Through DREAMS TWW, CMMB committed to support the government, communities, school leaders, teachers, parents, boys and girls to develop the knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values needed to provide a safe and a conducive environment for the girls to access, regularly attend and transit to the various levels of education.
Education is a human right for both boys and girls and the benefits of education transcends the children, to the community at large. Adolescent girls and young women (AGYWs) are affected disproportionately because of the vulnerability created by unequal gender relations and harmful social and cultural norms. Such girls are likely to marry early, get their children before they are of age and this greatly affects their physical and emotional health and additionally, increases their vulnerability to HIV. This ultimately leads to cases of low attainment of education at all levels and poor performance in class.
The cost of not educating the girls, has a ripple effect on families, communities, governments and the country as a whole. Concerted efforts and partnerships from schools, communities, parents, boys, girls and other different stakeholders is vital in ensuring the girls access, benefit and transit to higher levels of education.
About the project - DREAMS TWW is an ambitious partnership to reduce new HIV infections among adolescent girls and young women in 10 sub-Saharan African countries. The goal of DREAMS TWW is to help girls develop into Determined, Resilient, Empowered, AIDS-free, Mentored, and Safe women.
In October 2016, Catholic Medical Mission Board (CMMB) began implementing a 2-year project dubbed as the DREAMS TWW project. The project falls under focus area two on ‘Keeping Girls in school’ of the DREAMS Innovations Challenge (IC) program that is implemented across Africa.
Project implementation area and targetTusaidie Wasichana waelimike project, adopted the ‘Support Girls to learn’ model to address the high dropout rate among Adolescent Girls and Young Women in informal school settings (located within the informal settlements) in Westlands and Dagoretti subcounties, Nairobi. The innovation was centred around empowering girls and ensuring that they remain and benefit from the school and transit to higher levels of education - as a way of reducing their susceptibility to new HIV/AIDS infections.
The project aimed at reaching out to 3,600 (3000 and
OCTOBER 2016
3,600 440
The project aimed to reach out to 3,600(3000 and 600 girls in secondary and primary schools respectively and 440 male champions in 90 “informal schools” .
600 girls in secondary and primary schools respectively and 440 male champions in 90 “informal schools” .
Evidence based programming - In January 2017, CMMB carried out a baseline study to gather the initial data before the commencement of the project where indicators were set and were later used to measure the project’s progress during subsequent monitoring and evaluation processes along the project implementation.
The implementation approach - Taking the multithronged approach, CMMB worked with various stakeholders to support the various interventions of the project, these included:-
Mentorship.
Provision of hygiene kits (re-usable sanitary towels, panties, soap, and a bucket).
Linkage and referral to HIV services
Provision of Complimentary Learning Aids.
Installations of ECO toilets
Stakeholders engagemment and participation in technical working groups
Renovation of toilets/latrines to improve hygiene and sanitation for girls.
Training of parents, teachers and other service frontier on gender responsive education.
Provision of scholarship for girls – (provision of school fees).
Sport activities/competitions.
Sensitization and awareness creation through community conversations and caravan walks.
The above interventions supported the Whole School Approach, Community engagement, School leadership and management, Gender Responsive Pedagogy, Sanitation and hygiene promotion in schools and ultimately, the promotion of gender equality in existing education and health systems. This yielded unintended benefits in the targeted school communities among girls, boys, teachers, parents, and community leaders - while making school environment more friendly for AGYWs.
As a result of the above interventions, by the end of the project, implementation the achievements included:-
For 2 years, twice in the project life, 4091 AGYW received hygiene kits (a pack of re- usable pads, three panties, 3 bars of soap and a bucket).
440 male champions were recruited and trained GBV, HIV/AIDS, SRH to support AGYW education.
90 health /guidance and counselling clubs were established in the informal schools
70 (42F, 28M) provided peer to peer mentorship.
3,692 service providers (teachers, parents/ guardians Community Health Volunteers and community leaders and government officials) were trained on Gender Based Violence prevention and response and gender responsive programming on girl child education.
3377 students were reached through health talks and referred / linked to HIV Testing Services for HIV care and treatment.
70 Schools (29 Primary and 41 Secondary
Schools) received complementary text books to
45 projects schools benefitted from infrastructural development (renovation of latrines) to improve the state of sanitation for use by AGYWs.
