 

Demolition of he foundations of the new kitchen, dining room and the completed guest toilets

Now a correction: In the last report, I said that this impending demolition was due to a road being built for a new airport to serve the Grumeti Reserve. The manager of the luxury hotel in the Reserve says this is not true. In fact it is now a bit of a mystery, and there are quite conflicting accounts about why the road is being built where it is proposed. So we may have got this wrong, and if so I apologise. It doesn't alter the fact that the foundations of the Dining Room and Kitchen and the new guest toilets are to be demolished. This road will also adversely affect the nearby Parish Church and a hotel. So a great deal of extra expense will have to  be incurred. It's such a pity that we could not have got a proper kitchen before we had all these extra mouths to feed.

Thank you once again for all your support.