85 user friendly eco-toilets were specially constructed for improved privacy and hygiene for the girls
36 (29F, 7M) AGYWs and Male Champions received scholarship through private partnerships with various entities e.g. Equity Bank Foundation.
6,812 (1933M, 4897F) community members were reached through community conversations and awareness creation sessions
Four (4) inter-school competitions question and answer sessions that focussed on the project thematic areas were held to gauge the students level of awareness on the topics covered during mentorship and health clubs.
Below are the stories of change from the project beneficiaries who were involved in the project. They AGYWs Male highlight how their knowledge, skills, values, and attitudes helped in keeping them in school.
The stories are about the impact the project has had on keeping the girls in school carrying out various interventions that would lead to reduce numbers of new HIV infections among the AGYWs in the bid to change their life trajectory. The testimonies also show case the unintended benefits that the project has had on the entire community. The stories go a long way in showing how girl child empowerment leads to gender equality in the society.
Sexual and Reproductive health sensitization is key among the AGYW. Menstrual matters which are part of reproductive health are almost a taboo to discuss in most households, no one prepares the girls to this normal body function, instead there is a lot of menstrual shaming and therefore health complications that can be linked with menstruation are also not discussed and consequently not taken seriously thereby leaving many young girls and women to suffer in silence.
Maimuna (not her real name) who lives in Kawangware slums in Nairobi, narrates her story on how DREAMS TWW has changed her ‘monthly nightmare’ and how today, she embraces her femininity positively. She narrates.
“Menstrual periods should be a natural process to symbolize growth and a celebration of femininity to every girl, it was not so for me. The beginning of my menses came with pain, so much blood flow that would last for close to two weeks. It came with some form of discrimination which I had not experienced before I began my period. Suddenly, I was not allowed to attend the mosque and worship freely and this became a phenomenon for some days in a month.
My father took my condition to be a curse, and for that reason I was not allowed to come out of my room
until the flow had stopped. I found it a big challenge, since I could not even attend school. My mother who is my confidant seemed to understand my pain and the changes I was experiencing as an adolescent girl; she would get me at least two packets of sanitary pads which only lasted for two or three days.
In school, the teachers used to give me sanitary towels containing eight pieces in each pack which would not last to the end of my periods. My help came when DREAMS TWW came to our school and introduced the re-useable sanitary towels. The joy I felt was beyond explanation. The re-usable towels that they gave me changed my life and made it much easier and comfortable.”
Through the DREAMS TWW project, the girls received mentorship, Afripads sanitary wear, their teachers and parents trained on gender equality and gender related issues, and their toilets renovated making them more user friendly and hygienic.
By the end of 2018, 4,091 girls had received the hygiene kits
These interventions ensured that the girls attended classes regularly and became more confident and outspoken; thinking positively about their future and were able to exchange ideas on how to perform better in class. They not only did these with their peers but also with other girls from other grades in their schools and those in their neighbourhoods.
“In as much as I still cannot go to the mosque when I am on my periods which I now understand is what
my religion dictates, I feel a measure of relief. Today, I have my few pieces of re-usable pads, I can now attend school regularly I am more confident and my grades are looking good. I am happy because I can stay in school and achieve my dreams. I want to help many other girls to stay in school for a brighter future!” Maimuna concludes.
It is estimated that approximately 15 million adolescent girls (aged 15 to 19) worldwide have experienced forced sex (forced sexual intercourse or other sexual acts) at some point in their life. 1
My name is Rose, I am 17 years of age and my friend Zainab (not her real name) is a rape survivor. We live in Kangemi slums, all sorts of vices happen here from domestic violence to sexual harassment of both the boys and girls, to drug and substance abuse among many more. I feel people of my age especially the girls are exposed to all sorts of vulnerabilities and they face a lot of challenges.
Zainab is an only child who used to live with his father, who is a single parent. My friend was not consistent in attending school and the few times that she was in school ,she looked disturbed. She only came to school when her father was in a ‘good mood’ she says,but even when that happened she still looked moody and sad.
I became close to her and one day in school, I noticed some injuries on her neck, she was hiding it with a scarf. I became concern and that is when Zainab opened up to me. “ I live with my father, and every evening whenever he gets home from work, he would
rape me and when I try to refuse, he beat me up and force himself on me. The scratches that are around my neck ,it is him who hurt me. I have to cover it up with my scarf since I do not want people to see.” She narrated
Zainab shared her challenges with me, and I talked to her on the importance of opening up and telling the guidance and counselling teacher since I learnt about that from the health clubs during the mentorship sessions that were facilitated by the CMMB’s DREAMS TWW project. After many attempts, she finally agreed to open up to the teacher.
The teacher gave her a listening ear and talked to her
about how to rise above the sexual abuse experience. Her father was approached, talked to and agreed to let her move out to stay with her aunt.
Zainab went through some counselling sessions and she is now a member of the health club, she concludes by saying, “I want to help other young girls facing challenges here in school and at home. With the knowledge I have received from the health club, I feel empowered and know the importance of confiding in someone that I trust and speaking up when faced with challenges. I want to empower other girls to speak out and and not allow the challenges that they go through to affect their studies.”
keenly following the discussions during a mentorship sessions.
Girls have fewer opportunities, compared with boys, to meet same-sex friends, make new friends, and interact with mentors. 2
In most African households patriarchy has its roots, girls have to navigate through the socialization process that places preference on the boys as compared to them. With such perceptions and attitudes girls find it
2 Biddlecom, Ann. 2008 .African Journal of AIDS Research 4(1): 37-50
difficult to sail through their education and even their adolescent stage. Adolescence is a transitional period from childhood to adulthood and both boys and girls go through physical and psychological changes.
In the same society, the transition during adolescence almost becomes a curse. As they begin to experience bodily changes in their physical and emotional beings
the narrative in the society does not get any better. They are no longer viewed as young girls but women who are ripe for sex and marriage.
With all these visible and invisible gender barriers, that surround the girls, adolescent stage is the time that the girls need a safe space and mentors to be available for them to share the challenges. They need proffesional mentors to ask numerous questions about the rapid changes happening in their bodies.
DREAMS TWW project was timely in my school, the health clubs and the mentorship sessions that they held, provided the safe haven that any girl of my age could possibly be looking for. My name is Sharon and I am 17 years old.
I am currently in secondary school, I got my first menstrual period when I was in grade 8. I was confused since I felt that I had matured earlier than my peers, fear gripped me such that going to school was no longer fun, I thought my friends would find out and laugh at me.
My home is in Kajiado County, sanitary towels are rare to come by and many families see them as a luxury and not a necessity for their women and girls. For adolescent girls like me and young women from my community, we have a hard time when we are on our periods. Since most of us cannot afford sanitary pads, many rarely attend school regularly.
When I joined secondary school, I was still facing the same problem, but this time it is a bit different because of the DREAMS TWW project. The project has made my life and that of my peers manageable, through the project, I started receiving reusable sanitary towels, that came along with a bucket, that allows me to wash my pads with dignity without contaminating other household utensils. I now attend my classes regularly and I am not embarrassed of my periods anymore, and this is the story of my peers too, we are slowly embracing our femininity.
I also joined the health clubs was an initiative of the CMMBs DREAMS TWW project. At the clubs, we met University of Nairobi students and Proffesional
My greatest joy is that all these girls are in school pursuing their dreams amidst the challenges that they are facing.
mentors who are doing well in life who mentored us, they took us through different topics on issues that affect adolescent girls and the young women that we are, they encouraged us with their life stories. I had lost hope in my studies, the mentorship was timely, I am still in school today and I am hoping to complete and transit to the university.
I was a very shy girl and had little confidence in myself, through the mentorship we had sessions on building self-esteem and confidence, today I can address a crowd of people, I am very confident.
The mentorship aspect of the project stirred in me the passion to mentor other girls, I have formed a group of ten girls back at home in Kajiado where I mentor them. They are facing a lot of challenges like those that I faced when I was their age, but it is easier for them since I am there for them. I always tell them not to look at where they are coming from but where they are going. I advise them to work on their future the way I am working on mine. Though I do not have the resources to provide them with sanitary pads, I hope DREAMS TWW project or a similar initiative can be started for them. My greatest joy is that all these girls are in school pursuing their dreams amidst the challenges that they are facing. I hope to mobilize more people that will raise their voices and ensure that girls stay in school.” Concludes Sharon.
The World Health Organization reveals that in every year 16 million adolescent girls aged between 15-19 years in developing countries give birth every year. At least half of these pregnancies are said to be unintended and most of them are said to be prevalent among the marginalized communities commonly driven by poverty, lack of education and employment opportunities.
Adolescent pregnancies are a global problem that occurs in high, middle, and low income countries. Low economic status, peer pressure and sexual abuse are cited as some of the causes of the soaring number of the pregnancies.
“My friend and classmate Rafiki (not her real name) was devastated when she missed her periods for one month only to discover that she was pregnant. Fear of being ridiculed by family members, classmates and even in the community almost got her to a dead point.
Towards the end of her first trimester her mother discovered her pregnancy and was disappointed. She
asked her to terminate the pregnancy, this left her more devastated. “You have two options, you either drop out of school and take care of your ‘burden’ or get an abortion and get back to school and continue with your education.” Said Rafiki’s mother
The pressure from all directions was evident, her peers, family and other influential people encouraged her to terminate the pregnancy. On several occasions Rafiki’s mother ridiculed her in public, this affected Rafiki emotionally and anytime we would meet, she kept asking me, “Why take out an innocent life?”
“The environment at home and school felt the same, both places were hostile. Anytime I walked in the neighbourhood, I could tell everyone was talking about me ,this affected me so much, I lost most of my friends but I chose to be resilient and decided to keep the pregnancy without any hope of going back to school post-delivery.”
Unlike girls of her age and the norm in the neighbourhood she decided not to go for unsafe
abortion. In Sub-Saharan Africa, in every 10,000 unsafe abortions, 520 of the women and girls die. 3 while others suffer from related complications.
Rafiki was in distress and as a member of the health clubs and a frequent participant of several mentorship sessions, I took a step and talked to her, reminding her of our mentors from the DREAMS TWW health club who had equipped us with nuggets on tackling any challenge that came our way. Our continuous conversations slowly began to make some sense and she slowly began turning a deaf ear to the negative things said about her until she finally delivered a baby boy.
Her resilience, determination and courage to take up the road that was less travelled was evident. Her mother seeing her determination and the support that she received from her peers from the health club, she decided to take up the role looking after .
Contrary to her fears that no one would associate with her, the DREAMS TWW health club members welcomed her back, and encouraged her to focus on her education.“
When a girl is empowered enough she can make the right decision about her life without being coerced by societal norms, beliefs, myths and attitudes or peer pressure from families and friends, this can reduce her vulnerability to early sexual debut, drug and substance abuse and other factors that can not only make her drop out of school but also expose her to HIV Infection.
“It is time for the society to stop the double discrimination on the girls for getting pregnant and denying them the opportunity to return back to school. Pregnancy should not be the end of life for the girls who are still in school, every girl deserves a second chance. Let us unite and keep the girl child in school.” Concludes Rafiki’s friend.
My name is Specioza, I am 17 years old. I am a total orphan, I lost my mother when I was only 14 and my dad died two years later. He died when I was at the peak of my adolescence and also when I was settling in form two, life took a different turn, reality hit hard when I had to drop out of school since I had no one to pay my school fees.
My priorities in life also took a shift, shelter and food became more important than my schooling. My aunt came to my rescue after some time and took me into her home, this gave me respite, I no longer had to worry about food and shelter or so I thought, little did I know what I had gotten myself into, my aunt slowly introduced me to prostitution against my will.
I was desperate, nothing else mattered to me all I needed was to survive, I got into the sex trade business not knowing the physical and emotional risks that the
business came with. I did this for a few weeks, the conditions were harsh and I could not persevere, I took off and ran away but since I had nowhere to go, I resorted to the streets.
Life was tough, during the day, I would go scavenging for food, I would beg and when I did not get anything I would steal. There are days that I slept hungry and numerous days that I was beaten up by people for stealing groceries and food.
My body functions did not take a break despite the challenges that I was facing, my periods never skipped a month, at least two to four days in every month, I would go to the local tailors and borrowed some remaining cloth pieces and use them as sanitary pads.
Life became meaningless for me, I lost hope of getting help, one day, a friend visited me on the streets
where I was living, and we had a long talk about my life and how I could turn it around. Since I did not have anywhere to go, I decided to look for a job as a housemaid. I worked in a home for some time then as fate would have it the owner of the home offered to take me back to school.
I am now in school and I am determined to re-write my story, I am currently one of the top students in my class, I hope to transit to university and get a job,
ultimately live a better life. I am a beneficiary of the DREAMS TWW. The mentorship provided me and other girls safe spaces to open up and also receive valuable talks and advise from mentors.
Today, I talk to my girl-friends about overcoming challenges in life and focusing more and making a better tomorrow for themselves. Today, my mantra in life is to ensure that my desire to succeed remains greater than my fear of failing.
Today, I talk to my girl-friends about overcoming challenges in life and focusing more and making a better tomorrow for themselves. Today, my mantra in life is to ensure that my desire to succeed remains greater than my fear of failing.
Nambuya the third born in a family of six lives with her mother and step father in the informal settlements of Kangemi. At age 17, Nambuya is in grade eight, this is the fourth time she is repeating the class.
In Kenya, most learners are either forced to repeat a class due to poor performance or they repeat willingly with the hope to do better the following academic year. But in some instances repetition among learners is because of the difficult financial conditions that most parents /guardian from poor backgrounds face. This is Nambuya’s story.
Nambuya’s step-father is a gardener while her mother does domestic work, basically, she does laundry from house to house, their household income is minimal. Most of the time, putting food on the table and paying rent for their one room house is a struggle,
buying sanitary pads and paying of Nambuya’s school fees has not been a priority for this famiy since they cannot afford. This has necessitated her inconsistent school attendance and thus the repetition of class.
She has been in class eight for the fourth year now because most of the time, when candidates are being registered for the final primary examination (KCPE) her mother does not usually have money, this forces her to lose out on the chance to be a candidate. Her step-father used to be a violent man and in many occasions he would chase Nambuya and her sister out of the house. Countless are the number of times that they slept outside, It is during one of these ordeals that Nambuya met a man who gave her a listening ear and promised to care for her and so they then became friends. This was the begin of a vicious cycle that she had to keep up with, whenever there was a problem
at her home, she would seek solace from her male friends.
Nambuya opened up on her experience. “Spending the many years repeating the same class, made me feel odd, I was among the oldest student in this class, my schoolmates ridiculed me, I did not enjoy school and home did not offer any solution either. I got myself into unhealthy sexual relations in exchange of money. The maximum that I earned was Kshs.100, in most instances I was paid less. The money may have been little, though engaging in this relationship gave me ‘temporary’ peace of mind as I ran away from the chaos at home.”
When DREAMS TWW Project was introduced in Nambuya’s school, she had no choice but to join the health club because it was a requirement by the school. She thought to herself that the club had nothing to offer, she missed a number of sessions since she did not see the importance of the club.
Her headteacher who has been part of her support system had always tried to bring her back to the sessions. Luckily, Nambuya heeded to the call and began attending the mentorship sessions. “mentorship helped me change my attitude towards education and how important it is in changing my current state. I have also learnt that schooling has no age limit.” She retorted.
As a result of the mentorship programme, Nambuya has openly declared that she is reformed. She took the initiative to inform her mother that she will no longer run away from school no matter how difficult things get, though she is not sure whether the mother believes her due to her frequent runaway ordeals in the past. This however she says will not deter the change that she has embraced. “My mother will see from my commitment that I am a changed girl. I will no longer run away from home but will focus on my studies and my talents.” she affirms
Nambuya wants to be a musician and is currently actively involved in the church choir. She also loves football and she plays for her school football team. These activities keep her busy and away from devious behaviour. She has also gained self-confidence and knows her self-worth. She is now able to say no to peer pressure and to those who want to take advantage of her.
Mr Sakwa who is a teacher in this school concludes by saying, “The mentoship program has really helped our girls, most have changed their behaviours . In 2015 and 2016, the school had five and three reported cases of teenage pregnancies respectively. For the period that the DREAMS TWW project has been in our school, no single cases have been reported. “ He concludes.
The mentoship program has really helped our girls, most have changed their behaviours. In 2015 and 2016, the school had five and three reported cases of teenage pregnancies respectively. For the period that the DREAMS TWW project has been in our school, no single cases has been reported
Henry
Henry is 15 years old and the 3rd born in a family of five, having been born in the village, he spent much of his early years there but later relocated to Kawangware slum in Nairobi after his father chased him and his mother and remarried.
Life in the city was different, it was harsh. At 13 years of age, Henry’s mother who was a casual laborer could barely afford to feed her five children let alone take
Henry is assured that his secondary education is fully taken care of, his sisters were also taken into the school and equally secured full scholarships.
them to school. Being the only son, he felt the pressure to take up the role of providing for his family and he was determined to be a role model to his four sisters.
One day, the young lad left home not sure of where he was going, in his lost thoughts and trying to figure out the course of his life, he ended up in a church in the neighboring Kangemi slums.
He sat through the service, but as soon as church was over, Henry had nowhere to go. The pastor was concerned about an unaccompanied child, he walked towards Henry and began a conversation with him. Henry opened up to the pastor who then offered him shelter and enrolled him in a new school. Luckily the school happened to be one of the schools that partners with CMMB on the DREAMS TWW project.
The pastor equally extended his kindness to Henry’s family back in Kawangware, he moved them to Kangemi and rented out a bigger house for his family and Henry was reunited back to his mother and sisters.
Henry quickly fit into the school setup and joined the school’s DREAMS TWW health club where together
with other students, they received mentorship every week. It is through this club that Henry got to understand life-skills, sexual and gender-based violence, HIV prevention and children’s rights. Henry could relate to the talks based on what his family had gone through in the hands of his father.
The mentorship sessions, helped him to slowly heal from the trauma that he had gone through, the talks also stirred in him a passion to speak out on injustices whether at home or in a school.
In school, he became the gender equality champion. Henry was keen to see that the boys and girls in his class were treated equally. He could not stand any jokes or actions that are mostly done by boys and sometimes the teachers that would make the girls feel uncomfortable, he openly voiced his concern on any forms of discrimination and injustice.
The mentorship sessions contributed greatly towards Henry realizing his leadership abilities, which were also noted by his teachers. He was granted a leadership position in school and to crown it up, he secured a full scholarship which took care of his school fees fully.
The mentorship programme encouraged the learners to reach their full potential. In 2017, the school noted a great improvement in his performance of the 2017 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education results. Henry scored 383 marks out of a possible 500 thereby getting admission to a prestigious secondary school. DREAMS TWW project assisted Henry to apply for full scholarship with the ‘Wings to Fly’ programme, of the Equity Bank Foundation
“Henry is a very jovial and disciplined student and very active in class. His leadership and advocacy skills cannot go unnoticed,” said his head teacher.
With the full scholarship, Henry is assured that his secondary education is fully taken care of, his sisters were also taken into the school and equally secured full scholarships. Henry is happy and hopeful about his future, his resilience has helped him to see his future with clarity, his fears are at rest thanks to the mentorship programme that molded him into an all rounded gentleman and fierce defender of girls’ and children’s rights.
Jentrix Akinyi is a KCPE candidate at the Kangemi Youth Primary School at 14 years of age. She is also the first born in a family of five who have recently moved to Kangemi slums after spending most of their lives in Kibera slums in Nairobi.
Akinyi’s mother is a stay at home mum and his step father works in the informal sector. He works in the juakali sector where he specializes in making metallic storage boxes, cooking pans and other metallic items. His job does not give him high returns neither does it give him a regular salary, this low income is a key factor to the high poverty that can be vividly seen in their home. They can barely afford their basic needs let alone her school fees.
Akinyi’s growing up in the slums was tough, she fell ill often and had this recurring eye conditions that made it unbearable for her to stay out in the sun for long.
There were no proper toilets in her neighbourhood and access to clean water was a problem too.
The insecurity was also worrying as people got mugged openly and young girls would be raped. She heard the screams from rape victims so many times and will remain forever etched in her memory. “Bad people would break into our house and carry everything leaving us with nothing,” Akinyi reminisces.
Life did not stop even with all the sad happenings in my neighbourhood, we attended school and life was okay. I can remember vividly one Friday, she says, when visitors from the DREAMS TWW project visited our school with a message of hope for girls.
They spoke to the girls in her school about being self-aware and how they should not give up despite the many challenges that life throws at them. The
mentorship sessions that followed have served to encourage her even more saying that she feels life would have been much harder had she not gotten the skills she now has.
“I am very happy because the mentorship has encouraged me and given me tips for overcoming life challenges,” she says.
DREAMS TWW made my dream of being a ‘normal girl’ come true. They gave me and other girls reusable sanitary towels which she says have helped her ease the burden to her parents who could barely afford buying her sanitary pads and this made her miss school at least three days in a month during her menstrual period.
She now feels like a girl again and has more than once asked for permission to share her pads with other girls in the slum whom she sees suffering during their menstrual periods and are not benefitting from the project. She feels bad that due to the hygiene concerns she is unable to share them but wants the DREAMS TWW project to give more of these reusable pads.
The HIV Testing Services offered as part of the project have also influenced her positively. She got to learn about how HIV is transmitted and how one can protect themselves. She says that she did not know
that people can live for over 30 years with HIV and that she is now aware and accommodative of those infected with the virus
Her friends, she says, have noticed a change in her life and grades noting that she talks to them about hygiene and girl-child rights often. “I talk to the girls at our home about how they should dress-up decently and neatly,” she says.
Life in the slum can be difficult because of the many challenges girls of her age face. She feels that the government should do more to deal with these challenges; and lauds the DREAMS TWW project for stepping into the gap.
School retention is at 94.7%. in schools that are benefitting from DREAMS TWW project
Akinyi dreams of becoming an influential business lady and have enough resources to help girls across the country to realize their full potential.
“I will work on the rights of women and the girl-child. I will tell them to speak up so that their voices can be heard,” she adds.
The continuing mentorship has already given her the zeal to speak out against FGM saying she wants to help girls her age in Turkana who are circumcised and married off to older men. She feels that girls should
not give up in life instead should stand tall and face challenges head on as they have equal opportunities with the boys and can even outshine them.
Akinyi feels strong, empowered and ready to face her upcoming Kenya Certificate of Primary Education examination which begins in two weeks’ time, “I want to thank CMMB and the project for everything they have done for us. All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Sarah (not her real name) a Form 2 student in Kangemi, is the first born in a family of six, she was orphaned after her single mother died in 2010 and her aunt took her up together with one of her sisters.
Living with her aunt in Kangemi slums brought more suffering than reprieve. Sarah suffered emotional and physical abuse from her aunt whom she described as being high-handed and favored her biological children more than her little sister and her.
“My 16-year-old sister and I had to toughen up because we realized that our fate was sealed and that our mother was not coming back.” Sarah narrates
In March 2017, things changed for the better after a group of student mentors from University of Nairobi working under the DREAMS TWW project began going to her school for mentorship sessions. Their visits were timely, Sarah narrates. “ I learnt how to cope with stress from the mentorship sessions. I have also learnt how to deal with mistreatment by respecting my aunt despite how she handles me,” she says.
Sarah says that her aunt never used to buy her sanitary
towels and that she would miss school a lot during her menstruation periods. The project has seen her get reusable sanitary towels which has changed her life. “I feel relaxed and confident as the Afripads are comfortable, and I am able to attend classes even during my periods.” she adds.
She describes how she is more sensitive to matters hygiene and how she talks to her friends about the need to keep themselves clean. Sarah says that she feels the project has enabled her know what defilement is and how to get help in case it happens to her or any of her friends.
“Adolescent girls are vulnerable to sexual harassment and the environment in the slums can be a challenging place. There are many unemployed youth and older men who prey on such girls, they often lure them with gifts for sexual favors and sometimes even forcing themselves on the girls. ” says Sarah.
She was able to get help for one of her friends who was being defiled by her step- father repeatedly. The friend was psychologically tortured and had become withdrawn and only shared with Sarah. Through the
mentorship sessions, she says she got to know of the reporting procedures and took immediate action.
She did not give her next cause of action much thought as she felt confident in the information given by the mentors as well as the toll-free numbers to report GBV that she had noted down. “I took my friend to the local chief and explained what was happening and why it was wrong. My friend got help and she is now back in school.”
Sarah is optimistic that the project will help her in life as she is now able to avoid peer pressure and can make informed decisions. She is now focused on her dream of becoming a lawyer after getting to understand the problems girls of her age face in the slums. “I will work on the rights of women and the girl-child.”
To Sarah, the DREAMS TWW project has been instrumental in her choice of career and that she will forever be grateful to the DREAMS TWW project for giving her a new lease of life.
Peer-peer mentorship done to 4,091 AGYW and 440 male champions
HIV prevalence among adolescent girls and young women in Kenya and Sub-Saharan Africa is at an all-time high of 74%.
Most at risk are girls in Kenya’s informal settlements who face a myriad of challenges due to the high levels of poverty.
The 4091 girls in the DREAMS TWW Project schools find themselves surrounded by illicit brews and dingy dens where drugs and sex are exchanged for cash or food. This pre-dispose them to HIV infection among other sexually transmitted diseases which can dampen their prospects of breaking from that cycle of poverty.
As a way of mitigating these challenges, provision of HTS services was initiated. It involves HIV/AIDS awareness creation, counselling, testing, referral and linkage.
Due to Kenya’s conservative culture, there are many stereotypes associated with HIV making it difficult to get adults and children alike tested.
To negate this, school heads were engaged on discussions to understand the importance of HTS service provision to the pupils and students in their schools.
“So many people are afraid of getting tested majorly because of the approach used by those offering the service”, Shadrack Ngulu Deputy Head teacher of Carevas Primary School in Kangemi says during the interview on HTS.
The buy-in by the headteachers was a stepping stone for the project as many organizations had tried the same but had failed. To further illustrate their commitment to the project good work, they invited parents for the minors who also received awareness messages on HIV/AIDS; after which they gave a goahead to carry out the activity with their children.
In this noble course, the project partners with the Nairobi City County Government, who provide HIV testing kits and counsellors.
The activity is conducted by qualified HTS providers certified by the National Aids and STI Control Programme (NASCOP) who begin by counseling the parents and pupils before issuing consent forms. These are signed by those willing to get tested after which they are directed to a room where the HTS provider conducts the testing.
Reactive cases are referred and linked to facilities nearest to their schools or home from where they get care and treatment. Follow up is done for known positives under medication to ensure adherence to treatment.
“Those who were found to be reactive were not left hanging as CMMB linked them to the nearest health centers within our community for help,” Shadrack says.
The activity has so far seen 3377 (2256F, 1121M) tested since October 2017 with a total of 15 referred and linked or followed up to ensure adherence.
Armed with information on HIV/AIDS, the parents have become project ambassadors spreading the word in the community on the importance of getting to know one’s status.
“Parents who got educated on HIV went out and informed the community. Some of them came to the school to enquire whether other parents with children who are not pupils of Carevas Primary School can come for testing, said Shadrack.”
Knowing their status and armed with information on HIV/AIDS, the project girls and their parents are empowered to stay HIV-free and live positively creating a healthier community.
Research around the world shows that many adolescent girls miss out on school or even drop out because of menstruation. Lack of appropriate supplies and facilities needed to manage menstruation can be a barrier to their consistent attendance and participation.
CMMB through the DREAMS TWW project mapped out schools within their project areas and found out that some project schools did not have enough latrines to serve their current population of students
and teachers.
In some other schools, there was only one latrine which was shared between teachers and students. In cognisant of this, the project installed 85 Eco-toilets that were affordable, user friendly and ones that required minimal maintenance. This changed the lives of many girls, the eco-loos as popularly referred, created an environment where the girls could access the facility with dignity and their privacy was assured.
“We use to have one toilet only that was serving the whole school of around 260 students. CMMB’s DREAMS TWW project constructed for us two modern eco-loos; this has really improved the sanitation standards in our school, says Madam Rose.”
Engagement of the community is key in advancing access and transition of girls in schools. Having families and the whole community get involved in the education of their children has been generally perceived as a promising practice that has a powerful potential to improve education.
CMMB’s DREAM TWW project tapped into this resource and reached out to various stakeholders within the community to support them in various awareness creation activities. Some of the topics
which they sensitised the public on included: - Gender Based Violence prevention and response, menstrual hygiene, importance of girl’s education and topics around water and sanitation.
Several methodologies were employed and effectively reached out to a total of 6812 (1933 male, 4879 female). Some include: - male engagement through motorcade caravan, carrying out focussed group discussions, holding awareness campaigns among others.
Having families and the whole community get involved in the education of their children has been generally perceived as a promising practice that has a powerful potential to improve education especially among the girls.
These stories were contributed by:-
Esther Muhia
Millicent Okello
Mercy Kariuki
David Maina
Jumuia Place, Lenana Road
P.O. Box 13811 - 00800 Nairobi, Kenya.
Office Line: (+254) 710 607 354
Land Line: (+254) 20 445 0437
Website: www.cmmb.org
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